Dealing in Desire

"This fascinating ethnography examines one segment of Vietnam's diverse sex industry. Between 2006 and 2010, author Kimberly Kay Hoang was employed at four exclusive Saigon hostess bars catering to high-end clientele: wealthy Asian businessmen, Western expatriates and tourists, local Vietnamese men, and Viet Kieus (ethnic Vietnamese living abroad). Using participant observation and in-depth interviews with the sex workers, bar owners, managers, and mostly rich clients at all four locations, Hoang argues that Vietnam's high-end sex industry is much more than a byproduct of globalization--it's an integral component of the country's free-market capitalism, including its emergence as a regional economic player. Major business deals in Vietnam often occur within hostess bars, which businessmen use to stage a display of power, forge relationships, and impress clients. Hostesses facilitate these transactions by socializing with clients, as well as fulfilling fantasies of the flesh and of the culture. The author reveals how recent changes in the political economy have shaped the social structure of sex work in the country, just as actors involved in the sex industry have actively shaped Vietnam's political economy. Multiple constructions of gender are emerging across local, national, and global socio-spaces from the bottom up and the top down"--Provided by publisher.