House of Horus/Hors playgrounds

The gladiatorial combat begins over a drink with the haggling of price. The ladies are quite direct and to the point: “How much are you going to pay me?”

We have been focusing on the lopsided Chinese component of the ladies in the shadows on Saipan in this series of Hordom in the House of Horus. And for good reason that fully covers the gamut of political (how do we allow people to decide what to do with their bodies), economic (the process of survival when one invested all her means on the promise of recouping capital through employment), and cultural (the meaning and significance of existing when there is evidently a fluid flux on values) reasons.

In decadent pre-Communist China, there were actually comfort wagons, brothels on wheels on the rails. The trains were sold the same way sex tourism is marketed these days, coupled with other legitimate activities like a scenic tour, a spectator sport, or, in our time, a game of golf.

WWII Japanese soldiers institutionalized the practice with organized “comfort women.” Military personnel forced sex acts on women from conquered lands, which included Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, Dutch as well as Japanese. That there were documented willing participants is beside the point. The practice will later evolve in large scale businesses during the Vietnam War in Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and the Philippines.

In fact, governments tacitly participated in the new industry, particularly when Thailand agreed to provide “rest and recreation” services to American personnel, which resulted in the designation of “R&R” into “I&I,” intercourse and intoxication. R&R countries would later be called “American brothels” by Sen. J. William Fulbright. The Vietnamese governments proactively mined the inexhaustible source of U.S. dollars for the regimes in both South and North Vietnam. Of course, we are talking about the despicable acts of other governments!

Not unlike the official PR line of many governments in the ’70s, “prostitution does not exist because it is illegal.” Never mind that young girls were treated like agricultural crops to be bought and sold, many economies survived, as some still do, on the revenues directly and indirectly generated through the commerce.

In fact, in a South Korean orientation session for prostitutes, women were allegedly told: “You girls must take pride in your devotion to your country. Your carnal conversations with foreign tourists do not prostitute either yourself or the nation, but express your heroic patriotism.” We will not be remiss, however, if we are not overt in saluting heroic deeds!

The young and seasoned ladies of the trade on Saipan are cooperatively and collaboratively operated. We will not delve into official collusion here since it is obvious that the industry, so persistent and prevalent, would not exist without some form of either official sanction or benign neglect.

Functional cooperative housing is a natural result of the shared “barracks” housing that developed in the waning days of the garment industry when workers decided to go on their own rather than pay for factory housing. Depending on the size, a number of people would live together but would take turns sleeping, depending on factory hours, which almost operated 24 hours on the death throes of the industry. The working girls learned their lesson well.

But first, let us discard the high end of the trade. NY Gov. Elliot Spitzer’s girls must have had dwellings fronting Central Park in NY City to demand the prices they charged, but our demure ladies whose phone numbers are discretely available through controlled sources will have apartments in the area close to the Park, or the Galleria. If connected to tour offices, hotel personnel, and security guards, they would have access to the customers’ rooms. Streetwalkers have to either stealthily enter through the back elevator, or walk in with their clients, but if sighted, they will have to chalk up a standard fee.

The massage parlors generally relax tired muscles, but sometimes, the masseuse discretely proffers “sensation” services administered by hand or orally. First-timers and guilt-ridden clients are known to avail of this service.

Karaoke clubs along Beach Road, and a couple into the villages of Oleai and Chalan Kanoa, where the obligatory drink is required, and the singing optional, are known to have back storage rooms equipped with a bed and relatively clean sheet. Backaches of customers had been known to be relaxed, not dissimilar to what Marilyn Monroe allegedly administered to JFK Jr. while they were exchanging fluids. Current charge is $50, fifteen going to the house upkeep.

For a full hour service, the ladies offer their rooms either within walking distance, or accessible through one of the flat $5/person unregistered taxis in the realm. (Taxi drivers are also brokers for the tourists who do not know where to go.) Or, parties avail of the inexpensive short-time motel accommodations.

Motel rooms have a bed and a washroom. The girl’s dwelling is no bigger but might have a more homey ambience, with a poster of a naked couple on the wall. It may even have a fridge and a kitchenette. The reason a couple of girls will bundle up in one room is the cost. At a fourth of the size of a regular apartment away from Garapan and Beach Road, one pays three-fourth of the rent, plus cost of utilities.

Supply of workers is high before the federal takeover of immigration, although already, struggling former garment factory workers are slowly buying their tickets home. The fast turnover of personnel lowers the cost of the commodity, and clearly, before June, it is a buyers’ market.

The fast food service now dominates public dining; the services of the ladies in the shadows have since franchised the patent. When cultures applaud the promiscuity of men and expect modesty from its sacramental women, modern practitioners of the House of Horus will abound. Shouldn’t we start issuing licenses?
J[B]aime Vergara[/B]