Tiger Show: A Grandma’s Last Days

A 52-year-old performer is ecstatic that the Thaksin Shinawatra reign is over. Why? Because she can revive her career as a Tiger Show girl. The dictionary defines Tiger Show as a show in Thailand which features acrobatic sex performances. This grandmother is a veteran who can perform up to 100 tricks including opening Coca-Cola bottles with her vagina and shooting a dart by contracting her ab muscles.

Born into poverty, her career began with performing gymnastics and ballet in the nude in the red-light district of Patpong. She used to earn 150,000 baht a month in her glory days in a go-go bar. Now her breasts are sagging and her body has seen better days. But Krissana Makrasa still needs to work to fend for her family. And she is ambitious – she hopes to impart her skills to the younger generation so that Tiger Show performers do not become a dying breed.

In Thailand, this is the reality for most of the people. Political coup or terrorism is only significant if it affects their livelihood and means of existence. And this gutsy grandmother earns a more honest living than the corrupted Shinawatra who is accused of stealing millions from his country. She earns it through her sweat, pain, fear, exposure, and ageing joints. She represents the average practical, hardworking and persevering Thai. Perhaps some prominent college or university might take her in as instructor or lecturer for a course in sex education, extreme acrobatics, or cultural diversity. She has a lot of spirit, experience and stories to share with the world.