This post is not about Ari, or, the documentary report

[tritium]

I feel that I have a pretty good handle on the sex industry in this country. I mean, there's not much to understand: men pay women or other men for sex, or to dance provocatively, or whatever. Sometimes women are the clients, but I gather that's relatively rare. There are pimps, who are the exploitative businessmen behind it all, sometimes there

Comments

[ludickid]

BOY I DONE TOLE YOU I DIDN'T WANT TO KNOW, now I am more cornfustled than ever.

[tritium]

Man, the deeper you go, the more confusing it is. It's like a vexing onion.

[eme_kah]

Actually... It kinda makes sense to me. Especially if the women are prostitutes. Not that I would know so I would be pulling an answer out of my ass (which sounds both unsanitary and disgustingly pertinent somehow) but it still kinda makes sense.

[tritium]

The ladies involved were so sincere, it seemed to make sense when they were saying it. A pathetic, sad, depressing kind of sense, but sense nonetheless. They were paying boys to lie to them because they were lonely, and I would guess that prostitution is a very lonely profession.

[eme_kah]

I think they're also paying for innocence. From what I've read, prostitutes are usually sexualized very very young so that they don't often have that innocent male/female interaction. It seems to me that they probably want to get that kind of feeling that most other women get when they're twelve or thirteen; you know, getting a crush on a guy and just "hanging" out with a cute boy without worrying about being seen as a sexual object (which is what they're used to getting all day for most of their lives.) And going to a regular nightclub as adult women would not be the same since obviously those interactions are not devoid of sexual messages, etc. Anyway, that's my totally ignorant take on it (since I haven't seen the doc).

[eme_kah]

Or anyway, the Illusion of Innocence.

[kudaspeaks]

I watched a Japanese grandma show about one of those clubs (it was called Number One or something like that, can't find it out there though) and all the guys were competing to be named the Top Guy by the club manager. Those dudes were ruthless in trying to make each other look bad. They also were very ashamed of what they were doing.

[tritium]

What the heck is a Japanese grandma show?

Must I explain every term that only exists in my head?

[kudaspeaks]

A television show that was clearly made for grandmas. It has nice looking young people, no sexy stuff, very little violence and it moves sloooooow. Also, they were broadcast out of San Mateo between 7-9 on Saturday night on KCTS, a community channel.

This one was actually kind of a barnburner by grandma story standards.

BULLSHIT THEORIZING THEATER

[catamorphism]

I hypothesize that:
- straight women like to spend time with young pretty boys
- straight women don't necessarily like having sex with men (given that most of the men they'd be having sex with are straight men, who are largely lousy at it), or at least, they don't like it enough to pay for it, or at least, there are plenty of ways to get it for free if you're a straight woman who likes having sex with straight men.
- straight women who are also sex workers both like to spend time with young pretty boys (being straight women) and have the money to pay for it.
- straight female sex workers do get to have sex with lots of men anyway, but most of them aren't young pretty boys (since why would young pretty boys have to pay for sex?)

Re: BULLSHIT THEORIZING THEATER

[tritium]

There's something about it that's even sadder than your theory. They pay boys to lie to them, to lead them on.

Re: BULLSHIT THEORIZING THEATER

[catamorphism]

Well, maybe that's JUST WHAT WOMEN REALLY WANT. (AREN'T I SO WONDERFULLY POLITICALLY CORRECT FOR SAYING THE SEXIST THINGS WE'RE ALL THINKING...)

[zbtron]

maybe the women enjoy subjugating men the way they are subjugated. power trip sort of thing.

also, the best time to do cocaine is when you are W-A-S-T-E-D. and its super expensive. i'm guessing that's where a lot of their money goes. also, japan is super expensive, just in general.

[tritium]

See, the problem is, even though they pay to host boys, the host boys kind of still treat them like crap. They lie to them, lead them on. I don't think that is what's going on here.

[zbtron]

i dont understand why you think they're being led on. i think they know exactly what they're paying for.

[tritium]

That was one of the more interesting points of the movie, I thought. Yes, of course the girls realize what's going on, but they are allowing themselves to be deluded, to be put into a fantasy world, and are paying for the privilege.