Has Dubai become a coded word on the Internet for prostitution?

[debbrianna]

I was reading a thread earlier and constant use of the word Dubai in association with influencers has grown so much. However, no one really mentions who pays for these trips. During lockdown the running jokes about Dubai was rife regarding influencers.
I have also read about people duped in going thinking it was with friends on holiday and it all goes wrong.

Not longer ago, lots of people were being paid by wealthy men or companies to fly of to Dubai on party yachts. A few documentaries on YouTube pointed towards prostitution. Some of the most vile and dehumanising things happened to some of them.

ONLYFANS is full of people flying off to Dubia and this set alarm bells ringing for me. AIBU for thinking this?

• [Message from MNHQ: we've been asked to add a warning that this thread contains graphic references to some pretty iffy sexual practices involving body fluids etc. Click away now if that's going to put you off your dinner...]

@dayswithaY

I used to go to private clubs in the 80s with the City firm I worked for.

What company did you work for that took you to clubs like that? Or rather, made you feel you had to go?

What about places like Soho house? That’s not a pick up place, is it? The Chiltern Firehouse in Marylebone?

I’ve been researching places for meetings. Please tell me that they are respectable.

This was happening long before Insta though.

Previously they would fly out models. I imagine the richest ones still do and that Insta has just opened up a more affordable market for men that are rich enough to do it but not rich enough to afford models.

The whole commoditisation of women like a cattle market is grim as fuck. I can also imagine some more naive younger women getting themselves into situations they didn't bargain for.

And of course women who've already been abused (sexually, physically, emotionally) are more likely to take part IMO because they have a skewed sense of self worth.

I speak as someone who nearly did escorting in my late teens / early 20s. At the time I would have argued convincingly that I had perfectly good self esteem and that it was all of my own free will and anyone that thought differently was being patronising. It's only with lots of therapy and a more mature perspective that I can see how abuse from my father led me to be vulnerable to sex-work (which thankfully I didn't go through with though through luck more than judgement)

@BilboBercow

All of the male influencers are going too. Are they also engaged in prostitution?

It's not unknown for them to 'benefit' from it.

Stormzy even mentions it in his lyrics, 'know I can get it all inclusive (in Dubai)' he's not talking about room service - well not food anyway.

Actually put me off his music.

It’s not new, DH1s dad made his fortune in the 70’s and 80’s in this ‘business’ pimping women as high class escorts. It’s now just much ‘easier’ for girls to do themselves and more visible because of social media. It was all about the Med and Hong Kong in those days. Now I think it’s mostly the Eastern European girls making the big money. Having multiple paid for ‘mistresses’ is essential for wealth and prestige in some cultures. I’m not saying it’s right, it’s not new though.

I used to live there and there were lots of massage parlour. Horrible place.

Singapore is still quite notorious. Lots of transient business men.

Also for a lot of business deals, it’s expected that parties and women are offered as incentives. Again not right but perfectly accepted in many cultures as part of ‘doing business’ and has been the case for years.

@tara66

I owned a flat in Dubai for 10 years - just wonder what sort of Visa these girls were on unless they were just ''on holiday''? Even if they went to the border and back every month they could only get monthly Visas for 3 months then would have to leave.

They don't have visas - they are 'on holiday' and don't stay for long.

The punters like fresh meat

‘All of the male influencers are going too. Are they also engaged in prostitution?’

Never heard of ‘gay for pay’?

As PP have said it's not just ME.

It's less common here now as attitudes have changed however it was only a couple of years ago that there was the big expose of that 'men only' event that was similar with politicians, businessmen and such like in attendance. I forget the name of it!

Why the hell can't people just shit in a toilet? Fucks sake

I assumed influencers were paid to promote tourism there? Unless - are the male influencers prostitutes too?

In a country where homosexuality is illegal, there is a need for foreigners willing to provide that service.

I have clearly led a sheltered life. Reading this thread has been an education for me! The humiliation and degradation these women are prepared to endure is staggering. And what do these men think of women?! It’s sickening.

Yy obviously male prostitution is in as much demand as ever in a country like that.

I was referring to heterosexual male influencers/ reality show types in Dubai, being just the same as your typical sex tourist.

@JackieWeaverHandforthCouncil

‘All of the male influencers are going too. Are they also engaged in prostitution?’

Never heard of ‘gay for pay’?

No! But I haven't heard of a lot of the things on this thread and I didn't think my 45 years had been particularly sheltered 😮

I have heard that the highest earners are the ITV2 reality stars. One particular dating gameshow set on an island Apparently the sheiks go crazy for those boys and girls.

There are a lot of male prostitutes too. At Christmas I stood waiting or a lift and the doors opened to reveal 3 identically dressed young guys with sequined face masks. They werent on the way to a panto ..
It is a very dangerous profession at the best of times but in the ME it is really really risky. There is no police officer going to be quoting sex workers rights when you get beat up ,strangled, dragged out to the desert and set alight.

@thenightsky

I can't see anything glamourous about lying back and letting a man shit in my mouth FFS. Not even for £70,000

Nope. Me neither

This reminds me of a Turkish film on Netflix about this topic. I can't remember the name of it. Utterly depressing

@Deathgrip

That “Tag the sponsor” website is fucking horrible - lots of men “exposing the hoes”, you know those women who are just agreeing to what men are asking them to do. Utterly disgusting men the lot of them.

Whether any of it is legit, or just men pranking women desperate for money into agreeing to the worst stuff they can think of, is unclear.

Agree - its very telling that the "exposing" is all centred arounf the instagram models and not the gross men who are actuall paying for that depraved shit. I really think its a lesson all those saying OF is "empowering" to women should take note of - at the end of the day the male clients are always protected. The women are the ones shamed (or occassionally killed) I also didnt like the tone of that travelling jezebel article - again it seemed to be all about those trashy women, and fell over itself not to "kink shame" the men. e.g. ""Kink shaming is not my bag, and just because I PERSONALLY don’t want a dude shitting on my face, I really couldn’t care less if you want to accept money for that. I mean, it’s a dirty job and all but someone’s gotta do it I guess, lol."

LOL indeed

@Dailywalk

Me too. I am

I knew it happened but not at this extent, so blatantly.

I have an Instagram account for drawings, landscape photography. All very bland really. My username sounds make and I was very shocked at the invitations I received early on to ‘join’ a group from women I didn’t know.

I have also noticed lots of posts from women with vinyl strategically placed on their thighs whilst they wear very skimpy shorts, etc.

I’m not buying it that they are really into an obscure white label Brian Eno track.

Absolute commodification. Legitimised. Who remembers all of that stuff about sugar dad dying your way through university? At a time of student loans, it really was a way of saying to low income women they had to earn their right to that space which they don’t.

I also remember reading an interview with the belle de jour blog writer who thought she would go on to university work and no one would know. She also said her father used prostitutes.

I really hate this stuff. I was working as a freelance web researcher whilst doing my postgrad and everything I researched was educational programmes, code based stuff but I still got unwanted pop ups on some of the sites. I also remember the postgrad Berkeley university student who got a grant to help ex working women get into computing and she showed them how to set themselves up as webcam girls.

Some days, I am deadly serious about joining a convent. I’ll renter the world once it values us.

I didn’t think the Jezebel article was that bad - very specifically said what the women were doing (gross stuff for money) was less of an issue given presumably mutual consent. It called out the rape of children and sex with animals though (not envy)

Why do rich men like shit ? Truing and failing to think of a logical reason

It’s a power thing isn’t it. The powerful show their superiority and/or disgust towards the economically/morally weaker.