Massage Parlours, Moral Panic, and Double Standards

Singapore is gearing up for a major crackdown on massage parlours and “exempted” beauty salons. These outlets have in recent years increasingly been used as fronts for illegal sex-related activities,…
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My Spicy Blog

Dear Readers,

I’m Spicy Auntie, your ever-curious, ever-smiling hostess on this sizzling little corner of the internet.

I'm a proud Asian woman in my early 50s, born with strong opinions, a sharp tongue (used kindly!), and a big heart. Financially self-sufficient, emotionally independent, and intellectually insatiable. I read the news before my first sip of morning tea and fall asleep scrolling through research papers and scandalous threads alike.

Why am I here? Because Asia is my playground and my passion. I know her curves and corners—her languages, her customs, her unspoken rules. I’ve danced at weddings, cried at funerals, been blessed by monks, and been scolded by aunties even spicier than me. I know what goes unsaid in our homes and what’s too often silenced in our media.

This blog is my daily offering, a space where I can unpack it all: gender, sex, power, pleasure, pain, injustice, and hope. I talk about sexuality without shame, feminism without apology, and traditions without blindfolds. I’ll call out hypocrisy, laugh at mansplainers, and politely hand misogyny its walking papers. And yes, I’ll do it all with good grammar, a hint of irony, and the occasional wink.

I love men (especially when they’re kind, curious, and younger than me, what can I say?), but I’m also bisexual and happily open-minded. I don’t believe in binaries, and I certainly don’t believe in borders when it comes to love or justice. Mixed races, mixed couples, mixed ideas: that’s the kind of spicy stew I live for.

My audience? You! Whether you're an Asian woman seeking sisterhood, a curious Westerner trying to understand our part of the world, or a brave man learning to listen better, welcome. Just take off your shoes or wipe your feet before stepping in. No trolls, no bigots, no "not all men" tantrums allowed here.

Expect daily doses of truth, served hot. Topics range from today’s headlines to sex-related crimes, from centuries-old taboos, to village gossip or feminist theory. I won't hold back, but I’ll always stay respectful, unless serious topics are being treated by the press or politicians in a ridiculous way. Then I might just season you with a little sarcasm.

So sit down. Sip something. And stay spicy. signature

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Latest Posts

Massage Parlours, Moral Panic, and Double Standards

Singapore is gearing up for a major crackdown on massage parlours and “exempted” beauty salons. These outlets have in recent years increasingly been used as fronts for...

This Buddhist Temple is Run Entirely by...

Just west of Bangkok, away from the tourist glare of gilded chedis (pagodas) and Instagram-famous monks, stands a quiet provocation to Thailand’s religious order. Songdhammakalyani Monastery is...

When a Woman Accepts To Be Excluded

The image of a woman at the pinnacle of Japanese politics was always going to collide with the most immovable symbols of tradition, and few are heavier...

Kelantan, Where Women And Men Cannot Mingle

The organisers of a recent food and sales expo in Kelantan did not expect their event to make national headlines. Yet in early 2026, they were fined...

Urban Voters Push Gender, Identity, Sex Work...

In the run-up to Thailand’s February 8, 2026 general election, campaign rhetoric has taken an unexpected turn. Beyond familiar promises of economic relief and political stability, parties...
South Asia

Women Rank India’s Cities by Safety

After sunset in India’s cities, women begin to make quiet calculations — which street to take, what time to return, whether to travel alone at all. These...

When Family Planning Meets Moral Policing

Across South Asia, female contraception has never been just about medicine. It has been about reputation, marriage politics, religious interpretation, fear of gossip, and the quiet calculations...

Periods, Privacy And The Right To Education

When the Supreme Court of India ordered states and school authorities to provide free sanitary pads and gender-segregated toilets in every school within three months, it was...

How Young Indians Are Redefining Modern Dating

Dating in India today is quieter than the stereotypes suggest. Less dramatic than Bollywood montages, less rebellious than parental anxieties, and far more deliberate than the frantic...

When Queer Activists Challenge The Political Elites

In a political landscape long dominated by aging male leaders, patronage networks and ritual nods to inclusion, Nepal has just witnessed something genuinely new. The Inclusive Socialist...

The Nun Who Challenged A Bishop And...

When a nun in India bravely stepped forward in 2018 to accuse a sitting Catholic bishop of raping her repeatedly, the country’s national conversation about power, consent,...

Inside The Other Bhutan: Dirty Jokes And...

If you judge Bhutan only by what you see on the street—hands held discreetly, couples rarely kissing in public, conversations carefully polite—you might conclude that this Himalayan...

Why Husbands Get Vasectomies in Secret

In a small clinic on the outskirts of Dhaka, a man in his late thirties signs a consent form, lowers his voice, and asks a final question...
East Asia

When a Woman Accepts To Be Excluded

The image of a woman at the pinnacle of Japanese politics was always going to collide with the most immovable symbols of tradition, and few are heavier...

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Imagine a night on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo’s Shibuya, where the buzz of laughter, clinking glasses and spirited nomikai (drinking parties) fills every izakaya (Japanese pub)...

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On Tokyo Trains, Men Are Groped Too

Tokyo’s rush-hour trains are famous for their efficiency—and infamous for how tightly they pack human bodies together. In that enforced intimacy, groping has thrived for decades, largely...
Auntie Spices It Out
Commentary

Massage Parlours, Moral Panic, and Double Standards

February 4, 2026

Spicy Auntie has seen this show before. Different neighbourhoods, same script, same moral panic dressed up as “regulatory review”. Remove, hide, repress: the holy trinity of Singaporean governance whenever sex appears in public view. Not sex itself, of course — Singaporeans are not monks — but sex that refuses to stay invisible, tidy, and conveniently zoned away from good neighbourhoods, good schools, and good people who prefer not to think about what their neighbours might be paying for after dinner. Let’s be clear. Sex work exists in Singapore because there...
Commentary

This Buddhist Temple is Run Entirely by Women

February 4, 2026

I have visited many temples in my life. I have bowed, knelt, chanted, lit incense, donated envelopes, listened politely to sermons delivered by men explaining suffering, attachment, compassion, desire, restraint—often while women quietly cleaned the floor behind them. So when I first encountered Songdhammakalyani, I didn’t feel scandal. I felt relief. Here, the voices leading the chant are women’s voices. Calm, disciplined, unperformative. No mystical theatrics, no patriarchal gravitas, no heavy symbolism of authority. Just practice. Just presence. And suddenly you realise how loud male dominance has always been in...
Commentary

When a Woman Accepts To Be Excluded

February 4, 2026

I have a complicated relationship with tradition. I respect it when it holds stories, skills, beauty, memory. I have far less patience when it is used as a velvet rope to keep women quietly outside, smiling politely while men perform rituals about strength, purity, and power. So when Japan’s prime minister calmly announced that she would not step onto the dohyō (sumo ring) and would not challenge the rule excluding women, my first reaction was not shock. It was a tired sigh. Ah yes. That tradition. Let’s be honest: this...
Commentary

Kelantan, Where Women And Men Cannot Mingle

February 4, 2026

I am not going to Kelantan. Not for a conference, not for a festival, not even for “cultural curiosity.” Life is short, my passport has stamps to earn, and I have zero interest in spending my money in a place where my body, my clothes, my laughter, and my proximity to other human beings are treated as public risks to be managed. Let’s be clear: this is not about faith. I have worked with Muslim feminists, queer Muslims, and religious scholars across Asia who fight—often bravely—for dignity, consent, and justice...
Commentary

Urban Voters Push Gender, Identity, Sex Work Agenda

February 3, 2026

If you ask me who I would vote for in this election, I’ll disappoint you by saying this first: I don’t vote for logos, slogans, or smiling men in white shirts. I vote for signals. For tone. For courage. For who dares to say certain words out loud without flinching. I would vote for the people who stopped whispering. For decades, Thai politics treated women, gender-diverse people and sex workers like embarrassing relatives at a family wedding—present, useful, but never acknowledged in public. Suddenly, during this campaign, some candidates have...
Southeast Asia

Massage Parlours, Moral Panic, and Double Standards

Singapore is gearing up for a major crackdown on massage parlours and “exempted” beauty salons. These outlets have in recent years increasingly been used as fronts for...

This Buddhist Temple is Run Entirely by...

Just west of Bangkok, away from the tourist glare of gilded chedis (pagodas) and Instagram-famous monks, stands a quiet provocation to Thailand’s religious order. Songdhammakalyani Monastery is...

Kelantan, Where Women And Men Cannot Mingle

The organisers of a recent food and sales expo in Kelantan did not expect their event to make national headlines. Yet in early 2026, they were fined...

Urban Voters Push Gender, Identity, Sex Work...

In the run-up to Thailand’s February 8, 2026 general election, campaign rhetoric has taken an unexpected turn. Beyond familiar promises of economic relief and political stability, parties...

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Dear Readers,

Transparency matters to me. That’s why I want to share how this blog is produced. Nearly all of my content—both text and images—is powered by Artificial Intelligence. Posts are researched, written, and compiled with the assistance of advanced AI summarization tools. However, don’t worry: nothing gets published blindly. Every piece is reviewed and fact-checked by me and my human editorial team before it goes live. We fine-tune the content for clarity, accuracy, and tone to ensure it meets our editorial standards. All images on this blog are also AI-generated. My team carefully crafts detailed prompts to guide the creation of visuals that best match and illustrate the content. No stock photos, no stolen art—just unique, AI-assisted illustrations built with intent and purpose. I believe that responsibly-used AI can support faster, broader, and more creative storytelling—while keeping the human touch where it counts most. Thanks for reading and supporting my Blog. Yours, signature