5 Assignment 10

I think Amelia Cabezas defines sexual citizenship as someone who represents their sexuality and understanding the process of why they do what they do. Cabezas mentions about sex tourism and how specific people work in the tourism industry to fulfill a specific requirement whether that may be to make money, create relationship, etc… However there is a gender equality where females are treated worser compared to their counterpart, males. Females can be thrown in jail anytime and this is all because of how the government wants to make sure that the females that do sexual tourism don’t take the wrong path or to stop bothering the tourist when in general they aren’t.  Also some females are more accepted compared to other females and this is probably how the police portray (decides which ones can stay without being arrested) those females that are more accepted (probably because their more beautiful and younger). Males on the other hand is respected and supported to continue to do what they are doing. This gender inequality lets Cabezas bring up the point of heteronormativity, where females should be able to have the rights to their bodies and make decisions on what they should and should not do. This idea is a threat to the government because they want to make sure that the women are following sexual morals that is set by them (the laws). However most government in the world don’t really cares what happens after the child is born. All they care about is that the child is safely born so that they can contribute to the economy and make sure the same process repeat. The government doesn’t want the women who are outside the heteronormativity to be deciding whether or not they want to do sexual service for money, marriage, pleasure, etc… Otherwise this will improve the organization (social groups) that support the fundamental rights of female.

According to Cabezas, Cuba and the Dominican Republic have experienced an influx of sex tourism; foreigners visiting to take advantage of looser laws on prostitution and sexual activities. The women of these countries are heavily influenced by sex tourism, as these tourists come in and take advantage of them because they are sex workers. Being a sex worker implies negative connotations, especially to Americans, where most of it is completely outlawed. Sex workers in Cuba and the Dominican Republic change the economy, especially with the increase of sex tourism. These tourists are contributing to the lives of these women, allowing them to make a profit but also while exploiting them. Sex workers not only gain a profit, but gain opportunities; many build relationships with their clients, allowing them to have other opportunities to work and migrate. There are cases in which sex workers marry their tourist clients, allowing them to migrate, get married, and build families; this is an opportunity they would not have without sex tourism being so popular. Cabezas explains the difference between light-skin Cubans and Black Cubans in the sex tourism industry; Black cubans are considered to be more frequently involved in hustling in the tourist industry, while light-skinned Cubans are more often employed in just sex for cash, having less opportunities. This made me think of the hyper-sexualization of people of color, and how for White tourists it is easy to use a dark-skinned women for sex and nothing else, but in their daily lives they continue to treat these women as objects. Sex tourism has the ability to be an industry that greatly changes and improves the economy, but can also lead to the objectification and abuse of women, especially women of color. Sex workers can be liberated, and gain opportunities, but they also can be treated as unequal. Sex tourism is an ever popular industry that changes the economy of various countries.

Sexual citizenship is implicitly described throughout Cabezas’ essay, focusing primarily on women’s sexual and individual agency. When including human rights Cabezas includes police harassment and the assumptions placed on women for existing in their own country, if they are found close to high traffic tourist areas their promiscuity is either innocent or deviant depending on skin tone. Interestingly, the women referenced in her essay all seem to independently find their way into liaisons with tourists fluidly and earnestly. The reality is that any woman in tourist specific hospitality is propositioned regularly, due to the nature of the industry you must be approachable, engaging and knowledgeable. Cuba and the Dominican Republic are both small enough islands that anyone who has lived there for a short amount of time could become well acquainted with the area, making them an asset to an international tourist who desires a local experience.

Many impoverished women have fine-tuned their ears to finding additional avenues of income, whether that is an extra shift at your place of employment or a part-time side job. For women comfortable with their sexualities and a sense of adventure, an international liaison likely begins innocently and likely without any hopes for more than an all-expenses paid week or long weekend. Unpredictable to the women are the tourists, some arriving with the intention of picking up a local companion for their vacation and others open to permanent relationships. The reality is that an economically viable partner is enough motivation for any woman in extreme poverty to risk jail or state ordered rehabilitation, especially when the economy is providing few alternatives for social mobility. This is not a promise, but a potential outcome like winning a lottery that, at the very least, provides a short relief from financial struggle.

Although there are mentions of men in the business of sexual tourism the stigmatization and economic peril are not the same for men which is why the core of the essay does not focus on their story. The ambiguous categorization of sexual tourism alludes to an evolving perspective of female sexuality, however the racial and class specific repercussions re-emphasize the old capitalist order. The privileged class are happy to share their wealth if they don’t have to share their status.

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.

Due Monday, April 24th, by midnight. Word count: 300 words. Please make sure everything is in your own words. Absolutely no quotes should be used. If you paraphrase from the text (from Cabezas’s work or anywhere else), you must be sure to include the proper citation (either MLA or APA).

Using details from her essay to explain your reading, explain how Amelia Cabezas defines “sexual citizenship.” What promise does she attach to this configuration of sexuality in particular for women who occupy positions outside “heteronormativity”?