ABSTRACT
The inconsistencies between criminalised prostitution and the prevailing practices of buying sex in Taiwan are inseparably related to the ways in which gender, morality and sexuality interweave with each other to shape commercial sex. In this chapter the author draw on in-depth interviews with 40 Taiwanese male clients of sex workers, in order to discuss the diverse ways in which men make sense of their usage of commercial sex, and to uncover the ways in which buying sex is interwoven with social hierarchies such as gender, class, nationality and international economic disparity. The current Taiwanese sex industry has its roots in Japanese colonialism. Personal sexual interests are highlighted in accounts of Western men’s purchase of sexual services. The phenomenon of clients seeking emotional comfort through commercial sex is widely documented. Studies of sex workers have shown that Western sex workers may provide a proxy ‘girlfriend experience’.
