A fraudulent intent, however carefully concealed at the outset, will generally, in the end, betray itself. – Titus Livius
Long-time readers may remember that I have a Hall of Shame for the recognition of whores who have dishonored our profession by their sleazy, stupid, unethical behavior. Those of you who are newer to the blog may never have encountered a post on such a personage, and that’s a good thing; the reason you haven’t is that there have only been three so far, and the last one was inducted one year ago today in “June Updates (Part Three)” (which also discusses the Satoshi Kanazawa “racism” controversy, persecution of strippers in Colorado and a strong test of my libertarian sensibilities). Well, today I’m going to add number four, but first I’d like to recap the other three.
I announced my Hall of Shame in my very first column, and less than a month later inducted its first member: Karen Sypher, who as I explained in “How To Be a Stupid, Greedy Whore” won the dishonor for her “astonishing stupidity, appalling immorality and truly mythic greed”. The second member, Capri Anderson, was awarded her position less than four months later for her “incredible greed, her denial of her own whoredom despite the fact that she is a porn actress who was paid $3500 to spend the night with a rich cokehead, her pretense that she is better than the rest of us despite her absolute and total lack of the most meager shred of the professional ethics adhered to even by the majority of hundred-dollar Backpage girls, and her stunning stupidity in announcing a lawsuit on national television before she actually filed it.”
The third nominee, former madam Kristin Davis, took a bit longer to earn her place of infamy; in February of last year she attracted my attention by embracing trafficking rhetoric in order to enrich herself, and by repeating prohibitionist claims that professional escorts represent a tiny minority of all whores. She then compounded her sins by claiming that 80% of us are coerced when she knows damned well that’s exaggerated by a factor of forty, and I was considering adding her to the list when she clinched it by talking about a famous client not to protect girls or protest prohibitionism, but rather to see her own name in the news again.
The newest member has been irritating me for a while now, but at first I didn’t consider him due to his gender. But after the latest incident I realized that was sexist of me, and not in a good way; his offenses are very similar to Kristin Davis’ and despite the fact that he was never a prostitute himself, he certainly represents our profession to the American public because he owns a brothel in Nevada. I won’t keep you in suspense: the fourth member of the Honest Courtesan’s Hooker Hall of Shame is Dennis Hof, owner of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch. It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of the Nevada brothel system, but my dislike for a way of doing business is insufficient grounds for labeling it a disgrace. So despite my revulsion at Hof’s aggressive attempts to export the exploitative Nevada model, I’ve kept my mouth shut about him personally until news of the latest outrage came to my attention:
…Dennis Hof…has written the mayor of London in advance of the Summer Olympics in late July-early August. It seems Hof is speaking this week at the Oxford Union on legal prostitution. He’d like to meet with Mayor Boris Johnson to propose a legal brothel, a temporary UK branch of the Bunny Ranch, to operate during the Olympics. The separate, drug-free, safe facility with health checks would compete with the crime-ridden, sleazy, human-trafficking sites that Hof says various mobs bring to such global events, despite official attempts to shoo them away. But Hof says the “well intentioned efforts (of every Olympics host city) to eradicate the world’s oldest profession becomes folly as the unintended results inadvertently place its’ [sic] control into the hands of gangsters, drug dealers and murderers. It’s a strategic miscalculation that is repeated time and time again in the futile hope of an outcome different than all of those that have come before.” Hof’s facility, he says, would also provide valuable tax revenue to the city while removing the black market of illegal prostitution…
Now, there isn’t the proverbial snowball’s chance that the UK will adopt the Nevada model, so even if this crony capitalist were to succeed in winning a license to pimp no woman would be obliged to submit to the degradation, virtual imprisonment and abrogation of consent that American whores are forced to accept in order to be declared “legal” in Nevada. No matter how vile I personally consider his business model, there is nothing immoral about it as long as whores have a free choice whether to work there or not; furthermore, the restrictions of the Nevada system are largely state-imposed and not the fault of Hof or other brothel owners. However, it’s one thing to say, “I recommend you adopt this exploitative system which enriches me while failing to do what it’s actually supposed to do, namely reduce the social problems caused by criminalization”, and another thing to capitalize on prohibitionist rhetoric he must know to be false if he’s actually done any research at all on legalization (and if he hasn’t done that research, he has no damned business speaking on the subject).
Hof promotes trafficking hysteria and repeats the “human trafficking follows mega sports events” myth; he exploits the “organized crime controls prostitution” myth and labels independent brothel and escort service owners “gangsters” (when that title is more correctly applied to businessmen who enrich themselves via shady insider deals with corrupt government); he claims that the Nevada system eradicates “illegal prostitution” while knowing full well that over 99% of Nevada prostitutes prefer to work illegally; and he represents himself as an advocate of freedom while actually promoting the single most unsatisfactory and exploitative legalization scheme in the entire world: I’m sure you’ll agree that these criteria more than qualify him for my Hall of Shame.
Bethany st james has also spoken out against him,she is a legal prostitute in Nevada,but in a different brothel.i think that a reality show in such an establishment only served to prove the anti sex work lobby right in their assumptions about degradation and exploitation within the industry.also,Diane Sawyer,a so called reporter from abc after exploitating porn actress Belladonna to further her agenda, decided to do an ”investigation” on prostitution(mostly street walkers,a few girls from bunny ranch and only one escort, whom she treated as if she was crazy,because she told her she enjoys her job and tried to manipulate her,because the sad story just wouldnt come out).the bunny ranch girls said how most women there are on drugs and need xanax to go through the day.people like Dennis Hoff and the way they run things only serve to fuel the prohibitionists agenda with what they need.
I only had brief dealings with Hof once, back in my porn days, and it wasn’t a good experience. I won’t say more as I don’t want to make Maggie’s list. But I’m not surprised.
I sincerely doubt you’ll ever make my list. 😉
Can you make the Hall of Shame by heaping shame on someone already in the Hall of Shame?
I knew as soon as you said “him” that it would be Dennis Hof. When I read his prohibitionist statements I was just appalled. But I wonder how many of those prohibitionists will begin to wonder why a known pimp would agree with them and why he would stand to gain by adopting their talking points? I know, it’d be a negligible number. The hatred of independent sex workers really does encapsulate modern-day misogyny in so many ways.
Off topic, but this is interesting: a Miss America contestant says that the prostitute in “Pretty Woman” is a positive role model.
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/miss-ohio-prostitute-pretty-woman-very-posit
Some thoughts from a thirty year Nevada Resident:
“so even if this crony capitalist were to succeed…”
Please Maggie, I think you have talked about objectification in previous blogs.
“…no woman would be obliged to submit…”
I do not understand. Are you somehow suggesting that Nevada women are obliged to work in a brothel?
‘…to the degradation, virtual imprisonment and abrogation of consent that American whores are forced to accept in order to be declared “legal” in Nevada.’
I have read that some Nevada brothels work much like prisons. I know The Bunny Ranch and The Love Ranches well, both owned by Dennis Hof. The ladies come and go on their own. Many drive their own cars to and from work, several live locally.
“enrich themselves via shady insider deals with corrupt government”
While I suppose corruption is everywhere the counties in Nevada that have brothels have very small populations. I suspect the county governments are really too small and too ineffectual to reach any stage of corruption. Most Nevadans are proud that they share a county or live near a brothel. Yes, I have heard such accusations, but always of the “bar talk” variety.
‘he claims that the Nevada system eradicates “illegal prostitution” ‘
In my humble opinion it seems to. Carson City County and Lyon County have virtually no prostitution. I spend a lot of time in places where one would expect to encounter prostitutes. The only prostitutes that I have encountered in Carson City were those I already knew from the Ranches. Usually they were shopping at Wal Mart or listening to music at a casino.
“… while knowing full well that 70% of Nevada prostitutes prefer to work illegally…”
Do we really know what Hof knows? For that matter, do we know what prostitutes prefer? The rooms seem always to be full at both ranches. This suggests to me, that Nevada needs more brothels. The existing brothels cannot keep pace with the supply. I believe that Hof has commented on this in the press. Perhaps a significant portion of the 70% are escorts on the waiting list.
“the bunny ranch girls said how most women there are on drugs and need xanax to go through the day.”
Indeed! Is there some way to tell who is or isn’t on drugs? Personally, I have more coherent conversations at both of Hof’s Ranches than other establishments I frequent. From my perspective, the ladies are intelligent, have interesting backgrounds, and knowledgeable of their surroundings.
I googled xanax. It seems to be a prescription drug. Is there something about this legal medication that would appeal to the ladies?
A significant part of our population is indeed on drugs, prescription and otherwise. If xanax is a drug of choice for young women, perhaps this is true. Color me dubious.
Some women prefer the brothel environment; they don’t mind the restrictions and shrug about the invasive health checks. And it’s great that they have a situation that makes them feel safe; I have no quibbles about that. My issue with the brothels is and always has been that they’re the only legal option, and that’s a Hobson’s choice. Of course the rooms are full; as I said, some women don’t mind regimentation while others are too afraid of the law to work illegally. You might as well argue that sweatshops are wonderful because they always have a long line of applicants. People do what they have to do for money; that’s the way of the world. But it’s wrong to limit their options without good reason, wrong to limit licenses so that only a few well-connected people can get them, and above all WRONG to use vicious lies to build up one’s own business model at others’ expense.
What is so wrong with health checks? This seems like one field where people should have to be screened for disease, but I could be wrong.
Typhoid Mary was a cook, not a whore, yet cooks aren’t forcibly screened; neither are doctors and nurses. Most every country which once required health checks has abandoned them as both unnecessary and offensive to human dignity. Professional women have their own doctors; those too disorganized or desperate to maintain their own health work outside licensing requirements anyhow.
True, but cooks do have rigorous sanitary standards they and their kitchens have to abide by. But if health checks have been found unnecessary, that’s a good sign.
That’s in restaurants, which correspond to brothels; there are no such standards for people hired to cook in private homes (which correspond to independent escorts). The Nevada model and similar schemes are like outlawing all commercial food preparation except in licensed restaurants (no catering, food carts, in-home cooks, etc), then limiting licenses to a few political cronies.
Maggie, that’ a really apt comparison that I’m going to have to start carefully incorporating into my arguments.
It’s one that I should have seen before as my partner is a chef. He has worked in restaurants, bars, private clubs and now as a private chef who does home delivery, meal planning, and in-place “pop-up” restaurants (corresponding to key parties? ;)) Some places are already making it very difficult for private chefs and what they can and can not do (ie. can not purchase and transport the food, can not serve more then X amount of people without a catering license etc)
With food service there are of course many licensee, certification, and inspection hoops one needs to go through for preparing and transporting food. But no one (yet) has forced him to go get invasively screened for any diseases or health issues.
That said, providing easy and safe access to health screenings and treatment for STDs or infections diseases would be a good thing as long as it isn’t used as a punishment or a weapon. Isn’t the stat that 1 out of 5 adults are infected with a type of Herpes?
Hi Maggie. I don`t know about the USA, but in Europe Doctors and Nurses get screened for health issues regularly, I am not sure but maximum every 3 to 6 months. As to screening Escorts for STD I am all for it, given the fact that way too many provide bareback services these days. In Austria in a high class brothel were quite a few cases of HIV, that said. This Brothel is known for barebacking. They do screen, and I assume that`s one of the reason they caught the escorts, who of course are not allowed to work anymore. It`s just apity that they don`t screen clients ;).
If you look at the health checks imposed on prostitutes in the past, many of them seem to have been done in the most invasive, humiliating way possible, more as punishment than anything else.
I never objected to the STD screening in the adult industry, but then, I didn’t feel it was done in a punitive fashion.
Exactly. In prostitution it’s usually been a state-appointed male doctor conducting checks on his own schedule and by his own methods, often with punitive consequences (e.g. prison hospitals) for women he decides are infected.
furthermore, the restrictions of the Nevada system are largely state-imposed and not the fault of Hof or other brothel owners.
Before giving him or anyone else that “pass” I’d want to know what lobbyists may be in his pay. Most business-overregulation regimes are written by the existing players who profit by using them to limit competition, and I’d be astounded if Nevada’s laws are an exception.
I have been thinking about Prohibition. As I recall, one of the reasons that prohibition passed was that the distillers and brewers were more interested in fighting each other than prohibition.
Perhaps all the participants in the spectrum of sexual services could focus on what unites them, and not immediately believe everything bad said about the others.
I agree; that’s what “Whorearchy” is about. But I don’t believe that Hof actually believes that “trafficking” crap; he’s just using it to advance his own business model to the exclusion of others, which is exactly why he’s in this column.
It’s frustrating that it was Hof brought in to debate legalised prostitution at Oxford Union and BBC radio. Serious debates on this subject are rare and I doubt many British sex worker activists would want him to represent their cause.
When he’s the face of legal prostitution he’s effectively a walking strawman argument for prohibitionists to use. Him holding up Nevada’s brothels as the only alternative allows prohibitionists to ignore decriminalisation, pretend that New Zealand doesn’t exist, and treat the problems in Nevada as an inevitable part of legal prostitution.
Put Hof face to face with an earnest seeming feminist who’s talking about ‘protecting women from exploitation’, and he comes across as such a sleazy character that he gives them credibility as soon as he opens his mouth.
Precisely! In fact, in fact, in a recent debate in the New York Times, Stella Marr used the Nevada Model as a straw man for all decriminalized prostitution.
Would it be possible for somebody to become the owner of a legal Nevada brothel, and then push for, if not full decriminalization, at least a less restrictive legalization? That is, to become a better legal prostitution spokesman?
Anything’s possible, but people who manage to do well in crony permit systems generally don’t want more competition.
He’d have to be a deliberate infiltrator, I suppose. He could make money, but he’d have to be willing to do the right thing, even if it meant he made a bit less.
“Would it be possible for somebody to become the owner of a legal Nevada brothel, and then push for, if not full decriminalization, at least a less restrictive legalization? That is, to become a better legal prostitution spokesman?”
That is a very, very good question. If I were interested in doing something like that, I would start with a list of counties and research the laws in each county.
Times being what they are there might be some counties gratefull for the start of a new business, any new business.
Of course I wouldn’t volunteer my long term objective.
Right now, Hof and the ladies at The Bunny Ranch seem to be the only people speaking for prostitution. I haven’t heard from George Flint, whoever he is, for a long while.
Right now, Hof and the ladies at The Bunny Ranch seem to be the only people speaking for prostitution.
Oh really? I coulda sworn there was this whole worldwide sex worker rights movement that full of people speaking for prostitution, including the woman whose blog you’re reading.
Or did you mean something else that wasn’t fully expressed in your comment?
I meant on TV. Sorry I didn’t mean to offend.
No problem. That’s why I asked whether or not you fully expressed yourself. That said, there are plenty of people who are either unaware of the sex worker rights movement or truly believe that folks like Hof and other obnoxious members in Maggie’s Hall of Shame (Kristin Davis, looking at you, dear.) are the only voices on this subject, mostly because they thoroughly conform to the stereotype of the sex industry. It’s also why those people are asked more often then Amanda Brooks or Maggie or Furry Girl or Robyn Few or Carol Leigh or Gloria Lockett, etc.