Editing Massage parlor

{{Short description|Business offering the services of masseuses/masseurs}}
{{about||legitimate massage|Massage}}
[[File:Batignolles commerce massage 94 rue Nollet.jpg|thumb|Massage parlors in [[Paris]].]]
[[File:White Lily Spa, Tisbury Court, Soho.JPG|thumbnail|Massage parlour in London's [[Soho]].]]
[[File:Taboo restaurant phnom penh 01032011075.jpg|thumb|Massage parlors in [[Cambodia]].]]
A '''massage parlor''' (American English), or '''massage parlour''' (Canadian/British English), or [[massage salon]] is a place where [[massage]] services are provided. Some massage parlors are [[front organizations]] for [[prostitution]] and the term "massage parlor" has also become a euphemism for a [[brothel]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Meaning_Frames_and_Conceptual_Representa/F_kdEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA253|title=Meaning, Frames, and Conceptual Representation|publisher=Düsseldorf University Press GmbH|date=2015|editor1-first=Doris|editor1-last=Gerland|editor2-first=Rainer|editor2-last=Osswald|editor3-first=Thomas|editor3-last=Gamerschlag|editor4-first=Wiebke|editor4-last=Petersen|page=253}}</ref>

==Background==
The term "massage parlour" (British English) or "massage parlor" (American English) sometimes refers to a front for [[prostitution]], an association popularized by the "Massage Scandals" of 1894.  In 1894 the [[British Medical Association]] (BMA) inquired into the education and practice of massage practitioners in London, and found that prostitution was commonly associated with unskilled workers and debt, often working with forged qualifications. In response, legitimate massage workers formed the Society of Trained Masseuses (now known as the [[Chartered Society of Physiotherapy]]), with an emphasis on high academic standards and a medical model for massage training.<ref name=Callaway2009>Callaway and Burgess, S. 2009. History of massage. Chapter 2 In: Casanelia, L and Stelfox, D (editors). Foundations of massage, 3rd edition. Harcourt Publishers Group (Australia). {{ISBN|978-0729578691}}.</ref>

Particularly where [[prostitution]] is illegal, massage parlors (as well as [[sauna]]s, [[Day spa|spas]] or similar establishments) may be fronts for places of prostitution. Illegal brothels disguised as massage parlors are common in many countries.

Alternatively, the massages at certain massage parlors may have a "happy ending", meaning that the massage ends with the client receiving a [[Orgasm|sexual release]]. In addition to a "happy ending" service, given the restrictions imposed upon most striptease venues, some [[erotic massage]] venues now also offer a service where the client can masturbate while watching an artist perform a striptease.

There is a grey area and ambiguity as to when an ordinary massage becomes sexual when it comes to individuals with sexual interests such as tripsophilia, tripsolagnophilia, partialism, autofetishism or organofact, who may feel that the massage of the entire body or any ordinary bodyparts unrelated to typical erogenous zones are associated with eroticism and sensuality.<ref>Coleman-Kennedy, Carol, and Amanda Pendley. "Assessment and diagnosis of sexual addiction." Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association 8.5 (2002): 143-151.</ref>

== China ==
[[File:Massage parlor china.jpg|thumb|Massage parlor china]]
Most types of massage, with the exception of some [[traditional Chinese medicine]], are not regulated in China. Although illegal in China, some of the smaller massage parlors are sometimes linked to the sex industry and the government has taken a number of measures in recent times to curb this. In a nationwide crackdown known as the yellow sweep ("Yellow" in [[Mandarin Chinese]] refers to sexual activities or pornographic content), limitations on the design and operation of massage parlors have been placed, going so far as requiring identification from customers who visit massage establishments late at night and logging their visits with the local police.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ramzy |first=Austin |title=To Curb Prostitution, Guangdong Tries to Clean Up Massage Industry |date=8 July 2014 |url=https://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/08/to-curb-prostitution-guangdong-tries-to-clean-up-massage-industry/ |name-list-style=vanc}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Chinese Officials Widen Campaign Against Vices |newspaper=The New York Times|date=17 February 2014|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/18/world/asia/a-clampdown-on-prostitution-and-gambling-spreads-in-china.html|last1=Wong|first1=Edward}}</ref>

==Germany==
[[Prostitution in Germany]] is legal. In 2004 the German city of Cologne introduced a tax on the city's sex industry including its massage parlors. It was the only city to do so.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sex Tax Filling Cologne's Coffers|url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany-s-smut-tariff-sex-tax-filling-cologne-s-coffers-a-454749.html|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=15 December 2006}}</ref>

==Italy==
In Italy, massage parlours can be fronts for prostitution. Advertisements for massage parlours are listed in newspapers, in some cases offering "Japanese" or "Oriental" massage. Viva Lain, one of Italy's largest chains of massage parlours, was raided by the police in 2003.<ref>{{cite book|title= Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LL4kfg6CPuwC|first=Siddharth|last=Kara|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2010|isbn=9780231139618|page=96}}</ref>

==Malaysia==
Since the end of the 20th century an expansion in [[prostitution in Malaysia]] has resulted in massage parlors being established across the country. Malaysian massage parlors often call themselves spas, salons, or health centres, and many offer erotic massages and "happy endings".<ref>{{cite web |url= https://asiancorrespondent.com/2015/07/kuala-lumpur-prostitution-malaysia/ |title= Why Kuala Lumpur could be on its way to becoming the sex capital of Asia |last= Hunter |first= Murray |date= 28 July 2015 |website= Asian Correspondent |access-date= 5 December 2019 }}</ref>

==Nepal==
In [[Kathmandu]]'s tourist district of [[Thamel]], massage parlours typically advertise Thai massage, [[Ayurvedic]] massage or Nepalese "special massage". Some offer legitimate massage, while others are sex establishments. [[Prostitution in Nepal]] is illegal so the owners of such  massage parlours do not explicitly solicit sex and the paying of police bribes is a customary part of the operation.{{sfn| Kara|2010|p=72–74}}

==Thailand==
[[File:Sayuri-Complex,-Chiang-Mai,-Thailand.jpg|thumb|A massage parlor and [[soapland]] in [[Chiang Mai]], Thailand]]

There are many businesses in Thailand that provide traditional [[Thai massage]] which is therapeutic and non-sexual. However, the country also has a large number of massage parlors which are part of the country's [[sex industry]]. These premises typically contain a large glass window behind which clothed women sit wearing identification numbers. Once one of them is chosen by a customer, she takes him into a private room for a bath and sexual services ([[oral sex]] or [[penetrative sex]]). Instead of a salary, the women receive a proportion of the fee paid by the customer, and they are also given tips.<ref>{{cite book|title=Human Trafficking in Thailand: Current Issues, Trends, and the Role of the Thai Government|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=okDQDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT44|first=Siroj|last=Sorajjakool|publisher=Silkworm Books|date=2013|isbn=9781631021947|page=44}}</ref>

In 1996, foreign women made up the majority of [[prostitute]]s from forty sex establishments in eighteen border provinces that were actually brothels masquerading as [[karaoke bar]]s, [[restaurant]]s and traditional massage parlours. In some venues though, there were no Thai women at all.<ref>Kritaya Archavanitkul, [[Institute for Population and Social Research]], [[Mahidol University]], the Passage of Women in Neighbouring Countries into the Sex Trade in Thailand, "Academic urges action in war against flesh trade," Yindee Lertcharoenchok, Mukdawan Sakboon, [[The Nation]], 28 May 1997</ref> In mid-1997, an increasing number of young girls, more than 60% of which were under 18 years old, were entering Thailand through the [[Mae Sai District|Mae Sai]] checkpoint into massage parlors, brothels, etc.<ref>(World Vision¹s Bansit Thathorn, the coordinator of the NGO Burmese women, Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, "Influx of Burmese sex workers via Mae Sai," [[Bangkok Post]], 2 June 1997)</ref>

The legal difference between a "spa" and a "massage parlour" is unclear. The Federation of Thai Spa Associations (FTSPA) in 2016 urged authorities to clamp down on sexual services being offered at some massage parlours. The FTSPA maintains that influential figures have used legal loopholes to open "pretty spas" or massage parlours where tourists can buy sexual services.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Chinmaneevong|first1=Chadamas|title=Spas cry foul over sale of sex services|url=http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/987137/spas-cry-foul-over-sale-of-sex-services|accessdate=25 May 2016|work=Bangkok Post|date=2016-05-25}}</ref>

==United Kingdom==

In the United Kingdom, [[Prostitution in the United Kingdom|prostitution]] itself is legal but activities such as [[pimp]]ing and owning or managing a [[brothel]] are not. However, the laws are not always strictly enforced.<ref>{{cite web |title=Prostitution: Third Report of Session 2016–17 |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmhaff/26/26.pdf |publisher=House of Commons Home Affairs Committee |accessdate=3 September 2018 |date=1 July 2016}}</ref> Many brothels in cities such as [[Manchester]] and [[London]] and [[Cardiff]] operate through legitimate businesses which are licensed as "Massage Parlours" and operate under that name. Police forces often turn a blind eye to such establishments.<ref>{{cite web |last1=James |first1=David |title=Police turn blind eye to brothels |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/police-turn-blind-eye-brothels-2206351 |website=walesonline |accessdate=3 September 2018 |date=31 January 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bennetto |first1=Jason |title=Police turn blind eye to 'brothels' as prostitutes come in from cold |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/police-turn-blind-eye-to-brothels-as-prostitutes-come-in-from-cold-1331024.html |website=The Independent |accessdate=3 September 2018|date=1996-07-28 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7597232.stm | work=BBC News | title=Brothel industry is 'spreading' | date=4 September 2008}}</ref> Massage parlours are sometimes advertised in newspapers, but a newspaper which carries advertising for a brothel under the guise of a massage parlour may be liable to prosecution for money laundering offences under the [[Proceeds of Crime Act 2002]]. The Newspaper Society's guidelines suggest that their members (the majority of local newspapers) refuse to carry advertisements for sexual services.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Shun sex ads, local papers urged |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7238130.stm |newspaper=BBC News |location= |date=11 February 2008 |access-date=9 August 2015 }}</ref> The advice also warns publishers that massage parlours can disguise illegal offers of sexual services and it suggests checking qualifications to ensure the advertised service is legitimate. Newspaper companies often adopt a policy of refusing all advertisements for massage parlours.<ref name=CPS>{{cite web|title=Prostitution and Exploitation of Prostitution|url=http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/p_to_r/prostitution_and_exploitation_of_prostitution/|publisher=The Crown Prosecution Service|accessdate=13 July 2014}}</ref>

In 2005, it was reported that, in Manchester, there were around eighty "massage parlours" which were fronts for prostitution and that the police ignored those establishments, focusing instead on reducing [[street prostitution]]. On 12 October 2005, the ''[[Manchester Evening News]]'' reported that "A self-confessed [[pimp]] walked free from court after a judge was told police had '[[turn a blind eye|turned a blind eye]]' to organised prostitution in massage parlours in Manchester."<ref>{{cite news |author=[unattributed] |title=Police turn a blind eye to brothels |url=http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/men/news/s/177/177492_police_turn_a_blind_eye_to_brothels.html |work=[[Manchester Evening News]]|date=2005-10-12|accessdate=2007-01-22}}</ref>

In December 2007, the ''Manchester Evening News'' removed all advertisements for massage parlours from its personal columns. The move followed a meeting between ministers and newspaper and advertising industry representatives. It also followed comments by [[Harriet Harman]], [[Minister for Women and Equality]], in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] on 25 October that some local newspapers were promoting [[slavery]] by running sex adverts for foreign women.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/node/39561|title=Newspapers promise action on sex slavery|publisher=Press Gazette|date=25 November 2007|accessdate=9 December 2015|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108005254/http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/node/39561|archivedate=8 January 2016}}</ref>

==United States==
Massage parlors in the United States have been linked to prostitution since the nineteenth century. In 2019 it was reported that the [[Polaris Project]] estimated there were around 9,000 massage parlors in the US providing sexual services. Most of the staff were Chinese women.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Chen|first=Teng|date=2020-01-30|title=Chinese moms in America's illicit massage parlors|url=https://supchina.com/2020/01/30/chinese-moms-in-americas-illicit-massage-parlors/|access-date=2021-11-17|website=SupChina|language=en-US|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408223840/https://supchina.com/2020/01/30/chinese-moms-in-americas-illicit-massage-parlors/|archive-date=8 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Human Trafficking in Illicit Massage Businesses |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/polaris-human-trafficking-in-illicit-massage-parlors-report/download |website=Commonwealth of Massachusetts|publisher=Polaris}}</ref> The larger cities of the US typically have hundreds of massage parlors, and they are often present in small towns.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Vice|title=Massage Parlours with 'Happy Endings' Give These Sex Workers a Decent Living|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/asian-massage-parlors-with-happy-endings-give-these-sex-workers-a-decent-living/|author=Hallie Lieberman|date=28 October 2019}}</ref> 

Between 1980 and 2009, massage parlors in [[Rhode Island]] (also known there as "spas") were known to be involved in prostitution. [[Prostitution in Rhode Island]] was legal at that time as long as it was "behind closed doors".<ref>{{cite news|author=Arditi, Lynn |title='Behind Closed Doors" How RI Decriminalized Prostitution |url=http://www.projo.com/news/content/PROSTITUTION_LAW31_05-31-09_NVEHGBH_v161.3e90048.html |work=Providence Journal |date=2009-05-31 |accessdate=2009-07-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601211914/http://www.projo.com/news/content/PROSTITUTION_LAW31_05-31-09_NVEHGBH_v161.3e90048.html |archivedate=2009-06-01 }}</ref> The 2009 documentary ''[[Happy Endings?]]'' follows women who worked in the Asian massage parlors of [[Rhode Island]]. The film focuses on "full service" massage parlors, although "'''rub and tug'''" massage parlors (where only [[handjob]]s are offered) are also covered.

As of 2010, there were an estimated 525 massage parlors in [[New Jersey]] acting as fronts for the prostitution industry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.havocscope.com/prostitution-brothels-in-new-jersey/ |title=Prostitution brothels in New Jersey|publisher=Havocscope Black Market|date=2011-05-09|accessdate=2011-06-11}}</ref>

An ongoing study of the prostitution business in [[New York City]] by the Sociology Department of [[Columbia University]] found that, between 1991 and 2010, the rise of the Internet and mobile phones “have enabled some sex workers to professionalize their trade”, with a shift from [[Street prostitution|street walking]] to "indoor" markets (including massage parlors and [[escort agencies]]), a geographical change in the concentration of [[sex work]], and the growth of a more expensive luxury market.<ref>{{cite news|title=How tech tools have changed today's prostitution business|author=Sudhir Venkatesh|publisher=Wired|date= 31 January 2011|url=https://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/01/ff_sextrade/all/1|accessdate=13 January 2016}}</ref>  In January 2011, an investigation by ''[[Time Out New York]]'' found New York City massage parlors charging a "house fee" (which is usually paid, up front to the parlor's [[mama-san]]) of $60 to $100 per visit, with an extra tip for the sex workers (usually around $40) for a massage and a basic “happy ending” (or [[handjob|manual stimulation of the penis until orgasm]]). Most of the massage parlors reviewed were very strict about the female masseuse not being touched by the male client, but, in some parlors, further contact could be negotiated.<ref>{{citation |url=http://newyork.timeout.com/sex-dating/42097/best-happy-ending-parlors |title=Best happy-ending parlors |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705081130/http://newyork.timeout.com/sex-dating/42097/best-happy-ending-parlors |work=Time Out New York |date=25 January 2011 |archive-date=5 July 2011 |access-date=1 December 2016 }}</ref>

In many large US cities there are Asian massage parlours, some advertising traditional Thai massage. In some cases these establishments are fronts for prostitution.{{sfn|Kara|2010|pages=179–180}} As of 2005, more than forty Asian massage parlors (mostly Korean) operated as fronts for in-call [[brothel]]s in Washington, D.C., and each earned an average of $1.2 million a year. More than 200 other massage parlors (that did not openly advertise and were operated largely out of private homes and apartments) serving mainly Latino clients made an average of at least $800,000 a year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.havocscope.com/earnings-of-an-asian-massage-parlor-in-washington-dc |title=Earnings of an Asian Massage Parlor in Washington DC|publisher=Havocscope Black Market|date=2005-11-05|accessdate=2011-06-11}}</ref><ref name="X RATED: DC's Underground Sex Industry">{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/x-rated-dcs-underground-sex-industry |title=X RATED: DC's Underground Sex Industry|date=2005|accessdate=17 March 2013}}</ref>

Sex acts performed at massage parlors can range from a basic "happy ending" to [[oral sex]] or "[[sexual intercourse|full service]]". Some, mostly Asian, massage parlors offer a naked "table shower" or an "Asian body slide" as well as access to a [[sauna]] before a massage and/or any sexual activity takes place.<ref name="X RATED: DC's Underground Sex Industry" /><ref name="West Bridgewater spa advertised ‘table showers’ on Craigslist">{{cite web|url=http://www.enterprisenews.com/news/x694775327/West-Bridgewater-spa-advertised-table-showers-on-Craigslist|title=West Bridgewater spa advertised 'table showers' on Craigslist|date=22 February 2013|accessdate=16 March 2013}}</ref><ref name="Police barely decent in massage parlor sting">{{cite news|newspaper=Washington Times|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/6/police-barely-decent-in-massage-parlor-sting/?page=all|title=Police barely decent in massage parlor sting|date=6 February 2011|accessdate=16 March 2013}}</ref>

During the 2000s publications in major metropolitan areas of the US were under pressure not to advertise massage parlor operations.<ref name="Time to Drop the Massage Parlor Ads">{{cite news|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082501261.html|title=Time to Drop the Massage Parlor Ads|date=27 August 2006|accessdate=16 March 2013}}</ref> After the [[Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act]] became law on 11 April 2018<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/us/backpage-sex-trafficking.html |title=Trump Signs Bill Amid Momentum to Crack Down on Trafficking |author=Elizabeth Dias |work=New York Times |date=11 April 2018 |access-date=11 April 2018 |language=en}}</ref> the [[classified advertising]] website [[Craigslist]] removed all of their personal advertisements.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/23/596460672/craigslist-shuts-down-personals-section-after-congress-passes-bill-on-traffickin | title = Craigslist Shuts Down Personals Section After Congress Passes Bill On Trafficking | first = Merrit | last = Kennedy | date = 23 March 2018 | publisher = National Public Radio | location = Washington, DC, USA}}</ref> Another classified advertising website, [[Backpage]], was shut down by federal officials during the same month.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://chicago.suntimes.com/business/some-sex-workers-worry-about-their-business-after-feds-shut-down-backpage-com/ | title = Some sex workers worry about their business after feds shut down Backpage.com | first = Andy | last = Grimm | date = 22 April 2018 | publisher = The Chicago Sun-Times | location = Chicago, Illinois, USA}}</ref> The closure of Backpage substantially benefited the massage parlor review website RubMaps which covers Asian massage parlors in the US. The site was under investigation by US authorities in 2019, a process made more difficult by the site's corporate structures and domain name having moved to Europe.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Wall Street journal|title=After Backpage, U.S. Investigates Massage, Escort Websites That Now Dominate Market|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/after-backpage-u-s-investigates-massage-escort-websites-that-now-dominate-market-11568548800|date=15 September 2019|author=Lalita Clozel|access-date=6 November 2019}}</ref>

Law enforcement agencies in the US attempt to shut down or fine massage parlor establishments that break federal, state or local laws.<ref name="Police barely decent in massage parlor sting" /><ref name="Time to Drop the Massage Parlor Ads" /> The penalty for breaking the law in these instances can be as high as [[life imprisonment]] in some cases, especially those that involve [[Human trafficking in the United States|human trafficking]].<ref name="Mt. Prospect massage parlor owner gets life sentence">{{cite news|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2012/11/26/mt-prospect-massage-parlor-owner-gets-life-sentence/|title=Mt. Prospect massage parlor owner gets life sentence|date=26 November 2012|access-date=16 March 2013}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Fashion health]]
* [[Human trafficking]]
* [[Mama-san]] – female manager of Asian brothels or massage parlors
* ''[[Massage Parlor Murders!]]'' – 1970s US film
* [[Nuru (massage)|Nuru]] – type of erotic massage
* [[Soapland]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/massage%20parlor "Massage parlor" definition in Merriam-Webster Dictionary]
*[http://oaadonline.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/massage-parlor "Massage parlor" definition in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary]
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082501261.html Washington Post is urged to stop accepting advertisements for massage parlors]

[[Category:Erotic massage]]
[[Category:Massage]]
[[Category:Sex industry]]