5 hours ago, Plan B said:

Prostitution is of religious origin,

preserved and encouraged for many centuries not as a shame,

but as a virtue, hailed by the Gods themselves.

It seems that the origin of prostitution must be sought mainly in religious customs and in religion itself, the great preserver of social tradition.

The most characteristic example is that recorded by Herodotus, in the fifth century BC, in the temple of Miletus, of the Babylonian Aphrodite, where every woman, once in her life, had to come and be given to the first stranger, who would throw a coin into her belly, in order to worship the goddess.

Many similar customs existed in other parts of western Asia, in northern Africa, in Cyprus, and on other islands of the eastern Mediterranean.

The rise of Christianity as a political force produced little change in policy.

Politicalanalysis reports

The principal fathers of the church tolerated prostitution.

We find brothels under municipal protection in the thirteenth century.

They constituted a kind of public service, their managers being considered almost civil servants.

Pope Clement II Issued a bill on prostitutes that they would be tolerated, provided they paid a certain amount of their income to the Church.

Pope Sixtus IV was more practical. From a single brothel, which he had built himself, he was receiving an income of 20,000 ducats...

5 hours ago, Plan B said:

Prostitution is of religious origin,

preserved and encouraged for many centuries not as a shame,

but as a virtue, hailed by the Gods themselves.

It seems that the origin of prostitution must be sought mainly in religious customs and in religion itself, the great preserver of social tradition.

The most characteristic example is that recorded by Herodotus, in the fifth century BC, in the temple of Miletus, of the Babylonian Aphrodite, where every woman, once in her life, had to come and be given to the first stranger, who would throw a coin into her belly, in order to worship the goddess.

Many similar customs existed in other parts of western Asia, in northern Africa, in Cyprus, and on other islands of the eastern Mediterranean.

The rise of Christianity as a political force produced little change in policy.

The principal fathers of the church tolerated prostitution.

We find brothels under municipal protection in the thirteenth century.

They constituted a kind of public service, their managers being considered almost civil servants.

Pope Clement II Issued a bill on prostitutes that they would be tolerated, provided they paid a certain amount of their income to the Church.

Pope Sixtus IV was more practical. From a single brothel, which he had built himself, he was receiving an income of 20,000 ducats...

Both interesting and informative. Appreciated.

This wouldn't apply to Pattaya as the mayor has stated many times that there's no prostitution in Pattaya. I beg to differ as I married an ex bar lady and we've been married for 25 woderful years.

At some point the government needs to grow a backbone and make needed changes and bring in new things such as casinos, even though they might be unpopular with some.

19 hours ago, flaming dragon said:

A massive deflection from the fact that 99 percent (?) of the transactions are Thai on Thai and that's where the young girls cut their teeth. As one poster commented millions of new inmates would have to be housed.

More G7 IMF World Bank brown nosing.

I don't think anyone can honestly claim 99% without a source.

Yes, Thailand has a huge domestic sex industry, so Thai men probably are the majority of customers nationwide. But if you've spent any time in Pattaya, Nana, Soi Cowboy, or Bangla Road, it's obvious those areas are heavily driven by foreign tourists and expats. Those districts don't represent all of Thailand, but neither does claiming foreigners are only 1% of the market.

I think that it is sad that Thailand makes money on the backs of Thai women. I am of mixed mind a to whether prostitution should be legal or not as I can see advantages and disadvantages to both sides of the argument.

I think that in the current situation where Thai authorities choose to pretend prostitution doesn't exists, while the whole tourist industry (and probably police) make money on the backs of Thai women, these women should be able to receive all the benefits from thier labor that they would receive from any other job and should receive healthcare checks to keep them healthy. I just find it kind of sad that this is what Thailand is known for and that there is a whole industry that brings tourists here for the sex trade.

1 hour ago, Issan girl said:

I think that it is sad that Thailand makes money on the backs of Thai women. I am of mixed mind a to whether prostitution should be legal or not as I can see advantages and disadvantages to both sides of the argument.

I think that in the current situation where Thai authorities choose to pretend prostitution doesn't exists, while the whole tourist industry (and probably police) make money on the backs of Thai women, these women should be able to receive all the benefits from thier labor that they would receive from any other job and should receive healthcare checks to keep them healthy. I just find it kind of sad that this is what Thailand is known for and that there is a whole industry that brings tourists here for the sex trade.

Isan is the heart of it all.

11 hours ago, ericthai said:

I don't think anyone can honestly claim 99% without a source.

Yes, Thailand has a huge domestic sex industry, so Thai men probably are the majority of customers nationwide. But if you've spent any time in Pattaya, Nana, Soi Cowboy, or Bangla Road, it's obvious those areas are heavily driven by foreign tourists and expats. Those districts don't represent all of Thailand, but neither does claiming foreigners are only 1% of the market.

You're correct. It was hyperbole. The AI answer from Brave was 75 to 80 percent. We all know about the farang fleshpots but few foreigners travel to the predominantly Thai areas around the country and see how prolific the industry is nationwide.

18 hours ago, BusyB said:

Sex and love are entirely separate things. But the best sex is in a loving relationship in my experience.

A former long-term girlfriend of mine always said sex is fun and it's healthy as well.

"Sex without love is a meaningless experience, but as far as meaningless experiences go its pretty damn good." to quote Woody Allen

Psychologists conducted experiment with monkeys seeing if they could adapt to a token/money economy. They could. Some of the females also exchanged sex for tokens. And they have no religion I know of....

6 hours ago, Emdog said:

"Sex without love is a meaningless experience, but as far as meaningless experiences go its pretty damn good." to quote Woody Allen

Psychologists conducted experiment with monkeys seeing if they could adapt to a token/money economy. They could. Some of the females also exchanged sex for tokens. And they have no religion I know of....

Bonobos are very casual and even commercial when it comes to sexual favors 555 ... they're the hippies of the ape species..

Edited July 26Jul 26 by BusyB

Has the UN ever done anything good, worthy of their existence.

... "Thailand later criminalised prostitution through the 1960 Prostitution Act and 1966 Entertainment Places Act, following pressure from the United Nations." ...

Be realistic, prostitution is rather beneficial for the poor families of Isan, for uneducated girls who cannot find a job, for Thai men and foreign visitors who can afford intimate relations with beautiful Asian girls, for the hotels and the local police who benefit from this activity and, finally, for the country that receives a huge amount of tourists attracted by this situation.

Can we imagine that Thailand could continue to benefit from these advantages by banning prostitution?

Prostitution is tolerated even though it is technically illegal because the money it generates filters through to so many sections of society and the economy. Every dude who comes here for the "entertainment" in these nightlife places not only pays the woman (that then goes to the family elsewhere to support local economies and other woman-related businesses like salons etc.), he has to pay for a hotel, restaurants, alcohol, taxis, pubs/nightclubs to all sorts.

The local business leaders know how important it is and you only have to look at what happened when they shut everything during the lockdown to see how many places went bust and locals lost so much money.

Thing is, they don't want to decriminalise it because the costs of providing employment rights and benefits etc. far outweigh the amount they could realistically collect from taxing it, as most would just dodge it due to cash payments all the time. So, it's off the books and tolerated because of the benefits to the business people and economy, but they don't want to make it legit due to the headaches that would appear as soon as they do... not to mention the international image issues of making it legal.

On 7/25/2026 at 3:19 AM, Jeff the Chef said:

A visit to an Opticians, and a mirror, perhaps.

Never- I could not face the reality check

On 7/25/2026 at 1:54 PM, Caldera said:

Scratch the "tourism", it's deeply embedded in the country's economy. There are brothels, karaoke places, massage parlors, short-time resorts/motels all over the country, even in places where hardly any tourist ever ventures.

Yes - the original post seems to have more than a touch of Pattaya Tinted Glasses. There's a long street in Samut Prakarn, for example, that has more 'karaoke bars' than all the girly bars in Nana, Cowboy and Patpong combined, and it's hardly a tourist destination.

Add in the mega 'entertainment centres' that mainly cater for Thai men, and the total numbers would be much higher than Pattaya.

And a drive down Ratchadapisek Road would show you the nationality of the current wave of sex tourists ..... almost all the 'neon' is Mandarin.

Factor in the Indian 'tourists' (I'm yet to see an Indian wife in the tour groups) and I suspect Western tourists represent a tiny percentage of the global population of men enjoying the world famous hospitality of Thai women.