PROSTITUTION IN SINGAPORE SOCIETY

Abstract

The history of prostitution in Singapore can be traced back to the early nineteenth century. However, research on present day prostitution in Singapore is ahistorical in nature. It also focuses on the institutional aspects ignoring the dialectical interaction between individuals and institutions. This thesis examines the processes of gender negotiation and domination within the prostitution trade in Singapore. My research traces the historical continuity and highlights the social interaction, rather than the uni-lateral processes, of socialization, exploitation and oppression of prostitution in Singapore. In Chapter 1, a critical review of the different approaches used to analyse prostitution and an out line of my fieldwork area and problems are presented. In Chapter 2, I argue that there exists two kinds of power: The expanding liberating power of self and the limiting power of dominance. All individuals, including prostitutes have the former kind of power. I demonstrate that despite their subordinate position, prostitutes do have different degrees of negotiating power. The form of power prostitutes have is informal, often covert and concerned largely with immediate de facto gains. Prostitutes by using this power can exercise considerable power to the extent that they do not openly challenge male dominance. Prostitutes in Singapore negotiate within the context of patriarchy and male dominance. I show how the ideology of the family and gender roles reinforce the male status qua. In Chapters 3 and 4, I examine the dialectical interplay between the institutional and the individual dimensions of the prostitution trade. Chapter 3 historically explores different systems of control employed to deal with prostitution. Chapter 4 deals with the present institutions of control which include the Anti-Vice Enforcement Unit, the Middle Road Hospital and the Toa Payoh Girls' Home. I demonstrate the conflict between the institutional strategies of control and the life strategies of the social agents in the prostitution trade. The policy of geographical and visual containment of prostitution was analysed in Chapter 5. This chapter also presents a detailed photo-essay on the different red-light areas in Singapore. I examine the class structure within the red-light areas and show how it further alienates prostitutes from each other. The minimal and limited negotiating power that a prostitute wields at different stages of her life is illustrated in the life history of Lucy which makes up the next chapter. In this Chapter, I examine the different kinds of resources and consequently the different types of strategies that are employed by prostitutes to negotiate with their everyday life. The lack of feminist consciousness among prostitutes in Singapore which hinders the development of collective negotiating power is discussed in Chapter 7. Comparisons with prostitutes from America and Europe are made to demonstrate that women's solidarity can challenge the male status quo.