rngpie's Full Review: Alexa Albert - Brothel: Mustang Ranch and Its Wome...
...it is a way of life for some women.
Intro
I purchased Brothel: Mustang Ranch and Its Women, by Alexa Albert from The Litary Guild for $1 as part of my introductory package.
The reason I purchased Brothel was simply I have always been curious about this type of lifestyle.
I was raised with a strict Baptist upbringing. In my daddy's house, there was black or white, there were no gray areas.
Since becoming an adult and getting out in the world a bit more, I have found the rules to be a lot more muddled gray in color as opposed to the black and white that I was raised with. I have found that many women (and men) often do whatever they have to do to survive. This does not mean I support Prostitution as a means of financial gain, nor do I disagree with it as well. It means I am more tolerant of differing lifestyles and choices than my daddy was.
Brothel:Mustang Ranch and It's Women
A Brief Historical Overview
To understand the Brothel we first must understand Prostitution and the legality of it in Nevada. First and formost, Nevada is the only state that prostitution is legal. I would think that these brothels would cover all of Nevada giving that stance, but instead Nevada does regulate it's brothels. The first regulation law took effect in 1881, vesting county commissioners the power to tax, regulate and prohibit all houses of prostitution.
Continued pressure from moralistic groups led the state legislateture to prohibit brothels from opening on main roads, and within 400 yards of both schools and churches.
Later, casinos began pushing for prostitution to be condemned due to the lost revenue of competing with the brothels. The casinos felt the brothels were taking some of their profits.
Legalized prostitution changed forever when Joe Conforte came upon the scene. Joe was an Sicilian immigrant with lofty goals. His goal was to exploit the state's prostitution trade along with the state's spotty prostitution laws. When his original brothel location (Reno)was denied, he moved to an alfalfa field just outside of Storey County. Within 5 months he had an evergrowing business, a wife, and the steely determination that he would need to survive in this often politcally charged, underhanded business.
Author Alexa Albert
In 1989, Alexa Albert was an undergraduate doctorate student. At this time, Aids had just exploded onto the health scene, and Alexa felt herself drawn to the public health issues of 'working women' particulary of prostitutes in Nevada's legalized brothels.
She wondered what kind of protection (if any) the prostitutes used to protect themselves from various STD's including Aids.
That summer she took up a summer internship in family planning and human sexuality at Emory University that required her to develop a public health study.
She decided to submit a field study of codom use practices at the brothels in Nevada. She believed that by giving proper credit perhaps the girls would be less stymatized by society, and promote safe health issues at the same time.
After many letter writing campaigns and 3 1/2 years, Alexa was finally allowed admittance into the Mustang Ranch.
Mustang Ranch
First, Mustang Ranch is not one but two brothels. There is Mustang Ranch #1 in the front and then #2 in the back.
Alexa soon found that the two brothel houses were extrememly competitive with each other. It was rumored the better or prettier prostitutes were placed in #1. The inexperienced or older prostitutes were placed in #2.
Not only were the two houses in aggessive competition with each other, all the girls were in constant competition with the other girls.
While this was somewhat understandable, each girl feeling that the other was taking one of her 'tricks' or 'potential tricks', sometimes the aggressiveness was too much. As when a new girl was hired in with beautiful long hair, one of the older girls became jealous and snuck hair remover in this one girl's shampoo bottle.
Thankfully the new girl did not use the shampoo, but this is just one instance to show the competitiveness of the girls between themselves.
Not only were the girls competitive and petty, they were also fiercly loyal to one another. When one girl delivered her baby, the other girls gave her an awesome baby shower. Included in the gifts was every major piece of furniture the baby would need for it's first year of life.
The girls' seemed to have a love/hate relationship with each other.
Mustang Ranch Rules
One of the most troubling rules is the simple "The customer is always right'. If a client is unhappy with his 'service' he could complain to the cashier, and the girl would have to refund part or all of his money.
Many of the regulars knew this. So while they became a nuisance to the girls, there was virtually nothing the girls could do about it.
Another Mustang rule was the grueling schedule. Each girl worked 12 hour shifts. She also worked 3 weeks, off 1. During her work schedule she was not permitted to leave the premesis. If she needed anything, the Ranch provided couriers for a fee.
Anything extra the girls required from laundry service to room rental, to a drink at the bar was an extra fee. So while it seemed that the girls made oodles of money, when all the fees were figured in, the amount was not quite so astronomical.
The third troubling rule (to me) was that when a customer first came in, the girls were required to line up like schoolchildren. Each girl was to give her name and of course act friendly.
Hidden Agenda
In addition to paying neccessary taxes, the Mustang Ranch promoted tourism within the state as well as kept Nevada's money within Nevada. (For lack of better wording).
For example, since the girls could not leave the brothel during their work shift, specialty companies came to them.
Mustang Ranch had it's own Avonlady, it's own lingere retailer, and a host of other direct sales companies that catered to the girls. The Avon lady became so close to the girls that she allowed the girls to give out her phone number to their family, so that the family would not know that they were working in a brothel.
This generosity was repaid with oodles of sales. It was nothing for this Avon lady to make over $1000 a month is sales.
Tourism was also promoted. Mustang Ranch had several repeat customers that came bi yearly. After visiting the ranch, they would go on to the casinos or camping. Still that was a lot of tourism dollars coming into play.
The Girls
Contrary to popular belief, not all of the girls were proud of what they did. Likewise, not all were ashamed. Not all of the girls were young. Not all of them were old.
There is just no way to generalize the girls. They each came from a different walk of life.
One girl was 52. After the love of her life died, she chose that profession for the monetary benefits. Previously she had never worked, and had no way of supporting herself.
Another girl was there because her husband prefer she prostitute herself as opposed to him working. He stayed home with the children while she worked, and she supported a family of 4 on her salary. They told the children she was a stewardess.
A third, a young mother-whose children was in the care of her mother, chose this lifestyle in order to keep her whole family up. This young girl's mother knew of her profession and had no qualms with bringing the children to the brothel anytime she needed money.
The Men
After reading all of this I was curious what kind of men frequented. ( I can hear the obvious answers now.)
Actually the clientele are as diverse as the staff.
One client was a virgin and brought by his father to be 'made a man'. His father had deemed it was time. Needless to say, the boy could not follow through-but both the staff and boy allowed the father to think 'it' had happened. Actually the girl was very sympathetic with the boy talking to him gently, and tried to not take his money-but the boy insisted.
Another client soon developed a devoted crush on one of the girls. He created a web page in honor of her, started having cookouts for both the girls and clients to attend. He was also available for any and all running this girl needed. While the girl was not as crazy about him, she did not feel she was using him.
There are the regulars who frequent weekly or even nightly. These are also known to lavish their favorite girls with exotic gifts. They are also the ones who will turn on a girl in a heartbeat and demand a refund.
In Conclusion
By reading Brothel:Mustang Ranch and It's Women, I feel I have a greater understanding of legalized prostitution and the prostitution lifestyle.
Upon reading about these girls, I soon learned that although they chose this lifestyle for one reason or another, they really are not that different than me.
As women, we both have wants, needs, and goals in life. We have just chosen different paths to achieve this.
Brothel: Mustang Ranch and It's Women
by Alexa Albert
ISBN#0-375-50331-5
Random House Publications
In this fascinating study of Nevada s infamous Mustang Ranch, Albert puts a human face on the women who work in AmericaUs largest brothel. Brothel is ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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