| Summary: | Prostitution, ‘the world’s oldest profession,’ remains a contentious topic. The disagreement over its causes prevents the improvement of the lives of those involved in the industry. This paper examines prostitution as a product of the commonly proposed causes of prostitution: patriarchy, power, and poverty. The paper focuses on prostitution in contemporary Thailand but prefaces the contemporary era in the region by analysing prostitution and female roles in Victorian England to show the impact of European colonialism on Southeast Asian prostitution. A clear flow from patriarchy to power and to poverty links colonialism with the dawn of large-scale prostitution in the 1970s’ Thailand. The paper argues that prostitution is, and has been, the product of all three abovementioned causes. The new finding of this paper is that prostitution remains sustained by the continued repression of female sexuality. Thailand stands out as a society where prostitution is not unequivocally ‘shameful’ or ‘wrong;’ in accordance with Buddhist thought, ends are seen to justify means. The paper analyses literature that brings forth the experiences of female Thai prostitutes. Their testimonies show that the ends are unitary: to provide a better life for their children, parents and themselves.
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