“I began working part-time as a receptionist at a massage parlor and noticed the income the massage therapists were earning. This piqued my interest, so I decided to give it a try.”
Thai masseuse in Australia (28 years old)
After I started gathering information from various sources on the internet, I had the opportunity to interview people working in this industry—those who are still working in it, those who have changed careers, and even business owners both in and outside of Thailand. One of the women I interviewed is a Thai masseuse, and she was the youngest among all the masseuses I interviewed. We spent nearly two hours talking, and here is everything I summarized from our conversation.
- She moved to Australia initially to study English after graduating with a bachelor’s degree. She had the opportunity to work as a receptionist at a massage parlor. She decided to become a masseuse because of the good income; she saw from the accounts at the massage parlor that masseuses earned a lot. So, she took a course that lasted two weeks, combined with the experience she gained from the massage parlor.
- In Australia, it’s possible to get a visa to work as a masseuse, but you need to have studied massage for at least two years. Getting a work or marriage visa is easier than in European countries. Prostitution is legal here, but it’s expensive.
- She decided to study massage because she wanted to earn money to pursue a master’s degree. She was aware, even before changing careers, that the image of Thai masseuses among other Thais is not good. At first, she was afraid of being harassed because she wasn’t good at the language. However, she liked the job because it was hourly work, and there was no need to overthink it after the shift was done.
- In the massage parlor, customers often ask, “Do you offer happy endings?” Besides being asked if she’s a prostitute, another question she frequently gets is, “Are you transgender?” just because she’s Thai.
- Westerners generally view Thailand as a poor country, with education ending at the high school level. Most customers, especially Indian customers, persistently ask for a happy ending. There are also phone calls inquiring if such services are available.
- In some parlors, if you don’t offer sexual services, there’s still a commission system for happy endings; the person providing the service gets both the massage fee and a commission. She once experienced a customer masturbating in front of her during a Thai massage.
- Customers often seek services from masseuses rather than sex workers because it’s over 50% cheaper. Some customers prefer masseuses because they enjoy the thrill of non-consensual interaction, which is more sexually arousing to them than simply purchasing sex services.
- Some customers don’t necessarily want to have sex; they just come to satisfy themselves sexually. Sometimes, just being massaged by a masseuse is enough for them to achieve satisfaction. One notable experience she had was when an elderly man came in with equipment and asked her to insert a finger into his anus, offering an additional 200 Australian dollars on top of the massage fee.