the third sex

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Sargent Shameless really can be a thoughtful, intelligent kind of fellow. Oh yes he can! Alright. ALRIGHT! You wouldn’t trust him with your household cat! But he is capable of deep thinking and analysis. Sometimes. He has just sent me the following email, and I’m reproducing it here because it’s a subject that I myself have touched on before but not at length. And he does put it so well.

My first trip to Bangkok was in 1993 and I was not looking for sex. Still I was in awe at the high numbers of semi-naked (and fully naked) girls dancing and waiting to be bar-fined in any of the establishments of Patpong, Nana, or Cowboy.  Dance shifts of 20 girls were the minimum, which times two, plus waitresses, doorgirls and mamasan meant 50 plus prospective lays the moment you crossed a go-go door.  Ladyboy bars were the opposite: there were only a couple that I knew of with no more than a dozen staff each.
 
My impression over the past few years is that things are fast changing in Bangkok.  When I peek into the girlie bars in Patpong I often see as few as three girls on stage, and the same for Nana.  Also, there is little chance of finding a stunner or an 18-year-old fresh from the farm like in the old days. Completely naked girls dancing the night away are the exception (although they still exist!). 
 
Not sure why this happening…Probably economic progress like how Hong Kong up to the 1950s used to be like Bangkok and then it changed to what it is today: few bars, expensive drinks and ugly women, who will not agree to sex or, if they do, charge princely sums. 

Demographics may be at work too: birth rates have fallen sharply in Thailand over the last two decades, which means fewer girls around to go into the sex industry.  Another possible explanation is that Thai girls who do go into the sex industry prefer other venues like the Pattaya beer bars that are as well staffed as ever.
 
In contrast to the girlie go-go bars, Bangkok ladyboy bars are flourishing.  Patpong´s greatest hits are its two ladyboy go-go bars, Nana has at least four, with one of them showcasing 50 plus gorgeous ladyboys every night.  Not to mention that some of the remaining girls in the girlie bars are actually…post-op ladyboys.
 
The underlying trend in all of this is that more and more male foreigners seeking sex in Bangkok will end up doing it with a Thai (lady)boy whether they are so inclined or because available girls are fewer and less attractive.  In Pattaya as well there are more and more ladyboy venues, even if its classic beer bars with all-female staff seem to be at an all-time high.
 
In view of this, the questions I ask myself are: how long do we have left?…  If indeed the flow of girls into Thailand´s sex bars comes to a trickle, how long before Thailand becomes like Hong Kong?…And if it does, will our cherished ladyboys step in for the disappearing bargirls and fuel the dreams and libidos of yet another generation of foreign male visitors?