Despite its illegal status, the sex tourism industry has become a major source of commerce in several regions of the world, such as Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. Beyond the economic aspect of sex tourism, gender and gender relations constitute highly disturbing and troublesome features within the sex industry, namely the highly gendered “double standard” associated with the industry’s participants, that is, sex workers and their patrons. Throughout the years, gender studies have been consistent in their criticism of prostitution at home and abroad. It has been emphasized that only too frequently the foreign nation’s cultural interests and economic status encourage acts of prostitution; therefore, public policy enables and protects industries …show more content…
Sex workers engage in the role of the traditional male in order to appeal to the female tourists, especially in areas such as Jamaica and Barbados. As analysts observe, “a beach boy in Barbados is able to demonstrate his skills of strength and knowledge in his role of tour guide and escort since the female tourist also allows him to be ‘a man’ and to adopt a dominate role in the relationship” (Padilla 41). In addition to public admiration, this image of the tiguere combined with normative constructs of masculinity is particularly appealing to foreign women. Moreover, tourist women, receptive to this appeal, encourage further the social constructs of the lower class Caribbean …show more content…
According to Bishop, the sites of operation of the sex tourism business in Southeast Asia is assessed by the same standards as multinational industries of the world. Sex is sold almost everywhere in cities such as Bangkok, and “in addition to classic brothels –many of them camouflaged as teahouses, barber shops, or beauty salons- there are massage parlors and all sorts of bars: plain pickup spots, dance clubs, go-go bars” (Bishop 7). In contrast to the “beachside” Caribbean sex industry, Southeast Asian patterns of sexual commerce, and this includes centrally Thailand, maintains a carefully constructed professional demeanor of Southeast Asian sex workers which involves 5,622 sites of operation, the 76,863 prostitutes, and the great support to other business ventures Thailand receives quarterly (Bishop
Female children born into low income families in Jamaica and other islands of the Caribbean are burdened with a stereotype that their male counterparts will never know. When faced with the gender oppression their society has constantly been feeding, and the fact that so many women must act as the single financial heads of their families, many women of the Caribbean must settle for low paying occupations associated with 'female' or domestic labor. For women born into families at the bottom of the economic ladder, there is little hope of social mobility or escape from the fist of poverty. In most cases, the cycle continues to feed itself from mother to daughter. In my paper I will demonstrate this cycÀle by examining the Caribbean women's role in the family as head of the household and the education, employment and survival strategies characteristic to many of these women. I will conclude my paper by discussing some of the new organizations and movements that have surfaced in the Caribbean within the past thirty years that are fighting for women's empowerment.
She elaborates on her study of American male adults’ immersion with prostitution and successfully quotes a significant number of males associated with paid sex services. Kelly begins her essay with a personal account of her experience during her fieldwork in a legal, state regulated brothel in Mexico. She discusses her close encounters with the women who sold sexual services, their respective clients and the government officials who ran the brothel. Kelly also reveals the major factors contributing to people indulgence in prostitution to include, economic crisis, divorce, etc. She further reiterates that, apart from prostitution providing means of livelihood, the women enjoy the flexibility of time and rate and can make decisions on the particular acts to perform. Kelly discusses the attitudes of the male customers as well which includes, preference for unprotected sex and violent approach to the acts. Finally, In the second half of her essay, Kelly elaborates on the laws of different lands. She upholds a realistic approach in providing legal right to sex trade workers. However, she faults most of the laws for their inability to protect the women while acknowledging the New Zealand’s 2003 Prostitution Reform Act. Kelly concludes her essay with an opinion of the clientele of prostitutes and a focus on considering prostitution as a legitimate business while disregarding societal moral
Asia has a long cultural history with prostitution that has provided a global sex trade service industry for locals and foreigners alike.3 “It’s simply the norm that you have two kinds of women –those you respect and those you can buy and play around with.”4 Not only are there economic motives for preserving the sex trade industry in Asian countries, but accepted cultural norms and attitudes perpetuate this industry. Indigenous demand drives
Prostitution, as stated by Flemming, is known as a form of sexual activity, a kind of sexual style or category, and a form of economic activity, a way of making a living through the provisions of certain services, by behaving in accordance with, or falling into such a category (39). This definition, though, is controversial. While conducting research for this project, we found that most topics regarding prostitution and its affiliates were controversial. Each author gave a differing interpretation for the same data. Due to this, our project centered on the female prostitutes, even though there is evidence of male prostitutes.
Sterk enters the field with the objective of studying and attempting to understand the lives of prostitutes on the streets of Atlanta and New York City. She tries to investigate the reasons why these women are in the profession, their interactions with their ‘pimps’ and customers, their attitudes towards safe sex in light of the AIDS endemic, and above all, prostitution’s link to drug use. Her basic thesis revolves around these women’s thoughts and feelings regarding prostitution and the effect it has on their lives. Through her research, Sterk uncovers a demographic that ranges...
After the Sandinistas were removed from power, the concern about the social welfare of the Nicaraguan citizens was lowered. The new focus of the government has been on the economic development of the nation. As the Civil Wars, have ended, tourists have determined that it is a new exotic location to visit. The combination of economic strife and tourism has led to a rise in human trafficking and sex tourism in the country. This is a detrimental after effect of a growing capitalist society and it directly affects the people that we will be working with in Nicaragua. The direct effects of this economic upheaval and the influx of tourism have been increased rates of the selling of women and children who have been living on the streets. They are a vulnerable population. They unfortunately are the backbone of the growing sex tourism industry. Today, as the government becomes more corrupt there is less of an eye on the welfare of the people. The focus is on growing the nation’s economy rather than the growing of the abilities of those who do not influence the economy as strongly as the tourist population. As more tourists come to participate in the Nicaraguan economy by traveling there, there have been rises in sex tourism and trafficking rates. The easiest place to gather potential victims from is the streets. The backlash against women since the end of the political and economic struggles inside of the nation have led to a rise of the selling of both women and children both for sex and slavery.
Prostitution is said to be the world’s oldest profession. Often prostitutes are thought to be seductively dressed women standing on the street corner calling out offerings of a good time in exchange for payment. That is an accurate depiction however, it is just part of the massive sex industry’s variety of marketing tools used in prostitution. The women and young girls standing on the corner are but a small fraction of a much larger picture and harsher reality.
Prostitution is known as the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment. Around the world, prostitution is known to be prominent and growing in numbers. The number of young girls taking part in sex work increases as the years go by. Sosua is a place where tourists go to engage in sexual activities with the women that live there. These women participate in sex work in order to maintain financially stable. There is no other type of work that will keep them afloat financially. Women of Sosua are more likely to become sex workers in order to provide for themselves as well as their family than the women in the United States.
Barry, Kathleen. The Prostitution of Sexuality: The Global Exploitation of Women. New York: New York University Press, 1996. Print.
The predominant popularity of sex tourism in South East Asia led to many foreign tourist attractions to their countries. South East Asia, notably Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, and Cambodia all have notorious red light districts promoted in guidebooks as a tourist attraction. Thus, it is not uncommon to sight family groups shopping in the open-air market while sex workers actively drag passers-by into strip clubs and bars that offers sex services on the same street. This paper is concerned with sex tourism and the images that it constructs for particular South East Asian countries. Through this paper we also explore the major kinds of sex tourisms and touch upon the psychological process behind it. Proposed ideas of correcting the negative image of sex tourism are presented for countries that hope for such changes.
The exploitation of prostitution is considered to be one of a serious global issue in most of the countries around the world. Also, the number of prostitution is increasing tremendously each year and seems to be more serious than the past centuries. However, yet very few to none of the countries have completely solved this problem. Saudi Arabia and Netherlands are two examples of the countries that prostitution is still considered to be a problem that the government of both countries cannot ignore. There are different solutions that Saudi Arabia and Netherlands have come up with to solve the problem.
In her essay, “Last Resorts: The Cost of Tourism in the Caribbean”, journalist Polly Pattullo presents an inside view of the resort industry in the Caribbean Islands, and how it truly operates. Tourism is the main industry of the Caribbean, formerly referred to as the West Indies, and it is the major part of the economy there. Pattullo’s essay mirrors the ideas of Trevor M.A. Farrell’s perspective “Decolonization in the English-Speaking Caribbean” in which he writes about the implicit meaning of the colonial condition. Pattollo’s essay illustrates that colonialism is present in the Caribbean tourism industry by comparing the meaning of it presented in Farrell’s perspective. In this essay I will explain how these two essays explain how decolonization hardly exists in the Caribbean.
Sexual objectification of women is viewing them solely as de-personalized objects of desire instead of as individuals of complex personalities, which is done by speaking or thinking of women solely by their physical attributes. Sexuality has been a controversial topic for a long time, and there have been many thinkers pondering on its effects on societies and cultures all over the world. The physical expression of sexuality is fundamental and universal. What differs is how cultures, religions and societies construe and influence both the setting in which sexual intercourse between men and women occurs and the type of relationships in which pregnancy is encouraged. The idea behind this form of controlled sexual behavior, which was enforced by culture and society, was to promote family health and welfare, and thereby create healthy societies for the survival and expansion of mankind. Prostitution, the practice of selling one’s body for the purpose of another’s sexual gratification, has existed throughout history in all parts of the world. Prostitution is considered by many a shameful, degrading, and abusive practice that fosters crime, exposes prostitutes to violence, increases sexually transmitted diseases and child prostitution, disrupts family values, and promotes sex trafficking. Legalization of prostitution has not only failed to empower the women in prostitution, but has strengthened the sex industry and the crimes associated with it.
This essay will explore the question of whether prostitution should be seen as a job like any other through several key issues relating to the sex trade industry. The argument against prostitution as a job for women will be supported by various feminist theories. By following the discourse of prostitution as a chosen profession by women and the implication of the choice in the society, this essay will provide academic findings in answering the key issues in the sex workers profession. This essay will discuss the politics of women’s choice through prostitution and how feminist views have influenced it. The moral aspects of prostitution will be highlighted as well. The relationship of violence and abuse with prostitution is another key findings
Prostitution is the occupational service where sexual acts are exchanged for payment. Opinions of prostitution have changed drastically over the course of half a century, and are being debated worldwide. Prostitution is a very controversial topic, however there are claims that legalizing prostitution could create an overall safer environment, not only for the sex workers but the rest of society. There has been many alterations in prostitution laws and enforcement practices in several countries. Many nations have created new laws or intensified existing penalties for prostitution-related offences such as soliciting sex, purchasing sex, or pimping. Some other societies are experimenting with policies that securitize prostitution.The claims proposing these regulations are important because they are directly opposed to both the conventional benefits of prostitution and the specific allegations of anti-prostitution crusaders. In Canada and the UK, the exchange of sex for money is not illegal. However, the activities that go along with prostitution are criminal offences.“In March 2012, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a ban on establishments for the purposes of prostitution, which effectively makes street prostitution illegal. In the US, most jurisdictions, prostitution, solicitation, or agreeing to engage in an act of prostitution are classified as illegal. With the exception of licensed brothels in certain areas in Nevada. In the Netherlands,prostitution was legalized in the mid-1800s but it wasn’t until recently, the 1980s sex work became a legal profession. Restrictions on brothels and pimping were lifted in October 2000 and the industry is now securitized by labour law. Prostitutes are registered as legal workers....