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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| College Students Tour Nevada Brothel |
| 2008-04-12 |
| PAHRUMP, Nev. - Nicki Amouri hands her camera to a friend, throws her arm over another and smiles wide as she leans in for a shot with the monument her class came to visit. It's a typical field trip memento - except that Amouri is in a brothel. The monument is a fluffy, queen-sized bed in a Western-themed party room reserved for VIPs and big spenders. Personally, I never take off my boots and spurs. I can ride em with the best! Amouri was one of a dozen Randolph College students who toured the Chicken Ranch, a legal bordello in the desert 60 miles outside Las Vegas. Thursday's class trip, which included seminars from the working girls, capped a course on American consumption and "the ideas that consume us." American Consumption, hmmm? "I think it's fascinating, this is fun for me," said Amouri, a junior at the private liberal arts school in Lynchburg, Va., that until last year admitted only women. "Not many people get to do this." Oh, I don't know about that, Honey. I'd say a lot of women do this. Academic and media inquiries are daily occurrences at many of Nevada's 27 legal brothels. Some shy away from the scrutiny, others, like the Chicken Ranch, welcome the publicity. "We're always open to trying to educate the public about legalized prostitution," said Chicken Ranch general manager Debbie Rivenburgh, who acknowledged this was the first class tour request she'd received in 21 years. Besides, it's a lot of free publicity! The brothel tour was a natural fit for a class that tells students "don't just study America - live it," said Julio Rodriguez, the director of the college's American Culture Program. Is this a "Hands On, so to speak, Field Trip? Each semester the course examines a strain of American culture and ends with a class This year's focus on Nevada started with a professor's interest in water rights and conservation. It grew to include discussions of the wedding and entertainment industries and, inevitably, prostitution. Nevada is the only state where prostitution is legal. Damnit! Brothels are allowed in 10 Nevada counties, though not in Las Vegas. As part of their research, students were assigned "The Beauty Myth," by feminist author Naomi Wolf, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," by Hunter S. Thompson, and a "20/20" episode on prostitution with Diane Sawyer, among other research, professors said. Any actual, ya know, field work? "We gave them all the option to either opt out or express reservations privately. No one did," said Rodriguez, adding that he received no objections from parents or administrators. I'd like to get Reservations! Problem is, I'm too far away. Prostitutes at the Chicken Ranch had plenty of reservations. Most don't jump at the chance to talk to strangers about what they do, Rivenburgh said. They worry about friends or family finding out. They know how others see them. It can be uncomfortable. What's green and jumps from bed to bed? A Prostitoad. "Ninety-nine percent of the working girls will not participate. Each woman's got her reason and her limitations," Rivenburgh said. "I couldn't have done better with the two that said yes, though." Alexis, 38, and Alicia, "over 30," sat on white folding chairs in front of the young, earnest women in the brothel's Victorian-style parlor, usually the setting for the "lineup." They would not give their last names. The group took close notes as a handful of television cameras and reporters looked on. A blonde in jeans and platform boots, Alexis talked about the job's flexibility and the free time it has allowed her to write a book about her life. Alicia wore a black-and-white gingham nighty and a tattoo on her left breast that read "Famous." I bet she is really flexible. "I enjoy giving back what some people don't get in their lives, as far as companionship, time, just the touch of a woman," she said. The job allows her to take care of her mother and grandmother. She's also in real estate. I'm in LOVE!! The introductions gave way to questions. Do you consider yourself a feminist? Alexis: "Most women in this business wear the pants in the family." I, however, don't wear any pants. Is there a certain look most men prefer? Female and breathing does just fine for a lot of men. Alicia: Every man wants something different. "There's all different kinds of girls." SMORGASBOARD!! Why aren't there brothels with male prostitutes? Most men don't want sexual contact with other men, dope. Rivenburgh: Former Hollywood Madame Heidi Fleiss is trying. Do you still give a military discount? Rivenburgh: Yes. Oh, Boy! I didn't know that! OS, OP, Frank G, USN,RET, Maybe we can get a Military Group Discount!! What's the worst part? Fat, ugly, stinky men. Alicia: "Being confined, being cooped up. I have to be here 24 hours a day." My heart bleeds. With a tour and time to mingle, the students packed up gift bags containing a menu of services, a Chicken Ranch key chain and a brochure. They had to get back to Las Vegas in time for a backstage tour of the risque revue "Jubilee." With any luck, they might get to interview the showgirls. DAMN, and I took a tour of Architectural Masterpieces when I was in school. Dopey me! |
| Posted by:Deacon Blues |
| #7 NSFW: In the late 60s & early 70s Nevada's whore houses were always 10-15 miles outside of any big Town, Reno for instance. This was a golden era for Cat-houses because all the bad Viruses and other STDs hadn't exploded in epidemic proportions. AIDS, Herpes, Clap, Syphilis etc. Condoms were NOT even required, the girls just examined youse... [not sayin it waz schmart to go without mind you] The Whore houses in Nevada were cheap and the girls were GREAT and a REAL GOOD TIME could be had with a couple whimmin/girls for a couple of hours. On a real good night heh we went back to gambling and getting high on c______, and then went BACK for a second round at the whore house, just out of town. >:> |
| Posted by: RD 2008-04-12 23:55 |
| #6 Anonymoose, sounds very much like the way Vegas was founded. (Not snark) |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-04-12 14:47 |
| #5 Legal prostitution has never really gotten a fair shake as a modern business. Most likely operated by a hotelier, with a business oriented to an orderly, middle class clientele of both men and women. Along with a more respectable accommodation, guaranteeing clean prostitutes, clean rooms, and more amenities than just sex, such a business would need a shuttle service from Las Vegas and Reno, and a general atmosphere appealing to the business class. The business needs to be strongly oriented to employee welfare, offering better than average benefits and perquisites, and mainstreaming employees into the local community to get an "employee vote" against those who would shut the business down. In addition to the prostitutes, there would be a large number of security and maintenance staff, and even business and 'social' consultants, to insure that employees lead orderly and normal lives, have good health care and retirement benefits, and even have outsourcing to other jobs when they no longer work in the business. Since the margins are so high and the overhead so low, yet employee turnover relatively brisk, the long term concept would be to establish a prostitution "community", surrounded by businesses sympathetic to the business and catering to the *other* needs of the clientele. Things like a very competitive class golf course, a specialist surgical hospital for a particular high-end medical condition, and perhaps a very high-end 'millionaires' club and retail center. Basically, other plausible reasons to pay a visit to the town. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-04-12 11:02 |
| #4 On second thought, this may be in the curriculum for Public Service majors [insert snark about working girls and the office of the Governor of New York here]. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-04-12 10:50 |
| #3 It could be worse. They could become college professors... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-04-12 09:29 |
| #2 Think of it as Career Day for graduates of Randolph College. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-04-12 09:22 |
| #1 I took a tour of Architectural Masterpieces when I was in school Maybe because your school hadn't debased itself completely as a paper mill yet, generating |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-04-12 09:19 |