"Not Just a Rub-n-Tug" - Letter to Time Out New York

"Not Just a Rub-n-Tug" - Letter to Time Out NY

Time Out New York recently published an article in their Sex & Dating column titled, "Best Happy Ending Parlors in New York City". Upon clicking the link, the reader is met with "your spa visit will end with a smile when you visit the best rub-n-tug joints"; and goes on to list the top 5 places in Manhattan to receive sex for money. Essentially, advertising the top five brothels in Manhattan with recommended "tips" for how to act as well as how much to pay.

Based on the latest UN Trafficking in Persons report it is a high probability that the women in these "establishments" are victims of sex trafficking and/or debt bondage - two forms of modern-day slavery. Human Trafficking is now the leading illegal enterprise in the world today -surpassing drugs and weapons as a woman can be bought and sold several times over sometimes servicing more than 20 men a day. It is estimated that more than 15000 trafficked persons pass through NYC alone each year.

That being said, here is the Editor's Note:
Paying for sex is illegal in New York City, so use the information below at your own risk; Time Out New York is not responsible for your safety. At each location, your mileage may vary, depending on your masseuse, your look and your behavior. The services described below are not explicitly offered at the spas, which describe themselves as legitimate massage parlors. A decent tip is usually $40. The following five have been in operation for at least two years running.

No, Time Out New York is not responsible for your safety, nor are they responsible for the well-being of men and women that were born into poverty, manipulated, and brought to another country under the guise of finding a better life.

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adults is wrong and one of the most popular publications in New York City only took the time to research what's written below:

West Garden Spa
243 W 30th St between Seventh and Eighth Aves (212-244-7711, westgardenspa.com)
Cost: $100 plus tip

"...you get a table wash (often by a petite Latina woman) and are directed (by an Asian woman of the spa’s choice) into a labyrinth of private white rooms, with Lite FM music piped in. After a decent massage (“Hard or soft?”), she’ll jerk you off."


My Heavenly Hands
Locations vary (646-460-0566, myheavenlyhands.com)
Cost: $130 for 30 minutes; $200 for an hour, plus tip

"...this service, run by self-proclaimed college girls (but who knows), employs Hispanic and black women, a nice alternative to the usual Asian fare."

22 West Spa
22 W 38th St between Fifth and Sixth Aves, first floor (212-997-2228)
Cost: $60 for 30 minutes; $80 for an hour, plus tip

"We’ve heard of people going in for a quick happy ending and getting a blow job (without a condom), a make-out session (while being tugged) or full-on sex. Our reporter never went that far, but he did enjoy what his health teacher once called “mutual masturbation” while a breast was in his mouth"

New York Health Spa
5 W 37th St between Fifth and Sixth Aves (212-575-5600)
Cost: $80 plus tip

Miga Spa
238 W 78th St between Amsterdam Ave and Broadway (212-501-7750)
Cost: $70 plus tip

They did not however take the time to ponder the possibility that they may be willing participants in sex-trafficking and investing in the rape and molestation of women and boys taken and held against their will.

I cringe when I think that business is booming for the pimps and traffickers as they reap the benefits of Time Out's readership. It bothers me that the eyes that usually comb the back pages of the New York Post or adult services on Craigslist can now click to a well-known publication and find exactly what they're looking for.

I can only hope that modern-day abolitionists are reading too, so that we know where to go as well.