BlogGuest Susan L. (USA) : “I was a trafficked woman in Tokyo”.

Susan L., sexworker från Las Vegas, in her own words:

“…I myself entered Japan on an “entertainer’s” visa (as they’ve put it below). As a matter of fact, by most of the US admin’s definitions, I was a trafficked woman in Tokyo. Hmmm… funny thing is, I never felt trafficked!

As a matter of fact, I, like many of the other women I worked with, made incredible money, learned Japanese, and had a great time while in Japan.

I worked with women from the US, Australia, Russia, the Philippines, South Africa, England, Ireland, Germany, China, Korea, Kenya, Brazil, New Zealand, Vietnam, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Argentina, Hungary, Romania, and Japan.

I spent a total of one year there, for three months per time, four times, over three years.

The cash I sent home was amazing, and I still spent money like water while I was there (some of the best shopping in the world is in Tokyo’s 8-12-story shopping malls!). The agency I went through really looked out for us, set us up in an apartment, and were there for us should we have needed anything.

I also had been able to visit many hostess clubs staffed with Filipina women, as they were staffed and managed by a man I was madly in love with at the time (a very sexy Japanese computer geek).

I spent a lot of time speaking with several of the women, hearing about their lives back home, and how they liked life in Japan. I made friends with a few, and learned how astronomical the money they earned while in Japan was compared to anything they could earn back home.

As a matter of fact, most of them earned much more as hostesses than I did as a stripper.

What a fascinating group of women! One of the clubs I wish I had been able to spend more time in was a club staffed with gorgeous transvestites from the Philippines.

I remember one woman in particular, of whom I still have tons of photos. She was amazingly beautiful, articulate, formally educated, and spoke several languages. She loved her job at the club, and she had been saving up money to travel. I had a crush (but she only liked boys-darn!).

I am sad to think that it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for these women to renew their visas and continue working as they do.

There were other clubs in Japan one could work for, and often their employee-employer relationships weren’t the friendliest. I heard some really horrible stories of a**-hole bosses who were very unkind and rude to the women who worked for them. And yes, they tried to fine them when they left the clubs to find better ones to work for. They would use manipulation and scare-tactics to try and discourage women from leaving. There were even stories of missing passports, and threats of deportation.

I am absolutely certain situations like the one described below exist. They exist in every country- I know of a few stories that make my toes curl.

The problem is that by trying (unsuccessfully) to annihilate the sex industry altogether, and making it difficult for women to gain at least semi-legitimate access to the jobs we had, they will only push this situation described below even further underground.

Why can’t these people see that? Instead of sending women like myself and the ones I worked with on the run, they should realize what a wealth of information we can be in terms of what is going on in the “underground” sectors. Make allies instead of enemies of us.

If they were really interested in addressing trafficking- true trafficking (and not just eliminating “my kind” from the planet)- they would have more sensible policies than they do.

I therefore find it very difficult to believe these people who profess to have an interest in ending trafficking are very serious about it. It would seem they are much more interested in controlling women and eliminating our willingness and ability to participate in the sex industry.

My story is a far cry from those who are truly trafficked. To name me trafficked is a tragic insult to the women who are really suffering.

While enormous resources are wasted on women like myself and my Filippina friends, women like the ones described below are slipping through the cracks.

XOXO Susan “

Tags: Prostitution