The Shady Lady Ranch is a legal brothel in Nevada, located on U.S. Highway 95 about 31 miles (50 km) north of Beatty.
In 2006, the owner Bobbi Davis, along with two newspapers and with help from the ACLU, challenged a 1979 state law which prohibited the advertising of brothels in counties where prostitution was illegal. This effort was opposed by other brothel owners who were wary that overly explicit brothel advertisements could result in outlawing of the industry.[1] A federal judge overturned the law in 2007 as "overly broad";[2] that decision was reversed by a 3-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in March 2010.[3] The ACLU has appealed to the full Ninth Circuit Court.[4]
In 2009 the owner decided to hire a male prostitute, a first in Nevada. The move was again supported by the ACLU and opposed by the Nevada Brothel Owners Association (of which the Shady Lady Ranch is not a member), fearing that it could invite unwanted scrutiny and hurt the industry.[5] The new hire would serve female customers only. Heidi Fleiss, who had abandoned an earlier effort to open a brothel for women in Nevada, said that she believed that prostitution services for women were not viable, though a brothel with male prostitutes serving male customers might work.[6]
Nevada law defines legal prostitutes to be women and requires them to submit to weekly cervical exams; males are therefore technically not allowed to work as prostitutes. In late 2009 the Shady Lady Ranch owners challenged this provision before the Nevada State Health Division and the Nye County Licensing and Liquor Board and prevailed: male prostitutes will be required to submit weekly urethral specimens instead. In addition, like female prostitutes, they are required to work exclusively with condoms and submit to monthly blood tests.[7]
The brothel then proceeded to hire a male prostitute in January 2010, known as "Markus".[5] Prices were quoted as $200 for 40 minutes, $300 for an hour and $500 for two hours.[5][8] The prostitute gave interviews in which he compared himself to Rosa Parks and Mahatma Gandhi.[6][9] One female reporter from the New York Post described a visit to the brothel.[8]
He quit several weeks later, after drawing fewer than 10 customers. The brothel has since hired a replacement.[10]