Adult massage parlour coming to town makes Here & Now nervous

There’s a new adult massage parlour coming to town, and they’re hiring. According to CBC’s Here & Now, Sherry’s Sugar Shack has been circulating an ad around the campus of Memorial University which states they’re looking for “motivated young women” to “provide company & a relaxing massage if required” to their clientele of “business people”.

Ok, so what? That doesn’t sound like much of a news story to me. There’s nothing illegal about what this ad is proposing. And circulating it around MUN seems perfectly acceptable. Outside of a few rare circumstances, everyone attending Memorial is going to be 18 years of age or older – especially now that we’re in the winter semester – making them adults according to federal law.

And yet the report seeks the opinion of a youth worker on the matter (who incidentally is not on the massage parlour’s side). But we’re talking about adults here, right?

Here & Now set up a fake e-mail account and contacted the recruiter for the massage parlour seeking information, of which they got plenty. A “shocking” amount of information, according to reporter Jen White.

Shocking you say? That sounds, well, shocking, doesn’t it? But there’s nothing shocking about the information itself given that it describes what you would expect would be the duties of an adult massage parlour worker. So why use such a strong adjective (in a pejorative tone, no less) to describe it?

Sprinkle in a few easy-to-get sound bites from young women saying the ad looks “sketchy” and “not something I’d go for” and it really starts to feel like this whole adult massage parlour thing might be a bad idea.

But we’re still not told, in any way by anyone, why it might be a bad idea.

I’d like to make something perfectly clear here: an adult massage parlour is not a brothel. Massaging people or being massaged, clothed or naked, within an establishment which offers such services is perfectly legal. And the recruiter that responded to Here & Now’s undercover e-mail made it clear in their reply that Sherry’s Sugar Shack is not a brothel, and described potential duties for a worker there in line with what an adult massage parlour would legally offer.

White closes the report by saying, “And with no real regulatory agencies in place, these young women may not be aware of what they’re getting themselves into.”

Which is, what, exactly?

Not only is what White has to say here condescending towards the viewer, who hasn’t been given a single shred of real information to indicate that there’s anything potentially unethical, illegal or dangerous about working for Sherry’s Sugar Shack, it’s also condescending towards the young woman who might be applying for a position there. As adults, these women are capable of making their own decisions and assessing their own safety; if there’s anything these women should be concerned about, this report by Here & Now certainly hasn’t informed them of it.
  • Lewis

    I do think Here and Now is informing what these women should be concerned about.

    According to CBC, the ad states it’s a fully licensed registered business, but that the city has not received any applications for that part of town.
    Their warning these women that the employer is not to be trusted.

  • Lewis

    *they’re.

  • John

    Have to agree, I personally find the idea “sketchy,” a little gross, and the fact that they were recruiting at MUN tasteless, but personal feelings aside, it seems as if the business is very up front about what kind of service they are offering, and anyone who works there will be doing so by their own choice. The news piece seemed a little slanted in trying to paint it as some sort of trick, but again, they are being upfront about what they are offering, and if women don’t want to work there, they don’t have to. 

    People may not agree with what is going on there, but if they’re within their legal rights, then they should be able to do what they please, and people that don’t like it, don’t have to go there either.

  • http://darcyfitzpatrick.tumblr.com/ Darcy Fitzpatrick

    That doesn’t necessarily mean anything. As the spokesperson Here & Now corresponded with said, they are still in the “very early stages”. So the application could be something they’re still working on.

    If they were to start operating without being licensed or registered with the city, then there would be a story to tell.

  • Emwalsh

    When it comes to massage, you need training in human physiology, pathologys (especially skin conditions that may be a transmitted and contagious disease) not to mention an excellent background in anatomy with training in such things as taking blood pressure. These are skills gained by attending a certified massage therapy college. Does “Sherry” know or understand any of the health risks associated with massaging an individual for an extended period of time ? Are there certified and registered therapists on hand if someone did have a stoke brought on by massage if they by chance have high blood pressure for example? People work damn hard in college to become educated to better the health of the population and spend a great deal of money in student loans for this? Also, why only “young ladies” for business men? Are you even allowed to segregate in 2013 when hiring for your business? This “parlour” is a joke.

  • http://darcyfitzpatrick.tumblr.com/ Darcy Fitzpatrick

    As far as hiring practices go, they’re allowed to cater to whichever market they like. Would you expect a lingerie store to hire both men and women to fit female customers for their bras?

    As for your concerns about the proficiency of those giving the massages and the welfare of those receiving them, to my knowledge “Sherry” isn’t advertising any therapeutic massage services. Untrained people give massages every day, and massage oils are readily available to anyone who wishes to purchase them.

    If the issue was about massage safety then maybe Here & Now should have made some mention of it in their report.

  • Lewis

    True.