Bargirl
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (April 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
A bargirl is a woman who works as a hostess in a bar catering to male clients.
Note that this term should not be confused with a barmaid, who serves drinks in a bar but is not expected to entertain customers personally or provide sexual services.
Contents |
[edit] Associations
The term is often associated with some Southeast Asian countries (especially Thailand and the Philippines) where many (but not all) bargirls also act as prostitutes, either on-site (effectively a brothel) or by being available to be bar fined.
Bargirls usually get a commission on drinks bought by their customers and a percentage of the escort fee ("bar fine") paid by any customer who wishes to take them out of the bar. In addition to entertaining customers individually, many bargirls work in go-go bars where are also expected to dance on stage, often in skimpy costumes.
[edit] Prostitution
Where bargirls act as prostitutes, their patterns vary widely, both between bars and also just on individual preference. Some will seek to have as many customers as possible in a given day, like many prostitutes in the west; these will generally only take "short time" clients. Others will be more selective and only accept one customer in a day, taking "long time" customers overnight or even for a few days following.
A payment over and above the bar fine may or may not be expected; this varies nationally (it is always customary in Thailand), and by the length of time the bargirl spends (it is generally customary for "long time" but not for "short time" in the Philippines.)
[edit] "Girlfriends" and scams
The ultimate aim of some bargirls is for the customer to fall in love with them. In this way the bargirl can maximize her income, since a regular boyfriend can often be persuaded to send her money every month. In exchange for this she will usually promise to stop going with customers, or to give up working in the bar entirely, though this promise is not always kept.
Her own emotional attachment to the customer may or may not be genuine, and there are anecdotal accounts of girls maintaining a string of boyfriends (sometimes referred to as "ATMs"), each believing he is the only one. Nevertheless, some such relationships develop into genuine romances, sometimes resulting in marriage.
There is also a small but notable number of western entrepreneurs claiming to do "bargirl investigation" in countries where bargirls are found (Thai-Spy.com, T.B.G.I., ThaiPrivateEye, etc.). They market their services to erstwhile "boyfriends" who wish to know whether their "girlfriend" is being truthful and/or faithful.
[edit] Economic Impact
Many bargirls use part of their income to support their parents and other family members, sometimes pretending that the money is earned through more respectable work.
