Lalasa T.

Deconstructing Dichotomous Discourses on Sex Work: An Ethnographic Study of the Sex Industry in Japan

Advisor: Dr Yuen Shu Min

E-mail: e1539428@u.nus.edu

Lalasa is an MA (Research) student in Japanese Studies. She graduated from Keio University in 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts in History, majoring in Asian history. Her undergraduate thesis conducted an intersectional analysis of the split within the women's movement regarding sex work issues in Taiwan.

Her current research uses ethnographic methods, discursive analysis, and textual interpretation to explore power dynamics among stakeholders in the sex industry. She focuses on how both normative/non-normative and suppressive/liberative sexual practices are negotiated within these contexts.

Lalasa is also interested in the collective memory of sexual exploitation in East Asia and how this memory shapes feminist discourse and affects the lives of sex workers today. Looking ahead, she plans to develop a comparative perspective through research on Japan and Taiwan, particularly in relation to gender, sexuality, and historical memory.