Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Cambodian sexworkers: Hooker or girlfriend?

Phnom Penh Post is running a much needed story about the diversity in the so called sex industry, where not every girls fits the stereotype of western NGOS and the yellow press.
An American academic has spent seven years researching the local hostess bar scene, and come up with some surprising findings. This is the first in a three-part series. It begins in a bar and involves young Cambodian women and foreign men. Another tale of prostitution and exploitation you might think. Another portrait of a sad bar girl in need of rescue from pervy, middle-aged sexpats, and a system that traps her in a life she would obviously never choose. We’ve all heard it before. But this tale has a twist. .... Just because Cambodian women have transactional sex with different people does not mean they are bad or broken. When western women do it, they are considered smart, and even powerful.
Dr Heidi Hoefinger has been researching the hostess bar scene in Phnom Penh since 2003. She received her PhD from Goldsmiths, University of London, and is author of upcoming book titled Sex, Love and Money in Cambodia (Routledge 2013).

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

ASEAN web radio

I was thinking about starting a web based radio for the ASEAN region. Question is, where should it be located? The idea is, that we can play music from all ASEAN countries (modern mainly), but people can also record reports and publish it, as well as we can record and broadcast skype conference calls. Anyone into this?