Maybe it's just my own personal prejudice, but...

[ZenLefty]

I think massage therapists are just perverts who want to feel you up.

:shrug:

By the way, does anybody know how a person becomes a massage therapist? Do I need a license or something?

[cheezus]

1. I know a bunch of dropouts who went to massage school

seems pretty legit.

[ZenLefty]

5. Perverts!

:+

[cheezus]

13. well, they all the ladies, so that OK

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

2. My aunt is a masseuse

And with my other two aunts she runs a day spa. she is a licensed RN and a licensed massage therapist...

you do have to get licensed, nice try ;)

[ZenLefty]

6. Darn.

I imagine they run some kind of background check before issuing a license. Oh well.

[GOPisEvil]

3. To be an RMT in Texas...

...one must attend classes and then pass a certification exam. As a matter of fact, they take the fees for the licensure in the same building I work in.

If you see newspaper or telephone book ads for massage therapists, most of them will list their RMT license #.

Edit - RMT - Registered Massage Therapist. And the classes may not be mandatory, but I'm assuming you wouldn't be able to pass the exam without them.

[ZenLefty]

7. I'm not good at passing exams.

Maybe you could take them for me. :D

[GOPisEvil]

10. I dunno...I've seen some of the ladies that are here to pay their fees.

Quite a few svelte hotties. Haven't noticed the nose rings, though. It might be an interesting line of work. ZenLeftyGirl might not approve though.

[ZenLefty]

11. I could specialize in gluteal massage

When a person's been sitting in a chair half the day, her butt could use it. We screen our clients, though. We don't want any perverts getting in. ;-)

[GOPisEvil]

12. LOL! I can envision the newspaper ads!

The gluteals are our strongest muscles. They support our weight. One must care for them, or they'll let you down.

[grannylib]

4. License required here; good school in town run by School Sisters of

Notre Dame, some of whom are licensed therapists and teach courses for certification and licensing.

[ZenLefty]

8. Sounds way too difficult to qualify for.

I guess that's one way to weed out the perverts. :o

[amazona]

9. it's better to have a license

You can get a license, and it's better if you do. A lot of people won't go to an unlicensed massage therapist, although I have, because the lady was a relative of someone I trusted. I've had many massages over the years, and no has ever tried to feel me up. If I have a choice, I do generally request a male, or else I'll just say, give me your strongest pair of hands because I need a firm massage, and I can promise you, as much as I've been harassed in this life, I wouldn't be comfortable doing this if I thought my therapist was going to slip his hand where it didn't belong! You can usually just tell from the ads or the building if it's a front for prostitution or not and, presumably even if it is, if you don't pay for the service, you're not going to get "felt."

So I just wouldn't worry about it. The massage therapists I've encountered have been perfectly legit.

Certainly I would have no fear of getting a massage in any spa or salon owned by a large casino or hotel resort. Reason -- these places don't wanna be sued, they are going to vet their people.