4. Porn seems to have come late to the likes of Vikorn, who himself is a player in the skin trade through his clubs. Pornography itself is hardly new; what is the catalyst for the burgeoning piped-in porn market in hotel chains? (Is it just the fluidity of digital media transmission, or simply “a growing American market that wants pornography in the home”? [302] Increased business travel? Fear of AIDS? Surely it cannot be something so mundane as a renewed interest in fidelity.)

I think if we read the article from the NYT, appended to the book, the answer is clear: porn is a massive growth industry because digital media permits it to be viewed in secret. Porn was negligible when it came in the form of postcards and bulky “men’s” magazines, started to take off with video shops, then when total anonymity was available in the form of downloads from the Net the shame factor was eliminated and porn exploded - and is continuing to do so. I admire your unquenchable optimism when you ask if porn is a consequence of “a renewed interest in fidelity”. Once again, don’t you think you are being slightly too literal? It’s like asking if the media’s fascination with violence is a “consequence of renewed interest in security”. How faithful would you feel if your mind was on the girl in the porn video while you made love to your betrothed? (How faithful would you feel your partner was being if her mind was on the jock in the porn clip?) I think to Sonchai porn is simply part of the ‘functional barbarism” of our times – an abuse of applied science which allows us to cop out emotionally, and even erotically. That’s why he prefers prostitution.

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