“Around the World in 80 Women” describes a trip around the world that Thilo Mischke undertakes after a painful separation. The presenter, then a freelance journalist, makes a bet with friends: If he manages to seduce 80 women during the trip, they will finance the trip for him.
During the course of the trip, Mischke visited numerous countries such as Poland, Ukraine, Israel, India, Thailand, Hong Kong, Dubai, Japan, Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Argentina and Brazil.
Mischke describes encounters with various women, including students, stewardesses and campers, and describes intimate encounters with them in places such as airports, hotels and beaches. The focus of the book is curiosity about the women, who are all very different. But the narcissistic desire not only to get to know her, but to seduce her, to possess her – even if just for one night – also dominates.
What Thilo Mischke really experienced remains deliberately open
Like a constantly excited playboy, Mischke notes his observations, at the same time attempting the strange balancing act between potent conqueror and womanizer. “You should never kiss a Japanese woman on the neck if you don’t know her. That’s a bit like asking a strange woman on the street: Well? Do you want anal sex?”
Although the original goal was to seduce 80 women, the journey ends differently: Mischke falls in love with a woman on a flight to the Fiji Islands and ends the bet early.
“Around the World in 80 Women” was criticized after its release in 2010 for its portrayal of women and the underlying sexist bet, also because it used misogynistic stereotypes. However, the text was created as a provocative travel report in the style of gonzo journalism á la Hunter S. Thompson. It remains deliberately unclear what really happened, what is made up and what is exaggerated. A procedure that has been highly problematic in the elusive area of intimacy between two or more people, and not just since the MeToo outcry.
After publication, Mischke worked as a sex columnist. Authentic reports in which he takes center stage as a virile character eventually became his trademark, especially when he worked on television. He also became active again for his house channel at the time, ProSieben, with a view to bed stories. In 2012 he went on air with “Under Stranger Blankets – In Search of the Best Sex in the World”. In a podcast episode, Mischke later said that he would no longer choose the title of his book that way today. In principle, he did not want to distance himself from the project.
Discussion about moderation at “ttt – title, theses, temperament”
The discussion about his appointment as presenter of the ARD cultural program “ttt – titel, thesen, temperamente” has once again brought these controversies into focus.
Quotes from the book are circulating again and again, which are intended to expose the misogynistic background. One of them is: “I wanted to take fingerprints, secretly take nude photos, tape recordings of each sex.” That’s slightly taken out of context.
The book says: “I didn’t have any crazy ideas about how I could prove that I had had sex. From litmus strips that I paste into a book with different PH values and names next to them, to Excel spreadsheets that describe a body in such detail that I couldn’t have imagined it. I wanted to take fingerprints, secretly take nude photos, tape recordings of each sex. Everything was impractical, everything was way too rough, I always thought.”