Sex and Borders: Gender, National Identity, and Prostitution Policy in Thailand

Christine Schmidt specializes in law and sociology at Laurentian
University.

Jeffrey, a political science professor at the University of New
Brunswick, adds a new theoretical facet to a problematic issue by moving
discussions of prostitution as a form of work—and as a “social
problem”—away from the bland Western liberal feminist arguments of
good or bad, and into complex sociopolitical relations. Through her
well-researched argument concerning the active construction of policies
and values surrounding prostitution, we see that the attitudes and
approaches of various countries toward sex work are a function of
extremely complex relations, as opposed to a revolving argument about
predetermined values assigned to women’s bodies and sexual relations.
Thailand’s approach to prostitution, Jeffrey argues, is determined by
Western attitudes toward prostitution—a claim that raises issues of
political domination and power and struggle over the terrain of
women’s bodies.

Although perhaps a bit lacking in its discussion of race as a
determinant in the domestic and international analysis of prostitution,
Sex and Borders is an excellent read for anyone interested in the
politics of women’s bodies, feminism, political science, and policy
analysis.