Readers review:
I just finished reading Steinfatt’s Working at the Bar. An impressive book. I’ve spent considerable time in Thailand and what he says rings true. What’s impressive is both the breadth and depth of coverage.
There are whole chapters on why men do, and do not, go to sex workers, and how pimps and management of these places function, how AIDS does and does not relate to sex work, and sections on why women get into the game, or choose not to, and how they talk to and size up customers. Even the error rates for HIV tests are covered, and I have never seen that in print anywhere.
This book is not based on opinion. Several thousand interviews were conducted with prostitutes, pimps, customers of prostitutes, and the great landowners of the prostitution areas. The morality of sex work is covered from both Christian and Buddhist perspectives. The author is quite correct about the way Buddhism functions in sex work. Anyone who understands Buddhism knows that the precept against ”sexual immorality” historically meant sex outside of marriage by a woman.
This is an excellent book, but do not plan on reading it all at once. There is just too much there. If you want to really understand this topic (and not just read someone’s opinions who has only read about Thailand but never been there, or someone’s opinions who dumps on other people’s books but has not studied enough to write about it on his own) this is the book. Steinfatt has obviously been there and done an amazing amount of scholarly work on the topic. The best I have ever seen on prostitution in Southeast Asia.
