Ping pong show

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Ping pong shows are a staple of the sex tourism industry. Unlike brothels or strip clubs, “Ping Pong Shows” do not lure clients through promises of sexual arousal, but promises of sexual freedom^[1] They offer freak shows where women’s bodies are reduced to grotesque objects exploited for tourists’ entertainment.^[2]

The show consists of women using their pelvic muscles to either hold, eject, or blow objects from their vaginal cavity. Such objects include: long string, whistles, pens, cigarettes, candles, darts, razor blades, chopsticks and, of course, ping pong balls. A male member of the audience may be brought onto the dance platform to hold a balloon while a dart is shot at it, or the girl may do a shoot around the table at balloons tied to each customer's chair. Another activity is the shooting of goldfish into a bowl, or stuffing a rather large frog inside to see how long she can keep it in.^[3] Women and girls who perform in the ping pong shows have been seriously and irreparably injured. ^[3] Performers in ping pong shows are often trafficked from countries such as Burma, Cambodia and Laos. ^[4] Human rights organizations (such as Not For Sale Campaign) denounce ping pong shows as inherently misogynistic. “The attitude that [sex work in places like ping pong shows] is empowering gives a green light to traffickers. We’re trying to fight the commercial sex trade, not empower the sex trade,” says Taina Bien-Aime of Equality Now. ^[5] The women trapped in the freakish sexual circus of "ping pong shows" often worked in factories before being laid off during the economic downturn. ^[5] “Working 14 hours [a day] in a factory or blowing ping pong balls out of your vagina should not be a person’s only choices in life,” says Bien-Aime.^[5]

Ping pong shows are a disturbing, but logical, extension of an inherently misogynistic industry, alleges renowned feminist scholar and law professor Catharine MacKinnon.^[6] “Pornography of Asian women sold in the West has been almost entirely a pornography of torture,” writes MacKinnon. “This is just presenting that in the flesh.” MacKinnon also notes that these shows perpetuate a stereotype of the “exotic East,” which Edward Said correctly dismissed as a racist and Orientalist fantasy. ^[5]

The shows generally take place in a strip club with scantily clad girls dancing during the breaks between shows. Tourists are brought in by employees working the streets asking passersby if they want to see a show and frequently having pictures of the shows in a booklet. Once in, rather than a cover charge, the drinks are 3–4 times the usual amount and a purchase is required. It has also been reported that there may be an arbitrary "exit fee" if not enough was spent. This is in line with the tactics of the usual ping pong show, where customers are borderline coerced for "tips" at least once every minute. Women employed in ping pong shows arrive at 6 P.M. and leave at daybreak. They stamp a time card and are penalized 5 Thai Baht (USD $0.14) for every minute they are late. Each month, they receive two nights of vacation and, if they don't miss any additional nights, they earn only 6000 Thai Baht (USD $181). ^[3]

Most women working at ping pong shows are prostitutes. ^[3] Tourists who support ping pong shows and other forms of sex tourism in Thailand may inadvertently contribute to human trafficking and child prostitution. ^[5] Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J. is one of the few prominent U.S. politicians to propose legislation to curb domestic demand of the international sex industry. "The buyers of commercial sex must be sensitized to the harm they cause women and girls and to the fact their money fuels modern day slavery," Smith said at a joint briefing of the Congressional Caucus on Human Trafficking and the Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus in July 2009. “A cultural shift that recognizes the link between commercial sex and the trafficking of women and girls would starve the modern-day slaveholders. If potential buyers knew of the unspeakable lives of servitude and degradation these victims suffer, I think they would think twice before laying down their money.” ^[7]

An activity similar to ping pong shows was featured in the movie Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

During the bachelor party scene in Artie Lange's movie, Beer League, a prostitute named "Pitching Machine" is shown "pitching" ping pong balls for her clients to swing at.

[edit] See also

• Donkey show

[edit] Further reading

• Guzder, Deena. "Price of Sexual Torture". Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
• Leon, Harmon. "Life is Like a Ping-Pong Ball in a Bangkok Strip Club". nthWORD, Issue 2 (Spring/Summer 2009), pp. 29–36.
• Ollett, Luke. "Impartial account of a ping pong show" June 2009

[edit] References