Trade getting larger....

[Guest]

>>>>Really, it seems that working in a bar, a gogo, a karaoke, freelancing 100% or on the side, whatever, is becoming a normal economic/professional activity. With its dangers and healthhazards, maybe, but just like many other unskilled professions.

 

Your thoughts?<<<

 

I agree with you. 3 things keep the business alive there.

 

1. It's dirt cheap (compared to where most punters come from), which can only mean the economy sucks there, and there is little alternatives to make a decent living. And that is not going to be corrected anytime soon.

 

2. It's for all practical purposes, legal.

 

3. The selection is outrageous. 1,000's all within 1 square mile (entertainment districts). This is due to any, and all, prositution laws unenforced (exception is underage, which is great!).

 

>>>>is becoming a normal economic/professional activity<<<

 

And the only way that can happen is because prostitution is allowed to flurish. A girl does not have to worry about getting in trouble with the law by getting involved. It's looked upon as a normal (becoming more so) way for additional income, because it can tend to feed upon itself. The more girls doing it, the less terrible a thing to do. Makes it hard to stay away from when half the girls you know are moonlighting occasionally.

 

Wanna get rid of prostitution in Thailand? (or at least reduce it greatly). There is only one practical way. Make it illegal with a 10,000 ???? baht fine for both participants. Of course this won't happen.....to much at stake. But the fact is it is essentially condoned by the state, and so there is little stigmatism attached, other than social concerns. And as long as they can maintain a little discretion, the reward can be just to great to overlook as a viable, normal economic/professional activity option.

 

HT

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

Have to disagree with the numbers as well.

 

"Even if you halve the 15-65 year old, that still leaves 21,000,000 in the 15-40 year old category. Of course the number would be even higher, as all people do not live to be 65. It would be closer to 25+ mil ppl in the 15-40 range."

So, roughly 12.5M women, and say 2M supposedly involved in the scene (I am assuming here that the amount of women is much greater than the amount of men). That means 1 in 6 women is involved in the scene according to this research.

 

While I accept that the Thai scene is MUCH larger than the farang scene, 1 in 6 women involved in the scene is NOT realistic. By a long shot!

 

Sanuk!

[cardinalblue]

If you accept that roughly 2 million women sell themeselves fully or part-time during a period of time, then that is roughly 20% of thai women between the age of 15 and 40 are considered prostitues.

 

That number of 20% . Does it seem so unrealistic or is it we just don't want to accept it? It goes against what we want to believe about the thai culture.

 

If 20% of 15 to 40 year olds (women) are in the service trade, then it sure paints a bad picture of thai society.

 

Could it be that there is something within the thai culture (like mai bpen rai) that refuses or ignores social problems? BKK traffic, street dogs, and prostitutes (though there is a history there) are notoriously ranked among the worst for their catergory in the world.......

 

 

Cardinalblue

[Guest]

Hi Ks,

 

Yes....I would agree that 1 in 6 is unrealistic. But to come up with that number, you would have to discount all males involved in Thailands prositution, along with anyone outside of the 15-40 year old category. Which, IMO, would alter the true numbers greatly.

 

HT

[Guest]

As I just posted, I think your numbers are skewed. You discount all males. A huge mistake. I have heard many males will engage in homosexuality just for the money, even though not homosexual.....do it just for the money. And have wives who are not bothered by it, because they know hubby is not homosexual. A pratical attitude, similar to a wife whoring herself to discusting farangs. You do realise that your numbers discount all katoey/homosexual activity, as well?

 

Those numbers are huge.....In anybody's estimation. Taking into account just the female population is crazy. Homosexuality is rampant in Thailand. You can't throw those numbers away, when looking at the total prostitution situation there.

 

HT

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

"But to come up with that number, you would have to discount all males involved in Thailands prositution, along with anyone outside of the 15-40 year old category. Which, IMO, would alter the true numbers greatly."

I used only 2M in my calculations, leaving another 800K for those outside the 15-40 range and males. I do not think that is too far fetched, as the vast majority will be females in the 15-40 range (~70% is what I used).

 

Sanuk!

[christo23]

The numbers seem pretty high to me (but I´m by no means an expert). What I am wondering about is, why don´t they go for a "real" crackdown, i.e. closing down NEP, SC, the Pong, all the MPs, if they really want to clean up Thailand´s image so desperately. I think closing down the visible part of the farang part of the industry wouldn´t be all that difficult if they really wanted to.

[Guest]

Also, she stated that many educated women with office jobs occassionally "moonlight" for a few bucks, as their 8-10,000 salaries aren't enough for a good life style. At some point, the question has to be asked, what is a reasonable salary? and would a reasonable salary stop a girl from "moonlighting" when she knows she can make even more?

What is a "reasonable salary"? Whatever the girl in question decides is reasonable.

 

"And would a reasonable salary stop a girl from "moonlighting" when she knows she can make even more? " That is for her to decide.

 

These comments are not aimed at you, but your questions provide a good platform for making the following comment: shouldn't it be left to the girl (or guy) to decide if they want to 'moonlight' or not. It's her (or his) life - not ours and certainly not the government's.

[Old Hippie]

Yes, in the end, "up to you..." is the rule of the day. But my question is this, If someone claims that there salary isn't enough, then moonlights, picks up a sponser etc, when does it end? Sooner or later, the looks go etc and their career is over. Many pass up decent opportunities to get out of the game in order to stay in and make a few more bucks for a relatively short period of time.

[Guest]

But my question is this, If someone claims that there salary isn't enough, then moonlights, picks up a sponser etc, when does it end? Sooner or later, the looks go etc and their career is over. Many pass up decent opportunities to get out of the game in order to stay in and make a few more bucks for a relatively short period of time.

If they are moonlighting, how are they passing up "decent opportunities"? If you mean decent opportunities to marry a nice Thai guy and settle down and raise kids, that's a romanticized fiction - but even if you disagree, its their decision to make, not ours. If you mean career opportunities, I work in a Thai bank, and I don't see how this sort of moonlighting necessarily tanks a career. Very few of the younger, attractive woman in my office arrive at the office before 10 am (and they all earn substantially more than 10,000 or even 40,000 Baht a month.)

 

Sure their looks will go "sooner or later." That is true with everyone, including, most unfortunately, me. This same limitation applies to other jobs, such as professional sports. But what are they loosing? Extra income they wouldn't otherwise have. Is that a reason to deny someone the opportunity to earn that extra income in the first place?

 

When does it end with a sponsor? When either the sponsor or sponsoree decide to end it. That is how relationships and jobs work. There is nothing unique about any of this.