Growing up Bi-Cultural

Growing up in America as a first generation Vietnamese-American, my parents raised me bi-culturally as they wanted me to fit into western culture while still holding down the roots for my native culture.

I traveled to Vietnam many times as a kid, a couple times as a teen, and only once since my young adult life. When I was a kid, my relatives back in Vietnam would always teach me how to clean properly and how I should behave and act around men. Following many of the Vietnamese cultural traditions, they would often emphasize the importance of family and how it is our duty as women to make sure our home is clean, proper, and always have food ready for our husband and kids.

Fast forward a few years later – I’m 17, in high school, and have been dating a non-Vietnamese guy for a couple months. My relatives in Vietnam were shocked and slightly disgusted with me. They were quick to ask me if I have “shared the same bed” as him. When I quickly told them precisely “not yet”, they were quick to shut me down with “NOT not yet. YOU WILL NOT.” They were quick to inform me that he was inappropriate to be a marriage partner (due to not being Vietnamese) and told me the moment I become a “trashy whore” by sleeping with him, I can kiss my future goodbye as no good, wealthy, well-educated man from a good family would want someone who’s slept around. Apparently, ‘well polished’ men only seek out women are ‘clean’ and ‘pure’ and who will only devote herself towards him. 

The most recent time I went back to Vietnam was about a year ago when I was 22. I went back traveling with some friends this time rather than my parents. I decided to stop by my relative’s home to say hello along with my friends. The moment some of my aunts saw my diverse group of friends, they were quick to ask me if I had “been around” with any of them. When I told them no and that we were all friends, they continued to question if I was “pure.” I was confused as to why they would ask me these things, especially in front of my friends, while making it a very big deal. My relatives always seemed very concerned about my private life matters. I asked them if it was a problem if I wasn’t and I was immediately scolded and reprimanded. They would strictly tell me that “whores” don’t survive and if I was prideful in being a Vietnamese women in our family, I shouldn’t do anything to embarrass our family and bring them to shame. Upon my research, my relatives were very consumed into Vietnam’s representation.

Even while talking to my close cousins and family friends around my age group,  if I brought up the topic of sex or birth control, they would feel extremely uncomfortable and would tell me women should not talk about such vulgar topics. They would also shut down the idea of birth control as they said it wasn’t natural and that I should be taking relationships more seriously and stop letting my “mileage run loose” as I am already at the age to start finding a marriage partner. I thought since they were younger and closer to age compared to my older aunts, they would have been more understanding. When I talked to them about the different kinds of birth control, rather than finding it fascinating and cool how well developed the world is, they were more disgusted with the idea of women taking pills, getting shots, or getting things injected inside of them just so they can “sleep around.” Due to the upbringing of Vietnamese culture and tradition, sex is represented as something you purely to with only your husband after marriage and is not to be considered as publicly enjoyable. I find it such a shame that sex has such a negative representation in some countries and wish the culture could embrace the act of sex more welcomely.  

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Queer Life: The Transgender Community in Latin America

By: Astrid Medrano

Although Latin America has some of the most progressive gender identity laws, transgender people continue to die at high rates. Transgender Latinoamericanos fear violence on a day to day basis while having the highest HIV rate in the region. Apparently, in Argentina 35%  and in Peru 27% of transgender people carry HIV (InternationalHIV/AIDSAlliance). This is due to the lack of education, financial support, access to jobs, that force transgender women into the sex industry (Romero, 2016). Much of these statistics go unknown due to lack of visibility and respect for their community. Not only are transgender people excluded from data collecting, but they are isolated from their families and often brutally assaulted because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.  Recognizing someone’s gender identity means that you respect someone for what gender they identify as, it can be their assigned sex or not. The fact that Latin America is considered to be one of the most progressive regions with the most advanced LGBT rights is preposterous.

Transgender women in Latin America protesting against the violence towards the transgender community.

Latin America’s government and especially military/police task forces have undergone complete impunity even when anti-discrimination laws are being breached right before their eyes. Many Latin American countries are violating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, so if the law won’t protect them, it’s time for others to step up. People need to intervene in order to show the United Nations the hate crimes that many transgender Latinoamericanos face.

In countries like Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Uruguay have laws that protect against sex/gender identity discrimination  Only Argentina and Ecuador have actual gender identity laws. However, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Uruguay, and Venezuela have some right to change their name and can request a sex reassignment surgery (Glickhouse & Keller, 2012). However, there is this difficulty to implement the law because “these [decrees are] changing faster than public opinion” (Eulich, 2016). Though this is not an excuse for the countless of hate crimes against transgender women to go uninvestigated.

REDLACTRANS VIDEO

According to REDLACTRANS, a transgender coalition that includes 16 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, “anti-transgender violence is an epidemic in Central America where the life expectancy of a Salvadoran transgender woman is less than 35 years” (Alturi, 2018).  It is ludicrous that “violence and threats come from the state actors, the very agencies charged with the responsibility of protecting the population and seeking justice” (Romero, 2016).  The numerous cases where the authority has violated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights must be presented to the United Nations.

Below are some of the main articles that have been violated:

Article 2

Article 5

Article 7

It’s crucial to report these violations to the United Nations because transgender people are not receiving any justice and are being dehumanized every day. The violence and constant paranoia that the transgender community suffer from leaves them in constant fear of being prosecuted. “Many transgender people… have attempted suicide” (Halberstam, 2018) since transphobia is apparent in their households, workforces, government spaces, etc. However, organizations like REDLACTRAN train their members “on how to document and monitor these instance of human rights violations, and are using this documented evidence to demand their government to enact change” (Alturi, 2018). However, Latin American governments are influenced by corruption, which is why more people need to present these horrendous hate crimes to the United Nations. Being an ally to trans people by intervening (Lecture #4) and/or learning how to document and monitor violations are ways people can support the transgender movement. When reviewing the Catholic ideology, it is possible that the religious community is able to support transgender people’s effort. Since “God loves us [all] and does not want us to crush our basic personalities, there is the ethical principal that cruelty is wrong and compassion is holy” (Michaelson, 2010). Therefore, it would make sense if religious Latinoamericanos joined the LGBT movement because God preaches about love and peace, not discrimination.  The more people involved in exposing the corrupt and ineptitude government agencies is the only way that the pro-LBGT laws placed in Latin America will actually be enforced.

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References

Alturi. 2018. “REDLACTRANS – Latin America and the Caribbean Network of Trans Persons.” Retrieved by June 12, 2018 (http://www.alturi.org/redlactrans_org).

Eulich, Whitney. 2016. “In Latin America, LGBT Legal Rights Change More Quickly Than Attitudes.” Retrieved by June 11, 2018 (https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2016/0520/In-Latin-America-LGBT-legal-rights-change-more-quickly-than-attitudes).

Glickhouse, Rachel and Mark Keller. 2012. “Explainer: LGBT Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean.” Retrieved by June 10, 2018 (http://www.as-coa.org/articles/explainer-lgbt-rights-latin-america-and-caribbean).

Halberstam, Jack. 2018. “Trans*: A Quick and Quirky Account of Gender Variability.” University of California Press. pg. 1-21.

International HIV/AIDS Alliance. “The Night is Another Country: Transgender people in Latin America.” Retrieved by June 11, 2018 (https://www.aidsalliance.org/stories/158-the-night-is-another-country-transgender-people-in-latin-america).

McNamara, Megan. 2018. “Lecture #4: Queer Sexualities & the Life Course.” Presented at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Michaelson, Jay. 2010. An article in “Sex, Gender, and Sexuality.” 3rd Edition. New York: Oxford University Press. Pg. 364.

Romero, Marcela. 2016. “Advocacy to Challenge Impunity and Violence Against Transgender Human Rights Defenders.” Retrieved by June 12, 2018 (https://www.civicus.org/documents/reports-and-publications/SOCS/2016/Advocacy-to-challenge-impunity-and-violence-against-transgender-human-rights-defenders.pdf).

Sexuality in Islamic Culture: Masturbation, Sex Toys and Homosexuality.

Islam is not only seen as a religion but also as universal way of life and civilization. Like in any other culture, sex is a taboo subject for many muslims. This, however, doesn’t mean that sex is a bad thing, especially within a marriage. In Islamic culture, satisfying one’s wife is extremely important for Muslim men. Muslim men are actually really considerate when it comes to women’s sexual desires during sex, which is not a common thing in other cultures. In most sexual relationships, intercourse is usually a one-way street for men. However for Islamic culture, there’s this importance placed on the satisfaction of both men and women, which is definitely a progressive step for women.

Although Islamic culture highlights sexual pleasure as important, this is not always the case. What do you do when you don’t have a sexual partner but have sexual desires? The answer is masturbation. Unfortunately, in Islamic culture, masturbation is spiritually and morally wrong due to the fact that by masturbating they are taking the right away from their spouse or future spouse. There are many different reasons behind masturbating (Week 3: Pleasure) like, wanting to feel more relax, curious to know more about your body, or simply just needing to release sexual tension. Regardless of what the reason may be, masturbating is a natural behavior. Another thing that is not accepted in Islamic sexual relations is the use of sex toys (Week 3: Pleasure). Sex toys are objects that are used to facilitate sexual pleasure. According to Islamic culture, sex toys are only to be used during sex, not masturbation. Also, if you are using sex toys, they are not to be inserted in a woman’s vagina, but only to stimulate the woman‘s ‘clit’. This custom revolves around the idea that the only thing that should be inside a woman’s body is her husband and her husband only. Because using sex toys is common, many shops have worked around Islamic culture to make them available to Muslims in Islam culture. Recently, UK has created an online adult emporium for Muslims that vibrators, kegel balls and gelatin-free lube that complies with Sharia Law. It’s nice to know that the Muslim community is working together to embrace their sexuality. Although it is not enough to tackle the taboo around sex toys, it is definitely a start.

Sexual customs surrounding Islam seem to be very lenient if you were to compare it with other cultures we have already discussed. However, one thing that should be discussed is the LGBTQ community within Islamic culture. Although religious scriptures have never condemned ‘homosexuality’, the LGBTQ community still experiences a lot of backlash. In many Middle Eastern countries where Islam is practiced, “gays” have been arrested and sentenced to prison on charges linked to debauchery.  Although Islam doesn’t practice any negative beliefs towards the LGBTQ community, the hate produced is still very apparent in many communities and countries that share the Islamic culture. When it comes to people who identify as transgender (Week 2: Sexuality & Gender), people who have gender identity that differs from their assigned sex, the problem seems to worsen. In the Muslim world, transgender people have to endure force marriages, inflated cost in ‘sex-change’ medication and be called “ill”. In Islamic culture, transgender people are outed not essentially because it doesn’t’ conform with people’s religion, but because it doesn’t align with social norms. Identifying as lesbian, gay or transgender is NOT an illness, it’s who YOU truly are. Although Islamic culture is very sex positive, there are newer practices that need to be accepted.

Below is a video composed by MTV and it discusses how people who identify as LGBTQ and muslim feel in today’s society.

Word Count: 616.

Written by Brenda Aguirre.

Anonymous. (2018). “Sex in Islam: The Benefits and Etiquette for a Healthy Muslim Sex Life.” [Online] Available at:  https://themuslimvibe.com/muslim-lifestyle-matters/marriage/sex-in-islam-the-benefits-and-etiquette-for-a-healthy-sex-life

Ghisa, Shaykh Salim. (2010). “Masturbation in Islam”. The Revival. [Online] Available at: http://www.therevival.co.uk/article/masturbation-islam

Azeez, Nabeel. “The Definitive Guide to Halal and Haram Sex Acts”. [Online] Available at: https://becomingthealphamuslim.com/halal-haram-sex-acts/

Haidrani, Salma. (2016). “Halal Vibrations: Exploring an X-Rated Muslim Sex Shop”. Broadly. [Online] Available at: https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/9aep95/halal-vibrations-exploring-an-x-rated-muslim-sex-shop

Anonymous. (2018). “Islam and Homosexuality: What does the Koran Say?” Haaretz News. [Online] Available at: https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/islam-and-homosexuality-what-does-the-koran-say-1.5395747

Bar’el, Zvi. (2017). ” ‘Satanic Illness’: The Harsh Reality of Being Transgender in the Muslim World”. Haaretz News. [Online] Available at: https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/.premium-satanic-illness-the-harsh-reality-of-being-trans-in-the-muslim-world-1.5485702

Underlined terms/ concepts mentioned in lecture: Week 3: Masturbation; Week 3: Sex Toys; Week 2:Transgender.

Sex In American Culture

We should first start talking about sex shops, condoms in drug stores, and clinics to prevent transmitted diseases. In America, Sex is something that is normalized. Millions of people have sex without getting married. They also have sex with multiple people throughout their lives. “These developmental shifts, research suggests, are some of the factors driving the increase in sexual “hookups,” or uncommitted sexual encounters, part of a popular cultural change that has infiltrated the lives of emerging adults throughout the Western world(Garcia)”. This quote clearly explains how in our American culture, kids grow up without acknowledging that sex is an act after marriage. In the American culture, you see sex being promoted everywhere. Having sex isn’t against the American culture. There are many shops that promote sex, such as sex shops. These shops are mostly for people who don’t have a significant other so they have an alternative way of love which is trying sex toys so they can pleasure themselves.”The Journal of Sexual Medicine survey found that 39 percent of middle-aged women had used a vibrator for masturbation; along with 53 percent of women 23 to 44; and 30 percent of women 18 to 22(Winerip)”. The data shows that there is a lot of women who use sex toys for pleasure in our society. This can also prevent from the “baby boom” which means women don’t have to worry about getting pregnant if they use a sex toy. In class, I remember professor Mc Namara talk about how she uses sex at times when her husband goes on long trips. This is also considered a commitment to stay with the partner without “cheating” or hooking up with other guys.

Social media is also apart of our influence on sex culture, many celebrities talk about sex in their songs and music videos. The music video Anaconda by Nikki Minaj, I feel like it promotes a lot of sex. It’s explicit because of the body language, the attire, and the explicit language. Nicki Minaj is presenting this video to us about her “ass” which is probably not even a real look in our society. It is a fake butt which she has enhanced. And children feel like having a big butt is what society likes. To fit into society, they feel like they have to be just like the artists. ”The mass media has become an extremely pervasive and influential part of American society and media messages are inundated by sexual references(Duncan)”. So this is why we seem to be comfortable to talk about sex and have sex because it is very normal in our society.

We also learn about having sex and solutions to have sex in sex ed classes in school at a young age. It is positive to learn to have sex but it also is promoting to have sex too young “ Although sex educations in schools with qualified teachers may be the best way to produce an informed youth, many schools in the nation are afraid to adopt such a curriculum due to anticipated negative public reactions(Duncan)”. When I was in middle school, my middle school teacher taught the whole class to properly put on condoms by using a banana as a model. She never taught us why condoms are beneficial. All she said it was to prevent pregnancy, but not about the health concerns such as STDs and AIDS. Professor Mc Namara asked the class “ how many people learned sex ed in school”. I was surprised because not many raised their hand. Many students didn’t learn what they needed to learn about sex in school.

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Click to access essay9.pdf

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/02/ce-corner.aspx

Rape Culture: Violence Against Native Women

Culture, it consists of certain beliefs, common characteristics, or behavioral norms found in human society, all which define the meaning of a culture. Rape, it consists of any unwanted sexual act being forced upon you. So what does it create when the two are put together; it creates rape culture. Rape culture (a concept defined in the class textbook), “is the idea that institutions, media, and popular culture normalize and excuse sexual violence by ‘encouraging male aggression,’ using ‘victim blaming’ and tasking victims with the burden of rape prevention” (Lucero 2015: 184). In other words, its a culture in which sexual violence is the norm, and victims are blamed for their own assaults (Maxwell 2014). Sadly, the native women being raped today, are the very descendants of the native women that were raped and tortured by European colonizers decades ago. That being said, in order to help you understand the epidemic of rape culture in Native American communities/reservation, I will tell you the story of a 13-year-old Dollar General Employee (Rizzo 2015). This teenager was sexually harassed (sexual harassment being the act of unwelcomed sexual advances) by their employer on Indian grounds; specifically, the Choctaw reservation (Week 9, Lecture: “Sexual violence and coercion”). However, even though “eighty percent of the reported sexual assaults against Native people are committed by white men”, non-Indian attackers cannot be convicted of a crime in tribal courts (Erdrich 2013). Therefore, there are thousands of similar stories that continue to go unsolved. However, this should not mean that just because a native women was sexually assaulted on native land, she should be treated any differently.

This then brings me to discussion of native bodies being “less” or “unworthy of respect”. These notions that the bodies of native women are “dirty”, sexually violable, and “rapable”(as stated in one of my classes assigned readings), dates all the way back to the times of colonization (Smith 2004: 191). In other words, Native women being raped thousands of year ago, gives white men the idea that it’s okay to rape them today without consequence. As a result, the violence native women dealt with thousands of years ago, continues to be a violence forced upon their bodies today. Studies today show that 1 in 3 Native American women will be the victim of sexual assault during their lifetime (Taylor 2018). But, almost none of the survivors will ever see their abusers or rapist be brought to justice. Here is why:

“United States law has stripped Indian nations of all criminal authority over non-Indians. As a result, Indian nations are unable to prosecute non-Indians, who reportedly commit 88% of the violent crimes against Native women on tribal lands. The Census Bureau reports that non-Indians now comprise 76% of the population on tribal lands and 68% of the population in Alaska Native villages.” (Ending Violence Against Native Women n.d).

In other words, being that most attackers are non- Indian men, justice never seems to be served due to the United States lack of involvement, and lack of administered justice, within Native communities. This epidemic of native women being raped, and white men walking away free, has become normalized to the point that many native women chose not to call the police, knowing that nothing will be done (Taylor 2018). The rape epidemic towards native women is becoming a part of their culture; a rape culture forced on them is now their reality. If we continue to deny rape culture as our reality, rapist will continue the walk free and the voices of thousands of native women will be left unheard.

Lastly, I would love to bring some light to a powerful video I came across on Youtube, which shows the story of a beautiful Native women and her history with being sexually abused. Here is her story:

Word Count: 591

Written By: Lorena Chavez

References

Dulai, S. (2018). Native American Women Speak Out About Sexual Violence | NBC Left Field. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E55Yr2msrAw [Accessed 4 Jun. 2018].

Erdrich, L. (2013). Opinion | Native Americans and the Violence Against Women Act. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/27/opinion/native-americans-and-the-violence-against-women-act.html [Accessed 4 Jun. 2018].

Indianlaw.org. (n.d.). Ending Violence Against Native Women | Indian Law Resource Center. [online] Available at: http://indianlaw.org/issue/ending-violence-against-native-women [Accessed 4 Jun. 2018].

Lucero, Gabrielle. 2015. “Military sexual Assualt: Reporting and Rape Culture.” Sanford Journal of Public Policy, 6(1): 1-32. Used by permission of the author.

Maxwell, Z. (2014). http://time.com. [online] Time. Available at: http://time.com/40110/rape-culture-is-real/ [Accessed 4 Jun. 2018].

“Rape and the War against Native Women” by Andrea Smith as found on pages 63-76 in Reading Native American Women. 2004 edited by Harves Ines Vila.

Rizzo, J. (2015). Native American Women Are Rape Targets Because of a Legislative Loophole. [online] Vice. Available at: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bnpb73/native-american-women-are-rape-targets-because-of-a-legislative-loophole-511 [Accessed 4 Jun. 2018].

Taylor, K. (2018). cagedbirdmagazine. [online] cagedbirdmagazine. Available at: https://www.cagedbirdmagazine.com/single-post/2018/01/24/Rape-Culture-The-Native-American-Crisis-Being-Neglected-in-the-MeToo-Movement [Accessed 4 Jun. 2018].

 

Impunity in Latin America: Hate Crimes Against Prostitutes go Neglected

By: Astrid Medrano

Who would’ve known many Latin American countries supported the act of prostitution even though traditionally Latinoamericanos force and teach women from a young age the celibate lifestyle. Ironically, identified women are usually the ones who end up heavily involved with this type of high contact sex work – where women sell themselves for money (Lecture 19). Unfortunately, they continue to be violently attacked by “police, pimps, johns, serial killers, gang members, and others” and/or are put up for sale in the sex industry (Bell). Also, many of these sex workers are kidnapped for sex trafficking purposes. My belief is that even though there are progressive prostitution laws in most of Latin America, the reason why prostitutes experience violence is because the police and government are corrupt. Sex trafficking is another major reason why many sex workers experience violence. Also, many prostitutes experience poverty which makes them even more vulnerable to hate crimes.

The Bachillerato Popular Trans Mocha Celis (a public schools that advocates for trans issues) won the certificate of “Perito Auxiliar en Desarollo de las Comunidades”.

In countries like Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and Venezuela, they have passed prostitution laws that accept and regulate the evolution of harlotry. Mexico, a countries with the advanced prostitution laws, gives permission to some sex workers to participate in the industry if they are of legal age (18) and have completed physical check-up exams that look for sexually transmitted diseases. They must keep their information updated. (Andreescu and Zaharic).

Prostitutes in Tijuana, Mexico. The Tijuana red-light district “La Coahuila” permits the act of prostitution.

Prostitute being arrested by police in Latin America.

However, it is illegal to publicly promote oneself on the streets. Sexually exploiting prostitutes and/or trafficking people can also lead to imprisonment. Even under the current legislation, many prostitutes continue to experience various types of violence like “sex slavery – the condition that women face under patriarchy” (Kempadoo, pg. 207).

The myriad of prostitution death cases has become so common in Latin America that it’s even considered an epidemic. Apparently, “across Central America, there are tens of thousands of women who are brutalized and forced into sex slavery” (Schneiderman, 2012). Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador have the largest number of prostitutes being murdered. In Argentina, Peru, and Chile sex workers are decimated by police officers when they attempt to fight for their rights (Bell). However, even when all of these hate crimes are being reported, not enough investigation is done for sex worker’s justice.

In Central America, some prostitutes are trafficked into the sex industry because they are poor. “Traffickers often target poor, uneducated and unemployed women and girls…but  mothers [are also] known to sell their children into the sex trade [because they] are often themselves victims of trafficking or domestic violence” (Moloney, 2016). For some prostitutes, going into this industry was not an option, it was the only way to financially sustain their families.

Guatemalan prostitutes.

In Guatemala, “nearly 60 percent of the 50,000 victims of sex trafficking are children… which estimates the industry to be worth $1.6 billion a year” (Moloney, 2016). Being one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world, I don’t find it shocking that Guatemalan mothers have resulted in sexualizing their daughters in exchange for money to help the family.

Violence against prostitutes is yet considered a hate crime which places this issue at the bottom of politicians’ agendas. However, the government shouldn’t ignore the current prostitution laws. Some say, “government agencies lack staff and determination to enforce the law” (Strack, 2015) but I think there’s a deeper problem. Forcing girls to sell their sex because they are impoverished has made violence and the sexualization of women a recurring issue that continues to demean sex workers. Sex work is work! Sex work involves physical labor that is in high demand, therefore they should get paid and be respected as workers, PERIOD. (Lecture 19) These women need to survive and/or make a living somehow.

“No to sexual exploitation!”

The fact that “public corruption remains a major obstacle to effective anti-trafficking programming, and that there is too little coordination between police and judicial officials” (Nikolau, 2017) means that it will be difficult to create lasting changes. However, teaching young boys to respect women and making older men respect their sex worker are actions society can take to mitigate the issue. However, the government needs to decriminalize sex work so that there is an increase in police accountability and more opportunities for sex workers to organize (Bell). It’s time for the world to open their eyes and respect sex workers because it’s funneling many young girls into the sex trafficking industry. The violence that these girls face is not what any woman should face throughout their life! They should be free to work in any industry they’d like!

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References

Bell, Stephanie A. “Violence Against Sex Workers in Latin America: Pervasiveness, Impunity, and Implications” Human Rights & Human Welfare. Retrieved by June 8, 2018 (https://www.du.edu/korbel/hrhw/researchdigest/latinamerica2/digest-human%20rights%20in%20latin%20america%20vol%202-sexworkers.pdf).

Claudiu and Cristian Giuscppc Zaharic. “Legal Status of Prostitution in Latin America.” Romanian-American University of Bucharest. Retrieved by June 6, 2018 (ftp://ftp.repec.org/opt/ReDIF/RePEc/rau/journl/FA14/REBE-FA14-A5.pdf).

Kempadoo, Kamala. “Women of Color and the Global Sex Trade: Transnational Feminist Perspective.” Pg. 203- 213.

McNamara, Megan. 2018. “Lecture 19: Sex Work.” Used twice.

Moloney, Anastasia. 2016. “Guatemala ‘Closes its Eyes’ to Rampant Child Sex Trafficking: U.N.” Reuters. Retrieved by June 8, 2018 (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-guatemala-humantrafficking-idUSKCN0YU29V?rpc=401).

Nikolau, Lisa. 2017. “Human Trafficking Victims Lack Government Support in Latin America” Humanosphere. Retrieved by June 8, 2018 (http://www.humanosphere.org/human-rights/2017/05/human-trafficking-victims-lack-government-support-in-latin-america/).

Schneiderman, R.M. 2012. “Central America’s Prostitution Epidemic.” Daily Beast. Retrieved by June 7, 2018 (https://www.thedailybeast.com/central-americas-prostitution-epidemic).

Strack, Peter. 2015. “Fight Human Trafficking.” D+C – E+Z. Retrieved by June 6, 2018 (https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/ngos-call-better-coordination-state-and-non-state-efforts-stop-human-trafficking).

Sex Work in Vietnam

Sex in America has many different variations of representation – whether it is for pleasure, for love, for work, for enjoyment, etc. (Lecture) Sex in Vietnam, due to strict cultural traditions where women must refrain from indulging in sexual acts prior to marriage, and then must only devote themselves to their husbands, is extremely looked down upon and is a taboo topic to talk about. Sex work in Vietnam especially is extremely illegal and is considered a very serious crime and is conceived as a social evil.

Many sex workers/sex work organizations have reported that the law enforcement is abusive and corrupt. On January 2018, a police officer read out charges against 2 sex workers, a woman who runs a coffee shop offering sex services, and a male client. He revealed their full names, ages, addresses and marital statuses on a sidewalk of a busy street in front of other police officers, tourists and residents, including children. In Vietnam, “buying sex, selling sex, harboring prostitution, organizing prostitution activities, forcing prostitution, brokering prostitution, protecting prostitution, abusing the service business for prostitution activities, and any other acts related to prostitution activities as prescribed by law” is strictly prohibited. As sex workers are not protected by the law, community, or the government, many sex workers have to unite together and protect each other from sexual violence and discrimination. A study in 2016 said sex workers were some of the most vulnerable people in Vietnam as they have to deal with regular police raids and persistent fear of theft and violence.

According to Nguyen Xuan Lap, head of the Social Evil Prevention Department, he states that “Under the law on vocational education, local authorities would have to build standards for the profession, including a vocational training curriculum and salary levels for workers, it is very complicated.” Basically Lap is saying that in comparison to those professions, Sex Work is not acknowledged as a profession. With an attitude like that, no wonder Sex Work is viewed negatively. Vietnam needs to recognize prostitution and sex work as an existing issue. Sex workers have the right to “make a living, contribute to society, and enjoy welfare in terms of healthcare and education” as well.

In 2013, despite sex work still being forbidden, Vietnam abolished compulsory rehabilitation for sex workers in favor of fines ranging from $25 to $100. But due to the ‘lax’ regulations and abolishing mandatory rehabilitation, Government officials have blamed the increase of prostitution due to this. According to Hua Ngoc Tuan, “Prostitution is increasing. Sex workers are working more openly because they know that if they are caught, they will be fined instead of being taken to rehab centers like before. They are willing to pay the fine and then move to other places to avoid being caught again.”

Sex workers in Vietnam, regardless of the laws, is continuously viewed as a negative and a ‘social evil’ by society. During the mandatory rehabilitation, sex workers are forced to take sexual education courses where they teach them sex is only for married couples to produce children, along with sexual dangers involving STD’s. Rather than teaching sex workers how to stay protected and safe, they teach them to just not engage in the act at all. As sex workers are not protected by law and if they report crimes, they will be the ones who end up in trouble. Thus, many Vietnamese sex workers fall prey to physical violence, rape, and HIV. According to a recent survey by the Vietnamese government-run Institute of Labor Science and Social Affairs, nearly 44 percent of all sex workers have suffered from physical violence by their clients. Nearly 46 percent of them did not report the assaults to authorities because they don’t trust the authorities.

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Male Dominance in African Culture.

Although African music, dance and other forms of art openly display erotism and sexuality, inside close doors, the African community shy away from talking about sex. Aside from sex being such a taboo subject, African culture also faces a constant battle to conform to gender roles (Week 2: Gender). African society has created certain customs that are expected to be followed by each gender. Till today, African women are sexually repressed while African men are seen as the dominant sexual partners. Africa has adapted customs to suppress women’s sexuality, which include female genital stimulation, forced marriages and non-consensual sex in many of the marriages. Women are seen as seen as unassertive and only abide to the rules the man gives. They are not recognized, praised and certainly not compensated in the bedroom. This almost reminds me of a reading I once read in a sociology class. The reading is by Silvia Federici and it’s called ‘Wages Against Housework‘. Part of the reading talks about how women are expected to be servants to their men. How women are expected to sit in silence, piece him together when he breaks down and to turn around in bed when he says he is “too tired”.

A couple of days ago, I stumbled upon a website that made me laugh at how ridiculous it was and of course, it was real. The website gives tips on to how have sex with African women. Apparently, seducing African women is less laborious than seducing women than any other country meaning that these women are seen as easy to get. The website was made for the entertainment of men and men only. In the website, it says nothing about how to treat women or to be mindful of what women want sexually. Even at the end of the website, it even says that men are allowed to dominate African women, but jokes that the only exception is to refrain from pulling their hair because apparently that’s the only thing African women care about when it comes to sex.

 Gender roles do not only determine the role men women hold in a relationship but also what they do in their sexual lives. Women are seen as submissive and powerless in the bedroom. However, when it comes to African men, its the total opposite. It is no surprise that masculinity is an important aspect in every man’s life. Masculinity is a social construct (Week 1: Social Construction) created and accepted by society that describes how a man should be and how he should act. In African culture, just like any other culture, men manifest their masculinity with sex. African men tend to value their sexual performance and refrain from engaging in emotional expressions or anything that isn’t a part of a male world. Men have this perception that if they show too much affection or conform to women’s wishes or demands, his masculinity is at risk. How do they keep this from happening? The answer is, having and talking about sex. In African culture, men usually stick to penetration with their sex organ (Week 3: Pleasure) and stay away from oral sex (Week 3: Pleasure). Majority of African men shun oral sex because they see it as a disdainful “girly-man”sexual activity. Reciprocity matters in sex, just like in everything else in the world. In order to receive pleasure, men have to able to give it as well. Sex is not a one-way street; in order to have a great sexual experience, partners need to compromise. This goes for men and women

Word Count: 589

Written by: Brenda Aguirre

Etemesi, Phillip. “How to Have Sex with African Women”. Girls Chase. [Online] Available at: http://www.girlschase.com/content/how-have-sex-african-women

Federici, Silvia. (1975). “Wages Against Housework”. Power of Women Collective and the Falling Wall Press. [Online] Available at: https://caringlabor.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/federici-wages-against-housework.pdf

Langa, Julio. (2014). “Notions of Sex, Masculinity and Manhood in African Cultures”. [Online] Available at: http://www.osisa.org/buwa/regional/notions-sex-masculinity-and-manhood-african-cultures

Omoruyi, Paul. (2013). “Oral Sex, African Diasporas and Issues Arising”. Sahara Reporters. [Online] Available at: http://saharareporters.com/2013/06/12/oral-sex-african-diasporas-and-issues-arising-paul-omoruyi

Segoete, Lineo. (2015). “African Female Sexuality is Past Taboo”. This Is Africa. [Online] Avaialble at: https://thisisafrica.me/sexuality-taboo/

 

Underlined terms/concepts mentioned in lecture: Week 2: Gender Roles; Week 1: Social Construct; Week 3: Oral and Penetration Sex.

The Sexuality Of Indian Women Today

source

On a global context, what does sexuality mean? Sexuality (Week 1, Lecture: “Sexuality through the sociological lens”) is “a broad term that encompasses a range of concepts, ideologies, identities, behaviors, and expressions related to sexual personhood and desire” (Zinn, Hondagneu-Sotelo, Messner, and Denissen 2016: 579). More specifically, what was the historical understanding of sexuality in India? As stated by Souerbry (2018), “Sex in ancient Indian culture was an explosion of sensuality, open relationships, erotic texts and artwork, and intriguing games.” Sex for ancient Indians was more than reproduction; it was a way to grow a strong spiritual connection with your partner, with pleasure distributed evenly between both partners (Souerbry 2018). In similar words, sex between ancient Indians was a form of linking a couple’s connection to a higher power. However, today’s India is nothing like ancient India. India is now full of rules, expectation, stigmas, and sexual oppressions. In fact, “with rapid globalization, the unique Indian sexuality is getting diffused” (Chakraborty and Thakurata 2013). This only comes to show that even if our ancestors held a strong bond with their sexuality, with time, society will find its ways of transforming and repressing our views towards sexuality. However, do to modernization and the influences of society norms, sexuality in India changed.

If you are a woman, or identify as one, society wants you to distance yourself from being a sexual being, only to focus on satisfying the sexual needs of a man. To be specific, India currently being a country where men don’t have enough women to go around (due to India’s gender ratio being distorted from the practice of sex selection, which is currently favoring baby boys and cause an over popultation of men and a low population of women), one would think that any women in India should have no problem finding a man to satisfy her sexual desires. But what if the Indian men today expect too much from Indian women, due to “the very incompatibility of sexual expectations between the two sexes” (Biswal 2017)? This now leaves women questioning their capabilities as a good partner, and once again, making them move further away from the ideologies of their ancient ancestors. To be clear, the stigmas surrounding a women’s sexuality are far more complex today than they’ve ever been, such as the unfortunate reality that most girls are left watching their partners fall asleep before they’ve even had a chance to climax (Biswal 2017).

On a similar note, when it comes down to the sexuality of women, the expectations are endless. For example, the social norm that a woman should satisfy a man and expect nothing in return, or the stigma that a woman shouldn’t masturbate (masturbation meaning, bringing oneself sexual pleasure through the stimulation of one’s own private parts), or ever take the risk in finding “her spot”(Week 3, Lecture: “Anatomy and physiology lightening review”). Maybe even the expectation that a women must control her kinky thoughts (kink being an unconventional sexual practice) in order to fit the norm of a “well behaved girl”(Week 7, Lecture: “Kink and paraphilia”). Or worse, that a women shouldn’t wear tight clothes to accentuate the beautiful curves of her body, because she will be classified as a “slut”, which no longer makes her pure. These may be generalization to some people, but this is the reality in thousand of Indian women. As mentioned by Biswal (2017), most Indian women will continue to live with guilt. The of wanting to be a sexual being, even though you’ve been told your whole life that your sexual desires should never be overpass your duties as women. Lastly, in the eyes of Indian communities, sexuality is something to be discussed in hushed voices and discovered behind closed doors, resulting in the repression of one’s sexual desires and the total loss of the, once-prominent, Indian sexuality (Gupta 2015).

Heres a short video of a young Indian giving us her insight on sex:

Word Count: 619

Written by: Lorena Chavez

References

Biswal, Bijaya. 2018. “The Sexually Liberated Woman Indian Society Is Scared Of.” Youth Ki Awaaz. Retrieved June 3, 2018 (https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2017/05/the-great-indian-horny-female/).

Chakraborty, Kaustav and Rajarshi Guha Thakurata. 2013. “Indian Concepts on Sexuality.” Advances in pediatrics.Retrieved June 3, 2018 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3705691/).

Gupta, Adishi. 2016. “What Are The Taboos Concerning Female Sexuality?” Feminism in India. Retrieved June 3, 2018 (https://feminisminindia.com/2015/06/04/taboos-female-sexuality/).

Souerbry, Rachel. 2018. “What Was Sex Actually Like In Ancient India?” Ranker. Retrieved June 3, 2018 (https://www.ranker.com/list/love-and-relationships-in-ancient-india/rachel-souerbry).

Timmons, A. (2013). India’s Man Problem. [online] India Ink. Available at: https://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/indias-man-problem/ [Accessed 12 Jun. 2018].

Zinn, Maxine Baca, Pierrete Hondagneu, Michael M. Messner, and Amy M. Denissen. 2016. “Gender Through the Prism of Difference.” Google Books. Retrieved June 3, 2018 (https://books.google.com/books?id=16RBCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA579&lpg=PA579&dq=a broad term that encompasses a range of concepts, ideologies, identities, behaviors, and expressions related to sexuual person hood and desire&source=bl&ots=EmvMYuKWB4&sig=kM_Xx5rmUyKMZ5TMsiRApwu1GVA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiSg8qZv7TbAhUR658KHUAOARQQ6AEIMTAC#v=onepage&q=a broad term that encompasses a range of concepts, ideologies, identities, behaviors, and expressions related to sexuual person hood and desire&f=false).

Sex trafficking in America

In our society, there is no wrongful or rightful meaning to sex. Sex is used to make money for females. Such as prostitution. Human trafficking is so popular in America for teenage girls, that’s how most of them earn their money. Although this might be viewed as a horrible thing many parents of these teens are encouraging these teens to do these types of jobs to earn money. Some obviously choose by choice. This leads to dropping out of school at a young age. It’s highly promoted in the American culture, it can also be due to slavery in America. African Americans were forced to be sex slaves in America. Although slavery was back in time, human trafficking has been set to be the alternative. The way slavery in today’s modern day. They get still get exploited for their work. Individuals are beaten and were not taken care of properly, rather used for sex. They were exploited for their sexual acts. Many people were forced to have sex with white males back in the days, so due to that, I feel like prostitution has been normalized in our country. ”The Department of Homeland Security defines human trafficking as a “modern-day form of slavery involving the illegal trade of people for exploitation or commercial gain(Alvarez)”. Teenage kids are into prostitution these days due to a high demand for money in our society. Social media we can say is also a big influence on these young teens to be apart of sex trafficking. Although police enforcement is trying to cut down on teenage prostitution it has been inhibited by our society. There are many resources to help teenage girls to stop human trafficking, but it’s still a growing problem in America.
Personally, I think that this problem can’t be solved and will always be a big topic. Social media is also a reason why human trafficking has been a growing act. “These are harrowing statistics—so many victims of human trafficking are in our own backyard, and many of these cases start with deceit, exploitation, and recruitment on the internet(Ryan)”. Promotion and dating sites allow these individuals to be more eager to be involved in the sexual activities. There are also sex scams out in the media.
After all, there is a connection ber“Further, few realize the explicit connection between the commercial sex trade and the trafficking of women and girls and the illegal slave trade(Soroptimist)”. Viewing human trafficking as slavery is seen as a huge problem in our society. How can we make this a change? Having rehabilitation center for women can help fix these issues in America.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-43153226

https://www.speaker.gov/general/we-must-end-sex-trafficking-united-stateshttps://

http://www.soroptimist.org/trafficking/faq.html