Flashing Flesh
By Juliha b Mohd Noor
There is speculation that the recent move by the Thai government to legalize prostitution would be to reap the economic profits that the flesh trade brings about annually. About 4.3 billion dollars or 3 percent of the Thai economy is fueled by the flesh business of 100,000 to 200,000 Thai women. However the unofficial figures seem to suggest that almost 2 million Thai women are in the sex industry.
“The issue of prostitution has been reduced to an issue of taxation for state income generation,” says Virada Somswasdi, an academic who studied the issue of legalization of prostitution in Thailand.
The human circus in Bangkok, particularly in Patpong is one area that exemplifies the issues that Somswasdi speaks of. The average tourist who walks down the aisles under the neon lights, elbowing their way from one strip joint to another will not fail to notice that 90 percent of the labour force in the red light district of Patpong are women. Barely dressed, clad in what could be minimal clothing - these women call out to all. Men and women alike - alluring them with their flirting and flesh, into the bars where the real acts begin.
For as little as 200 baht, one could comfortably sit oneself in a strip joint with a complimentary drink in hand watching women in their more flexible positions with a pole as their best friend for the entire night. Gyrating to music, these expressionless bodies slide and shake, exposing their breasts and genitals for the viewing pleasure of the majority male crowd. These women not only strip and do lap dances but have certainly included premium services in the bag to stay ahead of the competition. Some of the acts that greet patrons to such establishments are akin to a scene from ‘Ripley’s believe it or not’. The writer bore witness to such acts that evidently showed how the vagina is not only a reproductive organ but a receptacle to inanimate objects like strings, pins and needles. The vagina also transformed itself into a horn blowing and bullet shooting mechanism.
Academics like Somswasdi is of the view that the Thai society fails to understand that prostitution is about the flesh trade and involves a high risk of exposure to violence characterized by bodily harm health hazards and mental trauma. It is about the violation of human rights. This is visibly apparent in the red light districts of Bangkok where the voracity for cash overrides the violation of human rights. For the writer, walking down the streets of the flesh trade here shows how the lure of the dollar is clearly redefining the biological functions of the human anatomy.
hi, just like to say that the sex trade is the only reason some tourists visit thailand again and again. it is a business, and thank goodness the thai in the street knows that, unlike our academic who wants to link it with human rights. Most thais knows that it is a very well paid business, for very little outlay.
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