Mustang # 2 Summary

In 1989, researcher Alexa Albert developed an interest in public health, specifically the AIDS and HIV crisis and how sex workers played a role in that national crisis. When diving into the data and literature surrounding the world of legalized sex work in Nevada, Albert noticed that despite the significant daily client interactions, the spread of HIV and AIDS was nonexistent. Albert was curious about this phenomenon and decided to write to George Flint, the executive director of the Nevada Brothel Association, to see if it would be possible to conduct research inside a legal Nevada brothel. However, due to the highly taboo nature of sex work and vulnerability of sex workers, it took years until Flint responded and allowed Albert to actually

Albert did not practice full ethical transparency throughout the duration of her research. To begin, when arriving at the Mustang Ranch, Albert was not completely clear about the final project of the research. The Mustang Ranch was split into 2 different sectors: Mustang #1 and Mustang #2. Throughout the duration of Albert’s research, she lived in the Mustang #2 house with the women, which was described as the smaller, more run down house (22). During her time at the brothel, Albert told the women that she was a researcher studying the spread of HIV and AIDS among legal brothels in Nevada. In the excerpt, Albert recalled that only a few days after her arrival, everyone knew that she was “a researcher from a university who wanted the women to save their used condoms”(18). Even though everyone knew about Albert’s purpose of collecting used condoms and understanding the transmission of AIDS in the name of public health, participants were unaware of how their work lives, stories, and everyday tasks would be studied by

The Mustang #1 manager, Vivian, told that Albert could expect “excellent participation” from her workers, and if not, Albert was told to contact the manager, inferring that there would be punishment for women who refrained from participation (22). By creating a situation in which women were expected to participate, Albert completely disregards the sex workers right to consent and instead, goes over their heads and allows the manager to dictate their will to participate. In any ethical research, each participant should be a willing actor and it is the researcher's job to gain consent from every person involved in the research process. By disregarding this crucial ethical standard, Albert put the sex workers in a risky situation in which their jobs and livelihoods could be affected if they didn’t participate. The brothel manager clearly stated that each girl needed to participate in an excellent manner, therefore, if they didn’t, they could have experienced a hostile work environment, maltreatment from their manager, and in the worst case, they could have even lost their job if they did not