One quite relevant question

[neillyperrfekt]

Why do people refer to thailand as a place to meet women who work in bars and sell themselves?

It makes me sad to see such an amazing country use this angle.

Ive met so many nice thai women who are honest and decent. Im not blaming anything.

What is the cultural difference?

People selling themselves in this country (UK) is frowned upon.

Why does thailand have this stigma?

I dont understand the logic to it. Yes thai people are decent people. and they work. I realise that there is no social support.

Where does this culture come from? I do apologise about maybe being provocative. Im just curious.

but then again i dont have to contemplate this.

[zeusbheld]

people sell themselves everywhere. some places more overtly than others.

an interesting question might be: why doesnt hollland have that reputation yet thailand does? while prostitution is technically illegal in holland it is tolerate. or does holland have that reputation (in which case why doesnt new york?)

[atomicflower]

people sell themselves everywhere. some places more overtly than others.

an interesting question might be: why doesnt hollland have that reputation yet thailand does? while prostitution is technically illegal in holland it is tolerate. or does holland have that reputation (in which case why doesnt new york?)

i agree with zeusbheld about holland.

to answer the primary question, i guess one word that's suitable is 'stereotype' however the stereotype hasn't been built from nothing.

if we look back to the history, we are culturally patriarchy and a man usually had mistresses, however the history of sexuality of thailand is not at all outrageous when compared with many many countries both in asia or anywhere else, especially when you look at western history around 17th century where sex was everywhere and sex talk was open to even children. affair was a fairly common thing to have around that age, which i didn't see that in thai history (or have i been lied about it?).

when looking at other countries, people actually created books for sex!

i guess that's because sexuality has been under repression, and one way to explose it or release teh desire about sex is to claim that it's natural, it's healthy, it's medical, etc. and another way is, to find a place where people can do sex and can talk about sex openly, rather than talking about it in hidden forms.

too much for now

[neillyperrfekt]

people sell themselves everywhere. some places more overtly than others.

an interesting question might be: why doesnt hollland have that reputation yet thailand does? while prostitution is technically illegal in holland it is tolerate. or does holland have that reputation (in which case why doesnt new york?)

yes, but holland has that reputation.

Im thinking this from the opinion of others. The difference is the financial side. Im not going to quote right from wrong.

Ive been to amsterdam/rotterdam too many times. my father speaks fluent dutch!. anyway getting away from that subject. why do thai women get the idea that the only way to meet a westerner is through bars. I dont know maybe I m being very cynical

[neillyperrfekt]

people sell themselves everywhere. some places more overtly than others.

an interesting question might be: why doesnt hollland have that reputation yet thailand does? while prostitution is technically illegal in holland it is tolerate. or does holland have that reputation (in which case why doesnt new york?)

i agree with zeusbheld about holland.

to answer the primary question, i guess one word that's suitable is 'stereotype' however the stereotype hasn't been built from nothing.

if we look back to the history, we are culturally patriarchy and a man usually had mistresses, however the history of sexuality of thailand is not at all outrageous when compared with many many countries both in asia or anywhere else, especially when you look at western history around 17th century where sex was everywhere and sex talk was open to even children. affair was a fairly common thing to have around that age, which i didn't see that in thai history (or have i been lied about it?).

when looking at other countries, people actually created books for sex!

i guess that's because sexuality has been under repression, and one way to explose it or release teh desire about sex is to claim that it's natural, it's healthy, it's medical, etc. and another way is, to find a place where people can do sex and can talk about sex openly, rather than talking about it in hidden forms.

too much for now

its just a matter of perspective

[neillyperrfekt]

it depends where in holland. im sorry but sex for money is deplorable

[neillyperrfekt]

I was in hamburg last week it was horrible. I hate the idea of money for sex. I had to lie for my boss who thought it was ok for him to go with a 20 yeard old woman.

I hate sex tourism. thats why I refuse to go to many places in thailand

[Loburt]

its not so much the prostitusion that made thailand have a bad reputation, its that there a lot of old guys that goes there to find a young girl to marry.

its not more prostitusion in thailand then there are in many other countrys.

:twisted:

A young Thai woman friend of mine spent the last two years studying for her masters degree in India, South Africa and Germany and traveled around Europe during that time.

She came back for a visit a couple of months ago. One of the first things she said to me was: "I'm really astounded at how much prostitution there is in my country. I didn't realize how much there was until I visited other countries and came back. It's really bad."

Thailand has a high level of prostitution. I'm not saying it has the highest in the world or anything like that, but it does appear to have a lot more than lots of other countries.

Some of this, as Zeus said, is a matter of it being more overt. But I don't think it's just that.

As for its reputation being a result of old foreign guys coming here to marry young girls, that's an extremely tiny percentage of the prostitution going on here. It may get more international publicity than a 60-year-old Thai man keeping a 16-year-old mistress, but if prostitution here were limited to old foreign guys marrhing young Thai girls, then Thailand wouldn't have much of a reputation for prostitution.

I believe that the incident involving prostitution in Thailand that received the most publicity ever worldwide was when a brothel burned down and several of the prostitutes died because they were chained to their beds. It was quite a while ago, but I know people overseas who still mention that when Thailand comes up. It was not a place patronized by foreigners. So Thailand's reputation on prostitution isn't merely the result of some old foreign men.

Also, once again Blond, you seem to be equating EVERY Thai-foreign marriage where there is an age difference with prostitution.

That's simply not the case. And as you don't live here, you're not qualified to say it is. And you're just asking for trouble again by going down that road.

Like many people who don't live here, you have a very naive and superficial view of this country.

[atomicflower]

It may get more international publicity than a 60-year-old Thai man keeping a 16-year-old mistress, but if prostitution here were limited to old foreign guys marrhing young Thai girls, then Thailand wouldn't have much of a reputation for prostitution.

i like younger guy

[neillyperrfekt]

so whats your perspective?

[Loburt]

Well, Jane, if that's what turns you on, I wish you all the hot young guys you can handle.

But you better check with Blond first whether it's morally acceptable or not. LOL

[atomicflower]

"Why do people refer to thailand as a place to meet women who work in bars and sell themselves? "

it started during the vietnam war when all the troopies went to bkk on r&r.the girls realized they could make a lot of money on their backs,and then the stories spread from returning vets.

in addition, that's another way to colonize others becoz the dissimilarity, the fetishism, race, sexuality and sterotype that those armys and thais had toward each other.

[CiaranM]

Neilly if you think so badly about the girls in thailand and worry about them only thinking they can meet western guys in bars then why do you keep coming back here. in 1 of your previous posts you said you had been here for 5 months on your last visit. well if you had spent 5 months in thailand and still think the ONLY place thai girls think they can meet western guys is "girlie" bars you must be either very dumb, spend all your time in these girlie bars, or more likely are just trying to wind up some of the regulars here.

life in thailand is very simple and very enjoyable. IF you want a hooker you go to places where hookers hang out. i don't know the facts or figures but i would guess only a small percentage of the female population of thailand work as prostitutes servicing "farangs". i think the problem with prostitution in thailand compared to some other countries is that it is so "in your face". they make no attempt to hide it away (rightly or wrongly), whereas in other countries they may be a little more discreet about the "services provided.

however, if you want to meet a good decent thai girl (and i am not saying bar girls are not decent), guess what ..... you go to the places where good decent thai girls hang out. problem is these girls will expect a liitle bit of respect, decent conversation and to be treated as human beings. farangs shouting "i love u long time sexy thai girl" does not tend to work with these girls. unfortunately for yourself and blondy some (not all, but quite a few) thai girls have tended to find that farang guys who are a little bit older are more inclined to treat them a little bit better. hard to handle for 2 such good looking and totally irresistable guys as yourselves i know, but **** happens.

maybe before you come here you need to ask yourself why you are coming here, you too blondy, because all of your posts have tended to be negative and keep repeating the usual crap about prostitutes and old guys and young girls. which i personally find boring and belive must of the thai girls here will find boring and insulting.

YES there are prostitutes in thailand and in virtually every other country in the world !! yes, shock horror there are younger girls going out with older guys in thailand. but look at all the old, rich, powerful guys in farang land, i will guarantee 75%+ will have either a younger wife or younger mistress.

so, if you dislike all these things why the hell are you coming here ??

[Loburt]

"Why do people refer to thailand as a place to meet women who work in bars and sell themselves? "

it started during the vietnam war when all the troopies went to bkk on r&r.the girls realized they could make a lot of money on their backs,and then the stories spread from returning vets.

Wherever there are armies, there will be prostitutes.

The presence of US troops here during Vietnam fed the growth of prostitution, but it existed well before that.

And why didn't prostitution drastically reduce when they left?

For one, Japanese sex tourists took up the slack. Funny how when these discussions take place about prostitution and people start talking about or blaming the farangs, the Japanese always seem to get a free pass. They certainly don't deserve one.

Second, as well over 90% of the prostitutes here are patronized by Thai men, it's hard to believe they just discovered it when American troops showed up.

Doesn't add up. Doesn't make sense.

Why does Thailand have this reputation? Well, the family of the Minister of Tourism owns a bunch of brothels for starters.

If you think that's bad, don't vote for Thaksin. He gave the minister his job. He knows all about the minister's family. He obviously doesn't think there is anything wrong with that, or Thailand's reputation.

[zeusbheld]

i agree that loburt puts a good perspective on this, a lot of stuff i hadnt thought about or hadnt known. i dont stay up late wondering what's going on with prostituion in other countries though, although i used to wonder what was going on with prostitution in new york sometimes.

interestingly i havent got much in the way of raised eyebrows from ppl in new york when i say i'm going to thailand (or holland for that matter).

maybe it's because prostitution in new york used to be quite overt (it's been banished to the outer boroughs these days) but i doubt that. more likely it's because middle class ppl in new york are more likely to have traveled and thus have some perspective.

however, japanese friends are quite prone to raise an eyebrow. i dont know how it breaks down but i suspect that there must be tons of japanese men going to thailand for prostitutes coz that's a pretty consistent reaction from japanese, and i never get that reaction from other ppl here.

it's interesting that other countries dont have a reputation for prostitution, i think because of the 'in your face' aspect of it maybe, or that ppl where you're from are going for that reason?

as for blondie's age-difference-loathing fetish, i have heard absolutely nothing singling out thailand as the capital of big age differences. there are certainly big age differences in couples everywhere, especially when there are big differences in income or status but that is not always the key driver either. my friend bart is about 20 years older than his gf and they're both graphic designers, no income or status gap at all. and here anyway it goes both ways, the woman i *almost* married is seven years older than me, the *other* woman i almost married is 13 years younger (yeah i'm 0-2). i know a woman, a theater/film director in her 40s who *always* has a pretty boy actor in his early 20s... don't see what the big deal is with that but hey blondie if it is the age difference that grosses you out then i'm a perv too, so what.

i do suspect that the situations that he's reacting to also are cases where there's a big difference economically and education-wise between the old guy and the girl--having seen situations where a desperate, poor, uneducated young girl marries the first chance she has at a better life, i thnk he may have applied that sweepingly across the board to *all* couples with a significant age difference. which is stereotyping, and stereotyping kinda grosses *me* out but hey everyone has their thing that bugs them and most stereotypes are based on *something*.

also i am not inherently disgusted by the idea of prostitution and would in theory pay to bang halle berry given the opportunity (even if it were an option i could never afford it). however, what does gross me out is that the rampant prostitution that is overt is always about desperate poor ppl getting by any way they can, and ppl with a whole lot more bank exploiting that and then turning around and crying how disgusted they are by it when asked in public.