Giving me head on the unmade bed
An old friend of mine has been working recently as a dispatcher for an escort service in Tokyo. (I leave the reader to decide whether this in fact makes him a pimp. I think not.) Still I did imagine this being rather exciting. I saw him being called upon to intervene in a dispute between a visiting German businessman and his companion. Or finishing off a long night's work with sake and sushi at the Tsukiji market.
Of course, these fantasies say more about my rather adolescent - and ethically questionable - response to the sex industry than they do about the actual nature of the work in question. Not surprisingly, it seems that working as a dispatcher for a Japanese escort service is not very different from working as one for a pizza parlor in Des Moines. One takes calls, routes traffic, and occasionally has an interesting conversation. Still, my friend did have a few interesting tidbits.
First, despite the semi-legal status of the sex industry in Japan, he is not allowed to assure his clients that the women they request will actually sleep with them. Rather, all he can promise is that his company provides the full "girlfriend experience". Obviously, this is simply meant as code. But when I think about the market for the sorts of services my friends is dispatching, I wonder whether this is a particularly effective way to market them. Do visiting Western businessman really want the complete "girlfriend experience"? I would, to be sure, but I'm not sure my desires in this area generalize. But perhaps I have more in common with these men than I imagine.
Of course, it's not only lonely businessmen who are seeking the girlfriend experience in Japan. My friend insists that his company's services have been repeatedly called upon by Leonard Cohen. Of course, I have no way of confirming this, but it seems all too plausible to me. It also strikes me as quite sad. Was Cohen's interest in Zen Buddhism based in a desire to have easier access to Japanese prostitutes? Can't he achieve the full girlfriend experience without giving out a credit card number? And what would that women in the Chelsea Hotel have thought? I suppose she probably would have expected as much.
Of course, these fantasies say more about my rather adolescent - and ethically questionable - response to the sex industry than they do about the actual nature of the work in question. Not surprisingly, it seems that working as a dispatcher for a Japanese escort service is not very different from working as one for a pizza parlor in Des Moines. One takes calls, routes traffic, and occasionally has an interesting conversation. Still, my friend did have a few interesting tidbits.
First, despite the semi-legal status of the sex industry in Japan, he is not allowed to assure his clients that the women they request will actually sleep with them. Rather, all he can promise is that his company provides the full "girlfriend experience". Obviously, this is simply meant as code. But when I think about the market for the sorts of services my friends is dispatching, I wonder whether this is a particularly effective way to market them. Do visiting Western businessman really want the complete "girlfriend experience"? I would, to be sure, but I'm not sure my desires in this area generalize. But perhaps I have more in common with these men than I imagine.
Of course, it's not only lonely businessmen who are seeking the girlfriend experience in Japan. My friend insists that his company's services have been repeatedly called upon by Leonard Cohen. Of course, I have no way of confirming this, but it seems all too plausible to me. It also strikes me as quite sad. Was Cohen's interest in Zen Buddhism based in a desire to have easier access to Japanese prostitutes? Can't he achieve the full girlfriend experience without giving out a credit card number? And what would that women in the Chelsea Hotel have thought? I suppose she probably would have expected as much.
posted by kds at 4:24 PM
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