Brothel: Mustang Ranch and Its Women

Brothel: Mustang Ranch and Its Women began as primarily a public health study. This was back in the early 1990s when HIV was still a big deal. The State of Nevada was the only state at the time that allowed legalized brothels, and one of the positive effects claimed from this was that the rules for brothels could more effectively require and enforce condom use than other forms of random prostitution or even less formal sexual arrangements. Although she was denied access to the Nevada brothels for several years, the author was eventually allowed to visit the Mustang Ranch Brothel, the largest and most famous in the state, and see how the workers there maintained their record of not becoming HIV Positive or infecting any of their customers.Evidently, this was the result of strict monitoring on the part of the brothel management along with strict regulations at the state level that they had to meet. New hires were extensively tested to be sure they had no STDs when they arrived, and condom use for everybody was strictly enforced – not always an easy job when customers complained that it interfered with their enjoyment.By the time the initial study was completed, the author had become friends with many of the prostitutes at the brothel, and she returned for brief periods at intervals over several years to find out more about their lives and culture. The book contains many anecdotes about the lives of the individual women and also goes into the history of legal brothel prostitution in Nevada in general and of the Mustang Ranch in particular. Curiously, the brothel’s founder, theoretically no longer associated with it by the time the book was written, was a flamboyant character who actually caused quite a bit of trouble for the brothel and the idea of legalized brothels in general. Eventually, he was accused of some kind of financial malfeasance that resulted in closing it down altogether.This turned out to be sort of sad because by the end of the book the author, and by extension the rest of us, had become rather fond of many of the girls and other workers at Mustang Ranch. Although they worked in a strange environment, they seemed to be mostly just regular people.This is another book I had wanted to read because I will never get an opportunity to personally observe, never mind experience, life in a brothel. And inquiring minds want to know.

When I was in my 20's, I knew 2 girls that worked the clubs; one, I hung out with, so, I saw, so much.They were from so many directions; many raced to see who could make the most money, and that was always interesting.The Navy base was here, and those guys would spend their whole paycheck, quickly, week after week.All of girls were dancers, and, private entertainers, taking the guys to back rooms; fish bowls, and bottles of champagne, flowed like water... and a few times someone stole a few of the little drink ''swords' , from another girl, and that was always- entertaining.There were many clubs for the girls to work in; some were sleezy ; others, so-so ; one, the girls made their own outfits, SLINKY AND GLITTERY, as they were strippers; ALL of them were interesting, and the girls always visited each others clubs, for lots of reasons; they were all like one big family round-up.Some of the guys who owned the clubs, the girls would fight over them; Joe, and Larry, were right out of the movie, 'Grease' , and they both owned their own clubs.Johnny had his; Dave had his, and they were good to their girls.When the clubs closed, we partied at a place that had a band, and we would pay the band to play through sun-up.I have a friend who had been to the Mustang Ranch, and I became curious, as to how that place worked/how it functioned/how it was different from the clubs that I had known.I found the book very interesting, and much like the clubs that I had known; the girls were from various backgrounds.The men were of differences/ they had their favorites and came to see the girls, often.I really enjoyed the book; it really took me back into time, and I remembered- MANY fun times!One SO FUNNY, some of us had gone to a CLASSY club; Sherry, just had to make a SEXY entrance to some of the well dressed men, but when she went to go down the inside steps, in a CLASS ACT part of the club, one shoe heel broke, and she rolled down at the mens' feet... so much for making a GRANDE' entrance!

There are obviously many opportunities to sensationalize this subject, but Alexa Albert didn't take the bait. As a medical student, Alexa Albert provided a truly independent analysis of the Nevada brothel industry. With that said, this book is quite easy to follow. It doesn't read like some stuffy medical journal. Her primary interest was related to STD prevention and she took extreme measures to examine the safety measures of the brothel. That included inspecting every condom after it was used and, at times, witnessing these sex workers examining their clients' genitals with halogen lights to inspect for STDs.She was an excellent listener who didn't judge the morality of these women. That came across in the writing. As a result of her approachable mentality, several of these women opened up and offered remarkable insight into their backgrounds, motivations, reasons for working there, etc.Alexa Albert explained how the legalized prostitution system came about in Nevada and the details are very interesting. Overall, she did an excellent job of critiquing the pros and cons of the industry. In particular, she pointed out that many of the regulations in place compromise the basic freedoms of these women, exploit them financially, and provide more power to the brothel owners. To the contrary, she shows that the legalized system has provided a lucrative income and workplace safety for these women, reduced STDs, and it isn't a menace to the community.