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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.
List of contents
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
Introduction
A Personal View
Child Prostitution and Anthropology
Chapter 1. History and Context
Myths and Stereotypes
NGOs and the Discovery of Child Prostitution
The Extent of the Problem
History and Myth
Chapter 2. Cultural Constructions of Childhood
A History of Childhood in the West
Childhood in Thailand
What Constitutes a Good Childhood?
Childhood and State Intervention
Chapter 3. The Child Prostitutes of Baan Nua
Data Collection
Child Prostitution in Baan Nua
Kinship and Reciprocity
Reciprocity, Friends and Clients
Chapter 4. Struggles and Contradictions
Children as Social Agents
Prostitution and its Alternatives
The Life-Cycle of Prostitution
Chapter 5. Identity and its Difficulties
Status
Sexuality and Identity
Gender, Prostitution and Identity
Social Identity
Chapter 6. Protecting Innocence
Innocence and Freedom
Buying Innocence
Maintaining Innocence
Chapter 7. Conclusion Bibliography
Index
About the author
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.
Summary
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.
Additional text
“... an admirable pioneering study ... [which] paints a dynamic and often horrific picture of the workings of child prostitution.” · Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
"This study is very instructive and deserves to be consulted by specialists of Thailand but also by a wider readership that is interested in the different notions of sexuality and various forms of prostitutions." · Comptes Rendus
