User:Mrubygrover/sandbox

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I chose this article by Stuart Jeffries to put in this wikipedia section because there are some things that need to be known about women in Thailand, and there is not too much information on here. This is not quite a book review, however he talks about a book because it stirred up such commotion. A man named Michel Houllebecq decides to write a book basically celebrating third world prostitution. He calls himself a sex tourist who is out looking for ways to stimulate his sexual appetite. It is quite unbelievable to me that he thinks this a good thing and that no one is being harmed or demeaned in this situation. I want people to see this article when looking for information on Thai women because there are so many horrible things going on to women in this world, especially Thai women. Maybe if people were more aware, some measures would be taken. Michel talks about how he thinks this is an ideal exchange and that there is something for every different person's wants and needs. He says that other people talk about women from other countries, but how Thai women are the best lovers. I don't understand how he doesn't realize that the majority of these women are being forced into prostitution. They are treated very badly, kept in the worst living conditions, beaten if they try to escape, and most of them or pulled into this as children. It's sad and wrong and I wished more people cared.

Another article I thought should be included on this page was one about Thai police being caught up in illicit sex trade. It is about how all these young girls are being forced into prostitution, or being sold by their parents at a very young age. You might wonder who is going to these brothels, well a lot of the time it's people you might not think. This article is talking about how police officers were the ones coming and going. Before this the military was a huge reason for why this was happening. You could look up comfort women to find out more information about that. All these Thai police involved got a slap on the wrist for their wrong doings, while these women, who are doing this against their will, are receiving punishments daily for wrongful doings. It's absurd and it's considered a modern form of slavery. Along with the horrific treatment, over 80% of these women have contracted AIDS and are continuing to spread it. However, most of the time it is not their fault or choice to be doing this, and most of them don't have the knowledge to know otherwise. I liked this article because it gave a little prospective to the other side, about the usual clientele of these places.

The third article I wanted to add was a book review. It was a short writing that described a book, and talked a little about this true story of this girl. She is on her way to suicide because of where her life had taken her, because she felt like life gave her no other options. She was originally from Mayanmar and was abandoned at a young age and involved in child slavery and was about to be forced into prostitution until an American man saw her in a refugee camp. He liked her and took her back to Bangkok, kept her for ten years and had her sent back to Burma when he was done with her. I wish all these articles weren't so negative but people should know this. Women in Thailand are not even given a chance and if they are, like Na Ga the girl from this book, they are thrown away when they are no longer needed. It's good to have knowledge of things like this so maybe one day you could make a difference or spread that knowledge on. I like that people are writing books and articles about this, and don't get me wrong, there are a few very powerful Thai women that have taken a stand and gone against the odds and succeeded. But the percentage should be higher.

References

Jeffries, Stuart. (2001, August 23). The last word in Thai sex tourism: French stirred by Michel Houllebecq's latest novel. The Guardian (London), p. 11

Spaid, E. L. (1994, January 31). Thai police blamed in illicit sex trade. The Christian Monitor, p. 4

Yap, Stephanie. (2010). The road to wanting [review of the book The Road To Wanting, by W. Law-Yone]. The Straits Times (Singapore)

Mrubygrover (talk) 07:17, 3 October 2012 (UTC)