By focusing on people, not salacious activities, Yeeshan Yang presents an informative, outsider-peeks-in view of the sex trade in Whispers and Moans, Interviews With the Men and Women of Hong Kong's Sex Industry (2006, Blacksmith Books, 276 pages, HK$140). Hong Kong sex workers may be less famous than those in Bangkok, but they probably face even greater potential rewards, hazards and prejudices.
When the Hong Kong Tourism Board promotes its turf as a “shopping paradise”, it doesn't mean the sex trade. Yet when darkness descends, the sex biz emerges in districts “filled with shabby houses, signboards, shops and food stands”.
Amid the desires, torments and turmoil, even heroes face injustice. “Keikei exclaimed: ‘Watch out, kid!’ She dropped the cigarette she had just lit, dashed out in front of the lorry and grabbed the little boy. It was then that his mother appeared. Without a word she roughly snatched the boy away, half turning her back to Keikei…. She dragged her son away with one hand over her nose as if rescuing him from something rotten.”
Why write about the sex industry? “Even today, I cannot understand why I felt so strongly…. I was just someone whose imagination had been captured and who could spend some time writing…. I spent all my spare time and some personal savings on the streets of Hong Kong….”
Yang's research called for befriending many of the “professionals” working in nightclubs or karaoke lounges, lingering in hotel lobbies or on sidewalks. She interviewed hookers, toy boys, trans-sexuals, pimps, mama-sans, brothel operators and others. Only after building trust did she accept their stories as truth, not the usual tales spun for the media.
Some pertinent details stay murky. “How many prostitutes are there in Hong Kong? Which age group constitutes the majority? For how many years do they normally stay in the profession? There is no reliable data.”
Much that Yang writes applies to the sex trade everywhere. “Prostitution is a classic case of proximity determining perception. In another country, it may be seen as a fascinating aspect of an exotic culture, something different and exciting. In the next town, it is a social ill about which something really should be done. In the street on which one lives, it is a terrible, disgusting, immoral, depraved business operated by cheap criminals and even cheaper women.”
A sex worker's list of problems looks long and onerous: encounters with the police, competition from Chinese-mainland newcomers, sexually transmitted diseases, drug addictions, gambling compulsions, demanding customers, economic fluctuations and lovelorn lives. “Prostitutes all carry their personal baskets of problems…. The route through the world of prostitution is strewn with difficulties.”
Why tolerate so many troubles? “In the same way that individuals may be addicted to danger and excitement, alcohol, food or drugs, there appears to be an element of addictive behavior among commercial sex workers…. It's rather like gambling: the next bet, the next horse, the next customer and I will hit the jackpot. I will never have to worry about money; I can retire, experience romantic love and enjoy a life of luxurious leisure.”
Boldly addressing delicate issues, Yang makes suggestions that some readers may call outrageous. “Who is not exploited in a fast-paced capitalist society? Who doesn't sell something of themselves for money?... So why is it so unacceptable to trade sex for money?”
The interviewees also pull no punches. “…her confidence was boosted when she saw the local Hong Kong girls. She was not at all impressed by their slovenly approach to work and instantly felt superior. In her view, they didn't deserve to work in magnificent clubs in such a high-priced market. The local girls neither sat decently, nor stood gracefully. They behaved like monkeys.”
Readers may learn some unfamiliar details, like the local slang – “chickens” for female prostitutes, “ducks” for their male counterparts and “horsemen” for pimps. People from elsewhere may be astonished that Hong Kong's Chinese newspapers publish reviews and suggestions about particular prostitutes. “Fatty Dragon writes about prostitution for several tabloid newspapers. His copy is typified by vulgar content in blunt street language, making it extremely popular among the Hong Kong male working class….”
Motivation gets intense scrutiny. “She continued: ‘Yeah, why not be a hooker? First, I'm a woman; second, I have no husband but a son to feed; third, I don't have a degree and I can't use a computer… hookers make more money in less time. So, to sum up, isn't it silly not to be a chicken? Who wants to stay home and be a dumb, boring housewife?’ ”
The prostitutes show infinite cunning. “From among her customers she carefully selected a married man to be her lover, and two more customers as backup lovers. She would insist on making the same requests of all three lovers just to observe their different reactions. This was the perfect game for her. Nothing gave her more fun than the study of men.”
Once a child in Maoist China, Yang grew up in Hong Kong, studied in Tokyo, migrated to Australia and then returned to Hong Kong. Her career has taken her into journalism, film-making and publishing. Whispers and Moans represents her first English non-fiction. It appeared earlier in Chinese and Japanese, also inspiring two Hong Kong movies, Whispers and Moans (2007) and True Women For Sale (2008).
Yang can't solve the sex-traders' problems, but succeeds at giving human dimensions to an industry typically shrouded in shadows. Evidently, “sex workers” often experience rich successes or tragic failures, much like everyone else.
Approval rating: 75 per cent
For more information: www.blacksmithbooks.com
(September 10, 2010)
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