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john_n_carolina · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 700 Location: n. carolina

Prostitutes sew lips together in Bolivia protest Wed Oct 24, 7:27 PM ET

LA PAZ (Reuters) - Prostitutes in the Bolivian city of El Alto sewed their lips together on Wednesday as part of a hunger strike to demand that the mayor reopen brothels and bars ordered closed after violent protests by residents last week.

"We are fighting for the right to work and for our families' survival," Lily Cortez, leader of the El Alto Association of Nighttime Workers, told local television.

"Tomorrow we will bury ourselves alive if we are not immediately heard. The mayor will have his conscience to answer to if there are any grave consequences, such as the death of my comrades," she said, surrounded by about 10 prostitutes who had sewn their lips together with thread.

Some 30 other women were shown fasting inside a medical clinic nearby.

Mayor Fanor Nava told local radio he would not reopen the brothels and bars closed after city residents fed up with underage drinking and crime stormed the red-light district in El Alto, an impoverished city just north of La Paz.

Prostitution in Bolivia is legal but pimping is outlawed.

Student activists who want the bars and brothels permanently shut down were also on a hunger strike, along with the leaders of an association representing bars, restaurants and karaoke establishments.

"It's not only us owners and the sex workers who are affected, there are thousands of waiters, cooks, bartenders, taxi drivers and street vendors who will be without income," said Ramiro Orellana, spokesman for the business group.

El Alto is one of the largest urban areas in Bolivia, with nearly 1 million inhabitants, mostly Aymara and Quechua Indians.

Rooster_2006 · Joined: 24 Sep 2007 Posts: 984

In any given country, prostitutes make so much more money than the average person from just lying on their backs part-time, I cannot have any sympathy for them. My response is "so what if you don't have a job now -- since you're probably making 5x more than the average person, over the last year, you ought to have saved up enough to live for the next four years unemployed."

I don't know what the situation is like in Bolivia, but here's how it is in Korea:
Average Person who Just Graduated from College: 1.3 million won a month ($1,432.60 a month)
Prostitute in Seoul: 5 million won per month ($5,510 a month)

I have very little sympathy for complaining rich, immoral people no matter what country they're in. Feminists are welcome to respond to this post, but I've made my final remark.

john_n_carolina · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 700 Location: n. carolina

yes, this is a tough debate. plus, you have a 4,000 year old occupation mixed in with modern times, very tough.

i'd probably lean your way also. the only thing, Bolivia is no Seoul. i believe the avg wage in Bolivia is somewhere around $150-200/mo. that's quite a bit below Seoul.

so, where do people work when there is 'extreme poverty'? there literally are no jobs, anywhere.

still, i don't agree with their decision to go out and sell their bodies. even if they have kids. times will be tough, and the family will suffer, but in the long-run they'll be glad they didn't resort to this occupation.

john_n_carolina · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 700 Location: n. carolina

that's pretty neat....i'm the first link on Google! anyways, can't seem to find any more news about this...anyone else?? i didn't realize there are 35,000 prostitutes in Bolivia, and they all refuse to be tested. that makes sense?

below is a Time article, it's pretty well-written

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1675348,00.html

nineisone · Joined: 23 Jun 2006 Posts: 187

I would throw the Korea-Bolivia comparison out the window.

To prostitute in Korea brings tremendous shame on the woman and her family. To say that they benefit 5x more in money is kind of like saying someone who robs banks for a living in the west makes a lot more money than the average worker. There are moral and sometimes other consequences to these actions in both societies. The woman prospers for as long as her body is a viable commodity, but loses spiritually at a greater cost.

Whereas in Bolivia and in much of Latin America, prostitution is a tolerated profession. Even in smaller cities, brothels are the norm and a majority of men partake in their activities. I've had friends' wives actually encourage their husbands to use prostitutes as the more macho LA culture is rampant with extramarital affairs outside of the paid variety. The police and local government are usually on the take and that money occassionaly trickles down to new developments in tourist areas. I can't speak for Bolivia, but in Peru the average sex worker makes 18 soles a day or about 2,000 USD per year, less than the average worker makes.

MO39 · Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 10:16 pm Post subject:

Rooster_2006 · Joined: 24 Sep 2007 Posts: 984

nineisone · Joined: 23 Jun 2006 Posts: 187

I would amend my comments to say that I understand why there might be a protest by prostitutes in Bolivia in the same way that I would understand protests by any other labor group in the country. Prostitutes in Bolivia and neighboring countries are exploited greatly by others who often make a windfall off of their work and determine the conditions they work in. This is why prostitution is so much more tolerated in many LA nations. So many people outside of the "woman laying on her back" profit from it. The veil of catholicism still makes it a bit of a taboo to discuss openly but the act is essentially legal if not always officially legal. Yet another contradiciton that permeates the culture.

So as stupid and crazy as hearing that a bunch of prostitutes have sewn their lips together in protest sounds, I would be inclined to sympathize with them and hope that they are successful in improving their situations. Most sex workers in Latin America make less than the average worker. This has been pointed out time and again by orgs like Human Rights Watch that monitor these types of activities. I am not a religious person and do not object to prostitution on moral grounds. Others probably feel differently so their opinions will be colored by their bias.

In regards to Korea, any comparison is faulty simply for two factors: The difference in cultural attitudes towards prositution that exist in Eastern and Western cultures. Secondly, the economic disparity is enormous. The sex workers in Bolivia or the majority of Latin American nations make nowhere near 5x the average worker in their country.

MELEE · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 6:56 pm Post subject:

dixie · Joined: 23 Apr 2006 Posts: 644 Location: D.F

MO39 · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 10:59 pm Post subject:

MELEE · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 11:13 pm Post subject:

No of course not, I really really doubt most Mexican women do either.

sarliz · Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 198 Location: Jalisco

some waygug-in · Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Posts: 339

Hmmm. My 5+ years here in Korea have shown me that prostitution is pretty much tolerated here as well. In it's many guises that is;...massage places, room salons, love motels, singing rooms all of which are ubiquitous in Korea and all have connections to some form of prostitution or other. You can't walk down the street in Busan without noticing the little girly cards stuck into the car windows as you pass by.

Please don't ask me for stats on this, but from my personal experience I can tell you that it's everywhere here....it's just hidden a bit behind these other "busineses".

From talking to people who worked in other parts of Asia, it's pretty common all across the region, so I don't know how people think it would be frowned upon any more here than in the West.