This paper seeks to analyse the expansion of commercial sex through processes of mainstreaming in economic and social institutions. We argue that cultural changes and neo-liberal policies and attitudes have enabled economic mainstreaming, whilst social ambivalence continues to provide the backdrop to a prolific and profitable global industry. We chart the advancement of sexual consumption and sexual service provision in late capitalism before defining the concept of`mainstreaming' applied here. We use the case studies of Las Vegas and Leeds to identify various social and economic dimensions to the mainstreaming process and the ways these play out in law and regulation. While social and economic processes have integrated sexual services into night-time commerce, remaining social ambivalence fuels transgression and marginalization of the industry which in fact assists the mainstreaming process. Finally, we project some implications for gender relations, work, and inequalities as a result of the integration of sexual services into the economy.

This article examines violence in legalized brothels in Nevada. Debates over prostitution policies in the United States have long focused on questions of safety and risk. These discourses inevitably invoke the coupling of violence and prostitution, though systematic examinations of the relationship between the two are sparse. This article explores the issue of violence in the Nevada brothel industry. By drawing on interviews with prostitutes, managers, and policy makers, this article examines both prostitutes' perceptions of safety and risk and brothel managers' practices designed to mitigate violence. Discourses relate to three types of violence: interpersonal violence against prostitutes, violence against community order, and sexually transmitted diseases as violence. The authors conclude by arguing that the legalization of prostitution brings a level of public scrutiny, official regulation, and bureaucratization to brothels that decreases the risk of these 3 types of systematic violence.

This study helps to disentangle the mutual effects of neighborhood disorder and social cohesion on how residents evaluate their neighborhoods. We draw upon data from the 2009 Las Vegas Metropolitan Area Social Survey to understand how neighborhood cohesion, physical disorder, and perceptions of crime and safety influence neighborhood satisfaction and neighborhood quality of life among residents in the dynamic, yet understudied, urban context of Las Vegas, Nevada. We use ordinary least squares and binary logistic regression to predict two measures of neighborhood satisfaction. Our results show that even with significant neighborhood disorder, social connectedness with neighbors remains a significant predictor of neighborhood satisfaction. We discuss implications of neighborhood satisfaction research for other fast-changing metropolitan areas.

Recent scholarship has begun to examine the effects late capitalist economic structures and cultural practices have on sexuality. What effect do recent shifts have on various parts of the global sex industry? To answer this question, we examine one local institutional site of consumption, the legalized brothel industry in the US state of Nevada. We argue that the brothel industry in Nevada is beginning to use similar marketing strategies and business forms to other tourist service industries. The brothels are also increasingly selling individualized, interactive touristic experiences. We conclude that it is no longer useful to examine the sex industry as generalized `other' to mainstream businesses. It is imperative to study local sex industry sites to examine how late capitalist forms of consumption might have an impact on the sale of sex, especially in comparison with expanding global touristic service industries.

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