ABSTRACT
The Thai people look up to their monarch as their parent, and the parent cares for his children, the people. All Thai people are the subjects of their sovereign. It is startling at first, and then shocking to realize how bad the Thai sex trade has become. Any study of the Thai sex trade will reveal how complex and dangerous it is and has remained since the Vietnam War. There is a popular image of a middle-aged farang man and young Thai woman at a bar under the portrait of the king of Thailand in Krung Thep. This chapter is based on qualitative surveys of targeted informants. There is a clear separation of public and private life in Thailand, as it is in most other countries in modernity. The separation of the public and the private spheres becomes fused when private interests intersect with public wants.
