I feel I have a good handle on the industry after 5 years in Thailand. However, my views are probably quite different than a 25 year old western female so keep that in mind.
First off ... Buddhism, unlike most religions does not have much to say about sex ... what is permitted and what is taboo. That means that Thais do not have a sense of guilt associated with the acts of sex. However, please understand that Thai society has norms. For example, you will never see a Thai woman in public going bra less. It just does not happen. They are quite modest in public outside of the red light districts. So the first major difference is there is no religious guilt re sex outside of marriage.
The second most important issue is the low standard of living in most asean countries. Here is a chart that illustrates minimum wages per country in US$.
The take away from this chart is the Thai minimum wage of $10 US per 12 hour day.
Please note that many countries are worse!
Minimum wage is important but what of someone who goes and spends 4 years at university. How much can they earn? The following chart illustrates high school, college, and university grad earnings. You can simply divide by 30 to get the US $ equivalent.
You will notice that a university graduate can earn 19,200 Baht a month or approximately $640 a month. You would make much more on pogey in Canada.
Most sex industry workers have only a grade 9 education so they would be earning minimum wage or 9,000 Baht a month which is $300 US, again, for a 12 hour day.
In western christian/Judaic societies we hold certain types of people who earn money using their physical assets in high regard. These would be professional athletes, entertainers like ballet and jazz dancers, high fashion models, etc. For some reason, these very same societies condemn any woman or man who uses their body to perform a sex act for money.
However, I would venture that best looking women end up with the highest earning men. Are they guilty of parlaying their good looks into a higher social status? Food for thought :-)
I think there are two main reasons women end up in Thailand's sex industry.
The first reason is economics. I have heard this story so many times from so many girls working in the industry. They finish school at 15. By 16 they are hooked up with a Thai boy of similar age. Both are earning 9,000 Baht so they bring in 18,000 Baht, which is almost the same as a university graduate. They can live and have fun. Unfortunately the girl becomes pregnant, gives birth, and can no longer work. Now their income is halved and they have a baby to care for. This is hard on 18 year olds.
Pretty soon the boy starts getting angry, starts 'boxing' (Thai phrase for physical abuse) and starts fooling around on the girl. The baby gets sent back to the village where the girl's mom looks after the baby. The girl goes back to work but sends 5,000 Baht of her salary home to momma to look after the baby. Life is not too bad until the girl gets pregnant again. This time the Thai boy who is 19 sees what the rest of his life will be like and 'fucks' off leaving the girl with 2 babies. She can't get a job in the village so she leaves to go to the city to get a job.
She gets a job at 9,000 baht and sends as much money home to mamma as she can. It is not long before she is hooked up with another lo-so Thai boy but is not much of an asset as she sends most of her wages home to mamma. It is not long before she is pregnant again or the Thai boy is fooling around on her. She looks for a way out of this trap and the only way is the sex industry where she feels she has control of her life.
Girls end up in the industry by referral. They another girl or a friend of a friend with a contact in the industry. The industry is very different that it is in North America where it is effectively against the law. In North America women end up working for a pimp who controls them and leaves them little choice in what they do. They often hand over most of their wages to the pimp.
There are different type of workers.
There are the freelancers who work the various hotel bars (if classy) or the street if not so classy. Regardless they have no pimp and choose their clients as required by economic need and personal taste. They are not forced by anyone. Some of these girls are in university earning money for tuition or money to shop with. There aren't many of this type of worker. Prices vary. (1,000 - 3000 baht)
There are the escort girls that you can book online or by calling a number. These girls all tend to be beautiful and classy and demand a higher price. They come to you and will spend short time (2 hours) or long time (all night) for the gfe (girl friend experience). Prices vary. (5,000 - 10,000 Baht)
There are the girls that work the bars. They earn there money by getting patrons to buy them drinks at the 'lady' rate which is usually twice what the usual rate is. These girls can often make quite a bit of money from drinks in one night. 10 drinks = 1,000 Baht which is over 3 times the minimum wage. Many of these girls never 'go' with a 'customer'. They are content with the 1,000 Baht. Coyote dancers fall into this category. They are often university students, young, 20ish, and great bodies.
There are the gogo girls, often working the same bars ... they dance or shuffle around a stage to music. They usually have a number tag on their leg (that may be the only thing they are wearing) and will come to sit with you and talk, hoping you will buy them a drink, and possibly take them out of the bar, short term or long term. You simply ask the mamasan (older retired industry worker) that you wish to talk to number 77 (yes, there can be that many in a larger bar) and she will come talk to you. The girl does not have to go with you. It is her choice and she may say no if she does not like you or finds you offensive. If she does decide to go with you, you will have to bar fine her (500 - 750 Baht depending on the bar). This bar fine is required because you have removed an asset from the bar (girls get you to buy drinks which is good for liquor sales). The price is usually 2,000 baht short term or 5,000 Baht long term. The girl may jack up the rate if business has been good and you are not attractive.
There are also two other types of bars where women (they are usually older or not so pretty) ply their trade. These are the so called HJ and BJ bars. I really do not know much about them apart from what friend have told me and I have read on the internet.. They offer their services in the bar, sometimes discretely, and sometime not so discretely. HJ's are 750 baht and BJ's are 1,000 baht. I believe this is the bottom of the pit in the industry.
Then there are the massage parlours that offer happy endings. Everything happens in house. The massage is 500 baht and the happy ending is 1500 Baht. How do you tell which massage parlours are part of the industry? Easy, if there are a bunch of pretty, sexy girls outside saying 'welcome, handsome man' then duh!
In the 5 years I have been in Thailand there has been an increase in girls who are making a career out of being in the industry. They are young, beautiful, and have no children. They can earn anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 baht a month.
This is the end of Part 1 where I describe the industry. In later parts I will describe some of the girls I know who work in the industry and discuss whether the punters prey on them or the girls prey on the punters.
TTYL
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