å Sunday, November 19th, 2017

One of the main focuses of  “Between Love and Money: Sex, Tourism, and Citizenship in Cuba and the Dominican Republic” is the almost toxic necessity of tourism in nation’s predominantly affected by American influence and political governance. It’s no surprise that the U.S. has had a lot of meddling in South American countries, particularly in their sustainability and democratic viability, but what’s also interesting is the reactionary position that U.S. influence put these nations in. Cuba and Dominican Republic both have had to adapted to aggressive tourism policies to maintain sustainable economic growth, which then in turn has forced the local economies to adapt to these practices in any way possible, which includes prostitution. The reason this particular field is often the most viable and lucrative one, is that it offers the workers that partake in it an opportunity to travel away from these countries through sustained relationships with their clients. Though this does pose a possible solution to a problem that shouldn’t have existed in the first place, there are very obvious ramifications to this line of work both in the representation of the country itself and the ethical nature of it, too. It’s not ethically wrong to sell out your body, but the issue therein becomes when it’s closely tied to your identity which is what forces these workers to adapt to. There’s a disproportionate difference between being a sex worker because you want to be and one when you have to be, and the conditions in these countries are that most people don’t have much of a choice otherwise if they want to live a sustainable life. This is where the ethical nature of this practice, even if endorsed by the government, comes into play. If there isn’t any other viable form of work, then there’s a concerning issue on the social growth of this nation in particular and of those that tour into these countries in the first place that isn’t being addressed at all.

In Amelia Cabezas article, “Between Love and Money,” she discuses important questions of a tourism, economics, sexuality and prostitution in Cuba and Dominican Republic. In the past twenty years Cuba and Dominican Republic had a major change in their political and economical systems. Before the change, however, these two countries were more closed and inaccessible.  However, in the end of twentieth century Cuba and Dominican Republic had to adapt to the new world order. So, tourism had become one of the main source of revenue for these countries.

Tourism was a way to go because Cuba and Dominican Republic have very beautiful nature and they are surrounded by water. So, economical systems of these two countries are very dependent on the endless waves of tourists coming to towns. Although, the decision to adapt and to be dependent on tourism had some drawbacks for native people who have to live and sustain themselves there. The author discusses that the regular tourism quickly turned to the “sex tourism.” Tourist would come to a Cuba or Dominican Republic and they would have a choice of exploiting prostitution. According to Cabezas, the government does not really mind the prostitutions in the tourist areas. It is also possible to say and assume that the government supports the “sex tourism” since the economy of both Cuba and Dominican Republic fully depend on those type of income. Cabezas also discusses the concept of citizenship and relationship. Sometimes through the process of “sex tourism” people made relationship and it could lead to the gain a certain citizenship in a certain country. Thus, trough their sexuality “sex workers” could support themselves and their families and there was always a possibility of migration, if relationships with a tourist were genuine.

Also from the interviews in the article we can conclude that people in Cuba and Dominican Republic were not against “sex tourism” because it could lead them to a better life even though they had to make a lot of sacrifices along the way. It threatened their sexuality and identity but they still continued this practice.

Alfie Corteza

Professor Bullock

Assignment #11

In Amalia L. Cabezas’ piece “Between Love and Money: Sex, Tourism, and Citizenship in Cuba and the Dominican
Republic” She explains that there are men and women in Cuba and the Dominican Republic that participate in the sex industry not to just earn a meager income, but the possibility of having a life outside of the countries that they reside. These two countries rely on the tourist economy, and as a result, the nation’s economy is not as high compared to developed countries. Most of the tourists arriving in these countries are form the United States, or from Western Europe both of which are considerably better than the Caribbean islands.

Cabeza’s research complicates the views about citizenship and nationality as the police, and the society within these countries judge the people’s skin color in specific tourist-filled areas. For example, a lighter skinned national in the tourist district would be considered normal or nothing out of the ordinary, however, if a darker woman comes out of a discotheque she is regarded as a sex-worker by those that see her as well as the police. What is interesting is the fact that males are celebrated when they have sex however once a female takes part in any sexual favors or acts she is deemed indecent. It complicates the nationality of these people as they judge each other within their society based off of the skin color that they are. It is especially unfortunate for those that are arrested and then sent to prisons with those that committed murder and sold drugs. Afterwards, they would then be sent to a rehabilitation center possibly for a couple of years.

As a result, the sex tourism industry in these countries is a benefit and yet an issue. One may have the possibility to escape the impoverished country that they can live in to escape to the United States or Western Europe, or be jailed by the police and being publicly labeled as a sex worker by those that witnessed the event that occurred.

Society has portrayed women bodies with sex. Women are view as a sex object. For instance, naked women are display in music videos, on the cover of magazines or models depict during commercial all this to earn a salary. Many of these women sometimes sleep with their employer, not for love but simply for money, to help support themselves and family.

Cabezas in her article, “Between Love and Money” indentified during her research than many Cuban and Dominican women traded their bodies to tourist in search of money. Many of these women were destitute and became a prostitute to provide the necessities for their families. In addition, many women migrate to work in tourist resort where there befriend, a visitor in hope that their affair can continue once the tourist return to his homeland to sends money back. Many women form relationship with these men simply for romance. Consequently, many tourists travel to these countries for prostitute and pleasure not for love.

Cabezas wants us to see the stereotype many women face being a Cuban or Dominicans women. Tourist thinks of these women as prostitute and nothing more. Automatically when a tourist sees a native woman, they quickly offer money for sex. Visitors believe that women are objects and nothing more. Woman moral, values and norms are disregard. Consequently, the norm of marriage is descending rapidly while the cultural norm of prostitution is ascending. Sex tourism is the only means of survival in this tense economy while the latent function of prostitution is helping to grow the economy. Sex tourism help worker to get by and to get ahead: recreation, consumption, travel, migration and marriage. Cabezas wants us to see how poverty can stigmatize a group or society and what was once a self-respected country becomes label as a deviant where civilian would do anything just for a mint. Also she wants us to see how foreign money have such great influence on poor countries and being from another country provide wealth to its civilian and why immigrants would leave their country in search of wealth and opportunity

Cuba and the Dominican Republic are both poor countries that rely on tourism as their main source of revenue. The citizens of these countries understand the value of tourism and its purpose and attempt to utilize it to benefit their family and individual needs. It has become a way of life to lure tourist into temptations of sexual pleasure and relationships. Using their exotic demeanor and sexuality as a way to manipulate men into helping them with money and goods has become the way of life for Cuban and Dominican women. It is the only way for these women to provide for their family and it is a risk that they are willing to take. Although it is an illegal practice to seduce or have sex with men for money and the government is well aware of the women’s need to do so, the government is still harsh and strict when it comes to persecuting the women. Often giving women jail time, fines, and taking them away from their families knowing that there was no other viable option for these women. Some women claim that the do it so that they can find romance or love but the reality is that really want a way out. Race also takes a major role in the sexualization of women, in Cuba if a dark skinned women is seen with a group of foreigners she is automatically seen as a sex worker, yet if a white Cuban woman is seen with foreigners, she is not considered one.

Cabezas’ article illustrates the similarities between Cuba and Dominican Republic’s economy and social outcomes, as a result of international sex tourism. One such outcome is that this type of labor is not linked to just a money exchange, but to a way to obtain long-term resources such as migration, marriage, recreation, and an ongoing income from the same sex tourists. The author further discusses that part of the problem is that “sex workers” and “sex tourists”, do not identify themselves, as these labels would suggest. Although, in both Cuba and Dominican Republic prostitution is not illegal, Cabezas discusses that this shift has impacted the local laws.

According to Cabezas, the economy in both countries has caused “internal prostitution” and workers to rely on domestic services for income. The present laws in both countries are geared to encourage income from sex tourism. This has caused sex tourism to be acceptable, because it blends into society. This has occurred because most of sex tourism is taking place at hotel suites, and not in brothels. It has created what Cabezas refers to as “emotional economy, and government laws influence this economy. For example, the military keep out the local population from tourist areas. This causes “sex tourism” to occur between the guests and hotel workers.

Cabezas argument links these practices to race, gender, and class. Dark skinned woman get arrested more that light skinned woman from good neighborhoods. The law permits arresting women if they are found in public places and are not accompanied. On the other hand, male “sex workers” are viewed as heroes while woman are seen as deviant figures in society. She further states that the darker skin women are labeled as dangerous. For example, woman can be placed in institutions/ rehabilitation centers in Cuba. These arrests serve for the government to exert their power and further promote “sex tourism”.

One of the main focuses is of the “Commons” and how they affect migrational patterns, specifically amongst women. The reason it primarily affects women is that they are incentivized to move because of the fact that the responsibility of caring for children falls on their shoulders. Naturally, the migrational pattern is from poor to stable; and it’s also noted that they stay in these countries for longer. Though this does financially benefit the family that the woman is working to take care of, there are natural consequences to this nomadic parenting lifestyle that these women are forced to take up. One of the main issues being that their is a lack of nuclear parentalship happening that grossly affects the children at play here. Since the mother isn’t there to probably attach the children to her, the children lose a lot of emotional growth because of this. And this is an issue, as it creates a varied problem amongst the younger generation as they grow older. Though they understand why their mother had to leave to another country for work, this doesn’t discount the fact that their emotional needs either weren’t met or they had to be met by someone else. This is detrimental to effectively establishing a proper and nurturing relationship with the mother and her child. It also leads to a lack of proper decision making amongst the children and sometimes nullifies a lot of the sacrifice the mother made as they lose encouragement to reaching into higher education because of this lack of emotional nurturing that they would have had if their mothers didn’t leave for more financially prosperous countries as opposed to staying home and caring for their children. Ultimately, though there is a economic incentive to move the consequences intimately affect the mothers who partake in this trend.

Amelia Cabeza, in “Between Love and Money,” did an interesting study where she interviewed male and female sex workers in Cuba and the Dominican Republic. She explains how the fact that these locations have become very popular among tourists is bolstering the sexual economy, otherwise termed “sex tourism.” Hospitality workers, such as those working in resorts, are often involved with sex work because of their direct contact with the tourists. A tourist may have their eyes on a particular worker, and that worker would actually welcome the chance to earn extra money by offering sexual services. Or, there may be gigolos who wonder around tourist-heavy areas in search for foreigners who will take their services. However, the term “sex tourism” becomes unclear in some cases, because of the element of love. Some people that Cabeza interviewed stated they didn’t have a material interest and was only out for companionship and romance. There were gay sex workers who denied any interest in monetary gain and in this case, the reason may be that the ability to express their homosexuality and to have sexual freedom was a gift in itself. Though some straight people choose gay sex because it is more profitable, there must be an element of desiring sexual freedom through sex tourism among those who are unable to have such freedom in their society. It’s difficult to say whether sex tourism is solely business or solely pleasure, but Cabeza also introduced another term that seems to encompass both elements: “emotional economy.” People actually form relationships through sex tourism, and some even strive for marriage and eventual migration. One of the interviewee, Yolanda, met several boyfriends while working at the resort, and her current boyfriend sends her money so she could support her family. It is hard to deny the element of love in their relationship, but it is without a doubt that money is an aspect that cannot be separated from their relationship. With that being said, however, there is the question of what takes priority, the love in the relationship or the need to support their family. If the other party is unable to support and send money, would that mean the end of the relationship for the couple as well?

The term “sex tourism” used by Amelia Cabezas is differently approached from the perspectives of the citizens of the Dominican Republic or Cuba in comparison to how a tourist will define it. Citizens might see it as a form of labor that helps them survive in their countries or even make possible migration to a different country. On the other side of the spectrum, tourist are just willing to have a companion during their vacation and are open to fall in love after any sexual relationship that they might have with the citizens of that alien country. She also mentions how race, class and gender play a role on categorizing people as sex workers or as foreigners. Citizenship separates people by groups that have similar characteristics that fit accordingly to the place where they reside. However, when Cabezas explains the relationship formed between tourist and citizens of certain countries it shows how one way or the other those barriers that separate people based on the ethnic groups they belong to kind of disappear. Usually we see borders as the main separation between nations which at some point it can limit and force independence from other people with different backgrounds. But, in this article we see the opposite because all people are unified either by sex, labor or any other sort of relationship that erases any stereotypes and individuality between citizens. There is no difference in the rights each individual has because both the foreigner and the native are willing to exploit the opportunities they have or are offered to have a better life. Cabezas research on sex tourism blends people from different parts of the world through the relations between love, money and migration. She gave a variety of anecdotes and definitions of the various discourses under each category that eliminated any traditional ideas on citizenship and nationality.