Whilst it may sound insane to those in the UK – in the United States it is possible to visit a 100% legal brothel.
In Nevada, brothels are completely legal, allowing sex work to take place totally above board in places that are often called ‘mega brothels’.
A woman who runs these ‘mega brothels’ has now exposed the reality of what they are really like to run, and in the process, totally challenged the preconceived notions of why people visit them.
Dena Duff, 54, runs Sheri’s Ranch, one of these sites where sex work is totally legal. Dena, and Sheri’s Ranch, was the focus of a brand new ZANDLAND documentary from their series Human.
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Speaking exclusively to LADbible following the YouTube documentary, Duff spoke about not only what everyone gets wrong about why people pay for their services – but the golden rules they follow which would surprise you.
This rule applies to both the customers and the ladies who work at Sheri’s Ranch and is very clear – no drugs and no showing up drunk.
Speaking about this, Dena said: “[Customers] have to be sober as well. They can have a cocktail if you want, but consent has to go both ways.
“If a customer comes in and they get intoxicated, it's not gonna be a good experience for them, and I'm not trying to be crass, but let's face it, most guys, when they get drunk, their junk doesn't work. So they're paying money for something that's not gonna work.”
She added that many people’s personalities can shift when drunk, leading for it to be unsafe for the ladies involved.
This accentuates something else Dena clarified, that people’s perceptions of legal brothels are totally wrong and they aren’t raunchy places for drunk people to come and have sex.
Speaking about the clientele they get, Dena said that it is quite common for widowers to come in and visit.
She added it’s ‘not about sex’, saying: “It’s ‘can I start to build a different emotional connection with somebody, to even consider if I want to date again?’
“Sometimes that is they just come in, they just spend time watching TV and talking, and seeing if it's able to go anywhere.
“That's a huge part of when you've been with somebody for a long time, and now that person is no longer in your life. That's a huge emotional moment.”
Dena pointed to other demographics that regularly attend, adding: “We have a lot of disabled people that, I don't think they need the emotional connection, but they're looking for the physical connections, for somebody to say: ‘You know what? I value you, and you are attractive, and you do deserve to be known that you are handsome, you are perfect’. I don't think that community hears that enough.”
In the YouTube documentary, she actually stated that one in five enquiries now come from couples.
She added that couples that visit are often 'at a point where maybe their communication has gotten them to where they can talk about the things that they want to try or do and they go 'hey, let's spice it up, lets do something different.''
Ultimately, whatever you think when you hear the term 'legal mega brothel' - that isn't what's actually going on... well some of it might be.
Watch ZANDLAND's documentary about Sheri's Ranch, featuring interviews with Dena, here.
Topics: Documentaries, Sex and Relationships, TV, TV and Film, US News, YouTube
Michael Slavin