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Event Title

新自由主義下的新道德國際研討會

Location

嶺南大學林柄炎樓地下MBG07 / Main Building MBG07, Lingnan University

Start Date

25-5-2014 2:30 PM

End Date

25-5-2014 3:00 PM

Language

English

Description

Drawn from 24 in-depth interviews and 2 focus group discussions conducted since 2012 with Hong Kong men who buy sex (‘male clients’) in the Chinese sex industry, this paper discusses men’s involvement with commercial sex in relation to their male identity.

A few types of client masculinity have been identified: ‘Chicken worm’ (or McSex masculinity) refers to those men who are proud of paying for rather impersonal sex with as many women as they wish whilst ‘sunken boat’ (or Titanic masculinity) refers to those men who passionately seek intense emotional intimacy with sex workers. Between these two opposing types, ‘bounded’ masculinity refers to those men who seek emotionally responsive women in a time-bounded romance. It is this type, which emphasizes the containment of ‘excess’ sexuality and the compartmentalization of sexual and emotional needs, that is privileged in the clients’ perspective as it allows the satisfaction of recreational sexuality without challenging the companionate model of marriage/coupled relationship. It is also this type of client masculinity that negotiates risks at the normative ‘edge’ of social behavior while enjoying the thrill of commercial sex. Buying sex could thus be seen as a form of leisure edgework which involves the fundamental boundary of negotiation between order and chaos.

Through a sociological analysis of men’s commercial sexual experiences in Hong Kong, this research examines the meaning and nature of intimacy and rethinks masculinity in relation to the changing gender order between the sexes under the new urban sexual culture of post-industrial capitalism.

本研究自 2012 年開始,以華人性工業中付錢買性的香港男性為對象 (「男嫖客」),進行了二十四個深入訪談和兩個焦點小組討論,探討他們在性交易過程中所衍生 的男性身份問題。

嫖客的男性化特質可以分為若干類型 :「雞蟲」(或麥性事式的男性化特質) 是指那些以與愈多女性進行性交易為榮的嫖客;「沉船」(或鐵達尼式的男性化特質) 是指那些渴望與性工作者發展親密關係的嫖客。而在兩者之間,「玩界」男性化特質是指那些只在既定時間內尋找情感依戀的嫖客。從嫖客的角度而言,這種男性化特質強調保留「過盛」的性慾,以及劃分性愛和情感的需要,好處是能夠在 享受消閒的性歡愉之時亦不會挑戰他們現有同伴式的婚姻或伴侶關係。它代表了 在享受性交易所帶來的刺激之時,需要在規範化的「邊界」上與相關的風險進行協商。因此,買性可以被視為一種消閒式的邊界活動,當中牽涉秩序與混亂之間 的邊界協商過程。

透過對香港男嫖客的性交易經驗進行社會學分析,本研究旨在探討親密關係的意 義和本質,並且重新思索在後工業資本主義帶動的新都市性文化下,所牽涉的男 性化特質與兩性之間性別秩序轉變的關係。

Additional Information

Document Type

Conference

Recommended Citation

Kong, T. S. K. (2014, May). Between "Chicken Worm" and "Sunken Boat": Bounded masculinity in the Chinese sex industry = 在「雞蟲」與「沉船」之間: 華人性工業中的玩界男性化特質. Paper presented at Neo-moralism under Neoliberalism International Conference, Lingnan University, Hong Kong.

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May 25th, 2:30 PM May 25th, 3:00 PM

Between "Chicken Worm" and "Sunken Boat" : bounded masculinity in the Chinese sex industry = 在「雞蟲」與「沉船」之間 : 華人性工業中的玩界男性化特質

嶺南大學林柄炎樓地下MBG07 / Main Building MBG07, Lingnan University

Drawn from 24 in-depth interviews and 2 focus group discussions conducted since 2012 with Hong Kong men who buy sex (‘male clients’) in the Chinese sex industry, this paper discusses men’s involvement with commercial sex in relation to their male identity.

A few types of client masculinity have been identified: ‘Chicken worm’ (or McSex masculinity) refers to those men who are proud of paying for rather impersonal sex with as many women as they wish whilst ‘sunken boat’ (or Titanic masculinity) refers to those men who passionately seek intense emotional intimacy with sex workers. Between these two opposing types, ‘bounded’ masculinity refers to those men who seek emotionally responsive women in a time-bounded romance. It is this type, which emphasizes the containment of ‘excess’ sexuality and the compartmentalization of sexual and emotional needs, that is privileged in the clients’ perspective as it allows the satisfaction of recreational sexuality without challenging the companionate model of marriage/coupled relationship. It is also this type of client masculinity that negotiates risks at the normative ‘edge’ of social behavior while enjoying the thrill of commercial sex. Buying sex could thus be seen as a form of leisure edgework which involves the fundamental boundary of negotiation between order and chaos.

Through a sociological analysis of men’s commercial sexual experiences in Hong Kong, this research examines the meaning and nature of intimacy and rethinks masculinity in relation to the changing gender order between the sexes under the new urban sexual culture of post-industrial capitalism.

本研究自 2012 年開始,以華人性工業中付錢買性的香港男性為對象 (「男嫖客」),進行了二十四個深入訪談和兩個焦點小組討論,探討他們在性交易過程中所衍生 的男性身份問題。

嫖客的男性化特質可以分為若干類型 :「雞蟲」(或麥性事式的男性化特質) 是指那些以與愈多女性進行性交易為榮的嫖客;「沉船」(或鐵達尼式的男性化特質) 是指那些渴望與性工作者發展親密關係的嫖客。而在兩者之間,「玩界」男性化特質是指那些只在既定時間內尋找情感依戀的嫖客。從嫖客的角度而言,這種男性化特質強調保留「過盛」的性慾,以及劃分性愛和情感的需要,好處是能夠在 享受消閒的性歡愉之時亦不會挑戰他們現有同伴式的婚姻或伴侶關係。它代表了 在享受性交易所帶來的刺激之時,需要在規範化的「邊界」上與相關的風險進行協商。因此,買性可以被視為一種消閒式的邊界活動,當中牽涉秩序與混亂之間 的邊界協商過程。

透過對香港男嫖客的性交易經驗進行社會學分析,本研究旨在探討親密關係的意 義和本質,並且重新思索在後工業資本主義帶動的新都市性文化下,所牽涉的男 性化特質與兩性之間性別秩序轉變的關係。