Modern Babylon?: Prostituting Children in Thailand
Child prostitution became one of the key concerns of the international community in the 1990s. World congresses were held, international and national laws were changed and concern over "cemmercially sexually exploited children" rose dramatically. Rarely, however, were the children who worked as prostitutes consulted of questioned in this process, and the voices of these children brought into focus. This book is the first to address the children directly, to examine their daily lives, their...
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Child prostitution became one of the key concerns of the international community in the 1990s. World congresses were held, international and national laws were changed and concern over "cemmercially sexually exploited children" rose dramatically. Rarely, however, were the children who worked as prostitutes consulted of questioned in this process, and the voices of these children brought into focus. This book is the first to address the children directly, to examine their daily lives, their motivations and their perceptions of what they do. Based on 15 months of fieldwork in a Thai tourist community that survived through child prostitution, this book draws on anthropological theories on childhood and kinship to contextualize the experiences of this group of Thai child prostitutes and to contrast these with the stereotypes held of them by those outside their community. Heather Montgomery is a member of the Fertility and Reproduction Studies Group and a British Academy Post Doctoral Research Fellow at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford. She has recently been appointed Lecturer in Child Studies at the Open University. Booknews Montgomery presents an account of child prostitution in Thailand that focuses on the daily lives of prostituted children, their motivations, and their perceptions of what they do. The study is based upon 15 months of fieldwork in a Thai tourist community with a prostitution based economy. Montgomery is with the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the U. of Oxford. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
List of TablesAcknowledgementsIntroduction1History and ContextMyths and Stereotypes21NGOs and the Discovery of Child Prostitution29The Extent of the Problem33History and Myth402Cultural Constructions of ChildhoodA History of Childhood in the West53Childhood in Thailand57What Constitutes a Good Childhood?62Childhood and State Intervention663The Child Prostitutes of Baan NuaData Collection69Child Prostitution in Baan Nua76Kinship and Reciprocity82Reciprocity, Friends and Clients864Struggles and ContradictionsChildren as Social Agents89Prostitution and its Alternatives95The Life-Cycle of Prostitution1025Identity and its DifficultiesStatus107Sexuality and Identity111Gender, Prostitution and Identity123Social Identity1286Protecting InnocenceInnocence and Freedom133Buying Innocence139Maintaining Innocence1447Conclusion155Bibliography175Index189
\ BooknewsMontgomery presents an account of child prostitution in Thailand that focuses on the daily lives of prostituted children, their motivations, and their perceptions of what they do. The study is based upon 15 months of fieldwork in a Thai tourist community with a prostitution based economy. Montgomery is with the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the U. of Oxford. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)\ \
