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Legal Prostitution as Sex Work: Discourses of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch

Dunn, Jennifer C.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1242155110

Abstract Details

2009, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Communication Studies (Communication).
Historical, cultural, and media discourses of prostitution characterize prostitutes as victims in need of saving or deviants in need of punishment and restraint. HBO’s reality television series Cathouse takes place at a legal brothel in Nevada and shows a very different view of prostitution. Using methods of rhetorical criticism, I demonstrate how the media, form, and content of this show interact to construct a narrative of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch as a “typical American business,” in which the prostitutes are “sex workers” who are empowered by their work and provide a service to the community. This narrative stands in stark contrast to dominant discourses of prostitution, which begs the question: How does this representation of legal prostitution compare with the lived experiences of the women who work at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch? To examine this question, I employ ethnographic methods of participant observation and in-depth interviewing. I interviewed 9 women and conducted observations over a 5-week period in November and December 2007. I used qualitative thematic analysis to examine these discourses. I suggest that these women both invoke and resist dominant discourses of prostitution in the ways they live and make sense of their lives. Additionally, I argue that these women’s narratives are influenced by the organizational narrative of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch as reflected in Cathouse and in daily life at the Ranch. My use of rhetorical and qualitative investigative practices in conjunction with one another demonstrates how they can make useful partners when conducting research that compares representation with lived experiences. Additionally, recognition that the lived experiences of these sex workers do not simply rehearse dominant discourses lends support to my contention that a counter-narrative of prostitution has been constructed in Cathouse and at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch. Additionally, I show that the relationship between how prostitution is theorized and how it is lived are often in conflict in the context of this legal brothel.
William K. Rawlins, PhD (Advisor)
Raymie McKerrow, PhD (Committee Member)
Devika Chawla, PhD (Committee Member)
Marina Peterson, PhD (Committee Member)
434 p.
Communication; Gender; Mass Media; Womens Studies
sex work; prostitution; rhetorical criticism; television; reality TV; popular culture; feminism and prostitution

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Dunn, J. C. (2009). Legal Prostitution as Sex Work: Discourses of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1242155110

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Dunn, Jennifer. Legal Prostitution as Sex Work: Discourses of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch. 2009. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1242155110.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Dunn, Jennifer. "Legal Prostitution as Sex Work: Discourses of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1242155110

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1242155110
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© 2009, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.