Reciprocating Desires

The Pursuit of Desirable East Asian Femininity in China's Commercial Sex Industry

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2153276
AutoresEileen Yuk-Ha Tsang (0000-0002-2353-2769, City University of Hong Kong, autor correspondente)
Ano2020
Volume41
Fascículo8
Páginas917-935
Data de publicação2020-08-02
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoDeviant Behavior (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0163-9625 • E-ISSN: 1521-0456
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01639625.2019.1596454
OpenAlexW2922943887
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas5
Referências citadas29

This article examines how socioeconomic conditions impact heteronormative sexual desires between high-tier sex workers and their non-Chinese clients in urban South China. Drawing from Hoang's interpretation of 'dealing in desires', Rofel's 'Desiring China', and cultural capital, the article considers how desire circulates in high-end bars and its impact on how workers and clients negotiate their relationships. I move beyond Hoang's and Rofel's framework to include cultural capital that help sex workers perform an East Asia femininity and develop their image as cosmopolitan tempting girls to practice 'reciprocating desires' with their non-Chinese clients. The article unfolds as a theoretical exercise in unearthing and understanding the underpinnings of how socioeconomic context impacts our understanding of what qualifies as desirable East Asian femininity. Drawing upon ethnographic research conducted in a high-end bar in South China from the summer of 2015 to the summer of 2017, this article first examines desire and the meanings attached to sex workers' body capital, and cultural capital that exemplify desirable East Asian femininity. Second, cultural capital explains how desire operates within high-tier heteronormative sex work spaces to construct social identity, which can help sex workers achieve professional success and become a source of personal satisfaction

China · Cultural capital · East Asia · Femininity · Political science · Population · Social science · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Gender Studies · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy · Sex work and related issues · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies