Tovah Minster, One Out of Fifty: Legalized Prostitution in the State of Nevada (2003)

  Every day of my first grade year at Doris French Elementary School in Las Vegas, Nevada began by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and singing the song "Home Means Nevada" by Mrs. Bertha Raffetto. To this day I could sing it to you on command, and it provides me with a happy reminder of my home state even though I now live so far away from it. I didn't truly understand what it meant to state that my home is Nevada until I went away to college. At once I realized that my home state seemed like another planet to every individual to whom I introduced myself. It is almost a required conversation when you meet someone new at college to ask where they are from and what their major is. I, however, hardly ever had the opportunity to talk about my classes. People were fascinated that I was born in Las Vegas, and it was as though they could not grasp the concept that there are actually human beings living and working there. I was subjected to a startling number of remarks about the home I didn't have on the Strip, the connections to the mob that I claimed not to have, and my illicit job in the sex industry that they assumed paid for school. There are a lot of assumptions that people are quick to make about Las Vegas and about Nevada as a whole, and I found myself quickly lamenting that, "I wish I had a quarter for every time someone asked me...."; one could fill in the blank with whatever crazy misnomer pops into your head.

  Perhaps the most pervasive assumption that people made was that prostitution abounded and that it was perfectly legal to do whatever you liked, whenever you liked. After all, I was from "Sin City," and Vegas has quite the reputation for being a town with loose slots and even looser morals. But it just isn't so. Even Vegas has to have some sense of decorum and decency, although given the spectacle on Las Vegas Boulevard one might find that hard to believe. So this paper is what I consider to be my quest for the truth. This is my chance to dispel every myth and rumor I have been subjected to for six long years as well as my opportunity to delve into the past of the state that is nearest and dearest to my heart.

  This is a quest that begins in the middle of nowhere in a town that would come to represent one of the biggest silver strikes in history, a town that would draw men from every corner of the country and along with those men, women who would become a pervasive part of Nevada's existence through the present day. Prostitution has been a part of Nevada's culture since the mining days of the 1800's-even before Nevada became a state. It was a part of the culture that was tolerated, regulated, despised, pushed out, covered-up, lamented over, wholly embraced by some and denounced by others. Eventually, it was a part of Nevada's culture that would put the state on the map as the first and only state of the Union with legalized prostitution. This is on top of all other vices Nevada had been accused of fostering, and the way that prostitution was dealt with was in large part due to the nation's reaction to divorce, gambling, and organized crime. But this process of legalization was not completed until very recently in the state's history when the state legislature met in 1971 and wrote a law giving counties the authority to legalize brothel prostitution, as long as the county did not have more than 200,000 residents. The impetus behind this law was one man, the man who will be the main focus of this paper because he owned the most infamous brothel in Nevada, if not in the entire world. His name is Joe Conforte and his pride and joy was the Mustang Ranch.

  Our story will move from the 1800's through the new thinking of the 20th century about prostitution and Nevada in general. Most of this thinking, as you might guess, was not entirely supportive. But then a new sheriff came to town and shook things up in ways that were unimaginable to Nevada residents and D.C. hotshots. The paper will discuss Joe Conforte's beginnings and his infamous struggle with the town of Reno to do his business and maintain his lavish lifestyle. This struggle culminates in the 1971 legislation passed by the state legislature and the subsequent wave of county action legalizing and licensing brothel prostitution. In looking at these laws, the paper will also explain the various legal options other states and countries have explored in dealing with prostitution: criminalization, decriminalization, and legalization. Then we will go inside the Ranch to examine brothel life from the administration of the business and the regulation of the women to the procedures and problems these women faced and the psychological aspect of being a brothel worker.

  The paper will also discuss two competing feminist arguments about prostitution as argued by the groups COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics) and WHISPER (Women Hurt in Systems of Prostitution Engaged in Revolt). COYOTE argues from the prostitution as work perspective, emphasizing that not all prostitution is forced and that women choose prostitution as a form of work; therefore, it should be recognized as a legitimate profession. WHISPER argues from the prostitution as exploitation perspective, challenging the notion that prostitution is a valid employment opportunity and working towards eliminating it altogether. Finally, the tale of the Mustang Ranch's demise will be told--a demise brought on by Joe Conforte's bad bookkeeping, not a lack of business.

  This is a paper about one state's historical link to prostitution and how attitudes about the business have evolved over time. What this paper will not do is pass judgment; it will not argue for or against the prostitution industry. This is an historical look at a controversial profession that has been around since the beginning of mankind and has been the subject of heated debate for probably the same amount of time. Hopefully, this piece will help dispel myths about how Nevada has dealt with prostitution and will shed more light on an industry that is shrouded in darkness and rumor.

 

Revised July 23, 2003 (MD)