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Assignment 10

According to Cabezas, sexual citizenship is a type of relationship within sex tourism in which the person, offering the sexual acts, are in complete control of their sexual rights. To explain further, Cabezas differentiates the “sex worker” and individuals that fall outside of this category, saying how the sex worker is viewed by society as being compelled to offer sex to others as they are sexual “deviants”, often stigmatized by their socioeconomic class or color of their skin or gender, imposing a derogatory and sexist label when identifying these individuals. However, for those that do not identify as a sex worker, society view their acts as being influenced by friendship or romance and are in complete control of their sexuality in a sense. Motivated by earning more than their wages to support themselves or for better opportunities, these men and women engage in sexually open relations with tourists.
Those expressing their sexual citizenship, in particular for the women who occupy positions outside “heteronormativity,” the promises that comes from being in these types of relationships, as previously mentioned, are either economic support or a means to an end for better opportunities. Cabezas brings in many examples in her work, various interviews in which some women were being supported by their significant other. One example of Cabezas’ interview is the case of Yolanda. She was a single mother who had three children and no financial support. After working in the tourist areas as an activities instructor, she began dating tourists and fostered meaningful relations with them, and in return, they helped support her and her family. These relationships being as a means for locals who do not have jobs or if their jobs were not enough to support them and their families. From there, these relationship can lead to marriage and migration for locals to a better life.