Busting Some Myths About Prostitution in Thailand [S5.E61]

Ed leads a discussion and semi-rant about a persistent myth
regarding the history of prostitution in Thailand that was
recently perpetuated by a YouTube video by
Thaiger. The myth goes like this: prostitution
wasn't much of a thing in Thailand until the Vietnam War era,
when the demand created by American GIs on rest and relaxation
resulted in a booming sex industry. 


Ugh. Where to start? Well, first of all, prostitution is
called the oldest profession in the world for a reason, and
there's clear evidence of the industry existing in Thailand many
hundreds of years before the Vietnam War. Second,
many studies have revealed the well-known fact
that the bulk of prostitution in Thailand has Thai men as the
clientele, not foreigners. And last but not least, what about the
Thai women (and men) who populate the sex industry, the bar
owners, and the landowners? Are they not Thai? 


The guys discuss the Thaiger video and praise it for what
it gets right, namely the Thai government's promotion of condom
use in the 1980s and the serious steps to eradicate sex
trafficking that occurred in the 1990s. But alas, no matter how
many times certain myths are debunked, the one that says
foreigners are the major driver behind the sex industry in
Thailand never seems to die. :(


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