Home » Post Item » little girl in friendly place

little girl in friendly place

June 12, 2008

The place is along a major thoroughfare in an unnamed southeastasian city fabled for its freewheeling, anything goes atmosphere.  Lined up along the entrance are motorbikes.  It is a place for relaxation. busiest after working hours, popular with the working class and the unpretentious.  There are basic massage facilities - several tables for a rubdown that can be best described as ‘bare-knuckled’, with unseeing (blind) masseurs, a small and often crowded sauna, several bathrooms with broken sinks and showers but with lots of water, with several people sharing and beckoning, and a darkened rooftop area where men in towels puff casually, entwined in each others arms and legs, relishing the fleeting moments of intimacy.

It is a predominantly gay patronized sauna, though on one floor there are female masseurs available. You can get a massage and sauna for under four dollars.  The massage tables are conveniently separated by flimsy curtains, so people can peek at what’s going on in the next table, joke around and gossip, and grab a  quick feel here and there, and smiles all around.

The  little girl, not yet three, sits with her father at the entrance to the massage room,  Her dad works as the receptionist to this unusual place–hes probably had to babysit this afternoon . It must seem like such an unusual place, where guys seem so gentle,flirty and touchy-feely,  none of the macho posturing of the outside world. From her view, this is such a different world from the rough-and-tumble, violent and harsh world outside the sauna.  She is getting an education on how one can be male, but also affectionate, caring, and physically close.  She sees  people lie their heads on another man’s  lap, or sit entwined in one of the lounge chairs, sometimes gently caressing, loving that feeling of bare skin against bare skin.

This little girl will grow up and learn about how men can be tender to each other–how comfortable these guys are lounging about, exchanging banter, lightly flirting and teasing, unself-conscious in partial nakedness.   The little girl is entranced, her playfulness and charm is infectious, and she is conscious of  being the only child in the facility.  The guys in white towels make her the center of attention.  They all stop for a chat and a bit of a hello. I practice a few english words with her, which she repeats with enthusiasm.  She will grow up to be open, well adjusted, confident and secure, and if someone in her family turns out to be gay, she will be the first to give out the hugs…. 

Posted by mgm at 12:45 am | permalink

All comments are moderated. Your comments will not appear here unless approved by the blog owner. Thank you.

Add a comment