On the Moral Geography of Cities

A Case Study of Three Singapore Hostess Pubs in a Suburban “High Street” Setting

Bibliographic Data

ID22010299
AuthorsK E James (0000-0002-6953-484X, University of the West of Scotland), Rex Walsh (0000-0003-0887-256X, Western Sydney University)
Year2023
Volume13
Issue02
Pages139-158
Publication date2023-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAdvances in Applied Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2165-4328 • E-ISSN: 2165-4336
PublisherScientific Research Publishing, Inc. (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.4236/aasoci.2023.132009
OpenAlexW4321380186
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited35

We study three hostess pubs on Joo Chiat Road, Singapore—a “Vietnam pub” and two “Filipina pubs”, utilizing the concept of “assemblages” based on B?hling’s work on Copenhagen nightlife. We compare and contrast the customer demographics of each Night-Time Economy (NTE) establishment, and the resultant culture, which is a product of the race/ethnicity of the hostesses, the race/ethnicity and ages of the patrons, the policies and ethos of the owner/manager, and the pricing model whereby hostesses get financially rewarded. The Filipina pubs rely upon “ladies’ drinks” whereas the Vietnam pub fosters a tipping system. While the ladies’ drinks model suggests a hyper-capitalist business setting, the tipping model has feudal, honour-based, and debt-based elements. These observations derive from Marx’s historical materialism theory where aspects of feudal or pre-capitalist practices linger into the capitalist epoch

Demographics · Embeddedness · Ethnic group · Ethos · Feudalism · Honour · Materialism · Nightlife · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Anthropology · Demography · Gender Studies · Law · Night-time city culture