Daily life inside the seedy world of rural Nevada's legal brothels

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[h=1]Daily life inside the seedy world of rural Nevada's legal brothels where prostitutes lounge in the flickering glow of neon signs awaiting their next client[/h]
Photographer Marc McAndrews spent five years documenting life inside the legal brothels of rural Nevada.


His project, NEVADA ROSE, shares an intimate look at the only places in America where it's not against the law to pay for sex.


McAndrews pays special attention to the women who work inside the brothels, capturing unguarded moments with the women working the 'world's oldest profession.'



McAndrews said he often showed up in the early afternoons - either before the brothels opened or when they weren't very busy.


The Pennsylvania-native talked his way inside nearly every brothel in the state, using his camera as his passport.


What he saw was shockingly mundane. The sex trade raises moral and political hackles and evokes an emotional response in most Americans.

But, McAndrews often captured women preparing for just another day of work.



McAndrews' work focuses on Americana - slices of American life from motel workers to truck stops and landscape scenes.


His book,NEVADA ROSE, was published in 2011 by Umbrage Editions.

 

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Waiting: Simone at Donna's Ranch in Battle Mountain, Nevada, is seen here primping herself before the day's customers arrive. Photographer Marc McAndrews often worked in the morning and afternoon, before the brothels opened or when there were few customers

 

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Cashing in: Nicole waits for Tom to withdrawal cash from the ATM at the Love Ranch in Carson City. McAndrews works to demystify the sex trade and show the mundane slices of life inside the brothels

 

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Waiting game: Women usually gathered in the parlor of the brothel to wait for men to arrive and pay for their services. These women work at the Love Ranch in Carson City. These women were dressed for 'work' in their skimpiest attire - but had nothing to do but sit around and chat until customers came

 

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Rural: All of Nevada's legal brothels are outside town limits and nearly all of them are in out-of-the way corners of the lonely expanse of rural Nevada

 

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Sins of the flesh: Sinsful's Menu of Pleasure lays out exactly what a man can pay for at the Chicken Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada, and how much it will cost him

 

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Tea time: The girls of the Bunny Ranch pose for a photo during a 'tea party'

 

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Businessman: Geoff Arnold, the owner of Donna's Ranches, is also president of the Nevada Brothel Association. He is seen here with his person plane outside Boise, Idaho

 

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Family Affair: Ben, the former owner of the Wild West Saloon brothel in Winnemucca is seen here with his father Art

 

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Big sky: Angel's Ladies brothel occupies a small, squat building outside Beatty, Nevada. Most of the brothels are not large, glitzy complexes, but rather small businesses in out-of-the-way parts of the state

 

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Nervous: 'Hillybilly' Greg chains smokes cigarettes while he waits to be served at Donna's Ranch in Battle Mountain

 

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Sultry: Despite McAndrews' focus on the mundane parts of brothel life, there is often no getting around the sexuality inherent in the work that goes on inside the private rooms. Priscilla for the camera poses in her teddy at Wild West Saloon

 

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Just for show: The owners of Sheri's Ranch in Pahrump were perhaps hoping to add a touch of class by placing a piano in the parlor of their brothel

 

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Confident: Not all the women who work in the sex trade in Nevada have the ultra-sexualized bodies of porn stars. Carli is seen at Mona's Ranch in Elko

 

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Open late: Most of the brothels in Nevada have outlandish names that conceal unexciting settings. The Stardust Ranch in Ely could just as easily be a convenience store or a diner, by the looks of it

 

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Beacon: Wild Horse Adult Resort and Spa in Sparks can be seen glistening at night from Interstate 80 - which likely helps attract lonely truckers and other patrons

 

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Play the part: Madame Suzette dresses the part of a glamorous wild-west brothel manager at the Bunny Ranch in Carson City

 

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Showing off: Dennis Hof, the owner of the Bunny Ranch and and three other brothels, plays up the sex and glamor in his clubs. He is seen here surrounded by a few of his 'working girls' at the Bunny Ranch

 

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Revealing: Starr shows off her body outside Bella's Hacienda in Wells

 

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Humble: This is the unassuming parlor of the Love Ranch in Carson City. It is here that prospective customers pick out the women they will pay to have sex with later in the evening