The Skin Trade: It’s Not What You Think It Is
by Zoe Liew
There are no photos or decorations hanging on the whitewashed walls. A queen-sized bed lined with a brown blanket, a small bedside table and a wooden dresser complete the sparse furnishings. This is the room she takes her customers to. Anya, 28, smiles at us hesitantly while we ponder what to say.
It’s been three years since she had the operation. The buxom beauty shyly brushes her dyed blonde locks away from her heavily-lined eyes while she tells us how she became a working girl. ‘I wanted to become a woman and now I am happy. I got what I wanted,’ She cups her breasts and her buttocks as she explains the process. ‘I did my boobs and my buttocks. I have to take hormone pills.’ Seeing our amazement at the absence of her Adam’s apple, she smiles widely, ‘It was removed,’ From the Philippines, she moved to Malaysia after the operations in Thailand and Singapore. Now, she works at the salon and as a makeup artist during the day and as a working girl at night. Dressed in a one-shouldered blue dress that reveals the underside of her breasts, offering a tantalising glimpse to potential clients, she reclines on the bed.
‘We,’ she gestures, referring to transgendered sex workers like herself, ‘are less expensive than real chicks,’ Locals pay two hundred ringgit for one session while Japanese and South Korean customers pay three hundred. Caucasians fork out more at a fee of four hundred ringgit a session. Anya enjoys the security the money provides her. She doesn’t, however, want to be richer. Nor does she want to be poor. ‘I just want to be comfortable,’ If given a chance, would she become an escort? ‘No, this is enough for me.’
She furrows her brow when we ask about the johns. Nothing in particular stands out in her memory. Asked if she’d tiger-strip, she claims, ‘All are okay as long as they pay,’ Anya’s eyes become more animated as we talk about her experiences. She laughs when we ask about clients who seek BDSM-sex. ‘Kinky? You’re talking about kinky, right?’ She gestures wildly imitating the whipping motion, ‘They’d tie me to the bed and whip me.’ Sometimes, she serves more than one customer at the same time. Couples, married or otherwise, seek her out for titillating threesomes. She’s never engaged in group sex though nor is that in her agenda for the future.
It’s easy to keep her emotions in check. This one knows it’s just sex and fun. She won’t fall in love. Over and over again, she tells us that she just wants to ‘enjoy’. In fact, Anya has three boyfriends – one Caucasian, one Iranian and one Arab. Each doesn’t know that he’s not the only one. They’ve accepted that this is what Anya wants to do. One wonders though whether these boyfriends are actually her sugar daddies.
‘My family has accepted the operation. I told them, ‘If you still want me as your child…,’ ’ She says ruefully. Though family is important to her, she has no wish to start a family of her own.
Discrimination and prejudice get her riled up. ‘Even though I’m like this,’ she points at herself, ‘I’m just looking for food,’ As sweet as she is, she hates it when people make fun of her. ‘I’m not disturbing you, so what? These people are orang tiada sekolah, orang kampung, bodoh!’ The frustration is clear in her eyes as she claims, ‘There’s no point being ashamed. As they say in English, ‘How dare you?’ I am a person. Bukan binatang!’ Prostitution is what it is to Anya. She knows this is sex for hire and she’s perfectly alright with it.
It’s a common misconception that pimps are always involved. Her eyes markedly confident, she says, ‘There are no pimps. If anyone harasses us, I can just call a gangster and pay him off. He’ll handle it for me.’ This is a form of self-defence, at least to the working girls in Changkat. The police do, however, like to arrest the ladyboys. Recently, a couple of Malaysian police marked up prostitutes’ chests with X’s. The scandal caused a huge ruckus nationwide. Prostitutes are being branded like cattle. Outraged Malaysians yell, ‘Prostitutes are humans too!’ Yet, the actions of the Malaysian police reveal a deep layer of prejudice against sex workers amongst law enforcement officers. The social stigma is stronger than ever. And this stresses Anya because it’s not easy being Muslim and a transgendered sex worker. It makes one wonder how ladyboys such as Anya will be treated if arrested by the local police.
It’s commonly assumed that sex workers suffer from a myriad of STDs. The truth is, they know more about STDs than the average person. They take more precautions when having sex. She visits the clinic around the corner as and when the need arises. Anya nods insistently, ‘I’m clean. My records are clean.’ She insists that her customers use condoms. In fact, condoms are provided in the foyer of the little guesthouse.
Gay escorts are an open secret. Anya feeds us with tons of information. Blue Boy, a club in Changkat, is a popular haunt for homosexual prostitutes or as they are more commonly known, gigolos. Scores of ads featuring men with huge biceps and hard six-packs line pages of websites such as City of Love. One man, a Jean Claude Van Damme lookalike, charges 300 USD for one hour. His ad spouts promises of ‘fun and enjoyment’. He usually serves both men and women. Dates, threesomes, anything goes as long as money is paid. Most Caucasians charge three hundred ringgit for one hour whether sexual activity occurs or not. The really good escorts go globetrotting. The clients pay for their plane tickets, accommodation and spending. Some pay really well. In Brunei, escorts are flown in from Russia, UK, US and Sweden. Not everyone passes the mark though. Some escorts are turned away. Even then, they get sent home with 2000 USD. The ones that stay…well, their banks are sure to receive deposits numbering in five figures.
The ‘real chicks’ frequent Beach Club. Those are more expensive. Donning halter-necked dresses and three-inch stilettos, their sultry gazes promise a night of unlimited pleasure. Prolific writer Gerrie Lim reveals secrets of the Singaporean sex trade in his books Invisible Trade and Invisible Trade II. High-end sex workers, the escorts and hostesses, have different rates than the girls working out of the brothels in Geylang. Clients pay hefty booking fees to the agency. If a client wants to spend more time with the girl, he has to extend the session. Intercourse is optional. Some girls receive $600 in ten minutes for strangling their clients with their thighs. The kinkier the action, the more the client pays.
The reality is things aren’t always what they seem to be. There are tons of myths surrounding prostitution. It isn’t always despicable; it isn’t always glamorous. Not every sex worker is wasting away in an STD-hotbed. Sex isn’t always involved. Not every prostitute is a victim of human trafficking or her drug habit. Some find prostitution empowering; some find it oppressing. Activists want prostitution eradicated. Lobbyists want prostitution decriminalised. Come what may, the world’s oldest profession is here to stay.
