Morphological shifts in Southeast Asian prostitution: the long twentieth century

This article examines the history of prostitution as a regional phenomenon in Southeast Asia over the course of the twentieth century. I argue that this institution changed shape several times during that period, and that a number of rubrics might be employed to best study this evolution. The first part of the article looks at some of the traditional parameters of prostitution as it was practised both in island and mainland Southeast Asia, while the second part of the essay traces some new developments in the burgeoning colonial age. The third part of the piece then looks at war-time prostitution as a separate phenomenon from these earlier developments, while the fourth examines the rise of sex tourism in the region, partially as an offshoot of these same armed conflicts in the middle decades of the century. Finally, the last section of the article looks at how borders, cities, and economic inequalities have acted upon each other in today’s world to change the shape of regional prostitution in Southeast Asia yet again.