Given that I espouse equal opportunity over mandated equal outcomes, I can't get too hot and bothered about former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss' plans to open a legal brothel in Nevada to service women. Well, almost.

More from the L.A. Times (free reg. req.):

In a move bound to hearten aspiring Deuce Bigalows the world over, Fleiss said she is joining with a Nevada brothel owner to open the state's first house of prostitution in which men cater to women. Fleiss, whose partner notified Nye County officials of the plan this week, said they will charge $250 an hour and call it "Heidi's Stud Farm."

"Women are more independent these days; they make more money and it's hard to meet people," Fleiss said as she packed for what she said would be a permanent move to Nevada. "You wouldn't believe the number of women who've told me, 'Heidi, if you do this, I'll be the first one in line!' I mean, relationships are harder than dieting, you know what I mean?"

...she made a deal with Joe Richards, who owns three Nevada brothels...Her role would be more promotional, and her job title would be "hostess/madam," Richards...said...that a male brothel would "address an ever-increasing fact of life," because "society is witnessing a unique evolution of the female gender reaching out for the same service we now offer male clients." In an interview, he elaborated: "Say a guy gets into an argument with his wife. What does he do? Lot of times, he goes out, gets a drink, goes to a place to be serviced. Now women can say, 'Hey, if you can do it, I can too.' "

If "relationships are harder than dieting" for Heidi and her California ladyfriends, I can only imagine how they view the prospects of marriage and child-rearing. We will become a Hispano-Muslim society yet. But Fleiss and her business partner are absolutely right. If men can act dumb, women have every right to be just as dumb in all the same ways. And the employers of legal male prostitutes in Nevada have every right to call that "a unique evolution of the female gender." Only it's not really very unique, is it?

TECHNORATI TAGS: HEIDI FLEISS, MALE PROSTITUTION, NEVADA

TO COMMENT: The regular "comment" feature is not in operation. E-mail comments to address under "Contact" on main page masthead, and I'll add them, here.

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at November 17, 2005 05:30 PM