DisainaM
Senior Member
Themenstarter
Nach dem heutigen Artikel in der Zeitung 'The Nation' stellt sich mir die Frage, ob das nicht sehr einfach ist, Prostitution als Chance zur Weiterbildung zu sehen.
Auf der anderen Weise entspricht es dem thailändischem Denken, das Positive in der
Sache zu sehen.
Gerade westliche Frauenorganisationen werden ihr Problem mit dieser Sichtweise haben, doch wollen wir selber nicht in einen 'Kulturfaschismus' verfallen (Verabsolutierung unserer eigenen Problemwahrnehmungsmuster),
so müssen wir diese asiatische Sichtweise auch akzeptieren.
Nationartikel
Research challenges sex workers' 'victim' label
SOPIDA Werakultawan used to wonder why women entered the exploitative world of sex work. She considered turning it into her thesis only to find that it was not the right question to ask.
"Ask anything, but not why," women who work in the bars in Chiang Mai told her. For some of them, Sopida is now a "co-worker" and friend.
"It's not easy," she said. "It took me five months to befriend them and to learn about their lives from the inside."
Indeed, you may have been one of Sopida's "customers" if you have visited Chiang Mai's bars lining Loy Khroh and Tapae roads during the past two years.
Getting involved is her methodology. Now in her final year as a postgraduate sociology student at Chiang Mai University, Sopida has found that this is the best way to understand the context in which these women work. She entered the workplace and gathered information for her studies by talking to customers and the sex workers themselves.
Only then did she change the focus of her study. It was no longer the issue of exploitation that interested her but the way the bar-workers managed their relationships with customers.
"For example, a newly arrived Lisu girl who was very shy and kept to herself would bury herself at the back of the bar, while in another corner, a woman skilfully used her body to entertain a farang customer," Sopida observed.
"Put another way, women become aware of their identity, and it stems from socialisation with their foreign customers," said Sopida, a former journalist.
Awareness begins with an adjustment to the working environment. Then there is an eagerness to learn languages such as English or French - which are a must for those who work in the bars as opposed to brothels and other sex venues, as most of their customers are Westerners.
"They learn more about how to dress, how to deal with their customers, how to choose them, how to use their bodies sexually. The women can learn to identify the customer's origin and his likes and dislikes," Sopida said. "The workers now control their own sexual relationships."
What about the problem of exploitation we often hear about?
"Says who?" Sopida recalled the workers as saying.
"Living with an irresponsible Thai husband can be just as bad, they said."
After years of mingling with the workers, Sopida said she lost interest in the question of exploitation or the perception that women who enter sex work are victims.
"Instead, I became more interested in the way they develop their identities in terms of sexuality," she said.
"In the very beginning, they would be quite anxious about having sex with farang men; they were confused and a bit worried and afraid. Yet they found there was no need to worry," Sopida said.
"Some said that during the sexual intercourse they felt surprised by the way farang customers looked out for their feelings and emotions," she said.
For some women working in the bars, sexual relationships and socialisation with farang mean more opportunities in life, though it may not be true in all cases, said Sopida.
"Through these relationships, they learn that being a woman has a more diverse meaning; [they're] not just wives or passive human beings who cannot control their sex and their lives."
Those who settle down with someone and move abroad are still considered very successful by many women who work in the profession.
But it's not always the case, Sopida said.
"The woman who owns the bar that I was based at had lived in France for five years. Yet she found that was not the life she was looking for; it was quiet and boring. She was not the only one," said Sopida.
"This bar owner came back to Thailand and became very powerful in the way she manages her relationships with customers. She does not want to get married."
Short-term relationships with many partners make women feel that they have some power over sexual relationships, Sopida said. Sex work, for them, is the route they take to find their identity.
"In contrast to what many say or believe, women who work in the bars can think, and they think about planning their lives. They are not passive; they are independent. They are just like other human beings."
However, Sopida said, she does not yet know how to generalise on the complex issue of sexual relationships and is still mulling how to conclude her thesis.
Find out more about Sopida's study at a conference on women's studies tomorrow at Thammasat University's Law Faculty auditorium.
BY MUKDAWAN SAKBOON
The Nation
LAST MODIFIED: Saturday, 25-Nov-00 11:35:15 EST
Auf der anderen Weise entspricht es dem thailändischem Denken, das Positive in der
Sache zu sehen.
Gerade westliche Frauenorganisationen werden ihr Problem mit dieser Sichtweise haben, doch wollen wir selber nicht in einen 'Kulturfaschismus' verfallen (Verabsolutierung unserer eigenen Problemwahrnehmungsmuster),
so müssen wir diese asiatische Sichtweise auch akzeptieren.
Nationartikel
Research challenges sex workers' 'victim' label
SOPIDA Werakultawan used to wonder why women entered the exploitative world of sex work. She considered turning it into her thesis only to find that it was not the right question to ask.
"Ask anything, but not why," women who work in the bars in Chiang Mai told her. For some of them, Sopida is now a "co-worker" and friend.
"It's not easy," she said. "It took me five months to befriend them and to learn about their lives from the inside."
Indeed, you may have been one of Sopida's "customers" if you have visited Chiang Mai's bars lining Loy Khroh and Tapae roads during the past two years.
Getting involved is her methodology. Now in her final year as a postgraduate sociology student at Chiang Mai University, Sopida has found that this is the best way to understand the context in which these women work. She entered the workplace and gathered information for her studies by talking to customers and the sex workers themselves.
Only then did she change the focus of her study. It was no longer the issue of exploitation that interested her but the way the bar-workers managed their relationships with customers.
"For example, a newly arrived Lisu girl who was very shy and kept to herself would bury herself at the back of the bar, while in another corner, a woman skilfully used her body to entertain a farang customer," Sopida observed.
"Put another way, women become aware of their identity, and it stems from socialisation with their foreign customers," said Sopida, a former journalist.
Awareness begins with an adjustment to the working environment. Then there is an eagerness to learn languages such as English or French - which are a must for those who work in the bars as opposed to brothels and other sex venues, as most of their customers are Westerners.
"They learn more about how to dress, how to deal with their customers, how to choose them, how to use their bodies sexually. The women can learn to identify the customer's origin and his likes and dislikes," Sopida said. "The workers now control their own sexual relationships."
What about the problem of exploitation we often hear about?
"Says who?" Sopida recalled the workers as saying.
"Living with an irresponsible Thai husband can be just as bad, they said."
After years of mingling with the workers, Sopida said she lost interest in the question of exploitation or the perception that women who enter sex work are victims.
"Instead, I became more interested in the way they develop their identities in terms of sexuality," she said.
"In the very beginning, they would be quite anxious about having sex with farang men; they were confused and a bit worried and afraid. Yet they found there was no need to worry," Sopida said.
"Some said that during the sexual intercourse they felt surprised by the way farang customers looked out for their feelings and emotions," she said.
For some women working in the bars, sexual relationships and socialisation with farang mean more opportunities in life, though it may not be true in all cases, said Sopida.
"Through these relationships, they learn that being a woman has a more diverse meaning; [they're] not just wives or passive human beings who cannot control their sex and their lives."
Those who settle down with someone and move abroad are still considered very successful by many women who work in the profession.
But it's not always the case, Sopida said.
"The woman who owns the bar that I was based at had lived in France for five years. Yet she found that was not the life she was looking for; it was quiet and boring. She was not the only one," said Sopida.
"This bar owner came back to Thailand and became very powerful in the way she manages her relationships with customers. She does not want to get married."
Short-term relationships with many partners make women feel that they have some power over sexual relationships, Sopida said. Sex work, for them, is the route they take to find their identity.
"In contrast to what many say or believe, women who work in the bars can think, and they think about planning their lives. They are not passive; they are independent. They are just like other human beings."
However, Sopida said, she does not yet know how to generalise on the complex issue of sexual relationships and is still mulling how to conclude her thesis.
Find out more about Sopida's study at a conference on women's studies tomorrow at Thammasat University's Law Faculty auditorium.
BY MUKDAWAN SAKBOON
The Nation
LAST MODIFIED: Saturday, 25-Nov-00 11:35:15 EST
