Compensated Dating In Hong Kong

Hong Kong School Girls Dig “Compensated Dating”

Posted by: Olivia Allin Filed in: news
11:20AM, Wednesday October 14th 2009

Here’s a skeevy trend for you. In Hong Kong, teenage girls are going on “compensated dates” after school. Basically, they go out with older men in exchange for money, but they don’t see this as prostitution, because in their minds they’re in control of whether or not sex is involved ... even though sex is usually involved. These girls are using the money to buy fancy-schmancy designer goods, which are increasingly a big deal in Asia. Total side note: When I studied in Tokyo, my Japanese friend told me that she wanted the brands that Americans like Britney Spears wore. When I tried to explain that teenage girls can’t often afford the same things as celebrities, she looked legitimately confused.

A 19-year-old who calls herself Sze shared her story with CNN, hoping that it might deter other girls from compensated dating. “My first customer was an ordinary man in his 40s. We skipped the dinner part and went straight to the guest house for sex,” she said. “Actually, I was a bit scared, but I knew this was the only way I could get money. This customer wasn’t bad, though. We just had sex, he paid, and then he left. I thought this was easy money.”

Sze continued this for about a year and a half, because all her classmates were doing it. Her friends showed her how to meet men on internet chat forums, and she made about $350 per date. It wasn’t until a social worker intervened and helped her realize that there were less risky ways to make money that Sze got a real job. Oh, and having a pregnancy scare and a few sketchy clients also encouraged her to throw in the towel. A good thing, since last year, a 16-year-old girl was killed, dismembered, and flushed down the toilet after she went to a 24-year-old man’s apartment for their “date.”

Prostitution is illegal in Hong Kong, but because compensated dating goes down online, in private, and is usually consensual, it’s hard to regulate and charge those involved. Social workers are encouraging parents to watch out for signs that their teens are doing this. Seriously, if you’re a parent and your kid walks in with a Louis Vuitton purse, you’ve got to know that she didn’t earn it working nights at the movie theater. And for goodness sake, girls, you don’t need a Gucci purse to be cool! [CNN]

comments

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on October 14 2009 @ 10:52 am: [report]

Uh, this isn’t a trend…it’s been going on a loooong time, and started in Japan.

Take a peek: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enjo_kōsai

danila
wrote on October 14 2009 @ 11:01 am: [report]

Why is this a big deal NOW. Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t PARENTS used to sell their daughters in Japan?

LunaLena
wrote on October 14 2009 @ 11:02 am: [report]

I don’t know what it is, but Asian men in particular seem to find young girls extremely desirable. There’s a reason the high school girl fetish is well-known in Japan, a country where men will buy panties if they have been worn by a genuine high school girl.

The designer label craze is another thing I’ve never understood about Asia, and I’m Asian. They’re such a status symbol, and a lot of people really do think that all American women have a Coach handbag and a Burberry coat. Designer brand knock-offs are sold on the streets in every major city. When I lived there, I remember some people would cut labels out of designer clothes and sew them into cheap knock-offs, because the label was that much more important than the actual clothes. The “Universal Versace brand” jokes in the movie Kamikaze Girls wasn’t actually far from the truth.

tsnow
wrote on October 14 2009 @ 11:52 am: [report]

Wait a minute. Girls getting “compensated” for sex. I’m pretty sure this trend has been around since the dawn of time. Except here in America, we refer to it as “dating.” The difference is, over in Hong Kong, you’re guaranteed a lay. Here in the states, it’s a 50/50 crap shoot.

Olivia Allin
wrote on October 14 2009 @ 12:02 pm: [report]

@CheeeeEEEEse I totally had an intro about enjo kousai, but I think it was too long :( I totally wrote a term paper about it in college!
@tsnow word. we got gypped out of the money too! the only guy who’s bought me dinner in the past six months was my brother!

josey_l
wrote on October 14 2009 @ 04:09 pm: [report]

I don’t get the designer bag thing either and I’m also asian..sometimes all my friends talk about is the next LV/chanel/gucci bag they’ll be getting and I sit there and think gosh I don’t think i could physically hand over $1000+ for a bag

CaleeKay
wrote on October 14 2009 @ 06:56 pm: [report]

Anyone know someone i can sell my old HS panties to? I’ve been trying to get rid of them for-ever.

driftingfocus
wrote on October 15 2009 @ 01:42 pm: [report]

This is not a new trend at all. Compensated dating has been around for more than a decade in Japan, and it has made its way to Korea and Hong Kong in recent years as well.

Kate134
wrote on October 15 2009 @ 09:10 pm: [report]

I have a rule - my bag should never cost more than the money it contains. That being said I do have a really HAWT michael kors clutch that I use to go to bars - which I got for 20$ because I got it on a triple sale time (it was on clearance, I had a coupon and I had an employee discount). Regular cost was like 120$.

I have friends who are paying for med school (Johns Hopkins, they’re not dumb) by stripping. Maybe those girls should try that instead of prostitution - might take a little longer but its slightly harder to get axe murdered in public.

stiffinp
wrote on October 16 2009 @ 07:02 am: [report]

Still prostitution as far as i’m concerned.

omnimancer
wrote on October 16 2009 @ 10:46 pm: [report]

its actually in china that they sell daughters, Danila. In Japan, women are still not very respected, but its china where it is a disgrace to have a daughter. Or it was. I think it still is ._.

And i cant really say anything because i would do this if i lived there.

CJ1432
wrote on October 18 2009 @ 01:14 am: [report]

To bad they don’t like them in their mid 20’s. I would really like to have a real designer purse.

Lucas Hardeman
wrote on October 19 2009 @ 08:00 am: [report]

You see, this is precisely why women should wear pants. There’s so much freedom! Look ladies, you can carry the essentials in you front pockets (cell phone, tampax, an extra thong), and replace the pricey purse with a practial, velcro wallet.

It saves a ton on fashion and you consolidate space. And you learn to live without all that excessive makeup!

I am a genius, right?

SamL
wrote on October 19 2009 @ 08:28 am: [report]

Basically, they go out with older men in exchange for money, but they don’t see this as prostitution, because in their minds they’re in control of whether or not sex is involved ... even though sex is usually involved.

And how is this NOT prostitution? And CNN no doubt paid the 19-year-old who calls herself Sze, to tell them her “story!”

I agree with stiffinp and tsnow.

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