Worldly desires are not only there, but great
For many Chinese, Thailand has always been a popular tourist attraction, but everyone travels to Thailand for different purposes.
Some people want to appreciate the tropical style of Southeast Asia; some people want to appreciate the various temple architecture; and many others rush to Thailand for other unique services.
For many people, the beach can not be visited, the temple can not be visited, but the show is a must go, after all, this is the essence of the journey.
And although they are all performance shows, ordinary song and dance performances can be called green and pollution-free compared with the "adult shows" with heavy tastes, so that many Chinese people who buy tickets with a hunting heart have left a deep psychological shadow after entering without any defense.
Of course, if you are traveling with your parents, try not to go to such a place that is not suitable for children, because it will seriously affect family harmony.
To be honest, as a country where Buddhism is prevalent, Thailand's pornography industry really shouldn't be so famous, but it is so famous. According to statistics, about 60% of the 2 million tourists who went to Thailand in the early 1980s came for the cheap sex trade in Thailand; in 1986, 73% of Thai tourists were single men, and 3 years later this proportion rose to 89%, of which more than 70% went to Thailand to buy spring...
Although everyone knows that Thailand's industry is very developed, the real scale of Thai industry is still beyond most people's imagination.
In 2018, when the Victoria's Secret sauna and bath, a famous entertainment venue in Bangkok, was inventoried, Thai media sanook cited a 2008 paper by Juvit Kamowester, "Informal Business: A Case Study of Social Services in Thailand." In the paper, Juvit Kamowester estimates that the output of Thailand's sex industry in 2007 was about 163 billion baht (US$5 billion), or 2% of Thailand's GDP that year.
It should be noted that this Juvit Camorvester is not an ordinary researcher, but a real big man. He was once the owner of Thailand's largest massage parlor, known as the "bathtub tycoon", and was elected to the House of Representatives in 2005, then expelled from the Parliament the following year, and participated in the election of the governor of Bangkok many times.
In an interview, he made it clear, "Don't call me a pimp, call me a super pimp." ”
Although Juvit Camo west has a lot of first-line experience and has come up with the figure of 2%, he is still too conservative.
According to estimates by the Thai non-profit organization Empower, sex workers generate between 4% and 10% of Thailand's GDP, while other organizations have the highest estimates of 14% of GDP – in any case, the pornography industry is a real pillar industry for Thailand.
As for the number of people working in the sex industry, no one knows exactly how many.
In 1992, a survey by the Ministry of Health of Thailand showed that there were 76,863 sex workers in Thailand, a figure that had fallen to 64,886 in 1996.
Juvit Kamowester mentioned in his paper that there were more than 220,000 sex workers in Thailand at the time, and a survey by the United Nations Development Programme showed that the closure of night entertainment venues during the epidemic alone caused more than 200,000 sex workers to lose their jobs, and the total number of people engaged in the sex industry is probably much higher than this number, with estimates fluctuating sharply between 150,000 and 2.8 million, because these people do not register their job information.
So the question is, why is Thailand's industry so developed?
Let's start with the Influence of Buddhism in Thailand.
For a country where more than 90 percent of the population is Buddhist, the development of Thailand's pornography industry is even more bizarre, but Thai Buddhism is not at all the same as Buddhism that many Chinese are familiar with.
I believe many people remember that in the Journey to the West, Guanyin Bodhisattva transforms into a monk and guides Xuanzang to obtain Mahayana Buddhism:
The bodhisattva approached, slapped the throne and shouted, "Monk, you only talk about the Hinayana teachings, can you talk about the Mahayana?" Xuanzang heard this, and his heart was overjoyed, so he turned over and jumped off the stage, and raised his hand to the bodhisattva: "Teacher Father, the disciple has lost his sight and committed many sins." The monks in front of me all spoke about the Hinayana teachings, but they did not know what the Mahayana teachings were. The bodhisattva said, "Your Hinayana teachings cannot be over-ascended by the deceased, but only by the mundane and the light." I have the Mahayana Dharma Sanzang, who can ascend to heaven beyond the dead, who can overcome the sufferings of others, who can cultivate immeasurable longevity, who can do nothing. ”
Unlike China, Thai Buddhism is heavily influenced by Theravada Buddhism.
Buddhism was introduced to Thailand from India in the 3rd century BC, and Mahayana Buddhism began to spread in northern and central Thailand. By the 12th century, Theravada Buddhism (known in Thailand as Theravada Buddhism) had been introduced to Thailand from Burma and Sri Lanka. The rulers began to vigorously promote the reformed Hinayana Buddhism, and Hinayana Buddhism gradually became mainstream in Thailand.
Of course, now the term Mahayana and Hinayana are obsolete.
In short, although they are all Buddhism, Buddhism in Thailand is often different from Buddhism in China.
Buddhism in Thailand is divided into large sects and Dharma sects. The Dharma sect advocates the practice of birth and strict observance of the precepts, and the main believers are the princes and nobles headed by the king and the traditional political and social elite, who have long ruled the Thai sangha organization. There are many large sectarian temples, monks, and believers, which are supported by the vast number of middle and lower-class people in Thailand. As "grassroots Buddhism," the great sects hold loose vows and focus on meditation.
Moreover, under the influence of Buddhism, women in Thailand also had a much lower status than men, and women were encouraged to provide food and clothing for monks to accumulate merit so that they would have the opportunity to reincarnate as men in the next life. As long as sex workers are making a living for their families or donating to temples, prostitution is not so shameful.
As for the scandals of Thai monks, they are even more endless.
The relationship between Thai Buddhism and pornography is quite complex and even subtle, but one thing is certain, Thai Buddhism obviously cannot prevent the Thai people from actively engaging in pornography.
Not only that, Thailand has long practiced polygamy, and a good measure of male status is wife, mistress, concubine, etc. To this day, mistresses and wives still add a man's social status. For men who have little asset, prostitutes are a very suitable choice.
In The Disposable Man: The New Slavery in the Global Economy, author Kevin Bales describes how popular it is for Thai men to visit brothels: "80%-87% of Thai men have had sex with prostitutes. Up to 90 percent said their first sexual experience was with a prostitute. Reports elsewhere say that 10 percent — 40 percent — of married men have purchased commercial sexual services in the last 12 months, and the numbers for single men have risen to 50 percent. ”
Such behavior has become an important social activity for Thai men, with 95% of men going to brothels with their friends, "and it would be a big mistake to think that millions of Thai men sneaking alone into the dark streets of brothels: commercial sexual service is a social event, an important part of spending a good night out with friends." ”
▲ "Go to a brothel or massage parlor, just like a sad and guilty person goes to church"
For thai women, it is always better for the husband to go to a prostitute and have an extramarital affair, "When the husband uses a prostitute, he will be seen as completing a male role, but when he has a little wife or mistress, his wife will be considered a failure." 」 ”
At the end of the day, "women in Thailand are like objects, a game that marks the status and privilege of men." ”
If there is a choice, I am afraid that no one wants to go into the industry, and for many Thai practitioners, the biggest problem is that they do not have a choice.
As a developing country, Thailand has gone through 18 cabinet governments over the past 30 years, with 14 prime ministers setting the direction of the country's development, and changes in Thailand's GDP growth rate are more stimulating than a roller coaster ride.
Not only that, but Thailand is also one of the countries with the largest gap between rich and poor in the world. Credit Suisse's 2018 calculations show that Thailand's richest 1 percent own about 67 percent of the country's wealth, the poorest 50 percent of Thais own only 1.7 percent of the country's wealth, and 70 percent control only 5 percent of the country's wealth.
For low-level sex workers, they can earn up to 5,000 baht ($150) a night, almost 20 times the daily minimum wage in Thailand.
Of course, it is impossible to turn over on this, because the big heads are brothels and pimps, and many women are forced into prostitution.
The details of a brothel in "The Man Who Uses It And Then Abandons It", but the profits do not go to the sex workers
Calculation: 20 prostitutes work 30 days, 14 guests per day, 125 baht per guest
Gu Long said in the novel that prostitution and homicide are the oldest occupations of mankind, and whether it makes sense or not, the pornography industry has indeed flourished in many countries around the world, but few have developed to the level of Thai pornography.
This time, the Thai government can be said to be blamed.
Despite Thailand's long history of pornography and fueled by a variety of social and cultural factors, it would not have been possible to grow to such a scale if the government had managed it properly.
In fact, Thailand passed the Anti-Sex Trafficking Act as early as 1960, which made prostitution illegal, and sex trafficking has been illegal in Thailand ever since. From the actual results, the sex trade is not only not controlled, but more vigorously developed.
It was at this time that the Americans came, and the development of Thai pornography gained a once-in-a-lifetime take-off window.
As many people know, Thailand is very good at mediating between major powers, and the so-called current affairs are Junjie. During the Vietnam War, Thailand used its geographical location to provide the United States with a large number of air bases and supply bases.
Of course, this is far from being well-serviced. In 1965, Thailand signed an agreement with the United States that American soldiers stationed in Vietnam could use their vacations to relax and entertain in Thailand. In 1966, a total of 33,000 American soldiers went to Thailand for recreation, and from 1968 to 1969, an average of 70,000 American soldiers traveled to Thailand each year, with a total consumption of about $16 million.
To meet the needs of these U.S. soldiers, a large number of young Thai women travel to work at U.S. air bases or entertainment venues near big cities. According to statistics, only 20,000 women were employed in the sex industry in the 1950s, and after U.S. soldiers began to enter Thailand in large numbers in 1964, the number of women in this industry surged to 170,000, and the number of women providing special services in other entertainment venues reached 420,000.
Wherever American soldiers are stationed, they take their "fine traditions" with them.
Even in Patpong, the heart of the industry in Bangkok, Thailand, the first go-go bar was opened by American soldiers in 1969.
It can be said that American soldiers have made an indelible contribution to the development of Thailand's modern pornography industry.
▲Pat Peng Street at night
And because of the lack of regulation, Thailand's laws prohibiting pornography have never been strictly enforced, and the police usually turn a blind eye after receiving protection fees, not to mention that these establishments are usually run by local powerful people, which makes it more difficult to manage.
After the closure of U.S. military bases in Thailand in the 1970s, the Thai government subsequently counted on tourism and the sex industry to become an important source of income in order to compensate for the losses.
In 1980, the deputy prime minister encouraged the governor to build more sexual entertainment venues, thus boosting the province's tourism industry: "For the next two years, we need money. Therefore, I would like all local leaders to consider the natural beauty of the province, while also considering the variety of recreational facilities, even if they are difficult or less decent forms for you to think, because we must consider the job opportunities it can create. ”
The Thai government's attitude towards the pornography industry is evident.
Under the combined effect of these factors, Thailand's pornography industry has become a leading industry with the acquiescence of the whole society, at the cost of Thailand's low-level women.
And those who want to go on a hunting trip, to say that they know nothing about the experience of Thai sex practitioners, is certainly not convincing, after all, a Dutch travel agency directly in the brochure very bluntly said:
Most of these girls from the sex world come from the poor northeast of the country or from the slums of Bangkok. For poor families, it has become customary to let good-looking daughters into brothels to earn money. ...... Here you can experience taking away a girl as simple as buying a pack of cigarettes... Little slaves bring you real Thai tenderness.
Rather, for them, this is the biggest selling point - the prostitutes get cheap tenderness, the girls understand the cruelty of life, how fair the trade is.