There are two widely touted images of prostitutes in the West: the romantic image – tart with a heart, adventuress, and so forth; this is the one so beloved of American cops 'n hooker films. Then there is the feminist image of poor, persecuted, "oppressed" women exploited by both ruthless pimps and johns. Both these images are false; at the "higher" end, ie those who don't walk the streets, one finds independent-minded women who have made conscious decisions to engage in the albeit seedy end of the marketplace. Then there are the streetwalkers, who have likewise made conscious decisions, but who have not even the illusion of class.
There is nothing romantic about whores, however they are dressed up, and many a "john" who has been turned over by one will tell you they are perpetrators as much as victims. However it is dressed up, prostitution is a voluntary act, but for many of the girls who ply their trade in the Thai capital, the word voluntary does not have quite the same connotations as for the ho's of the US or the streetwalkers of Britain.
In this low budget documentary, Jordan Clark paints a vivid portrait of a Bangkok bar girl known as Pla. Due to an unpleasant incident during her childhood, she had a deformed right hand, which says Clark, combined with her lack of formal education, left her with two choices: making a living by begging, or selling her body. For most of her short life she managed to avoid both, but many others are either not so fortunate or have less character.
This film asks more questions than it answers, and although most Western "sex tourists" treat their liaisons well – and a few treat them exceptionally well – decent young girls everywhere deserve a better future than that of the dregs of red light districts worldwide.