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Chrstin Rosado Assignment 10: Sexual Citizenship

In Amelia L. Cabezas book Between Love and Money, she deeply discusses the lives of women in Cuba and the Dominican Republic who are participants in Sex Tourism. In her chapter, Sex, Tourism, and Citizenship in Cuba and the Dominican Republic, the idea of sexual citizenship is introduced. Sexual Citizenship is a movement that Cabezas believes will help to eliminate the sexual discrimination of women. Sexual Citizenship will aim to embrace the varying sexual practices and sexualities present amongst individuals. I like and agree with the idea of sexual citizenship. People should be free to explore any sexuality they desire and they should also possess the right to do what they want with their bodies. The sooner people adopt this ideology, the sooner the world would head in the right direction of being less discriminatory and oppressive.

Women living in both Cuba and the Dominican Republic who fall outside of the practice of heteronormativity are viewed as outcasts. The women who participate in the sex tourism lifestyles are seen as outcasts because many believe their way of life is immoral and that it misrepresents both Cuban and Dominican women. Their lifestyle makes them targets for harassment not only by other citizens but by law enforcement who view their way of life as corruption. However, many women who participate in this type of work choose and continue to do it because it provides them with extra money needed to help sustain their households and take care of family members that are dependent on them. Not only does this work help them financially but it also provides the women with chances to see the world and migrate to different places with their tourist companions. Sexual Citizenship would essentially grant these women a right to carry out their work without being discriminated and allow them to be viewed as women doing what they please with their bodies.