Channeling my Inner Prude in Bangkok
I've seen a lot in this trip and as it all percolates down connections form and impressions are made. Probably the biggest conclusion I've drawn thus far is that despite gigantic differences in culture and equally large differences in wealth, people everywhere are essentially similar and most people are good (see Beth's blog "Same Same Different Different" sixmonthtrip.blogspot.com). The City of Bangkok however has challenged me.
For those who don't know much about Bangkok it is a sprawling city of over 8 million. A major economic hub with a big tourism industry, it's a sleek, modern, city most famous for it's temples, street food and sex trade. It's the sex part that has given me pause.
With a few exceptions (the Taj Mahal) comes to mind) we have not seen many westerners since we left Turkey. That is until we hit Bangkok where "we" are everywhere. My peer cohort is well represented- older white couples seeing the world because they can. This tourist segment is generally well heeled if a bit clumsy navigating the hoards of pedestrians on the sidewalks and a bit confused figuring out the local Metro system. Then there is the dominant western tourist archetype. This is the white guy aged 20 to 60 who is escorted by a lovely Thai "girl friend". Often the older men are with a girl half their age. I saw one overweight and apparently mentally challenged young man with a petite shy girl who seemed somewhat mortified. He was wearing a tee shirt that proclaimed in big letters "FUCK HARD and MAKE A LOT OF NOISE". Another white guy on the subway,who gave off a definite Ted Kaczynski vibe, kept his hand between his girl's legs way up high under her short skirt for the whole ride. They did not talk and she was walking the fine line between total disgust and appeasing her client. Every day we see at least 20 of these couples in various permutations.
I have steadfastly tried not to jump to conclusion on this trip about people or customs. Researching the sex trade in Thailand I found out that most of the girls work solo without pimps. They often come from poor families in rural areas and many support their aging parents and relatives. Prostitution is a long established trade here preceding tourism by centuries. There is a kind of see no evil precept adhered to by both the police and the working girl's families. And money is hard to come by for the uneducated. It takes about $300 a month to support a small family. The minimum wage is 300 baht a day ($10).
Then there are the johns, brazen and insensitive as they seem, they also give off an air of silent desperation, of being caught in the eddies of an isolating society all the while being pummeled with porn and endless sex oriented media. Often the men are victims also. Emotionally famished they fall in love easily and, once their gold is depleted, are abandoned by the girl who, after all, is only in it for the money. Self delusion or, conversely, totally callousness are the hallmarks of the john.
Despite all my liberal tendencies my visceral reaction to the trade is disgust and cultural embarrassment. I cannot see how, despite the apparently symbiotic relationship between the parties, that there is any long term redeeming quality to these arrangements. It cheapens a beautiful culture and has to cause hate and resentment of the influence of the western dollar and, in turn, of westerners in general.
There is a difference between cultural assimilation and the reckless imposition of culture. I suppose this force is what the anarchists don't like about globalization. It can be seen on the subways and streets of all major cities where people have become cocooned and indifferent to the people around them. A far cry from the world's small villages where strangers are embraced and love is the glue that holds each day together.
I've seen a lot in this trip and as it all percolates down connections form and impressions are made. Probably the biggest conclusion I've drawn thus far is that despite gigantic differences in culture and equally large differences in wealth, people everywhere are essentially similar and most people are good (see Beth's blog "Same Same Different Different" sixmonthtrip.blogspot.com). The City of Bangkok however has challenged me.
For those who don't know much about Bangkok it is a sprawling city of over 8 million. A major economic hub with a big tourism industry, it's a sleek, modern, city most famous for it's temples, street food and sex trade. It's the sex part that has given me pause.
With a few exceptions (the Taj Mahal) comes to mind) we have not seen many westerners since we left Turkey. That is until we hit Bangkok where "we" are everywhere. My peer cohort is well represented- older white couples seeing the world because they can. This tourist segment is generally well heeled if a bit clumsy navigating the hoards of pedestrians on the sidewalks and a bit confused figuring out the local Metro system. Then there is the dominant western tourist archetype. This is the white guy aged 20 to 60 who is escorted by a lovely Thai "girl friend". Often the older men are with a girl half their age. I saw one overweight and apparently mentally challenged young man with a petite shy girl who seemed somewhat mortified. He was wearing a tee shirt that proclaimed in big letters "FUCK HARD and MAKE A LOT OF NOISE". Another white guy on the subway,who gave off a definite Ted Kaczynski vibe, kept his hand between his girl's legs way up high under her short skirt for the whole ride. They did not talk and she was walking the fine line between total disgust and appeasing her client. Every day we see at least 20 of these couples in various permutations.
I have steadfastly tried not to jump to conclusion on this trip about people or customs. Researching the sex trade in Thailand I found out that most of the girls work solo without pimps. They often come from poor families in rural areas and many support their aging parents and relatives. Prostitution is a long established trade here preceding tourism by centuries. There is a kind of see no evil precept adhered to by both the police and the working girl's families. And money is hard to come by for the uneducated. It takes about $300 a month to support a small family. The minimum wage is 300 baht a day ($10).
Then there are the johns, brazen and insensitive as they seem, they also give off an air of silent desperation, of being caught in the eddies of an isolating society all the while being pummeled with porn and endless sex oriented media. Often the men are victims also. Emotionally famished they fall in love easily and, once their gold is depleted, are abandoned by the girl who, after all, is only in it for the money. Self delusion or, conversely, totally callousness are the hallmarks of the john.
Despite all my liberal tendencies my visceral reaction to the trade is disgust and cultural embarrassment. I cannot see how, despite the apparently symbiotic relationship between the parties, that there is any long term redeeming quality to these arrangements. It cheapens a beautiful culture and has to cause hate and resentment of the influence of the western dollar and, in turn, of westerners in general.
There is a difference between cultural assimilation and the reckless imposition of culture. I suppose this force is what the anarchists don't like about globalization. It can be seen on the subways and streets of all major cities where people have become cocooned and indifferent to the people around them. A far cry from the world's small villages where strangers are embraced and love is the glue that holds each day together.
