By Stephanie Wynter, Youth Writer
'WANTED. ATTRACTIVE intelligent young ladies to be trained as masseuses, $7,500-$10,000 per week. Call...'
Just one of the many advertisements in the Sunday newspapers.
But many people are unaware of the things that take place when one actually goes for an interview. Many of these so-called parlours are really undercover brothels, providing other services other than massages.
After searching endlessly for jobs after leaving high school with five CXCs last year, as a last resort I unsuspectingly went for an interview at one such parlour on Central Avenue. After having me fill out an application form and take a written test, the owner told me point blank that if I slept with him, he would consider my application more closely. He told me that no one would know about it, that sometimes in life a person has to do certain things to succeed. He knew that I was only 17 years old.
I was so shocked and angry that I did not wait to hear more. Further research showed me that most of these so-called massage parlours are really escort services. I spoke to a friend of mine, an ex-masseuse. She told me that for her interview she was told to strip while the owner of the place proceeded to look her over to see if her body looked good enough he said the customer's satisfaction came first. She said that during her tenure as a masseuse she had to do whatever the customers wanted. If they wanted sexual acts to be performed, she had to comply. 'The customer is always right', the boss said. She left when it became unbearable. She is 23 years old.
Yet these advertisements bombard the newspapers daily. But, who are actually these 'attractive young girls', no one but naive teenagers who are drawn into it because of the lure of the money. And who can blame them, $10,000 per week is a lot of money. Can this slackness continue? It will, because, after graduation we go seeking honest jobs only to be told that we are too young and we have no experience. It has been a year since my graduation. I am now two days into my new job as a store clerk. Who knows what would have happened if I had been gullible or desperate enough to opt for the $10,000? Sadly though, there are many teens who don't have a choice but to comply, who just have to forget pride and rub, rub, rub away.
