Episode 15: Sex Work in the Wild West

What this episode covers

Following up on our very fun and informative interview with Dr. Kimberly Williams, we thought we would explore the Wild West a bit. More specifically, sex work in the Wild West! We explored the archaeology of brothels and search for answers to some questions: What was it like for sex workers of the time? How did Madams (brothel managers) integrate sex work into the local economy and way of life? Were brothels accepted by everyday folk? Bonus: an interesting fact about the current president of the United States. This brief delve into the lives of sex workers in the Wild West was very interesting for the three of us, and we hope you enjoy it just as much as we did! Intro/Outro Music: The Spaghetti Western Set by Brett Van Donsel Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=emb_logo&time_continue=10&v=WizFTwM_J_8 References Lee Branstetter, Heather. 2016. A Mining Town Needs Brothels: Gossip and the Rhetoric of Sex Work in a Wild West Mining Community. Rhetoric Society Quarterly. 46(5). Morgan, Lael. 2011. Wanton West: Madams, Money, Murder and the Wild Women of Montana’s Frontier. Chicago Review Press. Powell, Eric A. 2002, Shooting Up in the Old West. Newsbriefs. 55(3). Spude, Catherine Holder. 2005. Brothels and Saloons: An Archaeology of Gender in the American West. Historical Archaeology. 39(1), 89-106. https://archive.archaeology.org/0205/newsbriefs/syringe.html https://getmaude.com/blogs/themaudern/sex-and-the-wild-west https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/trump-canada-yukon-1.3235254 https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/explainers/understanding-sex-work-open-society

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