Image: Vice

by Caleb Quinley
13 June 2019

The client wasn’t known to use physical violence, but was instead suspected of intentionally spreading HIV by nipping the top of condoms with a knife

"For many transgender people in Thailand, the question is this: why work eight to 10-hour days in a cafe, salon, or restaurant, only to struggle to make ends meet? It’s hard enough to find work as a trans person in Bangkok, even when you're earning peanuts. So Earth decided to give sex work a shot."

"Earth speaks fantastic English, and it’s clear she’s intelligent, but even with a strong work ethic and smarts, transgender people have a hard time making a liveable wage in Thailand. As in most countries, simple economics turns them to sex work, even if the market is completely unregulated."

"“In a way, boys and transgendered people are actually more vulnerable than girls because they are both so ignored,” she said. But despite the stories of abuse, Earth doesn’t want that to be the image of her work, and she doesn’t want to be pitied either. Although she has plans to save money and open up her own beauty salon one day, she recognises that sex work as an important mode of survival"

"“I know a lot of foreigners look down on us and don’t like what we do," she says. "But I want them to know that we’re also trying to provide for our families as best as we can. Our work shouldn’t be looked down on. We do it to support our ourselves and our families.”

Full https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/bj9p ... x-industry