A massage parlor (American English), or massage parlour (British English), is a place where massage services are provided. Some massage parlors are fronts for prostitution and the term "massage parlor" has also become a euphemism for a brothel, to the annoyance of professional masseurs.
Background
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The term "massage parlour" (British English) or "massage parlor" (American English) refers to a front for prostitution, and was popularized in what is known as "the Massage Scandals of 1894". In 1894 the British Medical Association (BMA) inquired into the education and practice of massage practitioners in London, and found that prostitution was commonly associated with unskilled workers and debt, often working with forged qualifications. In response, legitimate massage workers formed the Society of Trained Masseuses (now known as the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy), with an emphasis on high academic standards and a medical model for massage training.
Particularly where prostitution is illegal, massage parlors (as well as saunas, spas or similar establishments) may be fronts for places of prostitution. Illegal brothels disguised as massage parlors are common in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, the UAE and many other countries.
Alternatively, the massages at certain massage parlors may have a "happy ending", meaning that the massage ends with the client receiving a sexual release. In addition to a "happy ending" service, given the restrictions imposed upon most striptease venues, some erotic massage venues now also offer a service where the client can masturbate him or herself while watching an artist perform a striptease.
Thailand
Even though Thailand is rather well known for its unique spa experiences and particularly healthy and non-sexual traditional Thai massages, this section refers to a different type of massage parlor commonly associated with the term in Thailand, sexual massage.
In 1996, foreign women made up the majority of prostitutes from forty sex establishments in eighteen border provinces that were actually brothels masquerading as karaoke bars, restaurants and traditional massage parlours. In some venues though, there were no Thai women at all. In mid-1997, an increasing number of young girls, more than 60% of which were under 18 years old, were entering Thailand through the Mae Sai checkpoint into massage parlors, brothels, etc.
The legal difference between a "spa" and a "massage parlour" is unclear. The Federation of Thai Spa Associations (FTSPA) in 2016 urged authorities to clamp down on sexual services being offered at some massage parlours. The FTSPA maintains that influential figures have used legal loopholes to open "pretty spas" or massage parlours where tourists can buy sexual services.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, prostitution itself is legal but activities such as pimping and owning or managing a brothel are not. However, the laws are not always strictly enforced. Many brothels in cities such as Manchester and London operate through legitimate businesses which are licensed as "Massage Parlours" and operate under that name. Police forces often turn a blind eye to such establishments. Massage parlours are sometimes advertised in newspapers, but a newspaper which carries advertising for a brothel under the guise of a massage parlour may be liable to prosecution for money laundering offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The Newspaper Society's guidelines suggest that their members (the majority of local newspapers) refuse to carry advertisements for sexual services. The advice also warns publishers that massage parlours can disguise illegal offers of sexual services and it suggests checking qualifications to ensure the advertised service is legitimate. Newspaper companies often adopt a policy of refusing all advertisements for massage parlours.
In 2005, it was reported that, in Manchester, there were around eighty "massage parlours" which were fronts for prostitution and that the police ignored those establishments, focusing instead on reducing street prostitution. On 12 October 2005, the Manchester Evening News reported that "A self-confessed pimp walked free from court after a judge was told police had 'turned a blind eye' to organised prostitution in massage parlours in Manchester."
In December 2007, the Manchester Evening News removed all advertisements for massage parlours from its personal columns. The move followed a meeting between ministers and newspaper and advertising industry representatives. It also followed comments by Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality, in the House of Commons on 25 October that some local newspapers were promoting slavery by running sex adverts for foreign women.
In August 2012, the Manchester Evening News reinstated massage parlour ads. Many other local newspapers who had initially withdrawn these advertisements had already realised they were a lucrative source of income and had begun advertising again.
United States
The massage therapy industry in the US is continuously increasing, with a projected 19% increase between 2008 and 2019. U.S. consumers spend between $4 and $6 billion on visits to massage therapists, as of 2009. As of 2016, 46 states and the District of Columbia required some type of licensing for massage therapists. Most states in the United States have licensing requirements that must be met before a practitioner can use the title "massage therapist", and some states and municipalities require a license to practice any form of massage. If a state does not have any massage laws then a practitioner need not apply for a license with the state.
Between 1980 and 2009, massage parlors in Rhode Island (also known there as "spas") were known to be involved in prostitution. Prostitution in Rhode Island was legal at that time as long as it was "behind closed doors". The 2009 documentary Happy Endings? follows women who worked in the Asian massage parlors of Rhode Island. The film focuses on "full service" massage parlors, although "rub and tug" massage parlors (where only handjobs are offered) are also covered.
As of 2010, there were an estimated 525 massage parlors in New Jersey acting as fronts for the prostitution industry.
An ongoing study of the prostitution business in New York City by the Sociology Department of Columbia University found that, between 1991 and 2010, the rise of the Internet and mobile phones “have enabled some sex workers to professionalize their tradeâ€, with a shift from street walking to "indoor" markets (including massage parlors and escort agencies), a geographical change in the concentration of sex work, and the growth of a more expensive luxury market. In January 2011, an investigation by Time Out New York found New York City massage parlors charging a "house fee" (which is usually paid, up front to the parlor's mama-san) of $60 to $100 per visit, with an extra tip for the sex workers (usually around $40) for a massage and a basic “happy ending†(or manual stimulation of the penis until orgasm). Most of the massage parlors reviewed were very strict about the female masseuse not being touched by the male client, but, in some parlors, further contact could be negotiated.
As of 2005, more than forty Asian massage parlors (mostly Korean) operated as fronts for in-call brothels in Washington, D.C., and each earned an average of $1.2 million a year. More than 200 other massage parlors (that did not openly advertise and were operated largely out of private homes and apartments) serving mainly Latino clients made an average of at least $800,000 a year.
Sex acts performed at massage parlors can range from a basic "happy ending" to oral sex or "full service". Some, mostly Asian, massage parlors offer a naked "table shower" or an "Asian body slide" as well as access to a sauna before a massage and/or any sexual activity takes place.
Many massage parlor operations in the USA have switched from advertising on Craigslist to advertising on Backpage because of recent pressure from outside groups. Other publications in major metropolitan areas of the USA have been under pressure in the past to not advertise massage parlor operations as well.
Law enforcement in the USA does try to shut down or fine massage parlor establishments that break federal, state or local laws. The penalty for breaking the law in these instances can be very high in some cases, especially cases that involve human trafficking.
See also
- Fashion health
- Human trafficking
- Mama-san
- Massage
- Prostitution
- Soapland
References
External links
- "Massage parlor" definition in Merriam-Webster Dictionary
- "Massage parlor" definition in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
- Washington Post is urged to stop accepting advertisements for massage parlors
