Customer Reviews

Travels in the Skin Trade: Tourism and the Sex Industry

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Studs Terkel-style, Seabrook presents interviews, recorded and transcribed, with both sex workers and their mostly male clients in Bangkok, Thailand. This powerful volume peruses the commodification of sexuality, the sex trade, through the eyes and voices of the men who tramp the sex markets--the bars and brothels--and the women, men and children who service them. Also, addressed are a variety of related topics, including the global economy and developing countries, sociocultural costs of economic development, organized sex tours and agencies, human rights, children's rights, and HIV / AIDS. A highly readable travelogue, recommended for tourists, travel agents, and anyone interested in this controversial and sordid subject.

this book is very informative and blows the lid off the illusion of paradise that thailand is perceived by many to be. the real truth of the relationships between the prostitutes and the "farangs" is exposed in detail. if you want to know why men seek out these prostitutes, how long the relationships last, why the prostitutes treat the johns as they do, and if you want to understand the miscommunication and false feelings that go on between john and prostitute, this is the book to read. the harsh reality of thailand is exposed.

This volume is interchangeable with any number of of other sociological tomes. The author tries to depict a cross section of aging customers, some human slaves working in debt bondage after being sold (often by their parents) to a brothel.some of the helping organizations-but it doesn't hold together very well as a book unless you have been living on another planet of late. The inclusion of sex in the title is somewhat misleading as this could just as easily be about poor Pakistanis in slavery to brick kilns.

Travels in the Skin Trade is a sensitively written introduction to prostitutes in Thailand and the foreign customers who frequent them. Through numerous interviews with sex tourists, Jeremy Seabrook reveals what makes Thai prostitutes so appealing compared to their Western counterparts. Chapters are devoted to the economic, historical, and social conditions that led to the rise of the sex industry in Thailand, but most compelling are the sections which allow the reader to meet people and organizations working towards making better lives for working women, and stopping the abuse of children.

The second edition of this book was published in 2001 so some material is somewhat dated. On the other hand, it is telling that the problems and working conditions for the women have remained so much the same.

I read this book, along with 'Hello My Big, Big Honney!', before doing firsthand research on Bangkok's sex tourism industry.

Both these books were informative read in their own right, but they were invaluable as guides to understanding my subject.

If you plan on checking out Patpong or Soi Cowboy, this book will tell you what to expect.

This is an excellent book and as real as it gets. Highly recommended. I have read the book several times. It really helps you understand why so many predatory low lives wind up in Thailand chasing prostitutes. It really is very interesting.