“They end up at massage parlors because there are very few other options for them.” “These women are mostly undocumented immigrants and don’t have good English language skills,” says John Chin, a professor of urban policy at Hunter College who co-authored the study about the illicit massage industry in New York and Los Angeles. Randy Park, the 22-year-old son of Hyun Jung Grant, one of the Atlanta shooting victims, told The Daily Beast that he didn’t know what his mother did for a living for much of his life. “They do not need to be rescued from that industry, they just need to be able to go to work and not worry if they’re going to be killed.” “People who work in massage are doing their best to survive and provide for themselves and their families and they deserve to do that without disturbance,” says Wu, who did not want to provide her last name. Wu, a sex worker in New York and a core organizer of Red Canary Song, a grassroots group that provides resources and support to Asian immigrants (particularly sex workers), says that not all massage workers offer sexual services-and for the ones who do, it’s usually about putting food on the table. According to a 2019 study involving 116 illicit massage parlor employees in New York and Los Angeles, 83% of women interviewed said they were not forced or coerced to give erotic massages. “Most Americans can find one in a short driving distance,” says Mehlman-Orozco.Īlthough definitive data on the industry doesn’t exist, academics, experts and activists have found that while sex trafficking allegations may grab the headlines, most massage parlors that do offer extras provide an opportunity for low-skilled immigrants to earn a better living-unlike a low-paying job at a nail salon or a restaurant. That number is almost certainly too low by at least half: RubMaps, a review site for “happy ending” massage parlors, lists more than 25,000 businesses in the United States. In 2018, the Polaris Project estimated that there were at least 9,000 illicit massage parlors in America where customers can pay extra for manual relief, oral sex, or intercourse. Illicit massage businesses-which often use euphemistic terms like “body work” and “body rubs” to get around licensing laws-can be found in every state, from remote strip malls to bustling cities. The charges were dropped last fall.ĭanger Zone: A memorial outside the Gold Spa in Atlanta, where four women were shot and killed in March. He pleaded not guilty, but issued a public apology. Along with 24 other men, Kraft was charged for soliciting prostitution. In February 2019, Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots, was caught in a massage parlor sting in Florida. The erotic massage economy has become ubiquitous in American culture and touches every socio-economic stratum. In a typical scenario, a customer pays about $60 for a one-hour massage and then anywhere from an additional $50 for manual release to around $200 for intercourse. Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco, a human trafficking expert and author of the book Hidden in Plain Sight, puts that number considerably higher now-as much as $4.5 billion in annual revenue (including what customers spend for a massage and sexual services), or about one-quarter of the overall $16 billion massage services industry. And women, particularly immigrant women of color, must often take low-paying and dangerous jobs as they build a new life for themselves and their families.Īccording to a 2018 study by the nonprofit Polaris Project, the illicit massage industry in America was estimated to generate about $2.5 billion in revenue a year. In fact, most massage businesses in America are not illicit, yet the recent massacre, which has sparked protests against anti-Asian racism and in support of sex workers, has forced Americans to recognize that the intersection of racism, sexism and classism often converge.
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