Bare-breasted culture of hypocrisy

COMMENTARY

Published: 21/04/2011 at 02:32 AM
Newspaper section: News

It happened more than three decades ago but I can still vividly remember my first visit to an a-go-go bar in Patpong. The skimpily-clad girls were doing their sexy pole dance on the stage, but their faces were emotionless. In the smoke-filled bar some customers simply could not keep their hands off the bar girls' bodies.

First I was stunned. I'd seen photos of a-go-go dancers before, but to see them "at work" with my own two eyes hit me hard. Then I was saddened: no girl would dance near-naked or tolerate being groped by strangers if they had a better choice in life.

As I looked around, anger arose. It was so fierce it has stayed with me till today, whenever I think of how our society works so slyly through gender and class oppression to reduce women into sex objects so men can enjoy sexual indulgences without guilt or shame.

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About the author

: Writer: Sanitsuda Ekachai; Position: Assistant Editor

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siamitude
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Discussion 21 : 22/04/2011 at 02:16 PM21
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Thai officials only like to see topless girls in brothels patronized by police. The truth is that Thailand has the image of a cheap sex tourism destination all over the world and the leaders of this country are doing noting to stop this scandalous exploitation of women... they are just poor people anyway, who cares about them in our country?
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ricefield
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Discussion 20 : 21/04/2011 at 11:06 PM20
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A topless girl doesn't do it for me, it's just a body part. Now take that same girl and put one of those tight clingy very short skirts on her and a white blouse that 2 sizes too small and WOW that's sexual content. The thought of the unknown that's what is sexy. Just maybe, the school authorities should take more care about their students in their school uniforms. It's no wonder so many teens are getting pregnant.
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drsmith
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Discussion 19 : 21/04/2011 at 07:13 PM19
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More commentary opinions, more outrage by a BP Post writer. Please ask yourself what you have done in the past 30 years to help even one girl, who was led astray by the sex industry? Be outraged from your position to influence people through the media, that you have not spent your life dedicated to helping young girls avoid the pitfalls and traps of the sex industry. Be outraged because you, yourself, did nothing, cowering in your middle class home and life while millions of girls were sold into the sex industry.
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observer 101
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Discussion 18 : 21/04/2011 at 06:57 PM18
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How eloquent of the police to point out the girls "non positive contributions to society"
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democlover
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Discussion 17 : 21/04/2011 at 05:53 PM17
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It's just three fun-loving girls enjoying themselves at an intoxicating event on a Songkran day. Why talking about good girl/bad girl behaviour?. The influx of care-free culture from the West has been here for years but mostly in private places and bars by the beach at Thailand's popular tourist destinations where visitors often saw bare-breast dance on a table. Thai culture of modesty is still there among the majority of people. In fact, in such intoxicating event mass psychology played its part undoubtedly.Thai young girls nowadays have a strong sense of sexuality in their sexy dresses. Is that a cultural crime or cultural change due to globalization? Why not see it as a minor incident during a festival?
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drake
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Discussion 16 : 21/04/2011 at 03:56 PM16
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The real outrage is the Cultural Revisionists and Ministry of Truth at work.
What we have here today is not the true Thai Culture/Heritage but rather the result of a continuing push by those who bought in to the synthetic Victorian Morality and Western Social Values.
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fundeena
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Discussion 15 : 21/04/2011 at 03:02 PM15
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I think it is more degrading to parade these girls in hoods and sunglasses to make a public apology. I cannot comment on the dance clip as I have not seen it and have no interest in seeing it. Many young women in the 'sex trade' are single mothers supporting a family. The father isn't supporting them and neither is the government. So, what are they to do? Starve? Start imposing and enforcing support payments from Thai men. Failing that , the goverment should help them out with welfare and education so they can eventually support themselves, without having to resort to the 'sex trade'.
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colinfan
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Discussion 14 : 21/04/2011 at 11:53 AM14
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Good articles. IMO, there are just too many lousy comment against what you wrote. Keep writing.
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bkkmatt
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Discussion 13 : 21/04/2011 at 11:23 AM13
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In a country where well over 60% of it's work force pay no tax because their salary is less than 20,000 baht, is it any wonder why some girls choose to enter the sex trade to compensate for such poor and low incomes. The option as Diss 7 points out is a) have a normal job that pays a low salary but you don't have to sell your body, and go to heaven for being a good girl or b) Sell your body, travel to lots of new and exciting places and earn triple or quadruple what your office friends earn??
Because Thailand and the rest of the world, now live in a consumer generation, money is power, money offers more oppurtunities and money buys all the latest gadgets and toys.

If the Government brought Thai salaries up to Western standards or higher than the Thai norm then maybe you wouldn't have so many Thai women prepared to sell themselves to improve their or their families lives.
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jacksprat
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Discussion 12 : 21/04/2011 at 11:03 AM12
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A very fine essay by the always thoughtful Khun Sanitsuda. I most certainly do not blame three young girls for getting momentarily carried away. I was young once upon a time and no doubt did some things I would never do today. Moreover, the double standard in Thailand has always irritated me, ever since several male university students explained to me how men are like diamonds and women like a ball of cotton. A diamond can fall in the mud many times and be cleaned as good as new, but a woman once soiled is ruined forever. This they claimed allowed men to lie and deceive women any way they could to get them to surrender their virginity. The man was not to blame, since a "good girl" would never give in no matter what! It was the woman's fault for foolishly believing their lies. We see this warped mentality even in the government, where failure to do one's duty is always somebody else's fault. Where were the police on Silom? Was anyone in charge? These unfortunately young ladies (and I refuse to consider them as anything else) are lucky the situation went no farther than it did. One man grabbed a dancer's breast as she climbed down off of the pickup. Thank God that was all that happened, since similar situations in Thailand have turned very nasty far too often.
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