The Views Of A Western "reporter" On Sexpats And Sex-tourism In Thailand

[cdnvic]

Perhaps the reporter was disappointed to come to Thailand to report on the revolting reds and found out they where not actually Communists.

Well, she had to go to Bangkok because apparently Cambodia has no sex industry.

[thepanicandthevomit]

Thanks for the link OP, I totally disagree with your assessment and actually think she's more or less summed up Thailand's sexpat community.

Almost everything she has said has been discussed many times here on TV.

Frequent discussion and rabid indignation when a pedophile is caught in Thailand - happens enough in Thailand and is discussed enough on TV that it is simply ridiculous to deny that Thailand is a destination of choice for pedophiles.

Sexpats desperately looking for an alternative to Thailand - Again frequently discussed on TV

Sextourists spending their time staggering from bar to bar and prostitute to protitute - You mean you've never seen this?

Unlike the OP I don't find the statements made at all offensive - They are far too near the truth to be that.

Or maybe it's this truth that hurts some amongst us.

How sanctimonious you are! That said, the article was pretty tame.

[endure]

So she visited a country on the other side of the world for 30 days. A country whose culture is as different as can be from the place that she came from. A country whose language she doesn't speak. Out of a country of 60 million people she found her way to whorehouses in Patpong and Nong Khai and spoke to a man called Tony. She makes disparaging remarks about men with 48 hour erections and women in spandex dresses. And she calls herself a journalist?

[NBD]

I think her article could be renamed

"I was there a month and didn't get laid! By Jessica Olien"

[Chunky1]

u have to give her a break. when u first come to Thailand it is fairly hard to suffer through all of the Western loser sex tourists. after u stay awhile they don't phase you, but when you first arrive its definitely like "Grosssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss"...

[Chunky1]

btw, it's impossible to not notice the way the locals look at and talk behind the backs of the farang buffalo/younger thai girl couples in thailand. all u have to do is spend a day in mbk shopping mall and u will have all u need to know about what Thais think of these people.

no offense and don't choke on this reality sandwich.

[kmj]

Wow that last sentence in the article is shocking to read. Terry, IF you exist get some help if you are thinking that way...

Edited June 4, 2010 by kmj

[tuky]

At about midnight, an adorable little girl who looks like she might be about 6 years old comes into the bar selling flowers. "Where else in the world," says Terry, "could I give that girl 1,000 baht, take her outside and do whatever I wanted to her?"

Terry probably said this before the girl even came in and 'that girl' was perhaps a reference to a girl swirling on a pole, the author just chose to put Terry's comment right after mentioning the little girl for the sake of sensationalism. That is how I read it anyway. You can bet if Terry had actually made that comment in regards to the little girl the whole tone of the article would have gone from what we see now to how this journalist saved a young girl from being mauled by Terry for 1000 baht. Followed on by Terry's arrest and then a whole bunch of 'how it takes an American journo to bring out the truth'. rah rah rah

[Spee]

Or maybe it's this truth that hurts some amongst us.

This story was clearly a quest for prudish, judgmental sensationalism, not a quest for truth and certainly not anywhere near something called journalism.

There are tens of millions of people in the Thai population. There are tens of millions of people in the annual tourist population. Only minute fractions of both are engaged in so-called "sex tourism." It is the broad generalization of both populations that I find offensive.

By singling out ThaiVisa as a "sexpat" forum, she has clearly made the same generalization about the people and content here, which I also find quite offensive.

[phuketrichard]

I couldn't read thru the artcile for the total lies. I am amazed that people like this calls themselves reporters and newspapers/magazines pay them and dont check the info , " the fact that most of Thailand sex workers are from Issan" was the ONLY true fact she got.

shame on them.

[Ulysses G.]

At about midnight, an adorable little girl who looks like she might be about 6 years old comes into the bar selling flowers. "Where else in the world," says Terry, "could I give that girl 1,000 baht, take her outside and do whatever I wanted to her?"

Terry probably said this before the girl even came in and 'that girl' was perhaps a reference to a girl swirling on a pole, the author just chose to put Terry's comment right after mentioning the little girl for the sake of sensationalism.

Agreed. I have been in a lot of bars and have heard this line about Go-Go ladies many times, but have never heard anyone refer to a child in this way. Pure dishonest sensationalism.

Edited June 5, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[CHdiver]

Maybe she could go and make a Reportage in Bali about her sisters doing the same, buying young Guys. Or even better Jamaica, she could pretend to cover the shootings going on there and then find out about what white Girls do with black Guys. There are a lot more places where woman go for sex, she will not run out of work.

[JUDAS]

I feel a little bit left out in this discussion as I don't know anyone who came to Thailand or remains in Thailand for the sex...

I need to get out more often

[hughben]

Apparently she worked for the Nation in the past and she was an English teacher in Thailand before.

An article she wrote in April 2009 (we aren't allowed to post links are we?) she states this:

"HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases are rampant among sex workers. Some teachers I knew often came to work with visible lesions and sores because they frequented brothels."

[chantorn]

Girls went onto the trade because they need to make a living.

No girls went into the trade by choice.

Have mercy.

[moe666]

Yes, there is a sex trade in Thailand, any one who has been here knows that but her description of it is a gross misinterpetation.

And when was Nana Plaza declared a free fire zone.

Blacklist her.

[evanson]

I couldn't read thru the artcile for the total lies. I am amazed that people like this calls themselves reporters and newspapers/magazines pay them and dont check the info , " the fact that most of Thailand sex workers are from Issan" was the ONLY true fact she got.

shame on them.

When you've managed to unbunch your panties, p'raps you might enlighten us all with exactly which facts she got wrong?

Pretty much sums up this country's 'entertainment' scene from what I've observed over the ten plus years I've lived here.

[cpofc]

Maybe she could go and make a Reportage in Bali about her sisters doing the same, buying young Guys. Or even better Jamaica, she could pretend to cover the shootings going on there and then find out about what white Girls do with black Guys. There are a lot more places where woman go for sex, she will not run out of work.

Malindi, in Kenya, was a favourite for the German Women when i was there in the early 80's.

I also know an Australian lady, personally, who would be aptly described as a Sex Tourist (in Thailand).

Maybe Jess should watch a re run of the movie 'Shirley Valentine'

the web is a beautiful thing - this from Wiki -

The primary destinations for female sex tourism are Southern Europe (mainly Italy, Greece, Armenia, Republic of Macedonia, Croatia, Turkey, Israel, Slovenia, Spain, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kherson, Crimea); also Lebanon; the Caribbean (led by Jamaica, Barbados and the Dominican Republic); Southeast Asia, (Bali in Indonesia[1] and Phuket in Thailand); Dubai; and Gambia, Senegal and Kenya in Africa. Lesser destinations include Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Fiji, Ecuador and Costa Rica.

Bali, Thailand, the Dominican Republic and Cuba are exceptional in that both male and female sex tourists use these countries.

An estimated 650,000 Western women have engaged in travel sex since 1980, many of them multiple times. By some estimates, 80,000 North American and European women travel to Jamaica for sex every year.

Lesbian sex tourism is nascent but evident in Lesbos (Mytilini) in Greece, Bangkok and Pattaya in Thailand. The men used by tourist women are termed kamakia (“fishing harpoons,” Greece), galebovi (“seagulls,” Croatia), гларуси (glarusi) (“seagulls,” Bulgaria), sharks (Costa Rica), rent-a-dreads, rent-a-rastas, rent-a-gents and the Foreign Service (Caribbean)[1], Kuta Cowboys or pemburu-bule (“whitey hunters”, Bali), Marlboro men (Jordan), bomsas or "bumsters" (the Gambia), "sanky pankies" (Dominican Republic), jinetero in Cuba, "gringa hunter" or caza-gringas in Ecuador and brichero in Peru. "Beach boys" is a more generic term.

Male prostitutes may in general be referred to by various terms and euphemisms. Some of these men can be considered gigolos, for instance.

"A holiday fling" or "a holiday romance" may refer to either sex tourism (having sex with a local) or an affair with a fellow holidaymaker, possibly from one's own country or indeed package tour. Either may be called "fun in the sun".

Female sex tourists have been notoriously difficult to find and interview on the record (see de Albuquerque, 1998, in "Major academic publications" subheading, below). Thus some observers have turned to film and fiction to examine the motivations of women who travel for sex, love and affection.

Movies include Heading South (Vers le Sud), with Charlotte Rampling, which depicts three Western tourists in Haiti in the 1970s, taking their pleasure with local men. Earlier film depictions include How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Shirley Valentine. Stella led to a quantifiable increase in trips by women to Jamaica [6]. Important works of fiction include, in addition to Michel Houellebecq's Platform, Erica Jong's Fear of Flying, which coined or popularised the term "zipless fuc_k".

So, on that note, I will wait, avidly, for jessica's next assignment and fact (spelling) finding tour.

Edited June 5, 2010 by cpofc

[Jingthing]

Girls went onto the trade because they need to make a living.

No girls went into the trade by choice.

Have mercy.

That assertion is almost as ridiculous as the article we are talking about.

Edited June 5, 2010 by Jingthing

[samuibeachcomber]

These often found articles about the sex industry here,while sensationalist in nature, are never far from the truth.Poor families from Isaan often encourage their daughters into the trade that is deemed easy money and "catch an elderly farang"is a major sport.

[Neurath]

"Crotchless Bikini bottoms" in Nana Plaza? Really? Frankly, that would seem to be a fairly redundant fashion choice or work uniform for the place. Still, the journalist should know, participant observation and all.

[robblok]

Girls went onto the trade because they need to make a living.

No girls went into the trade by choice.

Have mercy.

The do this out of their free will.. nobody is forcing them they could find other jobs Thailand. This is just fast and easy money.

[webfact]

pls continue the topic discussion in News Clippings

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Thailand-s-S...ts-t372127.html

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