Research project on men and prostitution. (Japan).The following article is based on original research undertaken by the Tokyo-based Research Project on Men and Prostitution prostitution, act of granting sexual access for payment. Although most commonly conducted by females for males, it may be performed by females or males for either females or males. of the Asia-Japan Women's Resource Center. The report was first published in AJWRC's journal, Women's Asia 21, Voices from Japan, no. 5 Sept. 1999. The following edited version was prepared and published with their permission. For more information, contact AJWRC AJWRC Asia-Japan Women's Resource Center , e-mail: ajwrc@jca.ax.apc.org Introduction Why do men buy women's bodies? How do they feel about it? How do they feel about women who work as prostitutes and in the sex industry? We wanted to hear men's answers to these important questions. Sports newspaper sold at Japanese railway stations The following is a list of railway stations (also called train stations) that is indexed by country. :Further information: List of IATA-indexed train stations Africa Morocco
Depiction of erotic behaviour intended to cause sexual excitement. The word originally signified any work of art or literature depicting the life of prostitutes. filled with numerous advertisements of sex entertainment establishments and services. Fliers offering pornographic por·nog·ra·phy n. 1. Sexually explicit pictures, writing, or other material whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal. 2. The presentation or production of this material. 3. video delivery services are put into mailboxes of residents. Video stores often have sizable siz·a·ble also size·a·ble adj. Of considerable size; fairly large. siz  a·ble·ness n. sections dedicated to pornography.
Clearly, the sex industry is thriving. However, we believe that many men feel that the commercialization of sex is wrong though they may not feel comfortable expressing their opinions in public. Others who are consumers of the sex trade simply do not want to think about their behavior, and some justify it. In any case, we wanted to hear their opinions. There were some objections to our research. Some respondents In the context of marketing research, a representative sample drawn from a larger population of people from whom information is collected and used to develop or confirm marketing strategy. asked why women had to carry out such a study. Others suggested that the study should be conducted in the context of men's liberation
Despite these limitations, we felt that our study was worthwhile. We distributed 20,000 questionnaires and collected 2,502 in three months (August to October, 1997). We are grateful to these respondents from all over the country. We do not know whether we can generalize generalize /gen·er·al·ize/ (-iz) 1. to spread throughout the body, as when local disease becomes systemic. 2. to form a general principle; to reason inductively. Japanese men's behaviors and feelings from these responses. However, we do have 2,502 real voices. We wanted to hear their messages carefully and send them to as many people as possible in the world because they give us good insights on prostitution. Finally, we would like to thank the Tokyo Women's Plaza Foundation which provided funds to carry out this study. Purposes and Methodologies The purpose of the study was to understand men's experiences with prostitution and their thoughts and awareness of prostitution. It also sought to stimulate realistic, not idealistic i·de·al·is·tic adj. Of, relating to, or having the nature of an idealist or idealism. i  de·al·is , discussions on
prostitution and to propose measures to combat it.
Questionnaires were distributed to men regardless of their experience with prostitution. Many of the participants in the study were volunteers in non-profit organizations A non-profit organization (abbreviated "NPO", also "non-profit" or "not-for-profit") is a legally constituted organization whose primary objective is to support or to actively engage in activities of public or private interest without any commercial or monetary profit purposes. or colleges. Some questionnaires were sent to men who responded to announcements placed in the media. The anonymous responses were mailed back in return envelopes and received during the period from August 1 to October 31, 1997. We collected 2, 502 responses to the 20,000 questionnaires originally distributed. Since this survey was distributed to those who were willing to cooperate, the sample is subject to bias. Considering the distribution methods of the questionnaires, we assume that the respondents tend to have relatively high educational backgrounds and are likely to be aware of prostitution as a social problem. Analysis and Results The ages of the men surveyed were fairly evenly distributed among the generations, with the very youngest and oldest being the least represented. Men in their forties sent in the most responses (27.1%), while men in their thirties and twenties responded in nearly the same degree (23.7% and 23.8%, respectively). Fewer responses were received from men in their fifties (14.9%), men over age 60 (7.5%) and young men between 15 and 19 (3.0%). The occupations of the men surveyed varied somewhat, but were most heavily clustered in the categories of: public officials (532 respondents); students (350) and teachers (283). Other respondents identified themselves as: office clerks (159); employees of nonprofit organizations Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. (133); self-employed (117); unemployed (94); services (87); media (85); transportation (83); and business/sales (75). Most of the men who took part in the survey on prostitution had a stable partner (74.0%), while 15.4% stated that they had had partners before but were currently single. The remaining 10.6% had never had a partner. More than half of the respondents over age 25 said they had previously used prostitution services (51.7%). Only 20% of the men aged 20 to 24 and less than 10% of the men aged 15 to 19 had used prostitution services. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the analysis by profession, the highest percentages of participation in prostitution were among men working in forestry/agriculture/ fishery (85.7%), transportation (75.9%), business/sales (74.7%), self-employed (70.9%), services (66.7%) and food production (60.0%) Those who least used prostitutes were: students (18.0%), social welfare workers (25.8%) and teachers (29.4%). On Men and Prostitution The men who had used prostitutes were also asked to respond to more detailed questions regarding their experiences. Most of their involvement with prostitution had occurred in private bath facilities (813 respondents); others had found prostitutes in clubs (402), massage parlors massage parlor n. An establishment that offers therapeutic massage. massage parlor Sexology An establishment that advertises nonsexual manipulation and massage services, which may be provided by 'sex workers' who, for (394) and brothels BROTHELS, crim. law. Bawdy-houses, the common habitations of prostitutes; such places have always been deemed common nuisances in the United States, and the keepers of them may be fined and imprisoned. 2. (294). Others had had experiences with prostitution while traveling or taking business trips in Japan (280) or overseas (272). Fewer of the respondents had had experiences with call girls (152), street prostitutes (141) or telephone clubs (66). Interestingly, while fewer of the younger men claimed to have had experience with prostitution, a large majority of the men who did stated that their first participation in prostitution was between the ages of 20 and 25 (45.4%) or between the ages of 10 and 19 (36.8%). Among the most commonly cited motivation was "encouragement by friends" (578 respondents); "curiosity" (530); "physiological physiological /phys·i·o·log·i·cal/ (-loj´i-kal) pertaining to physiology; normal; not pathologic. phys·i·o·log·i·cal or phys·i·o·log·ic adj. Abbr. phys. 1. needs" (337); or that they "had no partners to have sex with" (235). Other motivations included wanting to have more experiences of sex (178); wanting to feel good (153); wanting to have sex with a different woman (115); or wanting to do something different (97). Other reasons for first participating in prostitution included business or work pressure (92); having money to spend (85); being seduced by a prostitute prostitute n. a person who receives payment for sexual intercourse or other sexual acts, generally as a regular occupation. Although usually a prostitute refers to a woman offering sexual favors to men, male prostitutes may perform homosexual acts for money or (65), the mere fact that there are women who prostitute themselves (61); or wanting to have warmth (49). Yet others said they first had sex with a prostitute because they saw an advertisement (52); couldn't have sex with a partner (24); were frustrated frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: (23); or were tired of their partner (3). Some said "could not avoid" their first experience with prostitution (49). Of the 892 men who had engaged in prostitution, most had fewer than ten experiences with prostitution (444 respondents); 270 of the men had used prostitutes between 10 and 29 times, and 120 had had between 20 and 99 experiences. Fifty-eight of the respondents said that they had used prostitutes more than 100 times. According to the respondents, most of the prostitutes were Japanese nationals (235 respondents). The other countries of origin included the Philippines (67), Korea (67), Thailand (64), Taiwan (58) and the USA (28). A number of other developing (and developed) nations were also represented, including Brazil, Mexico and Columbia. When questioned about how they find out about prostitution and the sex industry, the men cited weekly magazines (1373 respondents), sports newspapers and tabloids (1172), fliers (794), pornographic magazines (621), word-of-mouth (603) and pornographic videos (410) as their most common sources of information. Attitudes and Behaviors The respondents were also asked about the attitudes of the prostitutes. Most of the men said that the prostitute "thought it was her job" (849). In addition, the prostitutes were identified as being "full of hospitality" (415) and liking sex (166). However, other respondents said that prostitutes wanted to finish quickly (199); performed their services "unwillingly" (52); and/or said she wanted to quit being a prostitute (11). Over 100 respondents gave other answers to this question or none at all. In regard to condom 1. condom - The protective plastic bag that accompanies 3.5-inch microfloppy diskettes. Rarely, also used of (paper) disk envelopes. Unlike the write protect tab, the condom (when left on) not only impedes the practice of SEX but has also been shown to have a high failure use, 50.5% of the respondents stated that a condom was given and that they did use it; 10.3% brought and used their own condom; and 3.4% had refused to use a condom even though the prostitute had requested it. Many respondents did not answer this question (16.2%) or gave various other responses (20.1%). When asked if they talk to their partner about their experiences of prostitution, many of the men said that they hide it absolutely (29.5%) or that they hide it because of guilty feelings (25.9%). Others responded that they did not care if their partner knew about it (23.9%), but only 2.6% asserted that they were willing to talk with their partners about their experiences of prostitution. The men also gave a number of reasons for NOT buying the services of prostitutes, such as: the belief that women's bodies should not be bought (799); not wanting sex without affection (713); worrying about HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and STDs (609); and the belief that buying sex is a waste of money (586). Other less common reasons were that they felt sorry for their partner (352); do not have the courage to buy sex (257); have enough sex partners (137); or would not want someone to know about it (129). While a significant majority of the respondents felt that paid sex was different (81.1%), the respondents had a number of responses to the question: Why do you think that men buy women's bodies? As the graph on this page illustrates, the responses are sometimes quite different, depending upon whether or not the respondent In Equity practice, the party who answers a bill or other proceeding in equity. The party against whom an appeal or motion, an application for a court order, is instituted and who is required to answer in order to protect his or her interests. is a "buyer" or a "non-buyer." The buyers and non-buyers agree that two very common reasons are that men want sensations and that there are women who will provide these services. But they vary on most of the other reasons. The men were also asked how they reacted if people started talking about prostitution. Again, there were noteworthy differences between buyers and non-buyers, as seen in the graph at the top of this page, but the most common response given by both groups was strikingly similar: most of the buyers (572) as well as the non-buyers (742) pretend not to hear. The reason the men gave for their reactions also varied. Most stated that they felt sex was a private matter (31.3%), but others said that they liked to "talk dirty" (15.3%). Other reasons for their responses to the mention of prostitution included: wanting to maintain harmonious relationships (11.4%); feeling that it is important to discuss sexual issues (10.8%); not liking to "talk dirty" (6.6%); having difficulty discussing sexual issues (5.0%); or wanting to show that they understand other men's feelings (4.4%). The men were also asked to agree or disagree with Verb 1. disagree with - not be very easily digestible; "Spicy food disagrees with some people" hurt - give trouble or pain to; "This exercise will hurt your back" a number of statements about prostitution, as seen in the graph at the bottom of this page. Opinions were most strongly divided on the assertions that "prostitution is a necessary evil" (961=yes/1148=no) and that "prostitution is based on individual choice" (1214=yes/863=no). While there was no consensus around any of the statements, more of the respondents agreed that "a society without prostitution is desirable" (1517=yes/533=no) and disagreed that "prostitution would be eliminated if there was no sex-based discrimination" (334=yes/1696=no). Comments Out of 2500 respondents, one-third filled out the section for comments/ free opinions. Some expressed strong feelings and others described thoughts inspired by the survey at the end of the questionnaire. Some even typed up their opinions, including their own experiences, on separate pages. The comments were classified into roughly three categories: 1. Prostitution is based on individuals' free choice. 2. Prostitution will never be eliminated. 3. Forced prostitution and prostitution of high school girls High School Girls (女子高生 Joshi Kōsei are not good. Other comments addressed the need for education, the media's responsibility, and women's willingness to prostitute themselves for money. Below are some of the more worrisome, surprising and varied comments. The comments are organized by age group. The information in parenthesis parenthesis: see punctuation. The left parenthesis "(" and right parenthesis ")" are used to delineate one expression from another. For example, in the query list for size="34" and (color = "red" or color ="green") following the statements indicates age group, occupation and whether or not the respondent had ever engaged in prostitution. * Prostitution itself is not wrong. Sellers are wrong, not buyers. Not only the buyers but also the sellers should be punished pun·ish v. pun·ished, pun·ish·ing, pun·ish·es v.tr. 1. To subject to a penalty for an offense, sin, or fault. 2. To inflict a penalty for (an offense). 3. . (Teens, Student, No) * Prostitution is a crime that we should not overlook. In prostitution, sexuality is neglected, and women are degraded de·grad·ed adj. 1. Reduced in rank, dignity, or esteem. 2. Having been corrupted or depraved. 3. Having been reduced in quality or value. . Engaging in prostitution should be severely punished, and prostitution should be completely eliminated from our society by changing our views toward women and prostitution. (Teens, Student, No) * How can we change a society where prostitution is the only means to get close to others? Because of many forms of oppression The offense, committed by a public official, of wrongfully inflicting injury, such as bodily harm or imprisonment, upon another individual under color of office. Oppression, which is a misdemeanor, is committed through any act of cruelty, severity, unlawful exaction, or in our society, it is difficult to develop intimate relationships An intimate relationship is a particularly close interpersonal relationship. It is a relationship in which the participants know or trust one another very well or are confidants of one another, or a relationship in which there is physical or emotional intimacy. with people around us. (20s, Social welfare, No). * Men who have lost sensitivity because of isolation or a lack of warmth in relationships engage in prostitution. In this sense, men who engage in prostitution are also victims of this capitalistic cap·i·tal·is·tic adj. 1. Of or relating to capitalism or capitalists. 2. Favoring or practicing capitalism: a capitalistic country. society. (20s, House husband, Yes) * Loneliness, anxiety and fear may lead people to participate in prostitution to release stress. I can't think of any other way for them to release their feelings. (20s, Professional, No) * Sexual desires are natural, so prostitution is not much different from eating lunch at a restaurant. (20s, Student, No) * Even though prostitution is practiced only for a limited time, buying human bodies should never be allowed in our society. However, if both sides agree to engage in prostitution, people need not intervene as long as sexually transmitted diseases Sexually transmitted diseases Infections that are acquired and transmitted by sexual contact. Although virtually any infection may be transmitted during intimate contact, the term sexually transmitted disease is restricted to conditions that are largely , HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancy unwanted pregnancy Obstetrics A pregnancy that is not desired by one or both biologic parents. See Teen pregnancy. and sexual crimes are prevented. (20s. Student, No) * I am ashamed of my experience with prostitution. The prostitute I met was a Korean woman. After that, I realized that my experience was connected to so many forms of oppression: Japan's colonialism colonialism Control by one power over a dependent area or people. The purposes of colonialism include economic exploitation of the colony's natural resources, creation of new markets for the colonizer, and extension of the colonizer's way of life beyond its national borders. in Asia, dreadful acts toward comfort women, North-South inequality inequality, in mathematics, statement that a mathematical expression is less than or greater than some other expression; an inequality is not as specific as an equation, but it does contain information about the expressions involved. , oppression of women and violation of human rights. (20s, Social welfare, Yes) * In developing countries, there are women who prostitute themselves to make a living. Since adequate measures have not been established for their alternative livelihood Alternative Livelihood Programs are the name given to government attempts, especially in South America to replace the illicit cultivation of banned substances, such as opium or coca, with alternative, legal crops or other activities as a source of income. , we should not tell them to stop prostituting themselves. It is a very difficult problem. (20s, Student, No) * While answering the questionnaire, I found myself feeling contradictory opinions. As a high school teacher I tell my students that prostitution is wrong, but I myself feel that it is a necessary evil. I need some more time to reflect on the issue. (30s, Teacher, Yes) * There are people in our society who do not enjoy their lives and are afraid of having empty feelings. Alcohol and sex are the easiest ways for them to escape from this emptiness and release their desires. We cannot do anything about prostitution for now, but the situations will improve if people are more educated about sex and freedom. (30s, Public official, Yes) * Many men who have never had a girlfriend or any sexual experience feel ashamed and pressured by their peers. I believe that this pressure has a lot to do with the media, such as sports newspapers and tabloids as well as weekly magazines. I hope that people can say, "it is OK to keep our virginity Virginity See also Chastity, Purity. Agnes, St. patron saint of virgins. [Christian Hagiog.: Brewer Dictionary, 16] Atala Indian maiden learns too late she can be released from her vow to remain a virgin. [Fr. Lit. until age 30." Men do not always have to have desires for sex. (30s, Public official, Yes) * Prostitution is a system and a logic created by men. It is also true, however, that some women generalize men as sexual aggressors sexual aggressor Sexology A person who comes on real strong in social situations (if you know what I mean) and is after you know what and justify their behavior and even support the system of prostitution. Men and women who have internalized "men's logic" should recover their own feelings as human beings and reconsider re·con·sid·er v. re·con·sid·ered, re·con·sid·er·ing, re·con·sid·ers v.tr. 1. To consider again, especially with intent to alter or modify a previous decision. 2. the essence of logic. (30s. Transportation, Yes) * Women in sex industries are the only women with whom I can have conversations. Female colleagues at work try not to talk with me. I do not go to see a prostitute simply for sex. I go there because I cannot date ordinary women. If anybody could get married by making an effort and married couples understood each others' feelings, people would not need prostitution any more. (30s, Office clerk, Yes) * Prostitution would not take place if people in society were able to have better communication. (40s, Public official; Yes) * I think that men who exploit women, particularly women from Asian countries Noun 1. Asian country - any one of the nations occupying the Asian continent Asian nation country, land, state - the territory occupied by a nation; "he returned to the land of his birth"; "he visited several European countries" , and the media are to blame. The media should be criticized for encouraging high-school girls' prostitution by creating the term "enjokosai" to label it. (40s, Public official, No) * These questions are ridiculous. Women have periods, men have ejaculations, and we eat steak every day, which is boring. (40s, Services, Yes) * I do not agree with any logic that denies the rights of people who cannot find partners for some reason, such as people with disabilities, to be sexually satisfied. (40s, Teacher, No) * I pay money for my wife. (50s, Freelance, Yes) * It is not only men who want to have sexual partners other than their own steady partners. Suppressing our sexual desires is a human behavior. Wondering how to satisfy the desires is also a human behavior. (50s, Teacher, No) * People are always isolated and alone in a competitive society. More people are becoming indifferent INDIFFERENT. To have no bias nor partiality. 7 Conn. 229. A juror, an arbitrator, and a witness, ought to be indifferent, and when they are not so, they may be challenged. See 9 Conn. 42. to other people and do not think thoughtfulness is important. Prostitution has to do with such a social structure. (50s, Teacher, No) * The idea of purchasing a human body is not good. We cannot completely blame people who obtain partners for money. But we should stop a relationship with a woman as soon as we learn that she does not like it. (50s, Non-profit, Yes) * As a parent, enjo-kosai is intolerable. As a middle-aged male, I feel that I might engage in it. Men are such self-centered human beings. (50s, Services, Yes) * The people who made this questionnaire do not understand how strong men's physiological needs are. Men with high spirits Noun 1. high spirits - a feeling of joy and pride lightness, elation joy, joyfulness, joyousness - the emotion of great happiness euphoria, euphory - a feeling of great (usually exaggerated) elation high spirits npl have been struggling with their sexual needs everyday since they were fifteen years old. Even men who look like gentlemen have the same mindset mind·set or mind-set n. 1. A fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person's responses to and interpretations of situations. 2. An inclination or a habit. . (60s, Media, Yes) * Prostitution is dirty and hateful hate·ful adj. 1. Eliciting or deserving hatred. 2. Feeling or showing hatred; malevolent. hate ful·ly adv. . I doubt the personalities of
buyers. (70s, Unemployed, No)
* Marriage without love is nothing but prostitution. (70s, Non-profit, No) Enjo-kosai is a newly coined euphemism eu·phe·mism n. The act or an example of substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive: "Euphemisms such as 'slumber room' . . . for prostitution among young Japanese school Japanese School may mean
n. Slang A wealthy, usually older man who gives expensive gifts to a young person in return for sexual favors or companionship. " relationship of enjo-kosai, the girls earn money to be able to buy expensive, foreign luxury goods. However, Japanese media The communications media of Japan include numerous television and radio networks as well as newspapers and magazines. For the most part, television networks were established based on the capital contribution from existing radio networks at that time. and society criticize crit·i·cize v. crit·i·cized, crit·i·ciz·ing, crit·i·ciz·es v.tr. 1. To find fault with: criticized the decision as unrealistic. See Usage Note at critique. the school-girls for resorting to prostitution, not the men who take advantage of the power of money to use them.
Why Do You Think Men
Buy Women's Bodies
Buyers Non-buyers
There are women 412 413
who prostitute
themselves
Fulfill men's 460 370
physiological
needs
Expect to 52 27
become younger
Want sensations 503 536
Supress sex 120 78
crime rates
Men want 56 50
different sexual
partners
Do not want to 288 244
destroy a family
Cannot avoid 158 273
because of lack
of a partner
Fulfill men's 74 85
sense of control
Can be a different 164 129
person from usual
Want to 65 41
experience
different
techniques
Strengthen men's 194 282
solidarity
Can do whatever 60 138
sexual acts I want
Other 403 327
No response 55 129
Note: Table made from bar graph.
How Do You React If People Start
Talking about Prostitution?
Buyers Non-Buyers
Interrupt 24 96
conversations
Pretend not to 572 742
hear
Tell them 44 157
not to engage
in prostitution
Join 332 178
conversations
Change topics 141 204
Exchange 233 36
information
Other 94 154
No response 43 83
Note: Table made from bar graph.
How Do You Feel about Prostitution?
Yes No
Prostitution is a 961 1148
necessary evil
A society without 1517 533
prostitution is
desirable
Prostitution 623 1434
should be legalized
Prostitution 763 1327
can reduce
sexual assaults
Prostitution would 334 1696
be eliminated if
there was no sex-based
discrimination
Prostitution is 1214 893
based on individual
free choice
Note: Table made from bar graph.
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