Marketing Sex: US Legal Brothels and Late Capitalist Consumption

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2007

Publication Title

Sexualities

Volume

10

Issue

4

First page number:

425

Last page number:

439

Abstract

Recent scholarship has begun to examine the effects late capitalist economic structures and cultural practices have on sexuality. What effect do recent shifts have on various parts of the global sex industry? To answer this question, we examine one local institutional site of consumption, the legalized brothel industry in the US state of Nevada. We argue that the brothel industry in Nevada is beginning to use similar marketing strategies and business forms to other tourist service industries. The brothels are also increasingly selling individualized, interactive touristic experiences. We conclude that it is no longer useful to examine the sex industry as generalized `other' to mainstream businesses. It is imperative to study local sex industry sites to examine how late capitalist forms of consumption might have an impact on the sale of sex, especially in comparison with expanding global touristic service industries.

Keywords

Brothels; Business enterprises; Capitalism; Culture; Economics; Nevada--Las Vegas; Marketing; Prostitution; Sex; Sex-oriented businesses; Social change; Tourism

Disciplines

Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Marketing | Sociology | Tourism | Women's Studies

Language

English

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