{"id":4777,"date":"2018-04-18T00:17:32","date_gmt":"2018-04-18T00:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bunnyranch.com\/blog\/?p=4777"},"modified":"2018-04-20T16:41:29","modified_gmt":"2018-04-20T16:41:29","slug":"state-of-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bunnyranch.com\/blog\/state-of-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"Nevada and the State of Freedom \u2014 “No Little Girl\u2019s” Attack On Legal Brothels"},"content":{"rendered":"

What makes Nevada special? I discovered the answer to that question a few years back when I met with a young documentary filmmaker at a watering hole on the outskirts of the dusty town of Pahrump in Nye County. The filmmaker was making a documentary for CMT<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over a beer, I asked the filmmaker, \u201cSo, what exactly is the topic of this movie you\u2019re making?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFreedom,\u201d he answered.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFreedom? What does that have to do with this far-off Nevada town?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He looked at me perplexed, as if, as a resident of the Silver State, I should have already known the answer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn this town you can legally buy fireworks, open carry a firearm, keep exotic pets, gamble to your heart\u2019s content, and…well look around,\u201d he replied, motioning to our surroundings.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI guess you have a point,\u201d I said, as I gazed at the dozens of sex workers strutting their negligee-clad stuff and chatting up their goggling clientele in the saloon\u2014 a saloon that just happened to be connected to a 20-acre legal brothel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what the freedom looks like,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I fulfilled my duties as a communications rep for the licensed bordello that day, I realized that what I was a part of was very precious and unique, and, like the concept of freedom itself, something that shouldn\u2019t be taken for granted.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Chanel, Tiara Tae, and Lana West from Dennis Hof’s Moonlite Bunny Ranch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The State of Nevada is now at a crossroads. Petitioners in Lyon and Nye Counties<\/a> are organizing an attempt to end legal prostitution in those areas. The women of Nevada\u2019s brothels are under attack, and their freedom to lawfully practice sex work is threatened.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why? Why does a group called \u201cNo Little Girl\u201d want to close the brothels?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If their website is any indication, the group says it wants to ban legal bordellos to end trafficking in these establishments, support the women who were forced into this life of “sexual slavery,” and create a more prosperous economy for the community.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, the women working in Nevada\u2019s legal brothels are not coerced, trafficked, or enslaved \u2014 there are certainly no records of such crimes occurring in these bordellos. The women all undergo a strict federal background check through the sheriff\u2019s office, and every sex worker voluntarily operates in a regulated, safe, well-maintained, and disease-free environment. Many of these women have been willingly working in the legal brothels for years and are thriving financially as the breadwinners of their households. Scores of Nevada\u2019s legal sex workers have passionately\u00a0spoken out against No Little Girl<\/a> on social media and in blogs<\/a> and podcasts, making it clear that the sex workers did not ask for, and do not need, No Little Girl\u2019s support.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

I have a B.A and am currently working on my M.A. at the University of Nevada, Reno \u2014 all funded by my time working in the Lyon County brothels. I choose to stay working in the brothels since 2011 because I am happy and passionate about my job. I am not #nolittlegirl<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ruby Rae (@TheRubyRae) April 14, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n