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Assignment 11

In Cabeza’s passage “Between Love and Money: Sex, Tourism, and Citizenship in Cuba and the Dominican Republic”, she discusses how the sexual relationships may be viewed as forced or cultural. Some ways in which sexual relationships were viewed as cultural was that because of the citizens of Cuba having interracial sexual relationships it attracted a huge pool of tourists which in turn has spurred their economy. Because of these vast array of sexual relationships, it was seen as a cultural movement because it was a regular occurrence that everyone seemed to be doing. It was also seen as forced because of the dramatic difference in social and economic inequality. It was a way for those who were considered minorities to make a living since they saw that tourists were paying money to fund sex – trade relationships. Additionally, since this is what most people were doing to rise up the social ladder some of the minorities may have felt forced to do the same. Cabeza makes an implication that women were seen as those who were monstrous and were capitalistic invaders. On the other hand  she compares men as those who stole capital and attempted to get sex for free. It was also seen as an economic movement in that women refused to give away sex for free. Not all minorities were capable of having a sexual relationship. Physical appearance and where one went in Cuba or even the Dominican Republic had a lot to do with who would be able to rise up the social ladder and who would feel forced to stay where they were. Cabeza explains that some women felt a sense of sexual citizenship in  that in order for women to be protected from oppression that they had to have felt threatened first. On the other hand, some women did not see themselves that way, instead, they felt that not  being able to make a family and not being able to procreate was a huge concern/central focus for them.