Stickman Readers' Submissions January 28th, 2010

Questions Concerning The Morality Of Whoremongering


I have been following the ongoing debate here on Stickman’s, covering the morality of whoremongering. There is a great deal to be said about each submission, each one raise questions, some more important than others.

Instinctively and on grounds I haven’t thought deeply about, I would have said what Stickman or Rahiri says, what the ones that are against mongering says in one way or another: “Most girls leave in much worse shape than when
they first started. Poor, just as they were, but add to that physically, mentally and emotionally scarred”.

He Clinic Bangkok

This is the view I am born into and raised up with, like most of us are or everyone. It is fair more easily to express and defend this view then the opposite one – but is it true?

I can’t say that I am for or against the sex trade in Thailand, not now, not after reading submissions on the site for years and seen other sides of the world than the one I was born into and raised in – there are far to many questions
I can’t answer.

“Most girls leave in much worse shape than when they first started. Poor, just as they were, but add to that physically, mentally and emotionally scarred”. What does this mean? Is it true?

CBD bangkok

What is “most girls”? Is it 51 or 81% of the girls? How much worse or how much better of are they? Greatly or a little bit?

What does “first started” mean? Does it mean selling sex to foreigners on a regular basis for at least one month or one year? Where, in a regular beer bar?

What does “leave in worse shape then when they first started” mean? Does it mean that 51 or 81% of the girls? how works at least one year or two? in a beer bar? selling sex to foreigners in Thailand are worse of then there friends
and neighbors at home are, after one ore two years?

Are friends and neighbors who didn’t end up selling sex adequate to compare with? If they are: Why didn’t they end up selling sex? How do we know that we compeer apples with apples and not with pears?

wonderland clinic

What exactly does physically, mentally and emotionally scarred mean? How do we compare with when we say that most of the ones who enter the industry are worse of then there likes how didn’t?

Are we sure that there are better alternatives, right here and now, for the ones that enter the sex market? What are these alternatives and why don’t they choose these better alternatives?

If most girls or ladies leave in much worse shape than when they first started, if most of them are losers – how are the winners? To what extent might the family be winners in these cases? If they are: How much does this mean to a
mother or a daughter selling sex? If her action, the money that comes out of it, helps the family? Shouldn’t it count for something? Maybe it makes her happy and satisfied in different ways and favors her later in life?

What I want to know by asking this questions is on what scientific grounds we stand, when most of us, if not out of scientific knowledge, instinctively condemn whoremongering and its consequences?

I hope there are people here how can help me straitened out these questions.

This is my first submission. I hope it is accepted. I also must say that this is a fantastic site. It contains a lot of great reading. Thanks Stick and everybody else contributing to this.

Val

Stickman's thoughts:

Lots of very good questions and many are difficult to answer for most of us.

To get the answers to some of these questions, I believe it help if one has spent time in villages in Thailand, seen the lifestyles the people lead, and engaged them in conversation, all of which helps to understand the involvement of women from that community into the bar scene. Those readers who live in rural Isaan have this unique perspective and at least one contributor in this debate, Rahiri, presently resides in an Isaan village.

I won't try to answer all of your questions because some would require a lengthy answer and some I simply cannot answer. But what I will say is this. For me, the feelings I expressed in my article on this subject were based on what I have seen with my own eyes in villages (including Rahiri's where I have overnighted on a couple of times) as well as other villages I have visited (and I mean visit people and go into their homes and chat with them in their own language) in Udon, Ubon, Korat and Nakhon Phanom and of course the conversations with these people.

I have had interesting conversations with a woman called "Cat" who lives in Rahiri's village. Often I go for a walk around, carry my camera and Cat always accosts me and we chat at length. She speaks decent enough English and I remember the first time I met her she said "I am no a bargirl", probably within 2 or 3 minutes of meeting her. There's a stigma up there.

Sorry, I am rambling way too much and will end it here.

nana plaza