otis wrote:"
The number of bargirls currently working a waitresses in the Blue Pumpkin is exceeded only by the number of farmgirls currently telling mama and all and sundry in the village that that is where the will work when they arrive in PP.
Don't forget that many girls have two jobs, they work as waitresses, hair dressers and cooks during the day and work at a bar in the evening, and so can legitimately state they are waitressing and omit to state they also work as hostess. Also there are many girls working as hostesses that live with their parents in Phnom Penh.
There are also girls working in coffee shops, KTV's and beer gardens that may or may not be involved in discretionary sex work, and the chance of sexual "propositioning" is equal to, if not higher than that encountered in a hostess bar.
Certainly the risks to the girl are higher in beer bars and KTVs than in hostess bars. There have been instances of coercion in some establishments quite a few years ago but those were shut down. Of course not all hostess bars are are equal in terms of working conditions. There are places that are bordering on the exploitative but many that are not. There is quite a bit of fluidity in employment also and some girls drift between working in garment factories, or cooking and working in bars, and often use the bar as a sure bet for employment when for whatever reason they become unemployed.
Many girls like working in hostess bars because it is a less stressful environment than the garment factory and the potential for earning more money along with the possibility to acquire a foreign partner is present. It's also important to note that while many people, particularly tourists that visit these establishments regard the girls as prostitutes, the hostesses don't see themselves as such. Many customers also assume they are country girls with little education, and while this is to some extent the case, there are quite a number that are educated and posses "trade type" skills. I personally know four women who at one time or another worked in hostess bars that all posses a university degree.