Thailand's Prostitution Image Is Embarrassing

[Crushdepth]

The fact that the number one patrons of prostitution in Thailand are Thais, not tourists, is conspicuously missing from this article. As usual...

[sanchin]

Try reading "a thousand miles on the back of an elephant in the Shan states" by Holt S Hallet (1890). Nothing has changed.

[Bluespunk]

If Thailand had a Child support law that they would enforce and the dead beat days paid to help support their children then there would not be as maney bar girls.

Randy

In principle you are right but are lot of dead beat dads in west who refuse to pay up where such laws exist.

[Westaurel]

They should fight first against the problem number one in Thailand: the corruption !

When this problem will disappear, the prostitution will stop, policemen will do their correct jobs to close the brothels but not extort money from go-go bars tenants to "protect" their illegal practices !

There is no point in deluding ourselves it will not stop tomorrow with the priviledges of the Hi-So who don't want lost them ! As long as the feudal system will be in effect the habits won't change in Thailand !

Edited February 15, 2013 by Westaurel

[Bluespunk]

The fact that the number one patrons of prostitution in Thailand are Thais, not tourists, is conspicuously missing from this article. As usual...

Why let the truth ruin a crappy article?

[A_Traveller]

Just to note the promulgation of the Disease Prevention Act BE2451 [1908] was in part driven by the need to act upon growing health problems stemming from prostitution and the first "GoGo" bars were around by the 1920s.

[simple1]

What Thailand should be embarrassed about is the plethora of extremely unattractive older Foreign (white) men who proliferate here like rednecks with little subservient slave girls from poor families. The range of ugliness of these types of men living here is appalling.

haha your so right. even the ugliest, fattest, grossest, oldest of men get laid here. why is this? BAHT!!!!!!!!!!

Even the ugly, drunken skinny young western men get laid in Thailand, why is this? baht!

[monkeycountry]

The VAST majority of Thai/Foreigner relationships end quite quickly. Thats a fact. Look up the numbers. You're cute personal anecdote and apologetics may sound nice but they don't mesh with the facts. Most of my friends who are married to Thais are either in bad relationships they want to get out of or are being hustled by the wife's family. All Thai women may not be that way, but there is a disturbing number who are and if you think it is no different from anywhere else you are either frighteningly naive or not living in reality.

I'm not naive, don't know who you think im apologising for I know what the realities of life are and not sure one or two sentences constitutes an anecdote. Yes there are lot of unhappy relationships here but you need to realise they are not all as bitter and dark as you wish to paint them.

Of course they are not all as bitter and dark, I am in a good one myself, But I also realize women such as my wife are in the minority here in a big way. She hates Thai culture and its abhorrent treatment of women more than anybody. Everyone is complaining about old foreign men coming looking for Thai girls, but these same folks could care less about the fact its a culture where Thai men can pretty much legally beat the living hell out of their wives, where polygamy is everywhere and women are cast into the waste basket of society after age 29. If Thailand doesn't want so many of its women becoming prostitutes maybe they should start treating them with some dignity to begin with

Funny part is. When writing on TV, almost everyone who is not single is in a fantastic relationship with a very honest and loving Thai woman, who in most cases is also from a very good family and has at least a PHD, not to mention a great job making tonnes of money - and she has never even heard of bargirls. Yet these same guys claim that most other westerners in Thailand are in relationships with deceiving bar girls. (I am of course not referring to you specifically, just all the other TV guys :-)

[Thai at Heart]

Ok, 5 things that Thailand has for which it should be famous around the world. I.e some attraction or something extremely specific that is not the be replicated elsewhere. I.e Cistine Chapel, Eiffel tower, Tower of London, Statue of Liberty, Grand Canyon, Iguasu. Something that people will travel around the world to see or do.

Wat Pra Kaeow is amazing.

[barrybankruad]

According to Wiki. country with the highest number of prostitutes per capita is ISRAEL! I never would have guessed it. Google it.

[rinteln]

monkeycountry

Imagine for a second that all prostitution in Thailand stopped tomorrow. Do you think the girls would then be better off or worse off? Many of them would end up sitting on a farm in Isaan sleeping, eating and watching tv all day - just as many of their family members do as we speak. I wonder what long term damage that does to your brain? They would stay dirt poor, and so will their children.

I agree with you that if the girls had a bunch of options such as good schools and decent work, then that would be much better, but that is just not the case today, so to be honest with you, I do not know if me paying a girl to sleep with me is good or bad - for her?

I knew it wouldn't be long before someone said something like this. This theory is a bit like officials in the UK who now want to allow drug addicts to have more drugs because maybe it will be worse forcing them to stop than trying to deal with the problem. You are thinking like the Thais, short term and not long term. Do you really think that long term its better to just let this process carry on or better to stop it and see the benefits later and for longer. I should not need to explain the benefits that a whole generation would have if they were not working as sex slaves for 15 years or so.

Yes Im sure it will be very painful if girls now were forced to stop prostitution but the next generation will benefit and you could argue that they will only be in the position that they would of always been in without prostitution. The question needs to be asked what would they do if they never have had prostitution. Do you really think they would not of survived. No, they would of worked, the family would work. In my experience i would say a typical 2 adults 2 children family in Isaan don't need anymore than 15,000 a month to live healthy lives. Now that must be achievable if all or most of the family works or contributes in some way unless ofcourse you have greater needs....which maybe is the problem but only born out of western influence.

To answer this fully i suppose you have to separate need and greed. Since my time in Thailand i have thought more and more that i don't think there are as many girls that really really have to do this as i first thought when i came here first. I look at how much money these girls are getting and compare that to my time in Isaan and alot of all this is greed. Families don't need 50,000 - 100,000 a month to live. Considering they all know prostitution is bad and still carry on i consider it greed. My point is if they really wanted to im sure many families could avoid sending their child off.

I think in the short term you paying for a girl helps but only in the same way giving one more hit to a drug user helps. In the long term i don't think so because its not giving them responsibility, its giving them a fake image of earning money, they don't respect the effort of earning money and also that cash is not giving them anything that will help in the future. What about post 35 - 40 , what are they going to do then. As i said before they wont work for 6000 a month after 15 years of easy money. You have to think about the second part of their lives. No skills, no education, probably wont enjoy sex as much or at all. Mentally used to lying and cheating and taking the easy way out. Not the way i would want to be at the still young age of 35 - 40 or around that age.

Edited February 15, 2013 by rinteln

[Thai at Heart]

The VAST majority of Thai/Foreigner relationships end quite quickly. Thats a fact. Look up the numbers. You're cute personal anecdote and apologetics may sound nice but they don't mesh with the facts. Most of my friends who are married to Thais are either in bad relationships they want to get out of or are being hustled by the wife's family. All Thai women may not be that way, but there is a disturbing number who are and if you think it is no different from anywhere else you are either frighteningly naive or not living in reality.

"The VAST majority of Thai/Foreigner relationships end quite quickly."

The vast majority of all relationships with westerners end quite quickly, no matter if a Thai is involved or not. If that was not the case, then how would the average westerner manage to have many relationships during his/her life?

The overwhelming amount are over by morning.

[how241]

The fact is the Thai government and Thai population endorse and allow prostitution. If they didn't then something so obvious on their streets would not survive, or at least have resistance. Only 10 minutes in Pattaya or Phuket will show you there is no resistance. So this story is just another news clip that gets thrown out every few months to try and make it look like Thais care about this subject, which they dont.

+1

[DekDaeng]

Did those pictures of her, with Barry, while FLOTUS fumed, help?

ON TOPIC

[NoshowJones]

Unfortunately a true fact ... I guess if tighter laws against prostitution appear a lot of men wont come to Thailand anymore .... but maybe more families will replace them also . It could be interesting to see how many prostitute female or male are in Thailand.

There is nothing wrong with prostitution as long as no one is gettig hurt or forced to do anything they do not want to do, and no, my wife was never a bargirl although all my friends wifes were, and they all very nice people. and I won't hear a bad word againat them.

[Baerboxer]

The VAST majority of Thai/Foreigner relationships end quite quickly. Thats a fact. Look up the numbers. You're cute personal anecdote and apologetics may sound nice but they don't mesh with the facts. Most of my friends who are married to Thais are either in bad relationships they want to get out of or are being hustled by the wife's family. All Thai women may not be that way, but there is a disturbing number who are and if you think it is no different from anywhere else you are either frighteningly naive or not living in reality.

"The VAST majority of Thai/Foreigner relationships end quite quickly."

The vast majority of all relationships with westerners end quite quickly, no matter if a Thai is involved or not. If that was not the case, then how would the average westerner manage to have many relationships during his/her life?

Not according to the below:

"Did you know that according to some recent statistics from the Bangkok district office the amount of marriages between Thai and Farang has been rising at about 10% per year over the past decade and with a very interesting 50% of marriages registered at this office being between Thai and Farang. Remember though that not all marriages between Thai people are registered because quite often marriages between Thai and Thai are either Buddhist ceremonies or just recognized between families.

It would seem about 6% of these registered marriages (approx 6500 marriages registered) end in divorce and that 10% of those are cross cultural marriages. Some more statistics are that USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia all finish in the Top 15 or 20 highest divorce rates with the USA taking top spot!!!…Thailand comes in at 22^nd behind Singapore and China."

@ ThomasBird67 - Where did you get your "fact" from that the vast majortiy of Thai / Farang marriages end in divorce? Perhaps your choice of friends as more to do with their marriage relational issues than the nationality of their wives? The rest of your comments border on misonogy.

[johnlandy]

Well I've been here 12 years and this is news to me. Of course you can read about it as here but it's not like I've actually seen a 'prostitute' with my own eyes.

But you don't venture out without you white cane do you

Edited February 15, 2013 by johnlandy

[chiangmaikelly]

Falang laugh at thai prostitues, and Thai people laugh at falangs who take prostitues for thier wife HAHAHAAHA who are more stupid???

People who laugh at another man's wife; no question about it.

[sirchai]

Thailand's Prostitution Image Is Embarrassing

It's More Embarrassing That They Don't Support Poor People

[Baerboxer]

According to Wiki. country with the highest number of prostitutes per capita is ISRAEL! I never would have guessed it. Google it.

I guess ThomasBird69 has never been there - oh no he's been all over the world counting the number of prostitutes

Actually, on a business trip to Tel Aviv the concierge as a 5 * hotel asked one of my colleagues if he "needed anything for the night, just let him know". Didn't expect this somehow in Israel.

[EyesWideOpen]

What Thailand should be embarrassed about is the plethora of extremely unattractive older Foreign (white) men who proliferate here like rednecks with little subservient slave girls from poor families. The range of ugliness of these types of men living here is appalling.

And vice versa. I used to work with young male Thai university graduates. They would ask me in amazement why wealthy farangs would marry and be with Thai farm girls who were extremely ugly in the eyes of these Thai men. I had no real answer for them...

Edited February 15, 2013 by EyesWideOpen

[Thai at Heart]

Prostitution and greedy women marrying for less than love are two completely different problems.

a mate of mine got taken for 11mn gbp 2 months after his child was born. She left.

The issue is why is there apparently such a large sex business in Thailand, not money grabbing women.

[Baerboxer]

Bearboxer

"This is really the process that has been going on since the Vietnam war where most of this all started and wasn't put down ever since'"

Maybe you need to read what you have written and make sure it conveys what you mean before thinking its others reading skills!!

Thai prostitution is not confined to Isaan! Have a look if and when you travel in the evening at the amount of bars, kareokes, entertainment centres etc that are for Thais. Applying the 80% pareato rules would seem reasonable. If you dig you will find some research carried out by Thai social scientists, but written in Thai.

Prostitution exists in all countries because the amount of clients - and I agree that everyone who takes a prostitute is both condoning and supporting the idea.

--

Well even if you don't understand the difference between the word "most" and "created" at least we have agreed on your last point.

You need to understand the word started and created! Also fyi I think typing in bold is uncessary and against forum rules.

Edited February 15, 2013 by Baerboxer

[Kilgore Trout]

This is the most stupid biased and uninformed article i have read in awhile

To the author; wake up moron!!

What statements in the article do you take issue with, and why? Im trying to help you flesh out your thinking beyond the admirable "wake up moron!!" level.

It's kind of like.....if you have to ask then you probably wouldn't understand

[rinteln]

Bearboxer

"This is really the process that has been going on since the Vietnam war where most of this all started and wasn't put down ever since'"

Maybe you need to read what you have written and make sure it conveys what you mean before thinking its others reading skills!!

Thai prostitution is not confined to Isaan! Have a look if and when you travel in the evening at the amount of bars, kareokes, entertainment centres etc that are for Thais. Applying the 80% pareato rules would seem reasonable. If you dig you will find some research carried out by Thai social scientists, but written in Thai.

Prostitution exists in all countries because the amount of clients - and I agree that everyone who takes a prostitute is both condoning and supporting the idea.

--

Well even if you don't understand the difference between the word "most" and "created" at least we have agreed on your last point.

You need to understand the word started and created! Also fyi I think typing in bold is uncessary and against forum rules.

"Also fyi I think typing in bold is uncessary and against forum rules"

Thanks for letting me know dad !

Edited February 15, 2013 by rinteln

[chiangmaikelly]

Me I personally laugh at the sad sacks of buffalo crap who sit at side of road drinking every afternoon, blowing their wages on cheap nasty alcohol instead of feeding their families. They are the stupidest people around.

And whats the difference between marrying a prostitute or marrying an office girl in Thailand? You don't seriously think non-bar girls here are any less lying and scandalous than the actual bar girls do you?

Personally I am single and happy to be so, however a lot ( most ) of my friends here are married to Thais. They are as happy as any couples I have known elsewhere. I am a cynic but refuse to accept all Thai women are as you seem to feel they are. Yes there are those who act as you say but that's the same the world over.

Maybe poverty forces more poorly paid non sex industry women to marry people they don't love in order to escape from it. Maybe the men make promises they can't keep and lie about their finances. I don't know, there are a lot if horror stories out there but there are just as many, if not more, happy ones. They just don't make such good reading.

The VAST majority of Thai/Foreigner relationships end quite quickly. Thats a fact. Look up the numbers. You're cute personal anecdote and apologetics may sound nice but they don't mesh with the facts. Most of my friends who are married to Thais are either in bad relationships they want to get out of or are being hustled by the wife's family. All Thai women may not be that way, but there is a disturbing number who are and if you think it is no different from anywhere else you are either frighteningly naive or not living in reality.

Where do you look up the numbers?

[Baerboxer]

Bearboxer

"This is really the process that has been going on since the Vietnam war where most of this all started and wasn't put down ever since'"

Maybe you need to read what you have written and make sure it conveys what you mean before thinking its others reading skills!!

Thai prostitution is not confined to Isaan! Have a look if and when you travel in the evening at the amount of bars, kareokes, entertainment centres etc that are for Thais. Applying the 80% pareato rules would seem reasonable. If you dig you will find some research carried out by Thai social scientists, but written in Thai.

Prostitution exists in all countries because the amount of clients - and I agree that everyone who takes a prostitute is both condoning and supporting the idea.

--

Well even if you don't understand the difference between the word "most" and "created" at least we have agreed on your last point.

You need to understand the word started and created! Also fyi I think typing in bold is uncessary and against forum rules.

"Also fyi I think typing in bold is uncessary and against forum rules"

Thanks for letting me know dad !

No worries sonny!

[chiangmaikelly]

Me I personally laugh at the sad sacks of buffalo crap who sit at side of road drinking every afternoon, blowing their wages on cheap nasty alcohol instead of feeding their families. They are the stupidest people around.

And whats the difference between marrying a prostitute or marrying an office girl in Thailand? You don't seriously think non-bar girls here are any less lying and scandalous than the actual bar girls do you?

Yes I do. Whores make money out of lying to and in some cases cheating their clients. That has nothing to do with nationality but everything to do with learning from their peers and experience. That's the same the whole world over - yes that's right other countries have prostitution too, and some more so than Thailand.

Insinuating all Thai ladies have the morals and ethics of whores is insulting beyond belief. Presumably you think all Filipinas, Dutch ladies, German females, are the same as bar girls to? They all have large sex industries and prostitution is legal in the last 2.

If your dumb enough to marry a whore in any country then that's your choice. But please don't tar all ladies with the same brush as it's not true, defamatory and disrespectful.

Nope. Comes from about 15 years of experience in this place. Name one country with more prostitutes than Thailand. You think its just the bargirls sleeping for money and lying to people to get paid?? LMAO. Being a Mia Noi in Thailand has become something a large segment of the population strives for and even in rural areas there are roving motorbike prostitutes literally everywhere. Filipinas, Germans and Dutch people don't have a culture of giks and mia nois, so no they are not the same. Been all over the world and there is no other country where you will find more women willing to go with a man for money than Thailand. And if the truth is offensive to you I could really care less.

For you to make the above statement you must know how many prostitutes Thailand has. So how many?

[monkeycountry]

monkeycountry

Imagine for a second that all prostitution in Thailand stopped tomorrow. Do you think the girls would then be better off or worse off? Many of them would end up sitting on a farm in Isaan sleeping, eating and watching tv all day - just as many of their family members do as we speak. I wonder what long term damage that does to your brain? They would stay dirt poor, and so will their children.

I agree with you that if the girls had a bunch of options such as good schools and decent work, then that would be much better, but that is just not the case today, so to be honest with you, I do not know if me paying a girl to sleep with me is good or bad - for her?

I knew it wouldn't be long before someone said something like this. This theory is a bit like officials in the UK who now want to allow drug addicts to have more drugs because maybe it will be worse forcing them to stop than trying to deal with the problem. You are thinking like the Thais, short term and not long term. Do you really think that long term its better to just let this process carry on or better to stop it and see the benefits later and for longer. I should not need to explain the benefits that a whole generation would have if they were not working as sex slaves for 15 years or so.

Yes Im sure it will be very painful if girls now were forced to stop prostitution but the next generation will benefit and you could argue that they will only be in the position that they would of always been in without prostitution. The question needs to be asked what would they do if they never have had prostitution. Do you really think they would not of survived. No, they would of worked, the family would work. In my experience i would say a typical 2 adults 2 children family in Isaan don't need anymore than 15,000 a month to live healthy lives. Now that must be achievable if all or most of the family works or contributes in some way unless ofcourse you have greater needs....which maybe is the problem but only born out of western influence.

To answer this fully i suppose you have to separate need and greed. Since my time in Thailand i have thought more and more that i don't think there are as many girls that really really have to do this as i first thought when i came here first. I look at how much money these girls are getting and compare that to my time in Isaan and alot of all this is greed. Families don't need 50,000 - 100,000 a month to live. Considering they all know prostitution is bad and still carry on i consider it greed. My point is if they really wanted to im sure most families could avoid sending their child off.

I think in the short term you paying for a girl helps but only in the same way giving one more hit to a drug user helps. In the long term i don't think so no because its not giving them responsibility, its giving them a fake image of earning money, they don't respect the effort of earning money and also that cash is not giving them anything that will help in the future. What about post 35 - 40 , what are they going to do then. As i said before they wont work for 6000 a month after 15 years of easy money. You have to think about the second part of their lives. No skills, no education, probably wont enjoy sex as much or at all. Mentally used to lying and cheating and taking the easy way out. Not the way i would want to be at the still young age of 35 - 40 or around that age.

Please note that I wrote "so to be honest with you, I do not know if me paying a girl to sleep with me is good or bad - for her?"

I agree with most of what you are saying The Isaan family living on 15k/month may survive yes, but they will never get out of poverty, and the kids will never see a good school or a good job, giving them a better chance in life than their parents. The fact that they are so poor, and with no hope for the future, is what often leads them to drinking and drugs in the first place!

You say the next generation will benefit from a prostitution stop. How exactly will they benefit? Yes, they may get a job, but it will be the kind of job that brings a maximum of 15k/month for the entire family, and there will be no mental stimulation for anyone in that family - and so the circle continues.

The bar girl takes a gamble - often unknowingly. She gets a unique chance to bring herself and her kids and thereby the family future out of poverty for good, but at the risk of being broke and mentally damaged at 40! As I said, I do not know if this is good or bad, considering the alternatives?

[bri1guy]

The fact is the Thai government and Thai population endorse and allow prostitution. If they didn't then something so obvious on their streets would not survive, or at least have resistance. Only 10 minutes in Pattaya or Phuket will show you there is no resistance. So this story is just another news clip that gets thrown out every few months to try and make it look like Thais care about this subject, which they dont.

What do most Thais care about? The Money they are making from it & from all the tourist that come, pardon the pun .