the third sex

My old friend Jodahunta was recounting some of his experiences in the bordellos of South America, where he says the number of those specialising in transsexuals is increasing. I asked him if he would be kind enough to pen a few words for the blog, and this he has done, with relish. Here is his account.

One “burdel”, many “burdeles” (Spanish) = bordel (French), or in English: brothel, whorehouse, cathouse, knocking-shop and endless other terms. They’ve been around for a long time, as you would expect for an essential aspect of the world’s oldest profession. Wikipedia says that they were recorded in Sumeria (wherever that was) 4000 years BC! Most countries have them in one form or another, legal or illegal. In Europe they are legal and regulated in Holland and Germany. Paris had some internationally famous ones. They were called “maisons de tolérance” or “maisons closes” (because the shutters were always closed) but France banned them just after the war for collaborating with the Germans (and getting rich in the process!)

Spain tolerates them. In the UK they are known as massage parlours. They are also legal and regulated in Australia where in Perth a certain Mrs Kenworthy, a distant relative of my late Scottish stepfather, operates one of the largest. Nothing dour about tha wee lassie …

In the US they are illegal except in Nevada, but only in towns with a small population. So none operate legally in Las Vegas…but I still found one! But NOWHERE in the world do they proliferate like in Latin America!!

From towns along the US-Mexican border like Tijuana, Juarez and Nuevo Laredo all the way down to Ushuaia at the tip of Tierra del Fuego there are burdeles in every city, town and even a good many villages!

In Central and South America it is just commonly accepted that a guy can drop into a burdel either alone or with his buddies, at lunchtime, after work or in the evening, have a drink and a fuck or a blowjob, and then go back to work or go home to dinner with wifey and kids, or whatever.

Back in 1993 I met an Argentine Assistant Attorney General in a burdel in Buenos Aires. At the time I was only just starting to learn Spanish but he spoke perfect English. We had drinks, discussed and resolved the world’s problems, partied with some girls and exchanged business cards. We stayed in touch for several years until he retired and I lost track of him.

Burdeles take many forms. The classic version is a saloon or bar where you can sit and have a drink, meet and chat with the girls, and then head off to a room in the back or upstairs and do your thing. Often these are very easy to find in designated areas of cities (ie nightclub/entertainment areas) or on the outskirts of town where at night you just look for the house with all the red lights.

In business and residential areas of cities and in suburbs they tend to be much more discreet, usually operating in apartments or suburban houses. You find them via print ads such as the classified section of newspapers or on the internet. They vary greatly in terms of quality, prices and services. At the high end you are invited into the salon area, offered a drink, meet and chat with the ladies, and can choose from a variety of theme rooms with amenities such as Jacuzzis. Once you have decided what you want to do where and with whom you have a discreet chat with the person in charge, pay your money and off you go. At the low end you are ushered straight into a small bedroom, the ladies are paraded in one by one, you choose the one you want and the time, usually 30 minutes or an hour, then you pay, play and leave.

But what is really special about Latin America is that you can now find “burdeles con traviesas”, or TS bordels. In some you will find both ggirls and tgirls, whereas others are 100 percent transsexual. They are by no means everywhere but you will find them in most major cities like Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Rio, Caracas, and Bogota. Also in the towns along the US-Mexican border.

Buenos Aires has been one of my favourite playgrounds for nearly 20 years and I found my first TS burdel there in 2002 through the classifieds section in one of Argentina’s leading national dailies. It is still operating and I am now a VIP customer and have my preferred room with a whirlpool bath. I was there just 10 days ago and spent a very pleasant couple of hours with a slim young blonde TS for the princely sum of US$50 + a US$10 tip to the girl.

But there are at least a dozen others I know about, some I have already visited and some still to be tested. And from time to time one will close down and another will open in some other place. Some are open 24/7 with girls working eight-hour shifts. Others open late morning and close around midnight. Usually these places have anywhere from two to six tgirls working at any time and quality and prices vary greatly.

Once you locate the burdel you want to visit from the print ads or the internet you call up and let them know you are coming over and give them your first name. If you have seen someone on a webpage who gets your dick twitching you can find out when she will be there and sometimes make an appointment to meet her at a specific time. Then when you get to the building entrance you call on the interphone and let them know you are there. Normally someone will come down and let you in once they have verified that you don’t look like something out of a Frankenstein movie.

You will then be taken to a room, sometimes offered a drink, then introduced to the ladies present and told about services, times, prices etc. There is no real “obligation to buy”. Not that often, but on one or two occasions, I have just politely said no thanks and left. If you reserved a particular girl you will usually be taken straight to the room where she is waiting for you.

In nearly all cases I have found these places are friendly and with a relaxed atmosphere. If you reserved a girl from her photo on the net but in reality it was somewhat over-Photoshopped and your libido suddenly takes a dive they will try their best to accommodate you with one of the others. And in those places I frequent more regularly I have never felt uncomfortable about having things stolen. But then again I have been to one or two where I had doubts about how often the sheets go the laundry but that’s the same the whole world over.
I have been to places where you get offered a 15-20 minute blowjob for US$10 but might hesitate putting your dick in the mouths of some of the ladies present, and others where you can spend US$75 + a tip for an hour of pleasure in a room with a Jacuzzi with a real stunner who has her own webpage. OK, that’s a lot more than you will pay in Thailand but still a fraction of what you would have to shell out in Europe or in the US for a visit to a tgirl who will probably try to hustle you out in less than half the time!

The average age of the tgirls I have encountered in these burdeles ranges from around 20 to 30. Thankfully I have never been offered anyone obviously under-age. Although there are some streets in Bs As where young tgirls of around 17-18 can sometimes be seen, I imagine the burdeles don’t want to take any risks in this respect. Most of the tgirls themselves come from the northern (and poorer) areas of Argentina or from Brazil or Uruguay and are ethnically usually of either European or mixed European-Indian (as in South American Indian) origin. Sometimes beautiful “mulatas” from Brazil, Colombia or the Dominican Republic can be found too.

And in case you wondered, all the oral stuff is usually “without” but safe-sex is the norm where anal is concerned, with lube and condoms always provided.