Sex Industry And Tourism In Thailand

Thailand is one Asia’s most visited countries. Thailand’s tourism industry has been a success. They are known for their exotic cuisine and their beautiful clothes. It is proud of its culture. It is home some of the finest hotels and has many beautiful sacred shrines. It is a country of freedom and liberation. “Thai” is a term that means freedom. The country’s title is “Thai”, which means freedom. It’s a country that is well-respected and has many other tourist destinations such as Laos or Singapore. Although they have a lot to offer in tourism, transgenders are much more common than those from other countries. Many foreigners associate Thailand’s ladyboys with transgender women. The definition of transgender is “denoting and relating to someone whose senses of personal identity, gender, and gender do not correspond with the birth sex.” That is how you can explain why Thailand has so many transgenders. The locals were asked whether Thai ladyboys were common. It was clear from their responses that Thailand offers freedom with regard to sexuality. This is why the country’s name. Because they have more freedom, outsiders will see more of their expression. The Thai Gender Equality Act, which supports transgender persons, isn’t something the people are opposed to. It was adopted on March 13, 2015. It prohibits discrimination based upon gender identity or sexual orientation. This was the first Thai law to include LGBTQ people. Thailand established itself as a country open to all sexual orientations and gender identities.

According to documented records, the LGBTQ history goes back nearly 700 years. According to a report titled “Queer Asians are Transgender”, Thais were the first to recognize what we call transgender. Western influence and ideas like the criminalization homosexuality brought Western ideas to Thailand in the 19th-century. The LGBTQ community in Thailand really began to emerge after World War II” (UNDP 2014). Bangkok, the capital of Thailand is home to the majority of gay and ladyboys in the country. But, prejudice and acceptance of gays in Thailand has not been complete. Religion is one factor that influences society. “Over 95%” of Thailand’s population follows Theravada Buddhism. But, it is not open to transgenders. Many Buddhists believe transgenders should be punished for past wrongdoings (Iverson 2017). As time goes on, Bangkok and large cities begin to accept and be openly accepting of the transgender community. It is likely that more people are aware of this fact. They should be whipped 50-times if they act with their same-sex lover. However, some royals didn’t hide homosexuality which resulted in the commonality of homosexuality. In modern times, Thailand is more accepting of the LGBTQ population. According to a 2015 poll, 89% of Thais said they would accept LGBTQ friends and family members. 80% of Thais were open to accepting gay relatives, while 60% supported legalizing gay marriage. The acceptance rate has been steadily increasing, and it is becoming more mainstream in social media. Most of the sex workers work in tourist-oriented places. Sex trafficking began in the Ayutthaya era (1350-1767). Even though Thailand was blessed with many resources, it still proved more profitable to transport or to engage in prostitution. It was therefore legal. Most Thai monarchs were polygamists, meaning they could have multiple wives to maintain their royal bloodline. Women were considered property or sexual slaves during this period. As Thailand’s prostitution business grew, more countries recognized them. The Bowring Treaty of1855 was signed by many countries, including Great Britain. It helped to create businesses with workers from south China that eventually led to emigration to Thailand. Thailand’s prosperity increased after the treaty, allowing it to attract more people seeking sexual services. Women were called “stationed” during King Rama IV’s reign. They were women that their masters could sell to them. These women served their masters or male guests. Thailand was eventually the country that became the largest slave nation. Many of those women sold to the industry came from poor families, who had been robbed or were being punished for their crimes. This led to the spread of sex slavery in Siam. The King Rama V abolished slavery, but the rate of prostituion didn’t decrease. This was the most convenient way for women to provide for their families and repay their debts. This is why so many women continue to work in the sex business. Women have resorted to easy routes for survival, owing to the fact that they don’t have the financial and education resources that men had. In 1902, the absolut monarchy was ended and the constitution became the monarchy. This reform improved law enforcement but did not stop the country from growing its sex industry. The famous red light district was a stop for R&R during the Vietnam War. Thailand joined U.N. Prostitution was made illegal in Thailand. However, this didn’t stop Thailand from expanding commercial sex tourism. It went from approximately 20K women involved in the sex trade during the 1950s to over 171,000 by 1964. It also provided temporary wives to soldiers. These women were paid for their sexual services. The popular street and the business were viewed as a way to make Thai women less socially privileged and more valuable by Americans and other foreigners. In 1996, the Entertainment Places Act was implemented by the Thai government. The Act allowed law enforcement officials access to these places to check for sexual activities and then shut them down. Many businesses were left in the dark after the laws proved inadequate. Numerous businesses were unregistered, using their business as a restaurant and their female workers to be “waitresses,” “bartenders” or “waitresses.” The laws proved inadequate, and many of these businesses became corrupt. In the 1980’s, a new epidemic erupted as a result of the increase in HIV/AIDS cases among homosexual men and gays. The government didn’t release a public record about HIV/AIDS. Most people believed the government was trying protect the sex sector. Sex entertainment is a very important business in Thailand. It has not been hampered and continues to rise. Fortunately, media played a major role in exposing HIV/AIDS epidemic to the public. Despite being brought to public attention by the media, HIV/AIDS continued to spread, despite having sex education. In 1980, most businesses required girls to be tested for HIV/AIDS and made them use condoms. Usually, AIDS/HIV would lead to the woman’s family and friends abandoning her. The demand for pure virgin young prostitutes grew as HIV/AIDs cases increased. Human Rights Watch (1993) states that girls are often too scared to even negotiate terms of sex. However, preliminary medical research indicates that girls younger than 15 years old may be more vulnerable to HIV infection. Infection rates are higher in young women, those from ethnic minorities such as Burmese and rural girls. Human Rights Watch (1993), who conducted a study on Burmese women trafficked into brothels in northern Thailand discovered that HIV was prevalent in between 50 and 70% of those interviewed. These groups are particularly vulnerable due to language and education barriers. Ladyboys are another source for HIV/AIDS spreading. According to The US National Library of Medicine HIV/substance abuse rates are higher among kathoey employees. Half of them reported being tested for HIV in the last year. Non-profit and government organizations in Thailand have a complex role to play in enforcing laws. In some cases, the government had banned prostitution. There were also arrests and charges brought against brothels, pimps, or their owners. Despite the existence of numerous laws that prohibited and illegalized prostituting and sex trading, many businesses are still flourishing. One factor is the corruption of government officials. Many of these “Politicians”, “Police, armed Forces, and Civil servants” are willing to accept bribes. Ethnic and vulnerable girls are more likely to be receptive to prostitution because their authority and title is believed to be trustworthy. Many women have been forced to prostitution by this corruption. It has less influence and authority to stop sex-trafficking than non-organization profit. However, some NGOs have been involved in controversial programs to relocate children from villages to safer areas in northern Thailand. Despite the effectiveness of some NGOs’ services, it is still not sustainable and cannot limit the number of prostitutes. Bangkok, Thailand remains the capital for sex, with tourists, sex sellers, and prostitutes. One might run into businesses at massage parlors or underground brothels. “Thailand’s sex industry employs over 120,000 people.” Women who were born in poverty or low income homes are more likely to choose the sex sector. The household head is a huge responsibility and the expectations are high. Therefore, rural girls find prostitution the most convenient way to make ends meet.