massage therapist, heal thyself

Virginia Postrel has started writing for the Atlantic, and her first piece (available in part here--I read it in the print edition) is on the expanding massage industry. Among the points she makes is that the notion of "massage therapy" may have developed in part as a way to distinguish legitimate practicioners from the less-than-savory associations people have made with "massage parlors". Which is--not to put too fine a point on it--pretty obvious. Nobody goes to school to learn how to give handjobs, after all, but getting certified as a massage therapist takes a considerable investment of time and money.

But the point I really enjoyed in the article is that why does massage need to be deemed "therapy" in order to justify it? Isn't the fact that it feels good and is relaxing more than enough?

At any rate, despite the article being clearly and unapologetically pro-massage, Ms. Postrel seems to have aroused the ire of the American Massage Therapy Association president Mary Beth Braun, who writes:

On behalf of the 56,000 members of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), I want you and your readers to know how insulted massage therapists were by the article “The Next Starbucks?” (July/August) Ms. Postrel mistakenly implies that massage developed because of prostitution and states that it is only for making people feel good [...]

To suggest that our profession has used the word therapy so people wouldn’t feel guilty about getting massage is ridiculous and insulting to both massage therapists and the people they massage.

You know, for being the president of the American Massage Therapy Assoication, Ms. Braun seems really...uptight. Not to mention sorely lacking in reading comprehension skills.