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Young woman in oldest
profession
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Jim Grant/Tahoe
Daily Tribune Sunshine Lane enjoys the sun streaming into the room she
rents for $19 a day at the Bunny Ranch.
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Susan Wood
April 23, 2004
CARSON CITY - A guest need not look far
to see how working girl Sunshine Lane seems to feel at home inside the
Bunny Ranch brothel outside Carson City.
Lane has placed bunny-adorned, pink
slippers under the bed with a collection of shoes selected to enhance
the experiences of paying customers seeking companionship and sex.
Brothels offering prostitution, which
have been sanctioned in Nevada since 1861, have been the subject of
many media reports, and this place is no exception. Brothel operator
Dennis Hof cites a lengthy New Yorker magazine article about the ranch
that give its readers an inside look at the oldest profession.
It's no big deal and all in a day's
work to the 24-year-old woman, who is soon due to return to South Lake
Tahoe to live because she likes the beauty of the area. More than half
her guests - averaging a dozen a week - want intimacy such as the
simple pleasures of being held and touched, she explained.
"It tells me they're not having
intimacy. Guys are unhappy with their day-to-day lives," she said,
glancing around her room that exemplifies her lifestyle and longing for
comfort.
Colorful Mardi Gras beads are wrapped
up like neck ties above the nightstand - where fur-lined handcuffs, an
unburned candle and lubricant sit. A Teddy bear sits on top of a
loveseat, opposite from a velvet-covered chair.
A bottle of bubbles stand at the sink
on the side of the room. Peacock and synthetic feathers sit in a vase,
and a dreamcatcher hangs from a wall.
Soft music on the stereo adds to the
ambiance.
"I'm very spiritual," she said, leaning
back on her raised bed blanketed with butterflies.
"I picked these out myself," she said.
Overall, the room provides a feast for
the eyes to an interior decorator.
As for functionality, a mini electric
fireplace pumps out heat in the room for the Florida native who was
once an exotic dancer. With a hot tub just outside a closet door, Lane
has moved up to one of the upscale rooms that she rents for $19 a day.
The Ranch also collects an even split of her per-hour profits, which
average between $200 to $300. The rates may go way beyond that rate
depending on what the clients ask for. Her line of work dictates that
of a night owl. It goes with the job.
Clients are not always men, even though
the majority are. Many wear a wedding ring but seek a way to fulfill a
void outside their marriage without the expense of adding a long-term
relationship to their lives.
Lane - one of 29 Bunny Ranch hands - is
single with no boyfriend, but she added that many of the women who work
there do.
Having sex for money fails to deter
most who choose the profession from nurturing a healthy relationship
with their spouses and significant others, she said.
"I love sex. If you don't love sex, you
shouldn't be here," she said, further admitting that some women might
have no where to go.
But this young woman has dreams.
"This is a stepping stone for me," she
said.
A competitive ice skater years ago in
Tampa, Lane would like to retire in five years to open her own arena.
She also talks about opening a fitness center with yoga and pilates
classes.
Despite the image of the heavy-handed,
pimped-out profession, Lane stressed that she's in charge of her own
destiny.
"No one controls me," she said, sitting
upright on her Bunny Ranch bed. "I wanted to be my own boss."
If someone tries to get rough, she may
touch a panic button installed in the wall next to the bed. She said it
hasn't been a problem.
Beyond the unusual, there are the old
standards - including the French maid outfit and nurse uniform. This
work is about the kinds of fantasies that have stood the test of time.
An 80-year-old man came to the ranch
one day with what seemed like the athletic prowess of someone half his
age, she said.
"The first one's the hardest," she said
of her entry into the field two years ago. "It took a while before I
could say the word, (prostitute)."
Lane has vowed to refrain from drug use
and declares she "hardly drinks" alcohol.
A recent client celebrated his birthday
in one of the ranch's bungalows. Lane put her creativity to work. She
put up balloons and brought in cupcakes.
More often than not, Lane said she
enjoys the sensual experiences she has with the clients.
She even keeps in contact with some of
them via the Internet.
For those she's not attracted to, Lane
will close her eyes and imagine someone more appealing.
"I try not to tune out. I don't want to
be a fake. I want to be real," she said.
Attitude is everything for the women
who work at the Bunny Ranch. According to the madam, there's no tryout
but an applicant must fill out a form, go in for fingerprinting, file a
Lyon County Sheriff's identification card and get a health check.
With the AIDS scare, Lane endorses the
practice of HIV testing every month. And all her clients use condoms,
she said.
Lane realizes that many people pass
judgment on her line of work, and a sign leading up to the brothel
reflects the perceived taboo: "Warning sexual entertainment 300 feet
ahead."
She believes our society is too uptight
about the activity, citing the aftermath of Janet Jackson's breast
exposed during the Super Bowl halftime show.
What do her parents think of Lane's
line of work?
"They support me 110 percent. I'm an
independent woman, and it's nice too for them to know I'm taking care
of myself," she said. "They brought me up to be open minded."
- Susan Wood can be reached at (530)
542-8009 or via e-mail at [email protected]
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CLEAR 35°
