| dc.description.abstract | Following the 1978 legal reforms on prostitution in Hong Kong, engaging in prostitution within private domains was no longer criminalized. In the 1990s, the “one-woman brothel”(一樓一) model emerged, marking a phenomenon unique to Asia. Nevertheless, individuals involved in prostitution continued to face stigma and harassment by the police. In the mid to late 1990s, the sex worker advocacy group ZiTeng (紫藤) was founded, building a sex worker identity to combat stigmatization and to denounce police abuses of power. In the context of economic downturns and the Right of Abode controversies that followed the handover, sex worker discourses linked single mothers with those who sell sex in order to consolidate a sex worker identity.
Drawing on Kotiswaran’s conceptualization of sexual labor, this article examines the discourses of Hong Kong sex workers, reframing domestic sexual labor into the context of prostitution. By emphasizing the role of single mothers who support their children independently and do not rely on social resources, sex workers sought to bolster social recognition. However, this discourse eschewed broader public debates beyond the scope of single mothers and sex workers, producing a constrained identity—one incapable of addressing the subsequent issue of compensated dating (援交). Since compensated dating was not deemed part of “sex work,”this sex worker discourse proved ineffective in navigating the topic.
Referring to Ding Naifei’s research on the lost histories of missing maids and concubines under patriarchal marriage systems, this article traces how teenage prostitution, post-1978, has operated as part of society’s governance of sexual labor. From the “yu-dang mui” (魚蛋妹) of the 1980s to the “lou-nai mui” (老泥妹) of the 1990s, this trajectory demonstrates that adult and teenage prostitution are not necessarily incompatible. Rather, teenage prostitution functions as a signifier under the regulatory framework of sexual labor, not as a strict age-based identity. It emerged specifically to manage prostitution-related activities under the new legal reforms.
Furthermore, by examining the discourse on compensated dating—dominated by the rhetoric of core family values—this study shows how the autonomy of young people is effectively dismissed. The family unit becomes the focal point of governance, holding parents responsible for their children’s participation in prostitution. In this manner, direct regulation of prostitution is sidestepped; instead, the emphasis is placed on preserving the family, with parents serving as the targets of governance to deter youth involvement in compensated dating. | en_US |