More than just a sweet face: a glimpse into the life of Khon Kaen's 'bear pretties'
Chang bear pretties (Settawat Udom / Shutterstock.com)
'Beer Pretty' is the term often given to the women who are often dressed in suggestive, tight skirts and who then encourage catering visitors to drink a certain brand of beer. But who are these ladies? A look into the lives of these beer girls shows that there is more to them than just selling beer. Below is a short summary of an article about these beer girls.
Tukta, 21, is a timid business student. She does not stand out in class, but quietly writes notes in her notebook during class. At the end of the school day, she goes to work, a restaurant near Khon Kaen University. She clocks in at six and greets the manager and a few customers. She exchanges her university uniform for a tight and suggestive green skirt from a well-known beer brand. Her slightly older colleague Bee puts on a red dress from another well-known beer brand. Together, the ladies work nightly to sell beer from their beer brands. They use their youthful beauty to sell alcohol through pleasant, brief interactions with customers.
The beer girls and pretties at other events attract potential customers, flirt with them and have their picture taken. The salary is relatively good and it gives the ladies the opportunity to build a network, which is very useful for students in particular. But there are also disadvantages. Sexual harassment and other misconduct are not uncommon. Overconfident customers flirt, touch, or ask for sex.
For Tukta, the misbehavior is part of her job. It bothers her, but she has her methods of dealing with clients that go too far. "I can tell the difference between an innocent touch on my arm and someone getting too pawy," she says. 'Usually I don't make a big deal out of it, they've had enough to drink, so they can't think straight anymore. It's not worth getting angry then. I'd rather just sell beer and then go home.'
Beer girls at a football game (mooinblack / Shutterstock.com)
When asked what measures the restaurant takes against misconduct, Assade, the 42 manager, shrugs. 'The customers are drunk and the ladies are beautiful. It's inconvenient but we can't talk to the customers about it, because otherwise it costs us money. If a customer is having a beer girl, we keep the two parties away from each other for the rest of the evening.'
Tukta's part-time job depends on how many beers she sells, she has to meet quotas. It brings her about 14.000 baht in salary per month, with an average of about 1.000 baht in tips per week. She uses the money to pay for her student life: materials, food, shelter and a brand new Toyota Yaris on credit. “You must be wondering what my family thinks about how I get my money. They know what I do, that I work in a restaurant as a beer girl. At first they were worried when they saw the green skirt. My mother even came to have a look at the restaurant one evening. Now they don't worry anymore.' Thoughtfully, she adds, “If people sense you're ashamed, they'll use it against you. But if you're proud, then they can't bother you. The reasons I do this is professionally, I work towards achieving my goals. I have a plan and this job is just a phase in it. The day I graduate is the day I quit this job.'
The full story can be read in English on The Isaan Record's site: isaanrecord.com/2019/10/15/khon-kaen-beer-pretties/
About this blogger
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Regular visitor to Thailand since 2008. Works in the accounting department of a Dutch wholesaler.
In his spare time he likes to go cycling, walking or reading a book. Mainly non-fiction, especially the history, politics, economy and society of the Netherlands, Thailand and countries in the region. Likes to listen to heavy metal and other noise
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Beer girl is in Thai สาวเชียร์เบียร์ (săaw chier biea) 'girl promoting beer'. And พริต (prít-tîe) are the 'pretties', -or the beautiful young promotion girls- in general.
The nicknames of the two ladies:
ตุ๊กตา (tóek-taa) = doll, mannequin
บี (bie) = the letter B in English, or English for (a) bee.
I'm curious, how will the readers see the beer girls next time?
Nice story. I fondly recall the few times they appeared at my table.
Pretty or pretties is in Thai พริตตี้ prittie high falling tone. You forgot the last ตี้…
The use of all kinds of "pretties", young girls who are selected for their appearance and who are supposed to seduce buyers in suggestive provocative ways, is part of Thai society. It is a way of earning money, as it also applies to how Thailand treats its transgenders/katoeys and all those young girls, some of whom have barely left their childhood, who (have to) opt for a job in prostitution, for example. It is deplorable, sexist and derogatory, but it is “Thai normal” because it is a deeply and widely accepted phenomenon. Thailand still has a lot to learn, but at the same time it seems that the country is standing still in many aspects. Progress, is such an aspect!
Why is degenerating again spoken of as "Thai morality". In other countries we have Pitspoezen (not more recently) at every car and motorcycle show, at boxing matches, Majorettes at the drum band, the girls at sports competitions such as Basketball.
No, it's just because many men like to see it and sell because of it, just like with the advertising.
In other countries they have pit cats??? We are talking about Thailand, never been to a motor race or car race in Buriram, well they can be seen there.
And in khon kaen on the Ton Tan night market yes they are serving those beautiful girls with short skirts.
And don't forget the Harem club in khon kaen so beautiful you won't see them anywhere in Thailand for sure, because they are even dropped off by their boyfriend and picked up??
That many men like to have scantily and provocatively dressed young men around them is, of course, a typical male remark. But then you have not read or understood the story properly. In F! racing you will hardly find any “performance” by “pit cats” anymore. The big brands no longer want to be associated with such phenomena.
In the article by Rob V. you will find the following sentence: “Sexual harassment and other misconduct are not uncommon.” In Thailand. The Western world doesn't put up with this kind of behavior anymore.
Oh well, the politically correct left-wing glasses of Western Europe and the USA, everywhere else in the world they are not so difficult. That narrow-minded Christian finger that has grown into an anti-white man movement that is unparalleled.
In my humble opinion, what you call progress is regression.
Totally agree Mike,
I think it's wonderful to be able to see pit cats or beer girls, unfortunately we currently live in a left-wing "prohibition culture", every healthy man likes to see a sexy lady and there is nothing wrong with that, it is a 99.99% voluntary (payment) means that for as long as humanity has existed to achieve goals. But now it's yuck and dirty, blown over from the terribly fake hysterical USA.
Long live the Thai beer girl so that they too can buy a car on credit.
And for the Puritans and Reformation maniacs the message, just look the other way, and stop with this nonsense.
Why is there always such a Western moralistic Christian negative attitude when Thai women use their bodies? Is there something wrong with that?
99,99 percent do it of their own free choice. But we – and Meetoo too – keep telling us that it is all forced and caused by the misplaced superiority of the macho men…
Simpletons.
When women use their intelligence, we think it's great, or at least a little - because intelligent women are a threat to the race of the men.
Or when women in Thailand use their ingenuity, eg in selling life insurance or super expensive health drinks or whiteners, I know a lot... My ex-girlfriend was Herbalife's top seller. Also pure deceit and selling hot air.
We Westerners are still the same sanctimonious colonial profiteers who take advantage of economically dependent people under the guise of 'human rights' and 'democracy'.
Just look at the NGOs. All reveal that their employees indulge in free sex under the guise of charity and philanthropy. The scandals hit the media.
Sex is an economic fact. intangible product that can be sold, a service, such as computer assistance or aesthetic advice. It is an economic reality that has nothing to do with Christian morality! Finally stop being hypocritical!
Just google about how many fucks take place in Amsterdam in one night and about how many liters of semen are discharged!!!
No, we don't, we pray a Hail Mary!
https://www.gratisdatingsitevergelijken.be/sugar-daddy-datingsites/
Mee farang, you are largely right except where you bring in 'moralistic Christianity'. It does not differ much from the official Buddhist morality, where women are also seen as too seductive and dangerous. In Buddhist Thailand, women are also judged in this way and restrictions are placed on them.
Dear mee farang, As a Thai woman, it is always annoying when men on a blog like this talk about Thai women who are not very serious about using their bodies for financial gain. Turn your question around. Why is there always so Western opportunistically unchristian positive when Thai women use their bodies? Is this then just a normal thing that Thai women use their bodies and Western men are fond of it?
Then you ask what's wrong with that? I tell you that there is no 99,99% free choice, but that in many cases poor living conditions mean that that choice has to be made. Why do you think so many Thai women are looking for a “mee farang” in the hope of providing a better living situation for themselves and their family. Do we do that with sex? As an economic fact? Is our body an immaterial product comparable to a service? Now who is the simpleton, who is the hypocrite? Or is it that if women turn out to be intelligent, then they are called clever?
Dear Nang, I think that many Europeans look at Thailand and the Thai (the Thai woman in particular) as if it were a completely different world… A world where society is really completely different. Some will realize that the differences are not so much 'culture', but socio-economic circumstances. Some will not like it if Thailand grows more to the level of Western Europe (cheap paradise gone). And some of them have a kind of trauma for 'the finger', as if within Thai society there is no overt and veiled criticism or downright disdain for, say, the work of beer girls and others in the entertainment industry.
As people and society we have more similarities than differences in my eyes. Somewhere the label 'that's how the Thais are' (very different, incomprehensible) I have serious problems with. Take away the legal equality and the safety nets here in the Netherlands and then ask yourself how different the Netherlands and the Dutch would still be if people were in the same scenario as Thailand and the Thai. But condemning and hypocritci is oh so easy. Putting yourself in others' shoes is more difficult. I just hope that with little insights into the lives of others, at least something is learned.
Sex sells, that people and companies use sex and sexuality is nothing strange. This has been happening all over the world for years. Just as much as concerns about sexuality. So nothing, no 'Christian finger' or 'left finger', The Buddha spoke just as well about the danger of lust, something then (just like Oa anger) is an obstacle that must be overcome.
I have the impression that the use of lust and sexuality in the workplace in Thailand (But also elsewhere, think of America and their Hooters) may go a bit further than in Europe because of the labor rights and conditions. With a decent minimum wage, you don't have to use your body in such a way to get around a bit normally. Of course the balance lies elsewhere for everyone, some like to show a little more for more money. How many of these Thai girls would still do this job if they would earn just as much money with a standard part-time job as a waitress or cashier? Enough to pay for care, transport, study load and some going out?
Tukta himself indicates that there are men who go too far, who don't look at it and keep flirting but who get touched or cross the border in some other way. The manager is already setting the bar a lot higher, that that's part of it if you dress like that. At the very top of the tree is the prime minister, who once remarked that if 'women who dress sexy are like sweets', but also that rape victims had themselves to blame for dressing too sexy (he later apologized for offered).
For most of us, taking advantage of appearance and sexuality really isn't a problem, although we clearly set the bar elsewhere. As long as you are not in the position where you practice that game (or dance), it is easy to judge and condemn. That's why I thought it was so nice that a lady herself once spoke here, how does she see things? Why does she do what she does? I learn more from that than that jigging and reproach from people towards other groups.
Dear Rob, it is inappropriate for men in Europe or the US to come under fire if they continue to see women as a subject/object/part of their lust experience. Rightly so that in the Netherlands a very well-known TV program maker is used as an example because he asks a 17-year-old girl about her breasts. This was 20 years ago! But we are now talking about 2020. https://www.mediacourant.nl/2020/02/vieze-ivo-niehe-weer-viral-met-borstenvraag-britney/
Why is it that we in the Netherlands learn to behave better, also towards the opposite sex, but at the same time believe that those lessons do not need to be propagated in Thailand?
From experience I can tell that it is quite standard to live just above income.
Give staff 9000 and it is not enough, but at 30.000 it is still the case because then the many credit cards will cause problems.
It is utopian to think that a good salary does not cause problems. In fact, they are only getting bigger.
Perhaps more attention should be paid to money matters in education or at school.
What a nonsensical comment about Thai normal. Think that all over the world products are priced by attractive women and men. Products in all areas from makeup to cars.
To directly involve prostitution in an article about beer girls, while you can just consider this an honest normal job, although she does not look like a sales representative with a tie.
Here too, the girls choose for themselves and accept the disadvantages because the advantage can sometimes be greater.
I know someone who made 17k a month on a 5 day work week. Wasn't enough so added this work.
Now married and in Switzerland because of that part-time extra job.
They should all know it themselves but I really can't have any pity. As long as there is no good legislation, it is a risk that you look for yourself.
to get this job most beer girls first have to sleep with a supervisor of the beer brand heineken is also guilty of this is common knowledge
Jan Roosenburg, where did you get that from? I myself worked for the Caballero cigarette promotion team for a year in 1980 as team leader over 10 beautiful girls and never heard such nonsense from them, is it perhaps a wish of the mind?
It is a reference to abuses in Africa. But to say that this was/is common practice?! From the following I cannot conclude that this abuse is a standard in Thailand among the beer girls:
“The research was prompted by publications by the Dutch journalist Olivier van Beemen. He wrote in his book 'Beer for Africa, Heineken's best kept secret' that the beer girls in African countries are regularly abused. According to Van Beemen, they are sometimes pressured to have sexual contact with customers and to sleep with sales managers of Heineken and staff of the agencies they are affiliated with”.
https://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/heineken-erkent-misbruik-biermeisjes~bedecc02/
14.000 a month plus 1.000 a week is 18.000, new Toyota Who's crazy here? And go to school as well.
You cannot live on 18.000 Baht per month and buy a new car and then also drive it. Do you still have to pay house rent for food and drink water and electricity and those girls don't wear the same dress for 2 days. Make-up items… and so many more things that you have to pay for
There will be some sponsors involved.
I just looked it up Rene..
The Yaris costs with a term of 7 years, which is usual here.
5700 Baht per month.
If you prefer to pay it in 4 years, 9500 Baht..
In order to continue to look pretty - also in the long term - considerable investments must be made: annual plastic surgery, monthly fillers and daily make-up products and hairdresser visits, not to mention clothing.
Due to the great economic inequality in Thailand, only the rich in all these industries benefit from all these expenses. It is distressing to see that these pretties (even though they earn 15.000 Bat a month after graduation) fund their own sexist approach.
In this country, which is characterized by very large social and economic differences, sex still has a lot to do with power and prestige (for men) and money (for women). Romance is hard to find.
As far as I'm concerned, a lot of jobs are superfluous and certainly not necessary. This is how this beer lobby works. It only breeds more alcoholics and there are already more than enough of them on this planet. I like to see the women but respect them more than just seeing them as sexy women who have to make their money with a pathetic display. It may just be me, but when I'm eating at a table in a restaurant, I want to sit there quietly without being bothered by all kinds of salesmen and pushy beer ladies. I can pour my glass myself and do this at my own pace. The ladies in question and certainly their bosses are not involved with the customer and his or her health. Money in the drawer is their motto. For me everything has a limit and also with table manners.
The most important thing is this: when we give an opinion about behavior and situations in Thailand, we should always listen to what those involved, the Thais themselves, say about it. That is what Rob V. is telling us here. Without this knowledge, our judgment remains very flawed.
Another example is prostitution. How often do you hear that it is easy work, well earned and completely voluntary. The prostitutes themselves often tell a different story. We need that voice.
Every year we organize a big Thai Event in Belgium with dance and food stalls for projects in Thailand.
We only sell Chang beer and we can use the parasols and some other attributes of Chang.
Can someone tell me if there is a possibility to buy or rent the clothing of the beer girls and where we should contact if necessary.
Greetings
Frank
Frank,
Do you perhaps have an internet site so that we can keep an eye on it ourselves.
What a discussion here about a few women who work for a company and promote their products. At every auto show and other events you have the same kind of women (and men) doing that.
Then the analysis about the psyche of those ladies. Of course they are often more intelligent than the average ladies of that age, because it also brings skills to deal with customers. It should also have been known for a long time that many, especially at that age, are students who want to earn something extra.
I've also heard a lot of prejudice about my work and on some social media platforms (like Quora) you'd be surprised what some people think about the flight crew. Especially those who do not have very high education themselves, make the most contemptuous remarks.
There are also people in my professional sector who have graduated or who have done a completely different type of work. Of course I also had colleagues who barely met the minimum requirements, but the majority were intelligent people.
I notice that even more now after ten years in Thailand and being away from my kite world. It may also be me, but the nonsense I often hear in my daily environment and the stupid things I read on social media sometimes really makes me miss my former job as a steward. I'm not saying we were super intelligent people, but I do know that by the choice of our employers, we were and still are a group that is above average in intelligence. Especially in the social and communicative field.
The beer girls are not much different in that regard. You can't take stupid girls for it. They need to deal with people in a way that is beneficial to a company…
And finally… we foreigners in Thailand should not always think that everything is done for us. The largest group of customers are still Thailand's own residents. We are only a small drop and are really nothing in a country of 74 million inhabitants.
Clearly a mentality difference.
Why shouldn't these girls take a normal part-time job.
When I look at the Dutch students, most of them have a part-time job in the hospitality industry, at the supermarket, at the post office,
Many have a study debt of 10.000 Euros and more.
Apparently it is chosen to earn more money in an easy way by going somewhere in the service in a short skirt and using a sexy appearance and earning more than with a regular side job.
You don't hear a foreigner complain about bad working conditions, bad payments, long working hours and bad social provisions in factories.
No, about short skirts at staff in restaurants and beer venues, that has the attention.
Moderator: Please provide a source for your statement.
Is all this still an issue outsourcing young girls with a BMI of BMI?
The young ladies can be classified as one of the prohibited rules in this section 32 as long as they wear recognizable names or logos on clothing.
Of course, 'neutral' clothing is allowed as an animation lady and then the rules are often at the employer's discretion and before or after hours at your own discretion.
Whether they still get that nice income is another story.
Under Section 32 of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, alcoholic beverages may not be advertised in any way that directly or indirectly claims benefits or promotes their consumption, and may not display the product or its packaging.
A link gentlemen https://royalcoastreview.com/2020/07/thailand-alcohol-promotion-laws-facebook-user-alert/
I did once in Pattaya. Bar table with about 7 women.
Most of them spoke little or no English, but liked it.
Successful evening for 38 euros with 7 women, yes they also drank of course, but no alcohol.
Everything was kept neatly and one wanted a beer, which was nicely asked to me, by the way everything was asked. Little fooling around, teasing, playing a stupid game, but yes it was fun.
Moderator: that incident of the lady who could kick box has already been on TB, so old news.