Sex & Sleaze...
Three days stay may not be enough to comment on a country’s or city’s culture… but then, something that is flashed on your face again and again, is impossible to be ignored… and specially when it is something very infamous like sex and sleaze…
Sex tourism exists in all parts of the world I know… but I would assume they are in pockets and not spurt all around… But in Bangkok, sex tourism is taken very seriously… I had a feeling, every woman in the city, working in any service related field, be it waitress in hotel/restaurants, saleswoman in shops/malls, local roadside vendor, air hostess, massage parlour, ticketing counter, even the bank counter, every single woman is ingrained to receive and give sexual advances… and then there are women who are in the actual profession of sex shows, sex trade and prostitution which is again an integral part of their ethos… From what I read and understood, its not that these women come from lesser privileged strata… neither are they looked down upon (only my eyes would pop out to see them walk tall all around me)…
My exposure to this highly open (or primitive!!) culture began with this acquaintance with an elderly Indian lady… met her in one of our shopping excursions in Bangkok and she was kind enough to enlighten us on this so-called tabooed life that is a renowned source of entertainment in Bangkok… she is a single woman from Delhi, late 50s, independent, travels all over on her own, lives life as if theres no tomorrow for her… without any misgivings, she easily slips into the varied cultures she is exposed to, however close or far it is from the culture she comes from… and I come from too… like a learned old sex guru, she gave a discourse on how one should approach this society with an open mind and look at it as an informative and educative material !! “Really??” I had exclaimed !! me and my friends had a real hearty laugh then…
And this laugh continued as we explored the shady and sordid life with ‘open mind’ (but closed souls, tucked away somewhere deep within!!)… In any case, it is interesting to be exposed to life that thrives on the basic instincts of beings (human or otherwise)… on the elementary need of life… on the most celebrated form of expression… on masculinity and femininity… and yet looked at as ‘outlawed’… mired in a world of ‘sleaze’…
Sex tourism exists in all parts of the world I know… but I would assume they are in pockets and not spurt all around… But in Bangkok, sex tourism is taken very seriously… I had a feeling, every woman in the city, working in any service related field, be it waitress in hotel/restaurants, saleswoman in shops/malls, local roadside vendor, air hostess, massage parlour, ticketing counter, even the bank counter, every single woman is ingrained to receive and give sexual advances… and then there are women who are in the actual profession of sex shows, sex trade and prostitution which is again an integral part of their ethos… From what I read and understood, its not that these women come from lesser privileged strata… neither are they looked down upon (only my eyes would pop out to see them walk tall all around me)…
My exposure to this highly open (or primitive!!) culture began with this acquaintance with an elderly Indian lady… met her in one of our shopping excursions in Bangkok and she was kind enough to enlighten us on this so-called tabooed life that is a renowned source of entertainment in Bangkok… she is a single woman from Delhi, late 50s, independent, travels all over on her own, lives life as if theres no tomorrow for her… without any misgivings, she easily slips into the varied cultures she is exposed to, however close or far it is from the culture she comes from… and I come from too… like a learned old sex guru, she gave a discourse on how one should approach this society with an open mind and look at it as an informative and educative material !! “Really??” I had exclaimed !! me and my friends had a real hearty laugh then…
And this laugh continued as we explored the shady and sordid life with ‘open mind’ (but closed souls, tucked away somewhere deep within!!)… In any case, it is interesting to be exposed to life that thrives on the basic instincts of beings (human or otherwise)… on the elementary need of life… on the most celebrated form of expression… on masculinity and femininity… and yet looked at as ‘outlawed’… mired in a world of ‘sleaze’…
3 comments
Aiyaiyo... :P
ReplyDeletesmall correction : most of the women involved in the trade are from Northern Thailand and Myanmar and are driven by the fact that many of them are single mothers and their good for nothing husbands left them....with a baby...in the culture they love children and many of them are in the trade to take care of their children and family...the other is to catch a farang as tht in their minds is a ticket to hopefully greater comfort and security
ReplyDeleteThere is an implicit acceptance of such
ReplyDelete" entertainment " in most if not all oriental cultures... Japan, Korea and china. The organized entertainment part is more recent but polygamy and polyandry is more a cultural idyocyncracy there.
I ve read somewhere that Indian society too was as "open" if not more until a few centuries ago until we turned 'hypocritical'
This parellel economy.. sorry mainstream economy in thailand helps the country survive and therefore not looked down upon .