Thailand's strong reputation for prostitution?

Question

Do you find it telling that when Thailand is mentioned in popular culture in America, it is always (ten times out of ten now) in reference to prostitution? Whenever people make jokes using thailand as a reference, they always use the words "thai hooker". This is all over film and television.

And i see alot of people say that is all they have to offer. That is most likely not true, but I think the Thai government should do a better job changing its image. Farangs are going there and abusing women, because they think to themselves that Thai girls are the easiest girls in the planet. One of my good Thai friends there (and most innocent) is a victim of this, she was raped by a foreigner she trusted and he just moved onto another girl.


I hope people there are as upset about this as I am. This has got to change, if foreigners are ever going to respect Thailand...

Answer 1

Yes, I am as upset as you are.

Answer 2

Thailand was too accessible to Vietnam during the war years. And their beer bars and go-gos became notoriously famous. And being a buddhist country it is tolerated. Yet, there is prostitution everywhere in Asia, though quietly handles because the asian attitude toward it is tolerated but, not openly. My friend who visits Manila regularly for business says you get have a girl all night for USD20 or less. Because it is a christian country you don't hear about it that much. Though it is known by some. Hong Kong is rampant with massage parlors and hostess bars. Yet, you don't see the authorities cracking down on them. Like I said it is tolerated. It's just the Thai beer bars and go-go bars are so overt about it. And besides Bangkok, Phuket and Phi Phi and thai silks, what else do you hear about? Beer bars, go-go bars, massage parlors and sex trade on the streets. Granted it is in isolated areas, but most noticed at night with the neons. LOL You have to realize that the women are in survival mode. They want a better life. if their families are farmers they make very little money. I found the census for 2000 updated in 2002 for Thailand a while back. 50 percent of the population was involved in agriculture or farming. The GNP for farming added up to around 10 percent of the GNP for all of Thailand. It is a sad statistic. And it is not much different around asia, which is why many farmers send their daughters to the city to get an education or get a city job so they can send money home to help. And they get drawn to the big money of the sex trade or .... To reiterate what happens in Thailand is not much different than what happens in other parts of asia or europe or north america. It is just tolerated in the open more than other place in Thailand. Filth? I would rate Bangkok's restaurants nearly first class as far as cleanliness. Though the Klongs in Bangkok are filthy and reeking. And the Chao Phraya river is horribly polluted. Reminder, Thailand is an emerging third world nation.

Answer 3

It is an unfortunate reality. I have no idea what the answer to the problem is. I do know that the majority of novels written about Thailand paint a fairly disturbing picture of the practices here. Novels such as Thai Girl, Private Dancer, Bangkok 8, and books like Bangkok Dick, Confessions of a Bangkok Private Eye. I can go on, but you get the point. Thai Girl probably best shows the extent of the problem here the best without sensationalising it. Andrew Hicks (the author) isn't always on the money, but he certainly has seen enough to make the read very interesting, and at times quite funny. With the exception of Thai girl, the novels mentioned here deal with the farang-thai issues, where Thai Girl addresses both thai-thai and thai-farang issues.



That said, Thais are very discreet. And the Thai practices are very muted comapred to what westerners do. It is a source of amusement for many thais to see a farang and a bar-girl walking down the street together. Thai men would never be seen in public with a prostitute, and if he were to be seen with one, he would have a major loss of face. The problem is not the amount of prostitution that is Thai-Thai prostitution, the problem is that a few farangs give Thai women a very bad name.



As far as changing it, that will take a very long time. The economy benefits from it. As the Thais become increasingly educated, the problem will slowly abate.



And whoever the goon was that referenced me, I made no mention (I think) of the number of Thais who visit prostitutes, what I said was that the vast majority of prostitution here is Thai-Thai. Simple math would prove that. Foriegners make up a small fraction of the population here, and the demand for commercial sex is a small fraction as well. Even if you skew the numbers, there is no way to arrive at any conclusion other than the vast majority of sex workers service the local population. Thailand is no different than any other country in that regard. I would like to see somebody do the math that would show the contrary!



BTW- The MAXIMUM sentence for sex with a person under 16 is 20 years. If the victim is under 13, the max is life.



There have been several high profile pedophilia cases as of late, and the sentence handed to each of the three perps was 10 years.



The minimum wage in Thailand is 4400 a month, or just under 1100 baht a week, not 200 baht per week. I am not sure what rice farmers make, but I am sure that even the smallest factories adhere to the minimum wage requirements.

Answer 4

I guess you truly reflect the general feeling of Thais who have to contact with Westerners. Firstly, I had a female friend who had the same experience with an American guy also but some 20 years ago, so same problem persists. The only way is to report the incident to the police and make sure that lesson is well deserved attention and that rape is a crime, and more importantly Thai jail isn’t as comfort for tourists as most hotels are.

Prostitution is a problem for Thailand, as most developing countries will be facing with. Say Japan in the aftermath of the Second World War and perhaps China and Vietnam now facing. There are prostitutions to a various degree in Korea, Japan, the UK, US, France, Germany among many other countries (or I should say in every country in the world). But, why would Thailand being singled out?

I’d say country that opts for export-led growth using exchange rate as a major instrument as the only comparative advantage will face this. Resulting of course is the comparatively cheap labour in relations to the exchange rate, hence making prostitutes also cheaper. This makes therefore any low life scum can afford the comparatively cheap prostitution that they might not otherwise be able to purchase these services in their countries or in Japan, France, UK or any other countries.

Thai government is trying, although in my view insufficiently to combat this problem. Then again, the problem is cure considering time passes. Northern girls, especially from Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lampoon, Payoaw and among other provinces used to be labelled as prostitutes coming to Bangkok, but, I would think that isn’t the case anymore. Prostitutions now come from girls of other regions. This is because the north has been developed, modernised and the culture changes. Seriously, prostitutions now come from girls of nearby countries where level of economic developments still are lower than Thailand. Despite many cases, north-eastern girls still work in this prostitution area as one can see mostly in Pattaya and Patpong, namely.

As long as Thai politic is still meddling with the power of interest affairs, this problem will not be seriously tackled. Anyone’s hope for the problem to be solved (only in reputation) would have to wait until the level of the economic development go up on par with the Western World, which I don’t know whether that days will come or not. Until then, live with it and do what you can to ensure that your sanity is well protected against those prejudice low life scums.

Answer 5

Of course any compassionate person will be upset to hear that your friend was raped. But that is - fortunately - an exception rather than the rule. It is wrong to assume that all foreigners living in or visiting Thailand are rapists.



As for your main assertion that Thailand's only "claim to fame" in the US is prostitution, then I must counter that it depends on who you ask and which information sources you refer to. Not all Americans form their opinion based on what can be seen on Jerry Springer, Oprah or Hollywood movies.



I don't think it is the Thai government's task to educate ill-informed trailer trash about the "real Thailand". It's an impossible task.



The Thai embassy in DC is quite active - and so it TAT - in promoting Thailand, but they are focused on where they expect to make the largest positive impact.



To them - and to me - it doesn't really matter what harebrained people think about Thailand. I'd rather that they stay away.



It is impossible to eradicate prostitution (it also exists in the USA, so why not start there if it is so easy), so - as IceCube stated - one has to live with it as a fact of life until economic development gradually limits the financial "benefits" (in relative terms) gained from becoming a prostitute.



Already, economic development has forced prices of sexual services up in Thailand, which makes Thailand a less attractive destination for sex tourists.



If you analyze the composition of tourist arrivals in Thailand over the past 15 years, you will find a huge increase in tourists from Asia, in group tour tourists, and in family tourists.

The number of single male Caucasian tourists has also increased over that 15-year time span, but in relative terms, the sex tourist is now not the main category.



Europeans may prefer go to Prague or Warszaw while North Americans may flock to the Dominican Republic for carnal pleasures rather than going all the way to SE Asia.

Answer 6

the main problem is not the Thai girls or the poor economic of the country..no no no...the problem is the government who let it go everything like that, the system must be go on, definitely i dont agree with Ice that is a common problem for a development country, i travel a lot to many countries from Russia to Nicaragua, from Washington DC to Buenos Aires and the prostitution is not a problem in any countries. I never see in Hawaii prostitutes on the beach, i never see prostitutes on the beach in Dominican Republic, i never see prostitutes in Virginia Beach, i never see prostitutes in San Sebastian Spain, i never see a lot of prostitutes as seen in the beaches of Thailand who has the blame?? Americans dont care because 80% of the american tourists make tourist in USA the 20% tourist in Europe and Southamerica and Caribbe, but Asia?? nobody care about Asia, only european care about Asia.

-the government for let it free this situation

-the inmigration rules for let go into Thai cheap bagpack tourists

Answer 7

Blame the media for making it appear that the whole country is a brothel. Thailand is perhaps my favorite country anywhere in the world and I've traveled there extensively. People that I know that haven't been there will say things like "you better be careful before you are shown on TV with underaged girls". They get this nonsense from the media who depicts Thailand in a negative light.

Answer 8

Thailand use to have a stong reputation for prostitution, but in recent years that has shifted away from Thailand to some of the neighboring countries and some of the Central American countries.



I think of Thailand as a nice tourist destination. Those coastal areas you see on the James Bond movie, and the city of Phuket. (an unfortunate English pronunciation).

Answer 9

This definetley is a sad situation, however prostitution account for 10% of revenue in bangkok (as of 2000) so you can see why the local government arn't in a hurry to crack down.

Answer 10

Being English ( but live in Thailand now ), I can only answer from a British viewpoint, and I can assure you that a lot of sex tourists from Britain no longer go to Thailand -- partly because of the length of the flight and partly because of what you get here. Prague is now getting near the top of the list of destinations for sex tourism, partly thanks to the cheap flights being offered by airlines such as Ryanair, and partly because it takes much less time to get there.

Answer 11

Tofi, what a load of crap !!! 80% of Thai men frequent brothels? get real, I'll bet Tofi is just another Yahoo ID of James B's. He was humiliated after his last question came back to bite him in the backside and created another account. Tofi's answer is almost identical to James B's claim. James, you're nowhere near as smooth as you think you are. 80%? You're insane, and you know nothing about Thailand.

Answer 12

Alegria ..... im not so sure about the conspiracy theory of yours. i see your point about both of them making ludicrious claims. 80% of Thai men frequenting brothels is laughable. ive just come to the realization that some people just dont have a clue and im not going to bother debating it anymore. guys like these are a dime a dozen, they make crazy claims and then ask you to prove them wrong. well ...... Mars used to have elephants and tigers .... prove me wrong. ive got better things to do then play patty cake with a one armed man. by the way, is your name after the Cirque Du Soleil CD? great CD.



now ..... as for the question, lol. culture and America in the same sentence? surely you jest. the only culture that exists in America is ME ME ME. who cares what Americans think? the rest of the world doesnt so why should you? but as for the prositution, say you have a 30 year old Thai woman who lives in NE Thailand. she can work under the sun 10 hours a day in a rice field for about $200 Baht a week and struggle to support her family .... OR .... she can go to Bangkok, or Pattaya and lay down on her back for any pig that pays for her and make $20,000 Baht in one week. the American dollar and the Euro feed this industry and its quite disgusting. but it also supports their entire family. Thailand has been cracking down on under age sex workers ....... anybody who gets caught having sex with a girl or boy under the age of 16 is lookinhg at a LIFE sentence in a Thai prison.

Answer 13

This is a legacy from the US deployment days in Thailand during the Vietnam wars. Just because the Thais treat them better than back home.

Answer 14

Yeah, it is a sad thing that is what people tend to think of in Thailand. Thailand and also the Philipeans are the worst human trafficing violators and lots of times the "hookers" are really tricked into doing it. They are told they are going to be made into singers/actors/or get legal weitress jobs instead their passports are stolen, they are locked in small apartments with lots of other girls and forced into the situation. Their governments should do something to change the image....but the local governments are often involved so that might not happen any time soon.

You can get involved with helping...



www.endhumantraffickingnow.com

Answer 15

Because of famous places like:



- Pattaya

- Patong

- Bangkok a few years ago

- Hat Yai for Malaysian Sex Tourists



because of the thai prostitution culture



everywhere in thailand are brothels or karaoke clubs for thai customers. everywhere. even in small villages.



prostitution is a part of thailand. 80% of the male thais are frequent brothel visitors.

the sex tourism is only a small part of the cake but the sex turism creates the bad reputation.