The Thai women behind the first bar run entirely by a sex workers' collective

[LivinLOS]

Can Do in northern Thailand is probably the first—and only—completely sex worker-owned bar in the world.

erm.. hardly well researched from the very headline..

The can do bar used to be in chiang Mai Land.. Empower had one there.. So its not even the first 'can do' bar..

As to first sex worker owned.. We will just ignore the 1000s of other ex hooker mamasan owned bars shall we ??

Yeah, the article isn't saying it's first ever Can Do bar. I don't think that's even relevant to the discussion.

And while the sub-headline might be a misleading (which is the editor's fault rather than the writer)- in the context of the article it's clear what it means. But I don't know a massive amount about these kind of bars- are there really thousands of bars where the workers also own the bar as part of a collective, are employed under Thai labour laws with paid sick leave and social security schemes?

If that was the case, then, yeah, seems odd they'd write an article about this one if it's common practice.

That isnt what it says.. Not what ThaiVisa mangled it to.. follow the link..

It clearly says "Can Do in northern Thailand is probably the first—and only—completely sex worker-owned bar in the world."

how many 1000s of bars in Thailand are 'completely sex worker owned' ??

So its not the first ?? its not even the first 'can do'.. and its certainly not the only completely sex worker owned, I can think of a handful of bars where the owner goes with customers too..

Its shoddy headlineing.

[cyberfarang]

Been there. Last time I visited there were a load of drunken, chain smoking middle aged Australian women sitting outside claiming to be the owners. Was told by the Thai manageress that the girls don`t go out with customers I guess this is all made possible by voluntary contributions.

Good advice for young women, become prostitutes if they want to succeed in their lives, I think not.

[Ulic]

Pictures of these ladies is proof positive there is someone for everyone.

[smotherb]

Can Do in northern Thailand is probably the first—and only—completely sex worker-owned bar in the world.

erm.. hardly well researched from the very headline..

The can do bar used to be in chiang Mai Land.. Empower had one there.. So its not even the first 'can do' bar..

As to first sex worker owned.. We will just ignore the 1000s of other ex hooker mamasan owned bars shall we ??

and current and ex-hookers have owned sex-shops since the world's oldest profession began

I wish all sex-workers were young pretty nymphomaniacs who like to do it for free

[elgordo38]

She speaks up for sex workers I really like that. A smart woman in the business can do a lot with the money they make like she points out and with their free time develop themselves. Too bad most donot see that and get caught up in bad habits and abused by others.

On the same note I would like to mention men who marry the bargirls and take them out of the business should get better support too. I believe these guys get mote girls out of the business than INGO'S or NGO'S combined. And people give them a hard time for it. They ,make an honest woman out of them and get no respect.

The problem is these "sex workers" only live for today. I would guesstimate the numbers at less than .1% of them actually save and invest in their future. They have 3000 baht today, so they share 500 with one "sister" and 300 with another "sister" and go make a payment on a loan to someone who is charging 20% interest monthly. Yes, they are sending money home for kids, parents, siblings, but just as you said "A smart woman in the business" - few and far between......

Legalize it, tax it, regulate it, give them safety, give them access to quality health care, take it away from the streets and into designated areas. These are ways to keep them from being "sold" by a destitute family, trafficked, pimped etc. It has gone on for thousands of years and will for thousands more.

Play nice I think she is a successful small business the type that Thailand is trying to encourage. I am sure the BIB is making sure that she pays her "taxes" Next step is franchising. She sounds like a perfect den mother to her charges.

[Friendly Stranger]

"Covered by labor laws" are their earnings taxed?

If successful, cannot see the local maf accepting this.

[humqdpf]

Of all the professions in the world an ex sex worker choose to own a bar... as this is the best

the social welfare people can advise the girls to go for?

how long do you think before one of them get ' an offer she can't refuse' huh?

If the claim is that it is the first bar to be run by former sex workers, then it is plain wrong. I have encountered several bars (including bars where there are no bar-girls/GROs) in Thailand where the owner is a former bar girl.

If it is a bar where the female owner will go with customers, then that is also plain wrong too.

If the claim is that it is a bar run by a collective of actively operating sex workers, then it may well be a first.

[thrilled]

Making money in Thailand isn't easy.If she can do it good for her.

[ggt]

These women's positive account of their experience in the sex industry...flies in the face of the do-gooder folks who are all about rescuing women from the sex trade...

There is exploitation in most all areas of human endeavor...the recruitment of underage girls for sex...is the main problem here...

[Trouble]

And she would like the customers to be more rich and more handsome.

Good sense of humor.

Most rich and handsome men get it for free. They generally don't need hookers.

[SantiSuk]

I thought that quite a few of the beer bars, go-gos and Karaokes in Thailand were owned by ex sex-workers now in their fifties plus!

PS thought Beer Garden was Sukhumvit soi 7, not Nana soi 5.5, but perhaps I'm not old enough to remember a previous incarnation.

[thaiduncankk]

I thought that quite a few of the beer bars, go-gos and Karaokes in Thailand were owned by ex sex-workers now in their fifties plus!

If you look at the bar industry she has been involved in, I would expect the percentage to be in the high nineties.

[thaiduncankk]

Double post.

Edited October 20, 2015 by thaiduncankk

[charmonman]

The article refers to a number of practices in bars such as requiring each woman to solicit a certain minimum number of lady drinks and bar fines per month. It is my impression that this only became a common practice in the last decade or so, and is a leading reason that so many go-go and hostess bars have become so unenjoyable. If you create a stressful environment for your employees, they are not going to be fun places. Back in the days when I used to frequent these places I always felt I was fairly generous with women whose company I enjoyed, but who wants to feel that all they are doing is fulfilling some kind if quota so no one gets fined?

I wish more bars would follow Can Do's example of going back to older and better ways.

[charmonman]

And she would like the customers to be more rich and more handsome.

Good sense of humor.

Most rich and handsome men get it for free. They generally don't need hookers.

Back in the early nineties, I saw a fairly famous actor who was generally also considered one of the best looking Hollywood stars of the day, picking up a women from a Patpong go-go bar. I think she might have been a "hooker" . He probably didn't "need" her, he probably just "preferred" her.

Patpong and the rest of Thailand's similar nightlife areas have declined so much, it would likely not happen these days, but back then it was a completely different kind of scene.

[thaiduncankk]

The article refers to a number of practices in bars such as requiring each woman to solicit a certain minimum number of lady drinks and bar fines per month. It is my impression that this only became a common practice in the last decade or so, and is a leading reason that so many go-go and hostess bars have become so unenjoyable. If you create a stressful environment for your employees, they are not going to be fun places. Back in the days when I used to frequent these places I always felt I was fairly generous with women whose company I enjoyed, but who wants to feel that all they are doing is fulfilling some kind if quota so no one gets fined?

I wish more bars would follow Can Do's example of going back to older and better ways.

Quotas for lady drinks and bar fines have been in for at least 2 decades.

In the old days, the girls were more friendly and sociable because mobile phones and social networks were not available. The introduction of dating websites and the likes of Facebook killed the bar atmosphere, and it ain't gonna improve.

Edited October 20, 2015 by thaiduncankk

[Krataiboy]

So, whats new.... as sure as there are wives in this world there will always be prostitutes. A man has to get sex somewhere..! And for girls with no education and no idea what to do in life, opening their legs to some stranger is the easy option. Next comes theft, cheating and robbery. Oh, a hookers life is not an easy one. (sung to the tune from Pirates of Penzance, a policemans life)

And as for Mai Jantas excuses... a slut is always a slut and Kleenex will always sell... wiping up the stains of sleeze.... Put three people through University.... I find that hard to swallow... But what would we guys do without them....????

. . . a slut is always a slut . . . But what would we guys do without them?

What an exercise in hypocrisy. Your sanctimonious blanket condemnation of sex workers mirrors that of the worst kind of sexpat or sex tourist one all too frequently stumbles across in Thailand. Do a little research among your fellow falangs and you will discover many happily married for former sex workers who have turned out to be terrific wives and mothers.

I speak from personal experience, having been married to one for 14 years. I met her in a massage parlour where she was working because it was the only way she could earn enough to support her children.after her husband died.

I admired her sacrifice for her family and told her so. I still do. I feel proud, not ashamed, of my partner and the five children we have raised together. I never lie about her background. Nor does she. Why should we? It was a job, like any other. And a darned sight less harmful to society than many so-called respectable professions.

My experience is far from unique. Some of my best friends are falang men who opted to share their lives with caring and compassionate former prostitutes - women who bear no resemblance to the demeaning stereotype sneered at by hypocrites of your ilk.

Try looking beyond the end of your pecker for once.

[LivinLOS]

The article refers to a number of practices in bars such as requiring each woman to solicit a certain minimum number of lady drinks and bar fines per month. It is my impression that this only became a common practice in the last decade or so, and is a leading reason that so many go-go and hostess bars have become so unenjoyable. If you create a stressful environment for your employees, they are not going to be fun places. Back in the days when I used to frequent these places I always felt I was fairly generous with women whose company I enjoyed, but who wants to feel that all they are doing is fulfilling some kind if quota so no one gets fined?

I wish more bars would follow Can Do's example of going back to older and better ways.

Quotas have been around since long before the mid 90s..

I dont know when this 'golden age' was but thats always what older guys who think dropping a few 1000 baht should make them a hero say.. Top tarts command top dollar, so it is and so it has been, dont want to drop 10 or 20k on a night out.. enjoy your leo and haggard old has beens. Splash the cash and they are keen as they ever have been. The big difference is westerners have become less wealthy in comparison.

[DrTuner]

Four houses? She must have skillz.

[thaiduncankk]

Four houses? She must have skillz.

Or 4 mugs, back in their home country without a pot to piss in.

[NCC1701A]

Down here in Hua Hin there is one Thai woman who opened her bar 15 years ago. She is now the "big boss" of all the bars. Sort of president of the bar owners association. She rides around on her scooter checking out all the bars and wrangling any stray girls. Another Thai lady owns three really nice bars, makes a fortune, but not selling drinks.

The Thai ladies make the best bar owners. Farang bar owner stand no chance against them.

I want to know what the "Sex Workers Union" logo will look like.

[EJK]

Yeah

She sounds like a real charmer NOT

And your information is wrong there are many are owned by woman prostitutes

This one is no different

[Expat1]

"And she would like the customers to be more rich and more handsome."... presumably the assumption would be that the more rich and handsome men would not need her services.

[EJK]

Prostitution is ILEGAL Right ?

She owns a bar although unlicensed to sell sex

Your information is misleading to others.,, the JUNTA made this clear with the football players incident

She built 4 houses robbing foreigners obviously

I think your a formal journo and not really understand how these lady's roll LOL

[EJK]

This is one of many that feeds off others. I dealt she gives 1 baht back

[EJK]

THAIVISA

You printed this rubbish ?

This is a illegal freelancer talking shit

What a waste of space

[jmccarty]

"And she would like the customers to be more rich and more handsome."

More rich! I know I'm already more hansum!

[jalansanitwong]

The only thing interesting about beer bars is that Thai owned bars seem to do much better than ones run by old farangs with a mamasan wife.

I wouldnt be surprised if Thai owners bring girls from their home village in Buriram or Surin and put them on a contract (san-ya). the girls have to give the Thai boss a % of the money the trick gives her in his hotel room or apartment. I doubt very much if farang bar owners get any of the hooker money.

All they get is any profit from selling beer and maybe the bar fine.

The Thai woman in the Changmai bar sounds like a really nasty parasite. She would eat fat ugly old foreigners for breakfast.

Any girl who screws up will be severely punished. Farangs cant do that without risking arrest.

[NCC1701A]

sorry to say this woman has made a huge mistake being the subject of this article. The story is in English and on a non Thailand specific website. She will be put on a list of places the USA wants shut down to stop sex trade and human trafficking.

women in the west with some power and influence see this kind of story and they flip out, as they are not to keen on women selling sex. they think all the girls in Thailand are chained to a bed and fed rats. And a "feel good" story like this is not going to change their minds.

Edited October 21, 2015 by NCC1701A

[NCC1701A]

And she would like the customers to be more rich and more handsome.

Good sense of humor.

Most rich and handsome men get it for free. They generally don't need hookers.

Back in the early nineties, I saw a fairly famous actor who was generally also considered one of the best looking Hollywood stars of the day, picking up a women from a Patpong go-go bar. I think she might have been a "hooker" . He probably didn't "need" her, he probably just "preferred" her.

Patpong and the rest of Thailand's similar nightlife areas have declined so much, it would likely not happen these days, but back then it was a completely different kind of scene.

and don't forget Hugh Grant got busted in Hollywood with a black streetwalker. while Elizabeth Hurley was his girlfriend. not sure sometimes what people are thinking.