Sex Tourism

Sex Slavery

2010-05-04T16:49:00.000-07:00

Because Blogger won't allow me to upload my video directly to my blog, I have put it on Youtube instead. Click here to see it.

I composed this video using public domain archives and information that I have learned in class. It offers some different perspectives about sex work than the ones I have come up with and serves to diversify the opinions of my blog.

Resistance and Change

2010-04-16T15:47:00.000-07:00

Sex tourism has seen resistance and support from the inside and out. There are many first world feminists who seek to change the sex tourism industry. These reformers often help to relocate women and girls or to reunite them with their families. Some organizations such as Humantrafficking.org have helplines for various countries that sex workers can call to get help leaving undesirable situations. Some of the organizations combating sex tourism and sex trafficking are really helpful in assisting women and girls in recovery and dealing with post-traumatic stress as well as with reintegrating themselves back into mainstream society. Other programs tend to forget that helping women and girls escape from the sex trade is not enough in and of itself.

An excellent project that was created by and for sex-workers in the Network of Sex Work Projects. This organization helps women throughout the world educate themselves and their sisters about the dangers of sex work, ways to get out of sex work and helps guide them through safer sex practices. This organization focuses on important issues that arise within sex work such as access to health care and prevention of HIV/AIDS. The Network of Sex Work Projects encourages "the participation of sex workers in policy and programme development." This organization is largely responsible for a shift in language that has largely replaced the word "prostitute" with "sex worker."

Many sex workers have formed their own unions and coalitions as well. The International Union of Sex Workers aims to decriminalize prostitution and promote acceptance of sex work as a profession. Many unions seek to educate the general public about the systemic and structural inequalities that force women into sex work. The union publishes a news letter four times each year.

So how can first world people help?

It is important to be able to recognize victims of trafficking and to be able to know who to contact if you do encounter someone who needs help. Again Humantrafficking.org is an excellent web resource that gives a great deal of information about sex trafficking.

Another everyday solution is to challenge all forms of misogyny or sexism. Challenging patriarchal systems that thrive upon the subordination of women will help to alleviate issues of misogyny and sexism. This includes challenging displays of masculinity that put women down or are disrespectful to women's bodies. Acknowledging the existence of a rape culture and actively trying to change the culture into one that respects and values the bodies of women can help create a respectful environment that is safer for (or does not require the existence of) sex work.

Resource Guide

2010-04-09T14:17:00.000-07:00

Sex tourism is an industry that has many complications and is filled with a variety of diverse perspective. People are affected at different levels within the industry and these various perspectives are seen in online resources about sex tourism and trafficking.

Some sites are clearly made from the perspective of the customers and the pimps. For example, this site is targeted toward "first world" consumers. Examining the information given to consumers can give valuable information about the ways in which dominant culture views sex tourism. Sites in this style show many degrees of professionalism. While the first site was well maintained, cheaper sites such as this one (...or this one) are usually created by the pimps or mistresses.

Many web resources are targeted toward ending sex tourism and the affects it has on women and girls. The United Nations has several projects dedicated to ending sex trafficking, tourism and slavery. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has a resource that explains human trafficking at a basic level. Human trafficking is not necessarily related to sex work and sex trafficking, but it can be. The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking is a more specific guide that covers what the UN is doing to combat human trafficking around the world and covers issues of sex and child trafficking more in-depth.

Other countries and governments have also produced sites that discuss the problems around sex tourism and trafficking. The US government uses this site to promote discussion and information about sex tourism, and uses this site to discuss issues of human trafficking. The latter site answers frequently asked questions around the legality of sex tourism.

Many non-profit organizations have also taken a stance on sex tourism and trafficking. Equality Now has created a campaign against sex tourism and trafficking that attempts to understand how these two issues are interconnected.

Other non-profits, such as the Global Policy Forum, provide articles and information related to current sex tourism and trafficking disparities around the world.

Some of the sites are specific to certain types of sex tourism, trafficking or slavery. This document was created by a non-profit aimed at eliminating global child sex tourism. While quite a few sites focus specifically on children in the sex trade, there are very few that focus on the involvement of transwomen in the sex trade. This blog gives some interesting statistics on how the global sex trade affects transwomen.

Video resources can often be more powerful than articles. ABC News has ran several specials about child slavery in "third world" nations. There are also several accurate and informative videos up on YouTube such as this in-flight commercial to educate "first world" passengers about child sex tourism.

Purely academic resources are very hard to find online. This book, however, is extraordinarily informative about trafficking and how sex work and global inequalities affect women and girls.

Last, but most certainly not least, is a guide about making sex work safer for those involved. This is probably the most interesting and informative resource and is targeted toward sex workers and pimps rather than "first world" consumers or scholars. * Please note this guide has a long loading time - but is entirely worth the wait.

Sex Slavery

2010-03-26T16:00:00.000-07:00

Sex tourism is an industry that relies on the existence of racism and classism. These oppressive institutions are magnified through the lives of the children, women and transwomen who are involved in the global sex industry. It is important to realize that sex tourism can only exist so long as these underlying systems of stratification are in place.

The economy of the sex trade works through a series of relationships that are based on othering or devaluing certain individuals. In this case, the sex workers are considered as lesser. They are usually subordinated by institutions of either race or class (or both) that allow their oppressors to easily identify and exploit them (Roland, 152). Those who utilize the services of sex workers are often of a different race and a higher class than the workers themselves. Those who benefit most from sex work are those who are stealing the profits from the workers: the pimps or mistresses who control the workers or the brothels.

This economy is often based on modern day slavery. The sex tourism industry is comprised of three main types of slavery:

Human trafficking

Contract systems

Debt bondage

Depending upon the economy and political situation of a given area, any one of these types of slavery can occur.

Human trafficking involves the capture, sale or trickery involved in moving a person from one area to another for the purposes of exploitation (FitzGibbon, 82). Women and children are frequently trafficked into the sex trade. Sometimes they are promised a well-paying job in a new location, but then are forced into sex work upon their arrival. Other times their families sell them into slavery, or they are captured and held as sex slaves. Mail order brides sometimes, but not always, fall into the category of trafficked sex slaves.

Many sex workers are also held in slavery through contract systems. They have a contract with their pimp or mistress that details how many customers they will have to serve, and what amenities or protections they will receive in return (FitzGibbon, 85).

Debt bondage in this circumstance includes the use of sex work to pay off a debt (Bales, 4). Sex workers must earn a certain amount of money through their work to pay off their debt, or they must engage in sexual acts with whomever they are indebted to in order to clear their debt. Debt bondage is a particularly difficult cycle to break because when a person is released from bondage they often do not have any skills or resources to support themselves and are forced to acquire new debt.

It is important to note that of course not all sex workers are in a position of slavery. Sex workers engage in sex work for a variety of reasons and slavery is just one of the possible reasons.

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Works Cited

Bales, Kevin. Understanding Global Slavery: A Reader. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.

FitzGibbon, Kathleen. “Modern Day Slavery? The Scope of Trafficking in Persons in Africa.” African Security Review 12.1 (2003). 81-89.

Roland, L. Kaifa. “Tourism and the Negrificacion of Cuban Identity.” Transforming Anthropology 14.2 (2006). 151-162.

2010-03-12T11:23:00.000-08:00

Today's blog is brought to you in action-adventure book form!

After a difficult day of work as the CEO of a multinational corporation, Big Spending Bob decides he is finally going to book a vacation. He is really interested in that sex tourism trip to Thailand his pal Jimmy was talking about. Bob knows he can book the trip online but he wants to make sure that his vacation plans are completely discreet so he takes a cab over to his local travel agency.

Although Bob is a little apprehensive Smooth Talking Sam, the travel agent, is able to sooth his fears. Sam shows Bob pictures of the beautiful women who will escort him during his trip to Thailand, tells him about the luxurious beaches he can visit and warns him that this low-price offer is ending soon.

Bob writes a check to the travel agency and with that the deal is complete.

In Thailand Lucy begins her day of work. She has been a sex worker since the age of 13 when her father died. She solicits sex to tourists on the street, and is also part of a travel agency. She is an escort to mostly white American tourists. She interprets for them, shows them the "local culture" and engages in sexual activities with the tourists. She really dislikes her job, but she knows she must continue working in order to support her family.

When Bob arrives in Thailand, Lucy serves as his interpreter and escorts Bob on all of his vacationing endeavors. Bob relaxes on the beach, drinks in the local bars, and enjoys spending as much time with Lucy as suits him. By the time his vacation is over, Bob decides that the trip was exactly what he needed and plans to book another one soon. Bob feels really great about his trip.

Lucy says goodbye, thankful that she doesn't have another customer until tomorrow...

The story printed above is a fictional account, but it is based on the actual histories and narratives of women involved in the global sex tourism industry. This particular story is a combination of common narratives, and ironically, this story is not nearly the most tragic of those works. While some women and children are sold into the global sex trade, around half of the women involved “…entered for pragmatic reasons and with a general sense of awareness of the choice they were making” (International Labour Organization).

In Southeast Asia, sex work tends to be one of the better paying careers for young women without an education. Because of economic hardships in the area, the sex industry continues to grow. Women cannot afford to receive educations and turn to sex work for income. Unfortunately, sex work carries extreme health risks including sexually transmitted diseases and infections, cancers caused by taking birth control for excessive periods of time and complications from frequent miscarriages or abortions.

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Phenomenology of Sex Tourism

2010-02-24T13:20:00.000-08:00

Sex tourism is an industry where first world travelers (usually men) take advantage of sex workers (usually women and girls or transwomen) in exotic locations in the developing world. Researchers are uncertain where and when the sex tourism industry first started, but there are speculations as to why sex tourism became (and is becoming) so popular.

Although prostitution has existed for thousands of years, tourism for the purpose of finding sex is a relatively new phenomenon. Because prostitution is popular around US military bases overseas, some researchers suggest that sex tourism started around World War II. Others claim that it picked up during the US wars in Korea and Viet Nam. Although researchers do not agree on when sex tourism started, many do accept that "The countries that have been developed as the destinations for sex tourists include those which have served as 'rest and recreation' sites for the American military: Thailand, South Korea, the Philippines" (Enloe, 36). Today most sex tourism is centered in Latin America and the Caribbean and Southeast Asia.

The International Labour Organization suggests that the global sex industry in Southeast Asia saw a drastic increase in the mid 1980s. This may have been due to economic hardship and the increased demand for women and girls to work in order to support their families.

In the Caribbean many of the brothels date back to the slave trade (Kempadoo, 5). Slave traders frequented brothels while bringing boats of African slaves to the Caribbean and Americas. In the 1970s these brothels became popular for American and European tourists. Interestingly, much of the popularity of sex tourism in Barbados came from white women searching for exotic men as companions (Kempadoo, 13).

Sex tourism has been globalized in two main ways. As travel became increasingly accessible and affordable sex work thrived. Clients are able to cross borders to experience so-called exotic sex workers. Sex tourism has also become globalized by the trafficking of prostitutes. In Southeast Asia women and girls are often trafficked because "Importing women helps meet the rising demand for fresh prostitutes" (Bales, 53).

What may be most interesting in the history of sex tourism is its present appeal and growth. Although local and global feminist organizations have begun to combat the exploitation of women and girls the sex industry continues to grow rather than diminish. Researchers understand that economic depression and conditions in the countries that are popular for sex tourism greatly influence the influx of women and girls working in the sex industry. What they might focus on instead are the developed societies that foster the types of masculinities that allow and encourage the conquest and objectification of women’s bodies. Research of this nature may point towards new ways to combat sex tourism by removing demand for such a market.

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Bales, Kevin. "Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy." Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004.

Enloe, Cynthia. "Bananas, Beaches and Bases." Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.

Kempadoo, Kamala. "Sun, Sex, and Gold: Tourism and Sex Work in the Caribbean." Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1999.

Intro to Sex Tourism

2010-02-15T23:37:00.001-08:00

Are you lonely? Do you desire the company of a very willing woman? If you want to relax in an exotic location and are unconcerned with the detriment you may cause to third world women, then sex tourism may be right for you!

As travel becomes an increasingly easy venture the industry known as sex tourism flourishes. This growing branch of the tourism industry is devoted to adding sex to vacation packages. First world travelers (usually men) pursue third world sex workers (usually women or Transwomen) in “exotic” locations. Many of these women and girls have been trafficked into sex work, others were sold by their families, others still have families to support. My blog is devoted to a discussion of sex tourism and the injurious effects this industry has on the women and girls involved.

Websites promoting sex tourism appeal to men in the middle or upper classes, typically those with stressful jobs and who can afford a tropical getaway. These sites offer eligible women and girls who will provide “company” for the traveler. They show pictures of beautiful beaches and scantily clad women and girls. One site boasts: “We are the world's leader in providing discreet erotic vacations in some of the most sought after global locations.” In case readers are unsure of what an ‘erotic vacation’ consists of, the site goes on to say: “In Thailand we have many stunning 18+ year old guaranteed Virgins that have never been with a man!”

According to Cynthia Enloe, “Sex tourism is not an anomaly; it is one strand of the gendered tourism industry” (Enloe, 36). By gendered tourism, Enloe is referring to ways in which travel and globalization negatively impact women and girls more than they do men. She also argues that women make up a disproportionate number of those involved in world travel. That is, the service industry is comprised mainly of feminized jobs: flight attendants, hotel maids, sex workers. These jobs tend to be low wage, especially compared to the service jobs afforded to men: pilot, concierge, pimp.

As the semester unfolds I hope to address the affects that global travel has on women and girls. I will discuss tourism and trafficking as they relate to globalization and the contexts corporate take-over. Some of the blog will focus on Transwomen and their over-representation in the sex tourism industry. Much of the rhetoric I use will be womanist in nature and I would like to examine what feminism can do (or perhaps can’t do) for the future of the women and girls involved in the global sex industry.

So if you need some time away from the office, make a reservation with your local sex tourism agency. Your pleasure is of utmost importance. And don’t worry; a little misogyny never hurt anyone… except for women.

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Enloe, Cynthia. Bananas, Beaches and Bases. Berkeley: University of California Publishing, 1983.