ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the intersection of entrepreneurial masculinity and class in the sex industry of karaoke bars in contemporary China. It examines the historical processes that have helped produce entrepreneurial masculinities in postsocialist China. The chapter explains the historical evolution of masculinities of literati, patriotic and emasculated men, which contends that masculinities and femininities are not given but historically produced. It demonstrates the ways in which karaoke bars, by marking forms of social stratification in postsocialist China, provide an ideal opportunity for men to showcase their social status, class and wealth. The chapter discusses the ways in which rebellious, entrepreneurial masculinity is constructed, enacted and performed in sex consumption in the sex industry of karaoke bars. It concludes with the nuanced ways in which prostitution and the state have facilitated the production of entrepreneurial masculinities articulated in everyday activities.
