'Men at Risk': Sex Work, Tourism & STI/HIV Risk in Jamaica

Female sex tourism has become an accepted income generator for many underemployed men in Jamaica who seek to reap economic benefits from relationships with visiting tourist women. 

This issue provides contexts to explore the numerous ways in which health intersects with issues of masculinity, sexuality and marginality. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in a popular Jamaican resort town, this paper examines the health implications of female sex tourism for the local population and tourist visitors. 

Data from this project indicate the need for improved sexually transmitted infection education and HIV outreach work towards men who are involved in transactional sex with tourist women. Due to prevalent perceptions of masculinity and gendered notions of sexuality, men who engage in sex tourism constitute a population that rarely receives the attention of local and national health authorities. 

Data from this qualitative study suggest that engaging this particular vulnerable population could potentially decrease the risk of STI and HIV infection in the country's most popular resort areas. 

Research of this kind is urgently needed to better understand the risk factors and challenges for Caribbean populations, as well as to inform future prevention efforts in the region.

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By:  Johnson LC^1,2.

¹ Department of Anthropology , University of South Florida , Tampa , USA.

² College of Education , University of North Georgia , Dahlonega , USA.

Cult Health Sex. 2016 Mar 22:1-14

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'Total Girlfriend Experience': Examining Marketplace Mythologies on Sex Tourism Websites

The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic content analysis of sex tour websites to understand how sex tours are marketed to potential clients. 

A total of 380 web pages from 21 sex tour websites were reviewed. The sex tour websites sought to promote privacy and hassle-free travel with a local 'escort' and the opportunity for 'hooks-ups' with no strings attached. Three themes emerged around the description of sex workers: 

1. enjoyment and complete acceptance,
2. a 'total girlfriend experience' and 
3. exoticisation of the 'Third World' woman. 

The majority of the sex tourism websites used marketplace mythologies concerning racism, sexism and imperialism to appeal to sex tourists' desires for fantasy experiences, power and domination, and a renewed sense of identity. Legal and STI-related information was largely missing from the websites, and when it was included it was aimed at protecting sex tourists, not sex workers. 

It is of importance for researchers, social workers and others engaging with sex workers and sexscapes to recognise the power of language, cultural myths and framings and their ability to generate real-world social and health implications.

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By:  Gezinski LB1, Karandikar S2, Levitt A1, Ghaffarian R1.

• 1 College of Social Work, University of Utah (http://socialwork.utah.edu/), Salt Lake City , USA.
• 2 College of Social Work, The Ohio State University , Columbus , USA.
• Cult Health Sex. 2016 Jan 13:1-14.  

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Antecedents of Young Women’s Sexual Risk Taking in Tourist Experiences

The purpose of this phenomenological exploration was to shed light on the constellation of factors anteceding young women’s sexual risk taking during their tourist experiences. 

A total of 15 in-depth interviews (1.5 to 2.5 hours each) with 13 women were conducted and analyzed through the lens of transcendental phenomenology. An analysis of antecedent factors revealed a confluence of sociopersonal characteristics (e.g., sexual definitions, attitudes, double standards, and age) and touristic attributes (e.g., the sense of temporariness/ephemerality, anonymity, and fun-oriented mentality depending on length, destination, and type of tourist experience) that underlie women’s proclivity for and perceptions of sexual risk taking in certain travel scenarios. 

These result in myriad effects on physical, sexual health, sociocultural, mental, and emotional aspects of women’s health and well-being. While the sociopersonal antecedents highlight the cross-pollination between sex-related perceptions in everyday life and touristic environments, the touristic antecedents emphasize the uniqueness of tourist experiences as the contexts for sexual risk taking. 

The findings address an under researched topic in sex and tourism scholarship and offer implications for health education and intervention programs, pointing to the value of constructing the context-specific and gender-sensitive sexual health messages underpinned by the ideas of women’s empowerment and sexual agency.

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By: Liza Berdychevsky^a*

^a Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

 

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