Photographer spends five years capturing the intimate lives of sex workers in Nevada brothels… and was shocked at what he found
Marc McAndrews visited the state's brothels and has lifted the lid on the legal yet secretive life inside
NESTLED in quiet corners of desert towns in Nevada, the sex industry is thriving.
Photographer Marc McAndrews, 42, spent five years staying in the state's brothels and has lifted the lid on the legal yet secretive life inside.
Before starting his gripping picture series, had never set foot in a brothel.
However by the end of his project in 2011, called , he claims to have visited every single one in operation in the state.
At the time there were 33 brothels across Nevada, in tiny towns or more build-up areas, and he was the first photographer to capture the entirety of them behind the scenes.
From sex workers enjoying a relaxing moment in between clients, to the paying men withdrawing cash from an old-fashioned ATM ahead of a session, Marc’s photos reveal an intimate side to the industry.
PROSTITUTION IN NEVADA: LEGAL OR ILLEGAL?
- Nevada is the only state in the US where prostitution is permitted.
- Regulated brothels operate mainly in rural areas of Nevada.
- Prostitution is illegal in several counties including Clark (which contains Las Vegas), Washoe, Douglas, and Lincoln.
- Prostitution is illegal in Nevada's capital, Carson City.
- There were 21 legal brothels in Nevada as of December 2017.
His project saw him stay either a week or a month at each brothel in the state – and his experience was very different to what he imagined.
Speaking to the Sun Online, Marc, from New York, said: “I expected to find something a lot more seedy, something that was a little more depressing, if you will.
“Once I was there and started spending a lot of time talking to the women and would wake up and have breakfast, lunch and dinner with them, the stigma goes away and it became really normal. That was surprising.”
During his time, he worked hard to earn the trust of owners and prostitutes alike, in order to capture them comfortably going about their daily routines.
Marc said: “I’m still good friends with a number of them, even the other day one of them was visiting New York with her family and invited me and my girlfriend out to get some food.
“I talk to a number of them quite often.”
Sometimes he was able to stay in the bedrooms in the houses and even share bathrooms with the sex workers, which is reflected in the moments he witnessed in his work.
Some of the shots show the scantily-clad workers in negligees and sky-high heels touching up their lip gloss ahead of a paying session.
And other images reveal a “menu of pleasure” detailing services such as two girl show for $3,500 as an “appetisers” and bondage and whipped cream for $5,000 and up.
Meanwhile one of the other images reveals a brothel’s schedule up on the board, with the hours each woman was working that day.
Marc witnessed a range of individuals, both male and female, using the brothels, and each location had its own way of approaching the topic of payment.
Marc said: “In the country brothels it was more like a local bar. Men and women would go and have drinks.
“One of the rules was that only working women could sit at the bar.
“In line-up houses you’d go in and the minute you go in they’d make a line-up and the men would say ‘I want this one’ and then they’d go negotiate very specifically the time and what the customer wanted.
“In a parlour house it was more like a bar setting, so the man would normally go in and sit at the bar and the women would come up.
“An unnecessary game of seduction would take place, where instead of right away making negotiations, the casual client would buy the woman a drink and chat for a while.
“Very much like meeting a woman in a bar and flirting.”
More on the sex industry
Marc’s full photographic collection can be seen in his book,
Previously a former prostitute reveals what REALLY goes on in her day from dusk until dawn (and it’s not all kink and spanking).
And former prostitute Gwyneth Montenegro who slept with over 10,000 men over a decade reveals what men REALLY want in bed.