Why does Western press and artist always focus on sex tourism in Thailand (always always Thailand, always always sex tourism) but forget and ignore the far more disturbing world of the sold sex slaves working in countless South East Asian brothels? Are we only concerned with the WESTERN connections! What about a non Western angle? Why do we always have to be part of the story all the time? Are we so self obsessed? Is it only when Westerners are included that we care? Or is it just easier to go to the places where the tourist hang out ignoring the more deeper and disturbing- dangerous worlds of brothels,. Where people are sold into the industry (often young women), where the local men are customers and where the corrupt politicians and police benefit through bribes, and also customers.
Tonight I read about a sex tourism play showing in my city. A play that seems to have its heart in the right place but that misses the bigger and more important picture which is the devastating story of the lives of the brothel sex worker. This is another reason why I might try to tell my story "Lost Innocence" a photographic story. It seems no one else has the courage to go into those terrible non Western brothel worlds and speak of the nightmare the sold sex worker lives. Most everyone else ignores this terrible problem, these lost and forgotten lives.
I was going to post the comment below on the Edmonton Journal newspaper story page on the play but could not so decided instead to post it here.
A very worthy subject for a play. In my experience finances, economics are the underlying reasons as indicated in the story. An even far greater and more disturbing type of exploitation than Western sex tourism Thai scene thou is the young women sold into the brothels of South East Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Burma etc.) Many times families will sell their own daughters to the brothels (economics again) who then often go with (raped) 10 or more customers (their term) a day. These customers are predominantly local men. In Cambodia the men uses a slang term "invading Vietnam" when they go to a brothel, as the Cambodian brothel workers are usually illegal Vietnamese. An extremely high percentage of South East Asian men have their first sexual experience that way. I read a stat several years ago that out that number at around 80%, it might be accurate. The sex tourism world is exploitative and ugly but the brothel world is far worse, as ugly life as you can imagine. See the link.
Gerry
The Hardest Part, Gerry Yaum Blog Story
Here is a link to the play also, probably well worth seeing, give it a look. I might give it a look later on. I just wish someone would focus on the bigger picture, the stories of people like this young woman I photographed in 2003.
http://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/theatre/actor-expects-audience-to-gasp-in-uncompromising-play-about-sex-tourism-soliciting-temptation
Tonight I read about a sex tourism play showing in my city. A play that seems to have its heart in the right place but that misses the bigger and more important picture which is the devastating story of the lives of the brothel sex worker. This is another reason why I might try to tell my story "Lost Innocence" a photographic story. It seems no one else has the courage to go into those terrible non Western brothel worlds and speak of the nightmare the sold sex worker lives. Most everyone else ignores this terrible problem, these lost and forgotten lives.
I was going to post the comment below on the Edmonton Journal newspaper story page on the play but could not so decided instead to post it here.
A very worthy subject for a play. In my experience finances, economics are the underlying reasons as indicated in the story. An even far greater and more disturbing type of exploitation than Western sex tourism Thai scene thou is the young women sold into the brothels of South East Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Burma etc.) Many times families will sell their own daughters to the brothels (economics again) who then often go with (raped) 10 or more customers (their term) a day. These customers are predominantly local men. In Cambodia the men uses a slang term "invading Vietnam" when they go to a brothel, as the Cambodian brothel workers are usually illegal Vietnamese. An extremely high percentage of South East Asian men have their first sexual experience that way. I read a stat several years ago that out that number at around 80%, it might be accurate. The sex tourism world is exploitative and ugly but the brothel world is far worse, as ugly life as you can imagine. See the link.
Gerry
The Hardest Part, Gerry Yaum Blog Story
Here is a link to the play also, probably well worth seeing, give it a look. I might give it a look later on. I just wish someone would focus on the bigger picture, the stories of people like this young woman I photographed in 2003.
http://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/theatre/actor-expects-audience-to-gasp-in-uncompromising-play-about-sex-tourism-soliciting-temptation
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| Vietnamese girl who was sold into the brothel world, Poi Pet Cambodia 2003 |
