It’s not. A famous rub-and-tug parlor near me which specialized in blondes was shut down in 2002.
Well, for some values of “legitimate.” 
Since when is Lakeland a large city? It has a population of about 100,000. By comparison, Orlando has a population of more than two million.
Would sketchy massage parlors be more likely to set up shop in a smaller town, where the police department is smaller?
Well, it’s bigger than Auburndale. 
And how many massage parlors are in Auburndale? (Back in the day, Ivylad managed a Domino’s Pizza out there. His store got shot up because he employed a black driver.)
One, apparently. But it doesn’t look like the rub and tug sort.
Was that a UK thing or a US thing? I’m a bit too young to have personal recollections of this, but it’s the kind of trivia I like to be able to use to spark up conversations…
I wonder if there is a cultural difference that makes genital massage more acceptable than it is here. Someone mentioned earlier that genital to genital contact is not common.
Women wear bikinis here and in some parts of the world, male friends hold hands. Just spitballing.
Yep, this happened to me in China once. At the beginning of the trip I went to the hotel barber and there are women (all very pretty) there that give you a manicure and pedicure while you are getting your hair cut and getting a shave/facial. Later I went to another barbershop that had pretty women and it was a very different establishment. Both were expensive and seemed to cater to westerners.
I live in Polk City. Even Mayberry is a sprawling metropolis compared to Polk City. So, to us small town rednecks, Lakeland is a big city
It seems like the term Asian Massage has simply become the code word for brothel. They were all over my college town with names like the Bangkok Massage Parlor and there was no real secret about why you’d go there.
Are there any massage places for women? Not that I would go, I don’t need some hunky beefcake of a man judging me and my…not gorgeous body. (Men seem to have less issues with this).
Or do some of the women serve for women too?
This suggests it was only UK. I didn’t find any US references to it, but that doesn’t prove much.
I’ve been to upscale spas in China (legit places that may offer a bit extra for those interested) that had men on the menu.
Certainly. Any “legit” massage business (for example, day spas or resorts) certainly offer massage for men and women, and the provider can be a masseur or masseuse. “Legit” massage is seen as entirely non-erotic and non-sexual, and any provider of any gender can massage any client of any gender. The kind of hand-to-body touching done is massage is seen as entirely non-sexual and non-erotic (supposedly anyway). Clients may have their preferences, of course.
It’s a common situation that female clients only want to be massaged by a female masseuse, while male clients only want to be massaged by . . . wait for it . . . a female masseuse. Go to any spa or resort, with a sizeable massage staff, and you may note that there are a lot more masseuses than masseurs – there’s just that much larger a demand for them. The professional massage class I took had 17 students, of which 13 were female and only 4 were male. The instructor mentioned that even this was unusually many male students for one class – more typically only one or two, if any.
ETA: And we (theoretically at least) don’t judge anyone’s body, gorgeous or non-gorgeous or otherwise. Massage practitioners, even the hunky male gorilla masseurs, are supposedly in the business because they like being in that business, but not for the purpose of drooling over bodacious tits and ass. Trust me, you can go to a legit massage place and get a genuine bona-fide realio trulio massage and nobody is going to be judgmental about your body. Really.
Still more ETA: And no, you don’t have to get naked to get a massage. If it’s an oil massage (as is typical) you’ve got to take at least some clothes off. But the client is Number One, and it’s your call. Take off just as much as you feel comfortable with. You will be covered with a sheet in any case, with only one body part uncovered at a time as it is massaged, and the “private parts” stay covered all the time. Even so, female clients often choose to keep at least their underwear on.
Here is a two-page professional massage marketing brochure for new clients:
Your First Massage (PDF). (Be sure to scroll to the right, as there’s more off the right of the screen, perhaps depending on your screen size. Note also, this PDF layout has Page 1 at the bottom and Page 2 at the top.) You can google for “Your First Massage” to find many other similar brochures.
No, I know this honey, I actually really do. 
(But thank you). it’s the same as the gyn, or the doctor, or anybody - whatever you have, they’ve seen it, right? I’m sure of it. I try not to be selfconscious about anything about my body because of this…but it still takes time and I am still shy about some things. I come from a very conservative background, and some of it still sticks with me, no matter how much I try to shake it off.
Toronto has a small number of legal “body rub” parlours (with licenses grandfathered in from a bygone era). Out of curiosity, I checked the (not safe for work) web site of one of them, and in the employees’ profiles they indicated whether they would take women or couples as clients.
Massage for women is alive and well in our country, especially among the well-heeled ones. However, they seem to prefer the services of a private masseuse inside their homes, or in their regular gym/spa.
My girlfriend is the owner of an “Asian Massage Office”. The word “Parlour” is taboo as it sounds very unofficial.
Her place is strictly massages only and she has herself and two assistants (all chinese girls, Licensed properly in their respective state).
The reason these places exist is because people (she has both men and woman clients) want a good massage but not have to pay the ridiculous prices as of say a Resort or chain massage company. They charge $70.00/hr or $100.00 for 90 minutes. She does not offer “4 hands” as again-it can come off (ha!) the wrong way.
So no-not all “Asian/Chinese massage” offer extra services. Sometimes I have to screen her calls for her as guys get weird and she doesn’t understand what they are asking about/for. I’ve even crafted her ads on sites like Craigslist and Backpages to deliberately scare away the people who might call regarding those types of services. There is nothing worse than an aggressive guy asking about “special services” and being turned down. Usually they leave peacefully or the Police will be called.
My advise? If you want a massage get a massage. If you want special services-call someone else.
There is a Thai massage place that opened up a while back and got sorta picketed by some moms. The massage place passed out vouchers to the moms and now its a very girly place and I feel awkward walking in there like I just walked into a nail salon.
So if you walk into a massage place and all the clients are women and Oprah is on the TV and they are giving people pedicures while they wait for their massage appointment. Then you should NOT expect a handjob.