Sex

 The Guardian UK - At Bella’s Hacienda Ranch, a brothel on the outskirts of the rural Nevada truckstop town of Wells, a half-priced special for adult male virgins this May has gone off with a bang. What may seem like a publicity stunt has compassion behind it. May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the US, and the brothel’s 74-year-old namesake owner and operator, Madam Bella Cummins, wants to raise awareness of what she describes as a “virginity epidemic”. She blames digital platforms supplanting young people’s in-person, “IRL” experiences, leading to stunted social development. Brothels, she argues, offer a safe space to work through resulting feelings of anxiety, shame and isolation.Most of the courtesan’s clients, to use the industry parlance, live in the region, yet increasingly men travel from around the country and the world, seeking out her business for “help”, as they often word it. To receive the discount, men must provide a letter from a mental health professional acknowledging their claim, which Cummins hopes encourages some adult virgins to seek therapy when they otherwise wouldn’t.So far, the promotion has proved a hit. In a typical week, at least three adult virgins walk through the door, but according to Cummins, reservations from virgin clientele have increased this month by tenfold.