I have to completely disagree with the last part of the article, borthels and sexual options for men are as available as ever in many parts of Asia. Thailand and the Phillipines are obviously notorious, but are far from exceptional.

In China (where I live) prostitution is rampant and very visible. Even squeaky clean Singapore has its infamous "four floors of whores" As for Japan, men don't even bother to hide some of their most repulsive male fantasies.

The author also claims the vast majority of women are forced into prostitution, which is true in some cases, but in China many women from the countryside choose it as a "profession". Working in brothels in the big cities allows them to make over 20 times more money than what they would make otherwise (in fact their income vastly exceeds that of many men) To an extent, it is a free choice, but you can argue that they feel pressured into supporting their family back home. This isn't talked about due to the shame of the family loosing face if they know (it has nothing to do with sin), so a culture of complete silence exists around the subject. All the same, Asia's sexual culture is anything but frigid.

Interesting point about China. The question nobody asks about this situation is: which is a greater exploitation, rural Chinese women moving to the city to work in factories for shit pay (whose big bosses work for a certain Arkansas-based business that starts with "Wal", or the same women moving to the city to go into prostitution for better pay?

Well let's be fair: I would be very interested to see a comparison between the labor practices and societial concerns of the Arkansas mega-co. in question with the large similar French one also popular in large Chinese cities now. (why are we talking like spies?).

Umm, plenty of those girls from the Chinese countryside did not "choose" prostitution as a profession. They only "chose" it insofar as they were from a poor background and had no other way to make ends meet. That's not choosing, it's just a different kind of slavery, an economic one. Now I am sure there are some women out there who actually enjoy being sex workers, and actively chose to become prostitutes. The vast majority do not. If you think they do, you are ignorant and delusional. Few *want* to have sex with a string of random guys, risking pregnancy and disease, for money. Sure they may make decent money but plenty of that has to go to pimps...and even if they get to keep it all, few want to spread their legs for a revolving door of guys.

Anyway, I'm not trying to bash white guys who simply like Asian girls. I may not care for it, but whatever. If a white guy wants to date an Asian girl just 'cause he prefers Asians...well he's not breaking any laws and she's also dating him of his own free will. Alright. Doesn't affect me as I wouldn't want those guys anyway. What is really irksome is guys who try to justify brothels and prostitution, using weak and vaguely bullsh*t arguments to support a system simply because it benefits them to do so.

I do disagree with the main article in one way - Asia may have been more liberated than the West before the 1960s, but it was never sexually "free". Women in brothels were still considered tainted, and women in harems were only respectable if they were in the harems of kings and sultans. Asia was only sexually free for the men. There is nothing "free" about a culture in which men can indulge their sexual desires and women can't, and there never was anything free about it.

The change was that the West liberalized, and Asia didn't, which made it seem conservative by comparison. Freedom only comes when both genders can freely choose what to do with their bodies, sexually and otherwise.

thoughtful post, loren. but why do you have to begin with 'umm'. Makes you sound like a blonde valley girl.

"Few *want* to have sex with a string of random guys, risking pregnancy and disease, for money. Sure they may make decent money but plenty of that has to go to pimps...and even if they get to keep it all, few want to spread their legs for a revolving door of guys. "

In the published interviews with prostitutes, many women justify their behavior with the pay rate. That is, spreading your legs for big bucks is preferable to working at a coffee shop for minimum wage.