Selling Sex in the Silver Valley
A Business Doing Pleasure
Once the largest silver producer in the world, Wallace became notorious for labor uprisings, hard drinking, gambling and prostitution. As late as 1991, illegal brothels openly flourished because locals believed that sex work prevented rape and bolstered the economy, so long as it was regulated and confined to a particular area of town.
The madams enjoyed unprecedented status as influential businesswomen, community leaders and philanthropists, while elsewhere a growing aversion to the sex trade drove red-light districts underground. Dr. Heather Branstetter’s research features previously unpublished archival materials and oral histories as she relates the intimate details of this unlikely story.
-
My discussion with David Bourgeois of Guys in a Garage podcast hits the podwaves today!
-
The Wallace documentary is now available for free online! You can watch all 17 minutes of it where it is currently hosted at Film Shortage (or below)! Film Description: In the tiny mining town of Wallace, Idaho, old west brothels were open and tolerated up until the year of 1991. The short documentary, Wallace, takes […]
-
I helped make a documentary called Wallace, and it just made its world premiere at the Sun Valley Film Festival. Now, we’re bringing the short film back to its hometown on the last Friday & Saturday of April. Where: The Sixth Street Melodrama & Theater in Wallace, IdahoDates and Times: April 26th and 27th, with showings […]
-
Quick update for you–I’ll be at the Well-Read Moose in Coeur d’Alene this Saturday, April 28 (2018) at 6:00 PM for an Independent Bookstore Day author event. Come say hi! And mark your calendar for Wednesday, June 13 (2018). I’ll be doing an author event starting at 11:45 am in Spokane Valley. More details on […]
-
In case you missed it, my research was featured in a recent Nostalgia video! Thought I would share it again below… If you want to learn more, come to my book talk with photos at BookPeople in Moscow, 7:00 pm, Thursday, March 8. Nostalgia Presents: ‘Chuck King’s Guide to Spokane History’ Episode 4: ‘Selling Sex […]
-
Were there ever any women of color who worked there [in the brothels]? You know, for guys who wanted someone a little more, you know, like, ‘exotic’ or ‘spicy?’ Kayla, the events coordinator for Auntie’s Bookstore in Spokane, asked me this question after my reading last week. She trailed off toward the end of her question, […]
-
What I do is perfectly legal when it’s free. — Maggie McNeill Today I am excited to finally share an interview with the lovely Maggie McNeill aka The Honest Courtesan. McNeill lives in the Seattle area, where she is a whore for hire and outspoken advocate of sex worker rights. She writes a popular blog, […]
-
Come see me at the Sixth Street Melodrama this Saturday from 2:00-4:00 pm! I’ll be reading with three other authors after the Founder’s Day parade. We will all be selling and signing books as well. For more information about this Saturday’s big event, click here: https://www.wallacefoundersday.com/events. Yesterday I drove over to Spokane Public Radio to talk […]