(Team Hof) – Christina Parreira, M.A., is a PhD student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In addition to being an instructor and researcher, she is a proud legal prostitute.
Yesterday she wrote the following in response to recent comments by Assemblyman James “The Big Selloutski” Oscarson…
On September 15, 2016, the Pahrump Valley Times published an article titled “Oscarson to focus on voters in state assembly race, not opponent,” in which James Oscarson goes on to inform the readers of his plan to essentially ignore his opponent, Dennis Hof.
Despite this opener, he spends the rest of the article insulting Hof and his legal brothels; businesses that do much more for the community than Oscarson wants to admit. Are Oscarson’s policies as incongruent as his stance in this article?
As a legal sex worker in the state of Nevada, as well as a prostitution researcher who has interviewed over 50 women who work for Hof, I was disappointed to read of the manner in which Oscarson spoke about the over 500 registered prostitutes that work for Hof. He made our work sound dirty, illicit, and immoral. He even referred to the work of legal prostitutes as “play.”
Mr. Oscarson, as a sex worker, I can assure you our work is not all about “play.”
It can be fun, rewarding, and profitable, but it is still legal honest work. We pay taxes. We work to support ourselves and our families. We work to pay for school. We work for the thousands of other reasons that others do, and who are you to cast judgment on the way we choose to support ourselves?
Not only did Oscarson call Hof a “pimp,” but he stated that “dignified” is not a word Hof is familiar with.
Oscarson has a problem with Hof’s legal businesses, which is ironic coming from a man who intends to take more money from the people of the county, is it not?
While Hof’s businesses generate income that goes to local services, Oscarson signs for tax raises and plans to take money away. Who is the real pimp?
Speaking of “pimps,” I have interviewed several women in Hof’s brothels who have had actual pimps on the streets, men who were taking all of their money, beating them for hours on end, kidnapping them, and forcing them into heartbreaking situations.
These women have transitioned to a safe place away from these men, where they can live and work in a secure environment. For Oscarson to compare Hof to these criminals is not only ignorant, but offensive.
So, just how much revenue do the brothels bring into Nevada each year?
According to a 2012 report on Nevada’s sex industry (Heineman, MacFarlane, Brents, 2012), owners have paid anywhere from $135,000 to $5 million to purchase brothels in recent years, which serve approximately 400,000 clients per year.
Now, let’s consider that many of the top earners make anywhere from $200,000-500,000 per year in Hof’s brothels. The brothels are a huge source of income for Nevada, and the working women are paying taxes on this income, as well as supporting themselves – a much better alternative than being homeless, in massive debt, or simply in a job that one hates.
The Nye county brothels (two of which Hof currently owns) brought in $114,375 in 2007 from license fees and liquor taxes. Total income from prostitute work cards in 2007 was $34,938. The actual brothel licenses are a large part of cost, and a percentage of these fees go to funding emergency medical services and a clinic in Nye County.
Oscarson stooped low enough to mention the Lamar Odom incident, but the irony is that Hof’s license fees help paid for the emergency services that saved Odom’s life.
Perhaps if Oscarson did half of what Hof has done for the community, I would consider voting for him. My vote will go to an honest businessman who has given jobs to thousands and who continues to contribute to the community, not to the man who voted to raise taxes.