Whoring Is As Whoring Does

Korski once again has all of donning our “thinking caps”. Ideally we would be having a spirited conversation on this subject over a drink or two, preferably in a bar with a bevy of Thai beauties on stage strutting their stuff. Alas, that will have to be some time in the future. For now, you are stuck with me doing all the talking. Once again I am basing what I write on my opinions. Feel free to disagree.

I thought I would take a slightly different approach on the subject of those who sell sex. Every day we engage in commercial transactions. We hand over money in exchange for goods and services. This morning I bought an iced café mocha. I paid 40 baht. I went to a locksmith and had two keys made. It cost me 50 baht. Just down the street I bought a can of lock lubricant. That set me back 90 baht. Later that afternoon I went to my pharmacist and bought some medicine. That was the big purchase of the day, a whopping 2,600 baht. I did some grocery shopping at Big C. That set me back just over 1,100 baht. In every case, I took money out of my wallet and handed it over to a number of smiling men and women. In every case we all went away happy. Were the folks who took my money whores? I mean they weren’t giving anything away. That of course is a silly question. In these commercial transactions, everyone received exactly what we had agreed on. So why the hell are we soooooo outraged at the very idea that sex is being sold? Why do we degrade the women who sell it with the derogative word whore? Like Korski, I reserve that term for politicians and preachers!

What I would like to do is make the case that not only shouldn’t we denigrate those selling that most delightful of commodities, but in fact place them on an alabaster pedestal, and strew flower petals at their feet! By now you’re probably thinking that old Sawadeee has finally gone off the deep end. Not so I say! Let me explain my thinking. Regardless of whatever Cosmic Questions are waiting to be answered about “Life, the Universe and Everything”, the fact is that we live in the here and now. Speculation about what if anything lies beyond this moral life is irrelevant. In the end we are all just trying to get by and live the fullest, most satisfying lives we can. That means engaging all our senses, as well as of course our intellects. I think that all of you Stickmanites out there reading this would agree that sex, and the intimacy that often accompanies it is right at the top of the list when it comes to physical pleasure. Whatever it is that “turns you on”, sexual release is probably “as good as it gets”. I think it’s safe to say most of us (yes, me included) can never get enough! We may enjoy other sensual experiences: viewing a magnificent sunset, listening to our favorite music, inhaling the heady fragrance of flowers, or savoring a fine bottle of wine. But few of us would choose any those over an old-fashioned, mind-blowing, screaming orgasm. Of course a combination of all these wouldn’t be a bad way to spend an evening either!

Note please that here I’m separating sex from love. While the two can go hand in hand, (and that is an ideal situation) that is often times not the case. Sexual satisfaction can exist without love, and that’s just fine with me. If we agree that this is what most men are looking for…sex with no attachments, why then do so many men put down those who provide them with exactly that?

Here in the Land of Smiles are some of the loveliest women on the planet, who will, in exchange for a relatively small amount of cash, perform the most intimate of acts…sometimes enthusiastically (if you’re lucky) sometimes (if you are really lucky), with smiles on their faces. In many cases the mere mention of some of these intimate acts will go over like a lead balloon with one’s domestic partner. “You want me to do what? …when hell freezes over!” So who do you turn to fulfill your fantasies? Why a professional sex provider of course…and possibly more than one!

“But I never pay for it” I hear from time to time. But of course these folks are willing to pay for some other rather intimate services without a qualm. For example…

Has anyone out there of “a certain age” ever had a colonoscopy performed? If not, why not? While not likely to go down as anyone’s favorite medical procedures, it really is prudent to have one done to check for anything before a life threatening condition develops. I had the nasty but necessary thing done once (and only once). I can hardly believe that I paid a tidy sum to have a doctor snake a tube up into where the sun
doesn’t shine and poke around. I won’t even go into the procedure I had to endure at home to prepare for the damned thing. Let’s just say it involves drinking about a gallon of a nasty tasting liquid and camping out by the
toilet for a while. You don’t gripe at the hospital cashier, do you? So why would you balk at paying an attractive young thing for the opportunity to “play doctor” with her. You pay a plumber to fix a clogged drain, but call
a girl who is willing to clean out another “set of pipes” a whore.

Do all of you resemble Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt? I don’t; not that I resemble Jabba the Hut either. In my misspent youth I had my share of attractive girlfriends. I could stand to lose a few pounds, but hey, who of us couldn’t? I doubt that too many working girls would run away in horror at the sight of me. Think though with what many of them they must endure…frequently: Obese, foul-smelling men with bad breath, too many tattoos, and scratchy beards. Many of them drunk, ill mannered, in need of some fresh clothes, and did I mention just plain butt ugly! These fine specimens of humanity want to stick their diseased looking tongues in their mouths…not to mention everywhere else. These guys want the girls to service them in every manner possible, in every available orifice…repeatedly. Well, of course that is why they are being paid, but still, can you imagine doing the same to every woman that asks you regardless of how hideously repulsive they were? Would you like to be swapping spit with your worst nightmare…or even worse, going down for a taste of the Sea Hag’s honey pot? Are you gagging at the mere thought? That is why I say all of you mongers here in Thailand ought to kiss the feet of these heroic “horizontal therapists”! The best of these can do more for your psyche than any shrink out there!

That is not to say that many girls working the trade are not ice cold, black hearted bitches of the first magnitude. Oh, they are here in legion,
and doing the best to sell you more than you bargained for…a world of lies, pain and misery. I maintain though these women would be the same bitches if they were selling som tam instead of their bodies. I consider these women
to be whores. When a seemingly straightforward business proposition turns into a scam, a whore is born. Using people is evil…period. Taking advantage of another human being is shameful. It doesn’t matter if we are talking about a gal
selling sex, or an unscrupulous used car dealer. The unethical behavior of a sleazebag lawyer is not any better on my moral scale than a hardened bar girl stringing along a bunch of “sponsors”.

There is a tremendous variety of bar girls, massage girls, freelancers etc. out there. Many are straight forward service providers. They give exactly what they promise…and if a fellow is well groomed, polite, treats them with a little respect, and gives a little TLC, he just may end up having the much sought GFE. Many girls promise much and deliver little. Oh, there are soooo many starfish in the sea! Then of course there are those looking to snag a “rich” farang. Who can blame them? Isn’t the goal of many western women back in Farangland much the same? I have no problem with girls looking for a better life. The problem is when it’s all an elaborate scam. The train wrecks from such sham relationships are documented here all too frequently.

Let’s for a moment dismiss all bitches, leeches, and harpies from our consideration. Let’s limit the discussion to the honest exchange of money for honey. It’s not called the “World’s Oldest Profession” for nothing. Let’s also remove from the equation, child abuse and women forced to sell their bodies. This should evoke revulsion in you I would hope. Today I want to refer only to consenting adults, doing whatever consenting adults choose to do.

Here in Thailand, the sex industry…and it is indeed an industry, brings in a tremendous amount of hard currency. The potential earnings for a successful girl are a hell of a lot more than she would ever be able to earn back on the farm. How much money do mongers spend while here on hotel accommodations, in bars, restaurants, and shops of all description? It surely must be a staggering sum. I would love to know what part of the GNP it is!

The bottom line is then that lot’s of money is being made, and a lot of men are walking around with a big smile on their faces. Oh, and never forget that the vast majority of those smiling faces are Thai. However flashy the Farang end of the industry is, it’s in the hamlets, villages, towns and cities across Thailand that most sex is being sold…by Thais, for Thais!

It is a pity that the lives of too many girls in the industry are ruined by their indulgence in drugs, alcohol and gambling. Are you responsible for this bad behavior? Of course not, unless you are plying the girls in question with too many drinks, and supplying them with yaba. We all make personal choices, and then have to live with the consequences.

If only there was no stigma associated with providing sex. A much more “refined” culture might emerge. Consider the courtesans of ancient times. They were often among the most educated in society. They were expected to be well read and to be brilliant conversationalists in a variety of subjects, including philosophy and politics. They often sang, played musical instruments and composed poetry. Not exactly your common street harlot! Unfortunately not what you are likely to find in the bars of Bangkok and Pattaya.

Hey Dana, have I got an opportunity for you! You are obviously the one to open the Siamese Charm and Finishing School for Budding Horizontal Sex Therapists! Under your training regimen I expect we would see a dramatic improvement in the quality of erotic services available here in The Land of Smiles. I can hardly wait to meet your first graduating class!

Stickman's thoughts:

Fair comments indeed. But the question then needs to be asked, just who is a whore?