Erotic Authenticity

Comparing Intimate Relationships between High-End Bar and Low-End Bar in China's Global Sex Industry

Bibliographic Data

ID2153142
AuthorsEileen Yuk-Ha Tsang (0000-0002-2353-2769, Department of Applied Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume40
Issue4
Pages461-475
Publication date2019-04-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDeviant Behavior (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0163-9625 • E-ISSN: 1521-0456
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01639625.2018.1431040
OpenAlexW2768870428
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited35

Research on the sex industry generally focuses heavily on the economic relationship between sex workers and their clients but typically fails to consider the role and significance of intimacy within these interactions. By drawing upon over 36 months' ethnographic work conducted in high-end and low-end bars in Dongguan from 2008 to 2009 and 2011 to 2017, the article argues that sex workers and their clients are not only involved in pecuniary transactions but also may exchange intimate and non-remunerative feelings. In order to understand the factors that both facilitate and limit experiences of intimacy in sex work, relevant socioeconomic circumstances must be deconstructed. The dynamics that characterize contemporary Dongguan must be considered within the unique subcultures that characterize the high-end and low-end sex markets. In order to extrapolate from the aforementioned factors, this article examines the interactions of concepts such as economic and cultural capitals, emotional labor, and bounded authenticity to provide insights into how intimacy occurs in China's global sex industry. The article will also draw from these insights and explore how Chinese and foreign clients overcome social and cultural barriers to develop intimate relationships with sex workers

Business · China · Emotional labor · Ethnography · Feeling · Order (exchange · Political science · Sex work · Sex workers · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Work (physics · Engineering · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology · Social Psychology