Friday, August 9, 2013

Underage Prostitutes

In certain sections of Cebu City, where I live at present, it's almost impossible for a foreigner to walk any significant distance without getting at least a few offers of sex -- the Colon district, Mango Avenue, sometimes Fuente, and Juana Osmena come to mind. Generally, when I get such offers, I just pass by, but occasionally, out of curiosity, I will stop and ask a question -- most often, "How old are you?" when the girl seems unusually young.

The problem is, though, that there's no reason to believe the answers. If she says eighteen, is she really sixteen, but lying because she thinks I want a 'legal' girl? If she says sixteen, is she really eighteen, but thinks maybe my asking means I'm into 'young stuff'? In any case, the odds are that the answer is whatever she thinks a potential customer wants to hear.

Recently I was walking through Colon and passed a small group of hookers. One called out to me and pointed to a young girl sitting next to her. I asked the girl how old she was, and she answered that she was fifteen. I said something like, "Too young" and walked away. The older hooker said, "How old you want?"

I continued walking, but later I started thinking that maybe I should have answered "Twelve" to see what reaction I'd get. Of course, that's the sort of joke that could get me into a lot of trouble, so it's probably best I just left.

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