Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology FEMALE SEX TOURISM IN JAMAICA: AN ARENA FOR ADAPTATION AND RECREATION FOR MARGINALIZED MEN By SUZANNE SPITERI, B.A. (HONORS) A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts McMaster University i Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology ABSTRACT Using semi-structured interviews, this research brings to light the lived experiences of thirteen men informally employed as sex workers in Jamaica and concentrates on both determining the motivations of Jamaican men involved in the informal sex trade and understanding the men's perceptions and understandings of the tourist women with whom they become involved with. Female sex tourism is found to be used in part as a mechanism for escaping poverty, allowing men to provide for their families, an important area for male identity in Jamaica. The sex tourism of Western women also allows Jamaican men an arena to both secure sexual access to women as well as associated social status. The link between sex tourism and racism, and the racial stereotypes that precede black men are very familiar to the male sex workers who regard racial motivations, ranging from the desire to experience 'something new' to wanting to engage in sexual relations with 'real black men' to be the primary motivating factor for women who travel to Jamaica to engage in sexual relations with local men. Using the conceptualizations of the Rude Boy and Rasta performances of masculinity, it is found that local men have cultivated the ability to deploy their masculinity and sexuality in ways that maximized their desirability to tourists, allowing them to perform the stereotyped roles of Jamaican masculinity in ways that accord to tourist women’s expectations. ii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my thanks and gratitude to everyone who made this possible. To my mother - you are the reason that I was able to finish this project. Thank You. To my children, Wesley and Isaiah- You two really didn't help at all, but without you there would be no point. To Albert- Thank you for your continued support and readily available criticism. To my supervisor Dr. Tina Fetner – thank you for all of your help and candid feedback. To my committee members Drs. Melanie Heath, and Philip White – thank you for your patience, guidance, and helpful suggestions. Your contributions have improved my thesis in countless ways. Lastly, and most importantly, thank you to the men who bravely volunteered their time to share their experiences and ultimately made this project possible. iii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………..………………...iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………………………………iv CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................1 Background on Jamaican Sex Tourism...................................................................................1 Jamaican Masculinities.............................................................................................................8 Research Goals........... ............................................. .............................................................13 Methodology ...........................................................................................................................14 Being a Female Researcher....................................................................................................20 Sample......................................................................................................................................24 Recruitment..............................................................................................................................25 Data Management...................................................................................................................31 Terminology.............................................................................................................................32 Ethical Considerations.............................................................................................................32 CHAPTER TWO: STUDY PARTICIPANTS PERSPECTIVES ON MALE SEX WORK............................................................................................................................,,,,,.........33 Motivations for Involvement........................................................................................................33 The Economic Power of Female Tourists ...............................................................................44 Sexual Motivations for Involvement........................................................................................46 Pursuit of Women Depending on Goals...................................................................................48 Three Levels of Economic Gains...........................................................................................54 Obtaining Payment...................................................................................................................58 Chapter Conclusion......................................................................................................................62 CHAPTER THREE: STUDY PARTICIPANTS PERSPECTIVES ON FEMALE TOURISTS...................................................................................................................................66 Perspectives on Female Involvement with Local Men............................................................66 To Experience Something New.......................................... .....................................................69 iv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Sex with Black Men.......................................... .......................................................................71 Compliments and Expectations..................................................................................................73 Exaggerated Difference.......................................... .................................................................78 The Rude Boys...........................................................................................................................82 Rastafarians ..................................................................................................................................89 Chapter Conclusion ....................................................................................................................100 CHAPTER FOUR DISCUSSION...........................................................................................102 Reference List .......................................... .......................................... .......................................115 v Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Background on Jamaican Sex Tourism The beautiful island country of Jamaica, situated in the Caribbean Sea, like most nations of the Caribbean is economically reliant on tourism. While travel to the Antilles was at one time considered to be quite “unwholesome”, due to the rampant spread of disease, the turn of the nineteenth century ushered in immense growth in travel to the Caribbean as a whole (Taylor, 2003). With the industrial revolution engendering the need for periodic relief from the “psychological stresses and strains of the factory system” , the development of the jet aircraft, the increase in disposable income and leisure time, the Caribbean Islands emerged as a “rich man’s paradise” as far back as 1873 (Taylor, 2003, p. 5-6). Today, Jamaica welcomes an average of 1,951,752 foreign travelers a year, with a travel and tourism industry that employs 284,000 people, which amounts to one in every four jobs. It also accounts for 27.7 percent of the island's Gross Domestic Product, or US$3.7 billion. While Jamaica boasts a year-round temperate climate and unblemished white sand beaches, recent scholarship indicates that sex may be as significant in luring tourists as the sand and the sun. Reports of a new form of prostitution in the Caribbean began to appear in Western news media by the early 1990’s (Kempadoo, 1996). The accounts reported a “new” phenomenon of young men and women exchanging sex for material gains with tourists to the region. While media reports suggested that sex tourism (as it was by then known) was a new happening in the region, it was not completely novel to the Island of Jamaica. Despite the lack of historical analysis detailing the emergence of tourist oriented sex work, early references suggest that an inextricable relationship between sex work and tourism exists in the regions past (Kempadoo, 2001), with vi Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology indications such as Frantz Fannon’s (1968) concern that the region was becoming the “brothel of Europe”. The term sex tourism, a protean term that attempts to capture varieties of leisure travel that have as part of their purpose the purchase of sexual services (Wonders, 2001), typically invokes stereotypical images of white Western men traveling abroad to affirm their supposed dominant position within a hierarchy of gendered, sexualized, racialized, and economic power. With few topics relating to tourism remaining more emotive and controversial, the relationship between sex and tourism is often conceptualized as a social arena in which class, gender, race and power intersect to reinforce the inequalities between rich and poor, white and non-white, and men and women. The majority of research pertaining to sex tourism as a whole and in the Caribbean in particular involves a central focus on male sex tourism and the interpersonal power dynamics at play between the tourist and the sex worker. Informed by deeply inscribed discourses around the natural licentiousness of men and an apparently natural lack of sexual agency amongst women (Weeks, 1996), for the most part, sex tourism is analyzed as an expression of male patriarchal power and of female powerlessness (Taylor, 2001), and often, despite a growing body of evidence to the contrary, analyses of sex tourism often dismiss the possibility of female sex tourism. While the majority of sex tourism in the Caribbean is defined by heterosexual relations between male sex tourists and female sex workers (Kempadoo, 2004), there also exists a significant amount of female sex tourism between wealthy white European and North American women and young males indigenous to the Caribbean island of Jamaica (Herold, Garcia & DeMoya, 2001), with one study asserting that almost one third of the single or unaccompanied female tourists to Jamaica engaged in one or more sexual relationships with local men (Taylor, 2001).The scale of female sex tourism in vii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Jamaica is significantly smaller from that of male sex tourism however, with even those researchers who argue that women should be included in the ranks of sex tourists acknowledging that the numbers concerned are diminutive by direct comparison (Pruitt & LaFont, 1995). Jamaica has nonetheless come to be regarded as a popular travel destination for female sex tourists, with authors claiming that “when white women flock to Jamaica for a little fun in the sun, the R&R they're often looking for is not "Rest and Relaxation" but to "Rent a Rasta"” (Kempadoo, 1999). “Rent a Rasta” or “Rent a Dread”, being the popular colloquial terms constructed by Jamaican locals to refer to the local men who cater to the search of many women from the United States, Canada and Europe for an extraordinary sexual experience with an "authentic" Rastafarian man (Kempadoo, 1999) while the white female buyers are referred to as “milk bottles” due to their pale skin and black women are referred to as “Stellas” ( after the release of the popular film “How Stella Got Her Groove Back,” after which there was reportedly a measurable increase in trips to Jamaica by single female buyers seeking young Jamaican "boyfriends") (Shared Hope International, p.24). The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) reports that Jamaica welcomed 1,951,752 foreign travelers in 2011, with the main visitor producing countries being the United States of America and Canada. The gender mix of visitors from Canada in 2011, was 173,856 males (45.9%) and 205,082 females (54.1%), demonstrating that Jamaica has become a popular tourist destination overall, and for women in particular. One report from Negril, Jamaica explains, “Negril is not as dreamlike as it looks. It is no longer visited primarily for sun, sea and sand. Instead it is the destination of choice for an increasing number of female sex tourists. An estimated 80,000 single women, from teenagers to grandmothers, flock to the island every year and use the services of around 200 men known as ‘rent–a–dreads’, ‘rastitutes’ or ‘the Foreign Service’ (Shared Hope International, p. 24) While viii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology until recently sex tourism has been most commonly understood to be a leisure activity of men who visit tourism destinations to engage in commercial sex (Hall & Ryan, 2001), since the mid1990s, however, there has been a developing interest in the issue of ‘female sex tourism’ amongst researchers of tourism and prostitution (Jeffreys, 2003). While few studies refer to the phenomenon of ‘female sex tourism’, preferring instead the term ‘romance tourism’, the phenomenon of ‘First World’ tourist women who travel to poor countries in general and Jamaica specifically, for sex with local men, is often discussed with a clear focus on Jamaican masculinity. Guided principally by the testimony of tourist women, academic studies concerned with both Jamaican masculinity and female sex tourism tend to focus on the motivations of Jamaican men for involvement with Western tourist women. The majority of scholarship, informed by traditional notions of essential gender identity view tourist women as passive innocents, ‘used’ by local men who are actively seeking sexual conquests, money, a ticket off the island and maybe love (Taylor, 2011). Using Jamaican displays of machismo drawn from their cultural gender scripts, ‘beach boys’ or local men who engage in sexual relations with tourist women, according to this view, are seen as extortionists praying on the vulnerability of tourist women while actively pursuing their next money making venture or sexual conquest (Herold, Garcia & DeMoya, 2001), with being a beach boy being perceived as allowing for the ability to earn a prosperous living far beyond basic needs for survival (Pruitt & LaFont, 1995). ‘Beach boys’ are seen as slick working men, who make their living scamming tourist women (Reimer, 2002). ix Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology The Jamaican conceptualization of masculinity, which is denoted by the number of sexual exploits as well as the number of children a man has (Gayle, 2002) has led researchers to agree that men gain superior masculine status amongst their peers according to their number of their sexual conquests. Accordingly, men who engage in transactional sex are assumed, from this view, to do so in accordance with the gendered cultural script that privileges men to engage in a variety of types of sexual relationships. Chevannes (2001) indicates that the hegemonic construction of African Caribbean masculinity privileges a man to engage in a variety of types of sexual relationships. This ranges from the very casual to a steady multiple partnering arrangement , and that a man is not considered a “real” man unless he is heterosexually active. In Learning to Be a Man, (2001), Chevannes notes that approximately 50 percent of Jamaican men engage in polygamy or multiple relationships, a sexual practice that is seen as enhancing their masculinity as long as all activity is strictly heterosexual. Typical male sexual behaviours include the early onset of sexual intercourse, concurrent multiple partners, and extramarital affairs; sex with women being the foundation of such behaviour. This hypermasculinity is equivalent in many ways to the sexual behaviours associated with machismo in Central and South America. (Ramírez, 1999). The concept of machismo is of crucial importance here. Lancaster (1992) states that "machismo" is not only about relations between men and women, but that machismo is about power relations among men too. Lancaster (1992) argues; Like drinking, gambling, risk taking, asserting one's opinion, and fighting, the conquest of women is a feat performed with two audiences in mind: first, other men, to whom one must constantly prove one's masculinity and virility; and second, oneself, to whom one must also show all the x Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology signs of masculinity. ( p. 236) In Jamaica machismo has traditionally been a correlate of power demonstrated by the number of children and wives a man has, but it is also linked to the protection of and provision for such wives and children. Homosexual intercourse and identity are not tolerated within the dominant discourse on masculinity. Chevannes (2001) argues that Jamaican men are often compelled into early adolescent sexual activity and multiple sexual partnerings in adulthood to avoid appearing or being perceived to be homosexual. Gayle (2002) note that the Jamaican male “exhibits his manhood through sexual exploits and the higher the number of women with whom he is involved sexually, the greater his achievement. He provides evidence of this through the number of offspring he produces” (Gayle , 2002, p. 1995) Virtually all existing scholarship on Jamaican ‘beach boys’ indicates that one of the main motivations given by “the professional ‘beach boys’ for their involvement with female tourists is economic” (Herold, Garcia & DeMoya, 2001, p. 983). Citing an extreme “pressure to establish one’s maleness through the abilities to disperse case” (Hoope, 2004, p. 108), ‘beach boy’ masculinity is redefined to encapsulate a “masculine identity founded on conspicuous consumption, ostentatious costumes and exaggerated performance, and not on the preferred markers of status and personhood that traditionally inform social relations in Jamaica” (Hope, 2004, p. 108). In addition to the focus on the motivations of Jamaican men for involvement with Western tourist women, Jamaican masculinity is also discussed in regards to the attraction to and connection developed between white Western women and black Jamaican men. For example, xi Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Pruitt and Lafont (1995) who contend that while sex tourism as practiced by men serves to perpetuate conventional gender norms and “reinforce power relations of male dominance and female subordination, romance tourism as practiced by women provides and arena for change” (Pruitt and Lafont , 1995, p. 423), argue that while women travel to Jamaica and around the world free of men and their own society's gender constraints for more control in defining their relationships they are simultaneously drawn to Jamaica by conventional notions of masculinity. With ideas about Jamaican masculine power being central to women's attraction to local Jamaican men, Pruitt and LaFont (1995) argue that female sex tourists in Jamaica are drawn to the strength and potency of a Jamaican masculinity even as they experiment with the power they acquire through racial and financial superiority. From this perspective, the connection a Western woman develops with a Jamaican man is generally based on her idealizations of the embodiment of manhood, “idealizations fueled by the discourse of hegemonic relations constructed through ‘race’ in which the exotic and the erotic are intertwined (Pruit and Lafont, 1995, p. 430).There is a well-documented link between sex, travel, and the eroticisation of the ethnic ‘Other’, (Montgomery, 2008) and it is often argued that various forms of racism are pivotal to sex tourism. Female Western sex tourists, are seen as being driven into relations with Jamaican men by racist sexual stereotypes that include fantasies wherein the exotic ‘other’ is more passionate, more emotional, more natural and sexual tempting (Pruitt & LaFont, 1995). Women are driven into relationships with Jamaican men, from this interpretation, to feel as though they are able to ‘tame’ a man who is reputed to be the raw, highly sexed ‘other’, a real man with a primitive manhood (Taylor, 2006). Stereotypes of black men and their sexuality and differences between the tourists’ cultures and Jamaican cultures, and the Jamaican display of machismo drawn from their cultural gender scripts, promote the belief that Jamaican men represent the archetypal xii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology masculine (Pruitt & LaFont, 1995). While the stereotypes about black men and their sexuality extend to all Jamaican men and perhaps all black men in general, they are particularly prevalent for the black man who stands closer to his “Affrican heritage”, in this case embodied in the Rude boy and Rastafarian identity (Pruitt &LaFont, 1995). Jamaican Masculinities The conceptualization of a distinct Caribbean or Jamaican masculinity as well as the emergence of studies of masculinity in the Caribbean can be seen as one of the most recent developments in feminist and gender studies in that region. Traditionally, research on masculinities focused on whiteness and masculinities. However, the advent of the sociological inquiry into masculinity in the Caribbean took issue with the starting point of whiteness and have made it clear that such normative categories are constructed in relation to difference (Bucholtz, 1999). Despite ideologies of normativity , neither whiteness nor masculinity are monolithic, as their local forms creatively respond to dominant ideologies rather than mechanically reflecting them (Bucholtz, 1999). Whiteness and masculinity are therefore terms that encapsulate both identity and ideology. Bucholtz (1999) argues that for example, "while most males can be said to project some form of masculinity in at least some contexts (that is, as identity), only a certain subset of possible or actual masculinities are culturally acceptable (that is, as ideology)" (Bucholtz, 1999, p. 444). In this regard, Connel (2001) writes of Western masculinity, "hegemonic masculinity is not a fixed character type, always and everywhere the same. It is, rather, the masculinity that occupies the hegemonic position in a given pattern of gender relations, a position always contestable" (p. 76). Connell writes that while hegemonic masculinity is distinguished from other masculinities, especially subordinated masculinities, "hegemonic masculinity is not assumed to be normal in the statistical sense; as only a minority of men might enact it, but it is certainly xiii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology normative"( Connell, 2005, p. 835). Hegemonic masculinity, understood as the pattern of practice (things done, not just a set of role expectations or an identity) that allows men's dominance over women to continue (Connell, 2005) is constructed in relation to other subordinated masculinities as well as in relation to women. One type of subordinated masculinity , Connell notes, is black masculinity. In practice, black men's masculinities are multiple, but at an ideological level this diversity of gender identities is reduced to monolithic forms of masculinity that stand counter to the hegemonic white norm (Bucholtz, 1999). The study of masculinity in Jamaica originated with concerns over the normativity of whiteness and over Jamaican men’s failure to fulfill their gender roles in society (Barrow, 1998). This includes investigations into the societal implications of absent fathers, sexual violence, underand unemployment, and educational underachievement. There are several current analyses that examine the history of the construction of masculinity in the Caribbean generally and Jamaica specifically that are beyond the scope of this paper (for example, Lewis, 2003). These works approach analysis from interdisciplinary perspectives including history, literary studies, and sociology. The concept of Caribbean masculinity is a subject of significant debate between and among scholars. The prevalence of "deviant" behaviours including promiscuity, familial instability, illegitimacy, visiting relationships, female-headed households, and the failure of men to fulfill their gender roles as husbands and fathers, in Caribbean families (Barrow, 1998) focuses the debate on whether males in the Caribbean generally, and Jamaica specifically, have been marginalized, with boys left to fend for themselves, or whether it is in fact the privileging of males, rather than their marginalization, that has led to an erosion of male status and authority in Caribbean societies. xiv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Jamaican masculinities are a social constructions that have everything to do with the ways in which slavery, colonialism, and now globalization have produced identity performances that are multiple and conflicted (Hall, 2011). According to Hall (2001), intersections of history, politics, and culture have had a significant impact on Jamaican male identity negotiation and performances. The masculinities of the modern Caribbean were born of war, genocide, slavery and racism (Allahar, 2001) with the subjugation of the non-white male body at the heart of the conflicted production of Jamaican male identity (Hall, 2011). Linden Lewis (2003) argues that colonialism in Jamaica was itself a system of patriarchy that “inscribed male domination into the culture” (p. 103); however, under this system of patriarchy, not all men were equal. Lewis (2003) asserts that African men in Jamaica were infantilized by the system of slavery to the extent that they were robbed of autonomy in every sphere of major life decisions. There was an internalization of the patriarchy that was inherent in the systems of slavery and, later, colonialism, and this internalization was played out in conflicted relationships with women in the aftermath of colonialism, as black men struggled to assert themselves in a social system that privileged white and brown men. Black men were not just infantilized by the systems of slavery and colonialism; they were also gendered as feminine to the extent that they were reduced to dependence on the white slave and then colonial master (Hall, 2011). Under slavery black men received a concession, allocations of leisure time, were denied consumer access by strict regulatory systems, and could neither claim nor assert any right beyond or outside those of his owner. According to Patterson, the black men was alienated and his masculinity dishonoured, he was further rendered "socially dead", or not accepted as fully human by wider society (Patterson, 1982).The black man and his offspring were fed, clothed, and sheltered by white men whose xv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology hegemonic ideology determined that being "kept" and "kept down" were symbolic of submissive inferiority(Hall, 2011). While it is beyond the scope of this present research to discuss in detail how the masculinities of enslaved black men were constructed and violently repressed within the hegemonic structure of white male owned and ruled colonialism, it is essential that one be aware that when discussing a Caribbean or Jamaican masculinity we are discussing a differentiated, marginalized, subordinated and stigmatized masculinity that struggled violently to exist. The link between past and current stereotypes of black men in the Caribbean illustrates the extent to which understanding constructions of black male identity in Jamaica, in particular, calls for understanding the extent to which the history of the country has produced constructs of masculinity that are complex and contradictory (Hall, 2011). Even though the work on masculinity in the Caribbean is underdeveloped, there is a sense in which one can identify core assumption about men and masculinity from the literature, as well as from the literature on the Caribbean family. What emerges from the literature are two caricatures of Caribbean men and masculinity. Firstly, while Jamaica specifically, and the Caribbean in general, have produced world leaders in the arenas of literature, the arts, and politics, there are still enduring Western caricatures of the Caribbean male as breezily self-assertive, yet devoid of substance, exotic, and anti-intellectual. These caricatures are uncannily similar to the stereotypes attending images of the black American male (Allahar, 2001), stereotypes that can be directly traced back to white slave owners' characterizations of enslaved black men as “Quashee” (Lewis, 2003). Slave owners coined the term “Quashee” to represent their ideological characterization of black men, as "Quashee" was patient, submissive, happy-go-lucky slave who was also irresponsible, lazy, and childlike (Whitehead, 1984). In his 1808 account of Jamaican slave society, John Stewart xvi Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology described "Quashee" as "patient, cheerful, and commonly submissive, capable at times of grateful attachments when uniformly well treated". The second characterization that emerges of men and masculinity in the West Indies, directly linked to the stereotypes of black sexuality that flourished during slavery, is the image of Caribbean male as powerful, exceedingly promiscuous, derelict in his parental duties, often absent from the household and, if present, unwilling to undertake his share of domestic responsibilities. The Caribbean male also comes across in this literature as possessing a propensity for female battering, and a demonstrated valorization of alcohol (Lewis, 2003). In the context of the Caribbean, the weight of history and culture can never be overstated. Slavery and indenture have exerted tremendous pressures on the construction of masculinity, forcing adjustments and accommodation to circumstances over which men at times had no control (Lewis, 2013). Two major performances of masculinity, performances that can be largely understood in context of Jamaica's postcolonial history, have come to characterize Jamaican performances of masculinity: Rude boys and Rasta (Hall, 2011). These Jamaican performance of masculinity have challenged Western notions of ideal manhood and reinvented and legitimized Africanized conceptions of manhood (Hall, 2011). Both performances of masculinity, the Rude boys and Rasta, challenge both the legitimacy and dominance of white, Western norms of male performance for black, Jamaican masculinity, as both the Rude boy and the Rasta legitimize and resurrect performances of black masculinity that are distinctly African (Hall, 2011). Research Goals xvii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology With the notable exception of the work of Herold, Garcia, and DeMoya (2001), who conducted interviews with ‘beach boys’ in the Dominican Republic, the existing literature is focused almost exclusively on the experiences of the tourist women involved in the informal sex trade in Jamaica, with a perceptible absence of analysis of the lived experiences of Jamaican ‘beach boys’. The meaning of tourist/ local relationships is thus determined by the testimony of tourist women, the social consequences, motivations, and ‘strategies’ of ‘beach boys’ is accordingly largely speculated through interviews with men in other Caribbean countries. The existing published research is somewhat distant from the Jamaican men it reports on, this research will attempt to give a voice to the Jamaican men who have generally been spoken for by the tourist women they become involved with and by men on other islands. The current research will concentrate on the lived experiences of Jamaican men who engage in transactional sex with tourist women and seeks to determine the motivations of Jamaican men involved in the informal sex trade. Specifically, this research project will, using the conceptualizations of the Rude Boy and Rasta performances of masculinity, seek to illustrate how men involved in transactional sex with white tourist women perform their masculinity to accord to the raced expectations of these women. Methodology As the aim of this research project was to gain an understanding of the lived experiences of the Jamaican men regularly involved with tourist women, face-to face, semi structured qualitative interviews were chosen as the primary methodological tool in the study. Using some prepared questions and probes whilst still allowing for the exploration of new themes and ideas that emerge as a result of the interviewee’s response, semi structured interviews allows for the xviii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology examination of areas most relevant to each interviewee. By using open-ended questions,subjects were encouraged to expand on their own experiences (Patton, 2005). Thus, a wealth of detailed information was obtained from the local men who participated in my study that I feel would not have been effectively collected using another methodological tool. The resort town of Montego Bay was chosen as the location for this particular study mainly due to its renown as a haven for North American, European, and British tourists, including sex tourists. Montego Bay, the capital of St. James Parish and the second largest city in Jamaica by area and the fourth by population is a popular tourist area that has long since earned the title of “tourist capital of Jamaica” (Gayle, 2003), with a ratio of residents to visitors at 17:7 and based on my preliminary exploratory trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica. The town of Montego Bay was chosen due principally to the sheer availability of tourist women and local men formally and informally employed in the tourism sector. A total of thirteen (13) interviews with Jamaican men were conducted for this study. Each interview lasted between thirty (30) and sixty (60) minuets. All of the interviews were conducted on resort property, in a mutually agreeable location that provided both for privacy and my own safety. While previous sociological inquiry both guided my research questions and shaped my research design and methodology, the intent of this research was neither to prove nor disprove any of the theories regarding ‘beach boys’ advanced by previous scholarship, but to concentrate on the interviewees’ interpretations of life events, personal experiences and their understanding of the xix Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology informal sex trade and to contribute to a process of continuous revision and enrichment of understanding. Polit and Hungler (1999) describe interviews as a method of data collection “in which one person, an interviewer asks questions of another person, a respondent, [and] are conducted either face-to-face or by telephone” (Polit & Hungler, 1999). In this study, as noted, all interviews were conducted on a one-to-one basis, between me, the researcher and the sample of Jamaica men regularly involved with tourist women. According to Appleton (1995), collecting data through an interview methodology has many advantages including the finding that control over the interview process lies with the interviewer who can put the interviewee at ease by the use of effective interpersonal skills and the willingness to reword questions as necessary. In this particular study, the ability granted by the chosen methodology allowed me not only the ability to develop connections and rapport with study participants but also to navigate language barriers by reworking, reframing, and rewording questions to garner considered and thorough responses. While I understand local Jamaican patois, I do not speak the dialect, and the use of semistructured interviews allowed me the opportunity to seek clarification and explanation for specific patois and local slang terms. Moreover, using semi-structured interviews allowed me to reword and expand on questions that study participants felt were ambiguous or unclear, and which may otherwise have been misinterpreted by respondents. Perhaps surprisingly, the majority of responses were provided by participants not speaking patois. While some individuals spoke patois for some responses, the majority of responses were provided in articulate or slanged English. The few responses that were provided in patois are xx Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology presented in patois in the findings sections, in order to maintain the integrity of the opinion or perspective they were chosen to demonstrate. The literature also reveals the disadvantages of interviews as a method of data collection (Robson, 2002). They are costly and time consuming both in terms of organizing and travelling to the interviews and the length of the interview itself. For obvious reasons, this study required travel from Ontario, Canada to Montego Bay, Jamaica, resulted in the total duration of my fieldwork to be just under one (1) month. The need for access to Jamaican men who actively sought relationships with tourist women in such a short period of time required me to situate myself, for both observations and interviews, in a resort environment. While previous researchers recount taking up residence outside of the resort environment, primarily to facilitate their ability to write and work away from the boisterous resort atmosphere and to avoid suspicion from locals and tourists alike, the short duration of my stay required a closer proximity and opportunity for uninterrupted observation. For the purposes of this study, I completed two pilot interviews with fellow graduate students to gain the skills necessary for a successful in-depth interview. However, the process of collecting data through interviews was a learning experience for me. As the study progressed I gained more confidence and skills in handling the interview process and eliciting the views and perceptions of the study participants. While I was not entirely unprepared for the possibility, I experienced two substantial setbacks in the collection of data, namely being mistaken for a female sex tourist and being accused of an inability to fully comprehend the plight of poverty and ‘blackness’. xxi Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology From my previous exploratory trip to the region, I was fully aware that as an unaccompanied single woman in Jamaica I would become the recipient of unsolicited advances, flirtation, and often harassment from men involved in informal sex tourism. I was thus prepared to negotiate the boundaries between the roles of researcher, tourist, heterosexual woman, and visitor, I was however unprepared for men who had been recruited into my study to assume that I had fabricated my study goals to attract and entice male sex workers. Having traveled to Jamaica with my biracial children and having been seen around the resort property with my children apparently led many men in and around the resort environment to believe that either I was a well-seasoned sex tourist or that at the very least I would be interested in (or at least not opposed to) sex with black men. With the signing of an IRB informed consent and my persistent assertions of my adverse position to personally engaging in transactional sex and the continued clarification of my research intentions and goals, the majority of men I interviewed, were able to understand the true nature and goal of my research and ceased their open invitations for sexual involvement. The shift in behavior in men who began to understand my real intentions and hopes was evident as all flirtation and sexual innuendo was abandoned in favor of communicating well informed and perceptive opinions on the Jamaican sex trade. One study participant, after the clarification of my intentions, surprisingly put back on his t-shirt that had been previously hanging from his back pocket in order to conduct the interview. I was however unable to interview three (3) men that I had recruited for my study because of the persistence of their sexual advances and the derogatory comments, directed at myself and my children, after I continued to decline their advances. In one particularly upsetting instance I was accused of bringing my children along for my trip to “flaunt” my liberal ideals regarding interracial relationships in an attempt to attract a great number of black men. xxii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology I was further met with intense suspicion from a few men that I had approached to inquire about participation in my study. While the majority of men I spoke to and approached were both willing and eager to share their life stories and perspective with me, a few men were resentful of the nature of my inquire. I did not approach individuals with the presumption or allegation that they engage in transactional sex with tourist women, but rather presented a sort of curiosity about the phenomenon. From the great minority of individuals I spoke to I, as a non-black woman, was accused of representing ‘Babylon’ in its attempts to suppress the sexuality of black men, and of wanting to propagate racist ideals and principals. One individual who had approached me after observing me speaking to several study participants suspected that I was attempting to gather information about the sexual practices of Jamaican men to report it back to an “agency that blamed black men” for the global spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Another surprising incident occurred when a Rastafarian man, who had grown suspicious of my presence on the resort, confronted me with the accusation of racism. This individual, who had somehow garnered some information about my study, was convinced that the true nature of my research was to uncover a genetic difference between black men and white men. In addition, the assertion that I could not possible “overstand” the tribulations of poverty due to my presumed class status was surprisingly disheartening. As a non-black woman affiliated with a Canadian university my class status was assumed to be upper-middle class which rendered a few potential participants unwilling to participate in my study due to the perception that I would be unable to understand the plight of their ‘blackness’ or their poverty. xxiii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Finally, as interviews are a form of self-report, the researcher must assume that the information given by the interviewee is accurate (Bums & Grove, 1987). Because the data sought in this research concerns subjective insights and perceptions and although this is not a threat to validity another ethical dilemma regarding this research on sex tourism was the assurance that honest, valid qualitative data would be collected from participants. While I clearly conveyed my hopes for honest and forthcoming responses I am forced to accept that the information related to me by the study participants was merely their subjective understanding of the trade, and does not necessarily speak to an objective ‘truth’ about the industry. Being a Female Researcher While being a foreign women permitted me unproblematic access to Jamaican men engaged in transactional sex, it also forced me to be cognizant of my social position as a female and as a female researcher. The idea that all stages of social research are gendered has been discussed extensively in the literature (England, 1994). According to Kosygina (2003) a great number of texts are devoted to reflection on how gender influence researcher/respondent interaction. Male respondents are often seen as being more reclusive and less enthusiastic than woman about sharing their lives and experiences. According to Finch (1993), the reasons why women can be more enthusiastic about talking to a woman researcher, lie in the social experience of women and their expectation that the researcher, as a woman, shares with them this social experience and can, therefore, easily understand them. Finch asserts that “Women are more used than men to accepting intrusions through questioning into the more private parts of their lives... Through their experience of motherhood they are subject to questioning from doctors, midwives and health visitors; and also from people such as housing visitors… who deal principally with women as the xxiv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology people with imputed responsibility for home and household. As subjects of research, therefore, women are less likely than men to find questions about their life unusual and therefore inadmissible.” Finch further concludes that “when the interviewer is also a woman both parties share a subordinate structural position by virtue of their gender. This creates the possibility that a particular kind of identification will develop (Finch, 1993)”. According to the explanation provided by Finch (1993) men are more reluctant to talk with a woman interviewer, because, firstly, they are less used to being questioned, and, secondly, they do not expect the researcher to understand them because she (the researcher) does not have the same social experience as they have. During the course of this present research, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to interview both local Jamaican males and females. While the information garnered from the female respondents surpasses the scope of this present analysis, the experience allowed me to become privy to the differences between interviewing men and women. Although, my research dealt with personal and sexual experiences and perceptions, I found that women were ultimately more likely to share details from their personal lives as well as appear to “forget” that my principal identification was as a researcher, and began to treat me as just another women with whom they were engaged in ‘girl talk with’. During my interviews with women I was able to encourage women to continue by expressing emotion and participating in a more conversational style of interview. xxv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology I did not adopt the same strategy of a conversational question/answer format during interviews with men. In order to avoid the possibility of the male participants involved in this study interpreting a conversational question/answer format as flirtatious I maintained my principal identification as a researcher. This allowed men to interact with me in a way which they believed was appropriate for communication with a researcher, as compared to the manner they believed appropriate for communication with both a female and a female tourist. By maintaining a professional distance between me and the research participants I was able to ease my fear of losing control of the interviews and was therefore able obtain detailed responses to my carefully poised questions. While the men who participated in my study were often observed and overheard discussing their numerous sexual conquests with other men, the majority of respondents, at least initially, displayed reticence in discussing these matters with me, a female researcher, presumably because I am a woman. Additionally, although the participants who participated in my research provided me with a wealth of information, there remained the impression that they felt that I was unable to understand a lot of their experiences as men. For example, a number of respondents would clarify their responses to questions, by carefully noting how “men understand things” or how “men feel about things”. For instance, one respondent, while detailing how he felt that penetrative sex with women was necessary for his well-being, carefully explained to me the value and importance of sex, as if, as a women I could not possibly understand the significance of sexual intimacy. xxvi Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology According to Goffman (1959) “when an individual plays a part, he implicitly requests his observers to take seriously the impression that is fostered before them" (p.50). Impression management, also called self-presentation, is the process by which individuals attempt to control the impressions others form of them (Goffman, 1959). Individuals manage their behavior and personal characteristics in the presence of others in an attempt to create a specific impression on their audience. Thus, an individual may seek to create different impressions on different audiences based on his or her specific goal for the interaction. Being a female researcher, I was forced to accept that the narratives and information provided to me by my study participants may have been presented in an attempt to create a specific impression on me, and on the information that I report. My interview participants were all adept at dealing with foreign women and accustomed to conveying opinions and information they felt women wanted to hear, because this research is chiefly focused on sexual practices, I was forced to accept that the exaggeration of sexual prowess and conquests might have been used as a device for the management of impressions by study participants. Also, despite the open and candid information presented by the male participants, I was likewise forced to accept that participants might be less likely share information that might portray them in a negative way, specifically with a foreign woman. Sample All but one of the thirteen (13) interview participants, a portrait artist who’s 20 plus years of contact and observation of both male sex workers and tourist women proved invaluable to this study, informed that they had taken part in a romantic or sexual relationship with one or more tourist women during the summer of 2013. Nine (9) of the twelve (12) participants interviewed were employed by the beach resort, and three (3) in tourist oriented shops and service centers located off of resort property. The men who participated in this study were young, physically xxvii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology attractive and in good shape and ranged in age from 20 to 31. All of the men who participated in this study were black. All of the participants who participated in this study advised that they were unmarried, however six (6) advised that they had dependent children and one (1) that he had a steady Jamaican girlfriend. Recruitment Because male sex workers cannot be recognized by their clothing or outward appearance, but rather their frequent interactions with female tourists that include flirtation, open displays of affection, and, at times, harassment, during the observation portion of my research I took note of men who appeared to be involved in transactional sex with tourists female based on behaviors such as appearing in public with numerous tourist women, frequenting establishments that were known locally as tourist hangouts, speaking openly about experiences with female tourists, and otherwise demonstrating a proclivity for “hustling” tourists for money. With the assistance of a personal friend who was employed as a hostess at one of the resorts main restaurants and the aforementioned portrait artist, I was pointed in the direction of men they felt were involved in transactional sex with tourist women. Towards the end of my fieldwork, I began approaching men that who either I had identified as being involved in sex tourism or had been identified as such by the two aforementioned informants. Pursuant to my research protocol I did not approach potential study participants with the presumption or allegation that they were involved in the informal sex trade, but rather approached them asking if they might be willing to share what they know about the trade. xxviii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology I was further approached by tourist and local women who were eager to share their perceptions and views on the research topic. While I had received IRB approval to interview local Jamaican women as well, the limited scope of my research prevent me from detailing the opinions and ideas expressed by these women, despite engaging in lengthy conversations with these women. Due to the relatively small size of the resort, word of my research spread rather quickly amongst employees and visitors. Following my first three (3) interviews I was approached by several men who had gained knowledge of my study and who wanted to volunteer their participation. A total of seven (7) interviews were secured in this fashion, with the remaining six having been approached by me using a snowball sampling technique. Overall, I had few problems in the recruitment of study participants and was overwhelmed by the generosity of time and honesty that was contributed by participants. Data Management Qualitative research produces a large amount of rich data, which needs to be systematically and logically analyzed (Miles &Huberman, 1984). The interview data were subjected to a two-stage analysis method described by Miles and Hubennan (1984) as data reduction. Data reduction refers to the process of 'selecting, focusing, simplifying, abstracting and transforming' the data (Miles &Huberman, 1994), as the researcher elicits meanings and insights from the words of the respondents (Marshall &Rossman, 1989) Firstly, the interviews were tape recorded and then transcribed verbatim, I then listened to each tape, transcribed each tape myself and then read each transcript several times in order to familiarize myself with the data. In the initial stages of xxix Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology data reduction each line of interview transcript was numbered according to the question number it related to from my interview schedule. Sixteen (16) separate folders were compiled, each containing the question and responses for each question on the interview schedule. Following this initial coding, to make the data more manageable, the data in each of the sixteen (16) question folders were re-analyzed and broken down into several categories and subheadings depending on the emerging themes. Highlighter pens and margin notes facilitated management of this level of analysis. The data was then compiled in a tabbed binder containing the twenty (20) most prevalent themes that accorded to my research aims. Just as there is a need to look at the accuracy and trustworthiness of various kinds of quantitative data in different ways, there is also a need to look at qualitative methods for the different ways in which to ensure the quality of the findings. Researchers need alternative models appropriate to qualitative designs that ensure rigor without sacrificing the relevance of the qualitative research (Krefting, 1991). Guba (1981) proposed such a model for assessing the trustworthiness of qualitative data. Guba's (1981) model is based on the identification of four aspects of trustworthiness that are relevant to both quantitative and qualitative studies: (a) truth value, (b) applicability, (c) consistency, and (d) neutrality (Appleton, 1995). Truth value asks whether the researcher has established confidence in the truth of the findings for the subjects or informants and the context in which the study was undertaken (Lincoln & Guba, 1994). It establishes how confident the researcher is with the truth of the findings based on the research design, informants, and context. In quantitative studies, truth is often assessed by how well threats to the internal validity of the study have been managed as well as the validity of-the instruments as a measure of the phenomenon under study (Sandelowski, 1986). Sandelowski xxx Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology stated that 'a research instrument is valid when there is confidence that it measures what it was intended to measure' (Sandelowski, 1986). A qualitative study is thus deemed credible if it reveals accurate deceptions of individuals' experiences and "that the people having that experience would immediately recognize it from those deceptions or interpretations as their own" (Sandelowski, 1986). Following the completion of data collection and subsequent coding of the data I presented some of my findings to two (2) of the study participants who expressed keen interest in the results of my research. Following my research study protocol, I was provided with contact information for these individuals and was thus able to communicate with them regarding my findings. The aim of this exercise was to present study findings to respondents to check the credibility of the analysis and to see if the findings reflected the informants’ own experiences and perceptions about the topic. Applicability refers to the degree to which the findings can be applied to other contexts and settings or with other groups; it is the ability to generalize from the findings to larger populations. In the quantitative perspective, applicability refers to how well the threats to external validity have been managed (Sandelowski, 1986). Payton (1979) defined external validity as the ability to generalize from the study sample to the larger population and noted the importance of sampling technique in its establishment. Specific strategies have been identified for ensuring the applicability and truth value of a qualitative study to reduce the threat of 'elite bias', or the, "overweighting data from articulate, well-informed, usually high status informants" and the threat of the 'holistic xxxi Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology fallacy' (Miles & Huberman, 1994) which can occur as the researcher becomes more certain that his/her conclusions are correct (Bums & Grove, 1987). In this study I repeatedly referred back to the interview and questionnaire data when developing the themes during data analysis as a set to prevent both 'elite bias' and 'holistic fallacy'. I continuously questioned the conclusions I was drawing and always paid particular attention to any exceptions to findings and was careful to not have my expectations reflect in my conclusions. Two perspectives to applicability are appropriate for qualitative research. The first perspective, which I believe is applicable to my research, suggests that the ability to generalize is not relevant in many qualitative research projects. A strength of the qualitative method, is that it is conducted in naturalistic settings with few controlling variables (Appleton, 1995). Each situation is defined as unique and thus is less amenable to generalization. Consequently, as Sandelowski (explained, generalization is somewhat of an illusion because every research situation is made up of a particular researcher in a particular interaction with particular informants (Sandelowski, 1986). It is important to note that the intent and purpose of this research project is not to garner a statistically representative sample of Jamaican men involved in the phenomenon of female sex tourism but to garner insight into the lived experiences and perceptions of the trade. Applicability, then, is not seen as relevant to my qualitative research because its purpose is to describe a particular phenomenon or experience, not to generalize to others. Accordingly, the findings the data yield are not meant to be generalized to the population of men engaged in transactional sex in Jamaica or elsewhere. xxxii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology The third criterion of trustworthiness considers the consistency of the data, that is, whether the findings would be consistent if the inquiry were replicated with the same subjects or in a similar Context (Appleton, 1995). In quantitative research, reliability is the criterion concerned with the stability, consistency, and equivalence in the study (Sandelowski, 1986). In contrast to quantitative research which aims for repeatability of measures and consistent responses, qualitative research “emphasizes the uniqueness of human situations and the importance of experiences that are not necessarily accessible to validation through the sense” (Sandelowski 1986). It is the extent to which repeated administration of a measure will provide the same data or the extent to which a measure administered once, but by different people, produces equivalent results. Because the reliability of the data elicited is dependent upon the competency and ability of my researcher skills, as the research tool, I attempted to maximize consistency of the data by maintaining use of my interview schedule, which was standardized in order to increase the consistency of the data collected, whilst not hindering the free flow of thoughts and opinions made available through open ended interviews. To achieve consistency in my skills as a researcher I conducted two pilot interviews with fellow graduate students to begin to work on my skills in questioning and responding. In addition, during my field work it was evident that my skills progressed and my interview technique developed the quality of data also improved. Accordingly, the first two interviews I conducted in the field were excluded from my data analysis, based on my own perception of their poorer quality. Reliability was also addressed in terms of the equipment employed in the interview. A tape recorder was used to record all xxxiii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology interviews, thereby increasing reliability. It is however important to remember that the interviewee’s responses may not have always reflected the reality of their situation. The fourth criterion of trustworthiness is neutrality, the freedom from bias in the research procedures and results (Sandelowski, 1986). Neutrality refers to the degree to which the findings are a function solely of the informants and conditions of the research and not of other biases, motivations, and perspectives (Guba&Lincoln, 1994). While I took steps to preventing interview bias, it is possible that interviewer bias may also have been present simply because of my own experiences with Jamaican men both involved and not involved in the sex trade. However, I tried to overcome this by maintaining a neutral stance and not presenting my own perceptions during data collection. Terminology A salient issue in the study of sex tourism is that of labeling and identifying the individuals and groups involved. According to previous research, Jamaican men who are engaged in transactional sex with women with self-identify or have the labels “gigolos,” “rent-a-dread”, “hustlers” or ‘beach boys’ imposed on them. When questioned regarding the label or terminology that best describes their activities the respondents answered in various ways, some accepting and others denying their involvement in sex work. In my own work, I opted to use the term “study participants” and “men who participated in this study”. While it is my belief that the men who participated in my study were in fact engaged in sex work, many of my respondents rejected the notion that they were involved in the xxxiv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology transactional sex trade, and I have accordingly elected to respect their adamant rejection of labels in describing their actions. Ethical Considerations Research studies that focus on stigmatized activities, such as sex tourism, have the potential to involve risks of protecting both the research participants and the researchers, with protecting the identities of informants being an issue that affects researchers conducting in-depth studies of specific populations, particularly those that can be considered vulnerable. To minimize the risk of identification, all participants in my study have been randomly assigned pseudonyms, some details, including locations and personal identifiable traits have been altered to protect anonymity. CHAPTER TWO: STUDY PARTICIPANTS PERSPECTIVES Motivations for Involvement Virtually all existing scholarship on Jamaican ‘beach boys’ indicates that one of the main motivations given by the ‘professional beach boys’ for their involvement with female tourists is economic (Herold, Garcia & DeMoya, 2001). Ranging from the short term material goals of acquiring free meals, drinks and entertainment, to the intermediate and long terms goals of cash remittances or sponsorship for citizenship or residency abroad, the supposed primacy of xxxv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology economic motivation is well documented. While poverty and sex work appear to be inseparably linked in the scholarship concerning female sex workers, treating females engaged in both formal and informal sex work as victims of poverty, the preponderance of academic studies concerning Jamaican male sex work sees ‘beach boys’ as extortionists praying on the vulnerability of tourist women while actively pursuing his next money making venture or sexual conquest (Herold, Garcia & DeMoya, 2001), with being a beach boy being perceived as allowing for the ability to earn a prosperous living far beyond basic needs for survival (Pruitt & LaFont, 1995). According to previous scholarship the ability to earn a prosperous living has significance for the Jamaican ‘beach boys’ that extends far beyond meeting basic needs of survival, as there exists a great “pressure to establish one’s maleness through the abilities to disperse case” (Hoope, 2004, p. 108) in Jamaican culture. Informed heavily by scholarship regarding Jamaican dancehall culture, a culture that encompasses Dancehall’s music, fashions, art, and ideologies, ‘beach boy’ masculinity is redefined to encapsulates a “masculine identity founded on conspicuous consumption, ostentatious costumes and exaggerated performance, and not on the preferred markers of status and personhood that traditionally inform social relations in Jamaica” (Hoope, 2004, p. 108) but on the markers of status prescribed by the dancehall. The conspicuous consumption demanded of men in Jamaican dancehall culture includes consumption of status generating products, such as: foreign travel (Jamaica/diaspora), diamond and platinum jewelry, Rolex watches, Italian leather shoes, luxury cars (latemodel – Benz, Volvo, stretch limousines, SUVs), brand-name sunglasses, expensive cellular phones, and expensive European and Parisian designs/clothing (Hope, 2004) . It is exactly these markers of status that are described as Jamaican men’s motivation for entrance and continued participation in the tourist oriented informal sex trade, in this context the motivation of escaping poverty is not discussed. xxxvi Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Poverty has been a persistent feature of the Jamaican landscape in the post emancipation period (Anderson, 2001). Jamaica has used a consumption based methodology for the definition and estimation of the incidence of poverty since 1989. All persons consuming below an estimated poverty line are deemed to be in poverty. This state of being poor is evidenced typically not only by an inability to procure the requisite means of subsistence, but also in deprivation of access to such public goods as basic education, healthcare, housing, transportation, safe environments and employment (Jamaica National Development Plan , 2009). The prevalence of poverty in Jamaica in 2013 was 17 percent and many of the factors impacting poverty have an inter-generational dynamic and according to the Jamaica National Development Plan (2009) include low educational attainment levels, low income earning capability, inability to access basic social services, lack of economic opportunities leading to underemployment, unemployment and low wage employment , poor rural development impacting the opportunities and livelihoods of rural households and high levels of risk due to natural hazards and poor environmental practices. The Jamaican economy has become increasingly reliant on tourism and remittances for its gross domestic product (GDP) and less so on bauxite/alumina, as it was before the global economic recession. The declining sugar industry was replaced by tourism in 1965 in terms of foreign exchange generated (Smith, 1976). The service industry now accounts for approximately 65% of the GDP, of which tourism revenues total approximately 10% (CIA World Factbook 2013). While low earnings and price inflation are contributors to poverty, the presence of extensive unemployment is a major predictor of economic hardship. This economy has been blighted with consistently high unemployment rates and considerable national debt. With a Jamaican unemployment rate of approximately 14%, with the highest numbers of unemployed citizens xxxvii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology falling within the 25-34 age group for both males and females (Statistical Institute of Jamaica 2013) and a total of approximately 17 percent living well below the poverty line, with 26% of Jamaicans living in poverty being aged between the ages of 12 and 24 (CIA World Factbook 2013). The impact of unemployment on the youth Labor force may be appreciated from the fact that close to 100,000 persons between 14 and 24 years of age were recorded as unemployed in 2008. This large pool of unemployed youths represented 52% of the total estimate of 200,000 unemployed workers, translating to seven out of 10 unemployed workers in Jamaica being below the age of 30. Investment in education is generally expected to reduce the risk of unemployment, but it has demonstrated that that is not the case for young men in Jamaica (Gayle, 2002) . Whereas there is a demand for unskilled male labour, particularly in agriculture, those young men who have achieved secondary education cannot find a commensurate increase in their job opportunities. According to the book Poverty in Jamaica: Social Target or Social Crisis, young males with no secondary education had an unemployment rate of 12.9% in 1998, but the rate was more than double for those with some secondary education (Gayle, 2002). The importance of economic motivation was very clearly conveyed by interview participants during this study with ten (10) of the thirteen (13) respondents indicating that the prospect of financial gain was their chief motivator for involvement with tourist women. Despite the inclination for academics to point to dancehall culture and desires of a prosperous living as incentive for Jamaican men’s participation in the sex trade, all interview participants indicated that their entrance into sex work was at least partly motivated by a desire to escape poverty. One ‘beach boy’ noted: xxxviii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Why I want to be involved with these women… simple, its opportunity. If I’m a poor country yute living on Jamaica’s North Coast where I regularly come into contact with these women I would do almost anything to be involved with these women. There aren’t many opportunities to prosper in Jamaica, so if you’re lucky enough to find one of these women willin to leave you a little something or send you something you might be good. Another argued: …so as soon as a man come to the beach an’ start hustle an’ start to get that kinda attention, then him start think twice. Him stop think ‘bout fi hustle an’ start tink ‘bout fi gig. The worse, fi him go out wit de woman,an’ she gi’im like $200 to $300 [U.S.] fi put inna him pocket, an’ him hustle fi whole week an’ nah make dat. Him tink, ‘Wait…hustlin’ fi foolishness. Me need fi start fuck dem tourists here.’ So ah dat’s how it go. You link up wit’ other tourists, link up wit’ other gigolo, an’ you learn de game. For some of the men who participated in this study, the sexual conquest of tourists is a major objective, as will be discussed in detail in the following section. Nevertheless, both in this research as well as in previous studies, one of the main motivations given by the professional ‘beach boys’ for their involvement with female tourists is economic. All of the interview respondents in this study, with the exception of the freelance portrait artist, indicated that their current rate of employment compensation, and the rate of compensation they could expect based on their educational background and skills was the Jamaican minimum wage xxxix Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology of $ 5000 Jamaican Dollars (approximately 51 Canadian Dollars) a month, a wage that all interview participants considered as insufficient for survival. According to the men who participated in this study, the insufficiency of the wage compensation available is the incitement to become economically involved with tourist women. One beach boy, upon recalling his entrance into ‘work’ as a ‘beach boy’ said: This is how you create a culture of corruption. Most people cannot get by on their regular salaries and have to resort to other measures. It is the norm here in Jamaica. Some gonna sell rocks or whatever, Im gonna mek these women have a nice time and hope they left me with something. I never even thought twice about my links. After the transportation costs to get to and from said job, yu lucky fi have two can ah baked bean to your name by week's end....it's fucking ludicrous. Plus, that may be the minimum wage, but you only get it if boss man shows up on friday fi put it in your hand...mine him owe you likkle bit of it..., I work hard yu know.. Another noted: People come to think you have big job if yuh for resort, You get paid $340 US per month after taxes, not a week you know, roughly US $85 per week. People always think that workers out here a get big money. Little do they know a pay cheque to pay cheque ting a go on. As them pay light bill and rent and buy food money next to done. Someone can work at a fast food restaurant in America and xl Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology make US $250 per week while a Jamaican that works on shift at resort as a trained chef would get US $85 per week. My point is this… a fuckreydat! For the lack of a better word. Another argued: The Jamaica minimum wage is US $43 per week, that is unacceptable by all standards of living in these times when everything a rise except the average man pay check. Wha people haffi do fi survive? It hard fi honest hard working people make a life for themself and their family. I have fi do what I have fi do… I work 50 hours a week here and have fi spend the rest of my time chatting up this woman and this woman, just to have enough to survive, the political text book answers naw cut it nuh more. The participants in this study, apart from confessing the severity of their economic hardship, indicated that the minimum wage work that is available to them is physically demanding hard work. The ability to improve their financial situations by attending to tourist women is therefore seen as “good work” that is not physically demanding and allows for the earning of an income that may greatly surpass the income grossed through the minimum wage employment that is felt to be insufficient for survival. Despite the assertion that Jamaica's masculine identity is founded on conspicuous consumption, ostentatious costumes and exaggerated performance, and not on the preferred markers of status and personhood that traditionally inform social relations in Jamaica (Hope, 2004) not one of the participants of this study mentioned foreign travel, diamond and platinum jewelry, Rolex watches, Italian leather shoes, or luxury cars as motivation for involvement with tourist women . xli Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology In addition to being able to afford housing, food and other necessities the men who participated in this voiced a desire to be able to provide for their families, including their children, girlfriends, and parents. One participant noted that “a man is supposed be able to provide for him family, for his children and his woman. A man needs money for that." Another participant argued: Roun my way, the women dem depend on their man to be the head of the family, to keep a roof over them head and keep their bellies full. In any normal family, there has to be a head. Somebody has to have final I was always taught it was the man's place to be the head. Another noted that "as long as the inability of government to raise the standard of living or the employment rate causes hardship to the average man he is gonna have to hustle to provide for his babies." In accordance with Kempadoo (1999, p. 25) who writes, “An exchange of sex for material and financial benefits with a female tourist […] reaffirms conceptions of ‘real’ Caribbean manhood, creating a space for the liberation of a masculinity that, within the international context is subordinated to an economically powerful, white masculinity” the men who participated in this study reported feeling that they remain in control as they express their masculinity and sexual prowess through behaviors with women tourists. While studies (Padilla, 2008) have reported an intense stigma associated with Western male sex workers, the men who participated in this study reported that their engagement in transactional sex fit with their concepualizations of masculinity. xlii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology One participant noted; Being a Jamaican man is not an easy task, you hear “Datdeh, is a man” for only certain things that are valued in men in Jamaica. You have to be a gyallis, have to have a bag of kids from different mothers, cause in Jamaica the ultimate measure of the worth of a Jamaican man is his ability to conquer the fairer sex. To be in this game, your doing it for the money, but you doing it to be a man too. Another; To be a man, a real man, means certain things in Jamaica and everywhere, it means you can get plenty women and you are able to be a father. This flex lets me make money but makes me feel like a real big man. Anger Towards Tourists During discussion on poverty in Jamaica, many of the men who participated in this study presented a sort of anger directed at the Western tourists who possess very considerable economic privilege. Acutely aware of the average cost of a one week all- inclusive vacation at the Jamaican resort where the study participants were located (between $1500 to $2000 for two travelers), the study participants often defended their pursuit of financial gain from tourist women by referring to them as “spoiled” or “greedy”. It was the prevailing opinion amongst the men who participated in this study that life abroad is “too easy” and that ‘tourist dollars’ might as well be spent on them. One ‘beach boy’, visibly angered the income disparity between Jamaicans and tourists, argued: xliii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Yuh see these women haf money fi spend, she gonna spend some $99,000 (Jamaican) dollars to come her for a week! She have more than immamake all year to spend on one week! Talking bout she need to relax! I need to relax! Nuh sir, if she have $25 (American) dollars to spend on a one plate of chicken and rice and peas ( referring to the prices at Jerk Hut restaurant located just off hotel property that catered to foreign travelers) she have nuf money fi leave me some. I don’t fucking care, I hear people say we takin advantage of these women, they taking advantage of us. They come Yard, sit pon the beach, enjoy our weather, our sun, our water, our people and left us with pollution and foreign disease. Nuh sir! Another stated: Im not the type to begrudge anyone for what them have, but it seems to me yall have to easy , you see nuf vacationers here that is spoiled, feel entitled, come to Yard and feel they deserve everything…Let me put it this way.. what one week flight, hotel and food cost you can, support my family for a year. I understand the whole system is set up to keep the good man down, but sometimes you guys just look greedy. Another recounted an instance when he was forced to explain his perceptions of bilateral exploitation. One time one old country woman asked me how come I can take advantage of these woman, me a laugh, tell her cha how come all the people dem can take advantage of us. You understand… these tourist come to Jamaica and use our resources and honestly abuse our women and children and we are left to struggle here, that aint fair, you on vacation sure but you can see this shit aint right. And worse the Jamaican government xliv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology gonna use up all the taxes we pay to make ads for these tourists to come. Most places were the government charges you taxes, there is some kind of social services, not here nope. You broke and hungry, most your gonna get is a food hamper, cause the government is doing the job of the cruise ship captain and trying to get the tourists. Another stated: Yuh see these big whales come in thinking they running this shit and we have to smile and laugh and tell her she sexy, and what have you. Nobody can tell me this shit is easy. It ain't fucking easy. I don't want to do this shit but hey I want to eat too, so guess I can't have it both ways. Nobody can tell me shit, if these whales have money fi spend she gonna spend it on me. Several researchers documenting male sex tourism in underdeveloped countries often cite tourists who justify their sexual exploitation of local people with rationalizations that the local sex workers are so financially destitute that their sexual transactions are in fact “helping out” an impoverished person (O’Connell Davidson, 2000). The men who participated in this study attempted to justify their own involvement in transactional sex (and the possible perception that they are exploiting tourist women) by pointing to the gross income disparity between Jamaicans and travelers to the region. By pointing to the income disparity and to the opinion that Western women are “spoiled”, the men who participated in this study justify their own behavior by insisting that the women they become involved with can afford the financial remuneration expected as well as by pointing to what they perceive to be as bilateral exploitation, in that they express that any exploiting of women that they are involved with, is justified by their feelings xlv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology that the female tourists that they are involved with are in turn exploiting them and Jamaica’s resources. THE ECONOMIC POWER OF FEMALE TOURISTS In order to include women within the ranks of sex tourists, researchers (Taylor, 2001) describe them as having economic power over local men. It is clear that Western women tourists do possess very considerable economic privilege in comparison to the Jamaican men with whom they engage in romantic and sexual relationships. But the extent of this privilege in the sexual relationships between foreign women and local Jamaican men that take place is not so clear. According to some of the men who participated in this study the economic privilege enjoyed by the female sex tourists is diminutive in comparison to the power of male dominance. One study participant noted; I have had the problem before of women thinking that because they have a little superiority in terms of money they are going to run me. Rasta man no get run by no woman! No Babylon woman that's for sure. Jah created man and women equal, everyone there is a certain role that is needed to maintain order and women come from France or Germany and think that their role as a because they have some more moment. But even the bible says but to sometimes woman is changed one man is worth two woman, that's the order and that is important to be maintained. Another noted; At first, I mean initially, foreign women do have a bit of power, they do, I guess, at first, control the situation with a man, but that can only last for so long. After man is the man and a woman is just a women, when it isnt going to change the real situation. xlvi all is said and done a comes down to it a little bit of money Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Another revealed; A woman from foreign, if she is worth the pursuit anyways, is always going to have a little more than me, but that's just one aspect a relationship. Where she has some control over her money, I am the Jamaican and the man, and when she is here, I have control over all things Jamaica. I know where to go, where to take her, all stuff like that. In the opinion of other men who participated in this study the economic privilege enjoyed by the female sex tourists is considerable and able to command the attention and often the actions of the local men. One participant noted that "making money isn't hard in itself, it's having to put your pride aside and let some woman control you". Another participant argued; Hard as it is to admit it, it just makes zero sense to deny it, the biggest reason that men are involved (with tourist women) is for the cash, and they always end up doing what the cash commands so they can get their hands on it. While it is clear that Western women tourists do possess very considerable economic privilege in comparison to the Jamaican men that they engage in romantic and sexual relationships with, this research has failed to demonstrate the role of this privilege in the sexual relationships between foreign women and local Jamaican men. It is however important to note that researchers on both sides of the debate agree that foreign women’s economic privilege is only able to hold the men’s sex class privilege at bay temporarily and in quite specialized settings (Jeffreys, 2003). Sexual Motivations for Involvement xlvii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology While the importance of economic motivation was very clearly conveyed by interview participants during this study, the majority of participants, communicated that the prospect of sex with tourist women was too an incentive for involvement in the informal trade. One “beach boy”, who self-identified as Montego Bay’s Casanova, when asked about his primary motivation for involvement with tourist women responded: Sex. Plain an simple, sex. For me it’s not complicated at all… You know, there are all these women here, and I can give you this reason or that reason for why I want to be involved in relationship with them, but when it comes down to it the answer is just sex… If you went to a jam an asked men there how come you here, they can tell you all the reasons they want but the truth is they are looking for woman fi sex…. Women are a natural kind of beauty, all women regardless of their shape, size and color, that you can't find anywhere else in the natural world. That's what this is all about, never before in my life that I have so much opportunities with ladies from everywhere in the world. Another participant responded “to be honest, I'm just looking for a little fun, I’m a young man, just wanna spread my seed and enjoy the life”. Another study participant responded "ummm… A little pleasure in the bedroom really, aint no different than everyone else, its really just a complicated flex for a little bit of sex.” The men who participated in my study, while clearly conveying the importance of economic motivations for their entrance and continued involvement in the Jamaican informal sex trade, also communicated that the pursuit and enjoyment of sex with tourist women too acts as incentive for involvement. xlviii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Pursuit of Women Depending on Goals Noting that financial gifts could not be expected from each tourist women the men who participated in this study indicated that they pursued different ‘types’ of tourist women depending on their motivations for involvement with them. The interview respondents indicated that when their primary motivation for involvement with tourist women is the desire for sexual conquest, their preference for women is described as young, attractive and preferably blond and blue eyed women. Western tourists are seen as being motivated by racist sexual stereotypes in their involvement with Caribbean men and women (Jeffrys, 2003), with both Caribbean men and women ‘constructed in tourist imaginations as racialized-sexual subjects/objects – the hypersexual “Black male stud” and the “hot” Brown or Black woman’ (Kempadoo, 2001, p. 50). Female sex tourists, according to researchers, employ fantasies of Otherness in their interaction with Black men in the Caribbean. Coincidentally the black male respondents in this sample unitized similar racially constructed sexual imagery of the white women they become involved with. As one respondent recounted: In Jamaica, black women are a dime a dozen. If I have the option I’m going to choose the white women all of the time. I love white women, I think they are beautiful and they know how to treat their man. Thai women, for example, are uniformly held by white male sex tourists to Thailandto be more affectionate, loyal, innocent and natural than white women. Thai women are described as being not at all like the women of The United States, Canada, England or Australia. “heyare kind, nurturing, caring, feminine and genuine”.Similar to the Western men who employ notions of difference and ‘Otherness’ to differentiate their Western female sexual partners from those in xlix Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology South East Asia, the Jamaican men who participated in this study also utilized this discourse of difference to describe their preferences for white women. One study participant argued: Don’t get me wrong, I love women, all women, but I especially love white and blond women, Polish women especially. I love how they look. And….they don’t act like Jamaican women, they don’t carry on like Jamaican women. They are more calm, relax, don’t mek a big fuss all the time… I had a Polish women come check me for two weeks, she just calm and relax and leave me be. With 76% of Jamaica’s population being of black African descent, the respondents who articulated their preference for white tourist women argued that the presence of white tourist women allowed them the opportunity to try “something new”, a “new experience” and “different”. As one respondent who was employed by the beach resort carefully noted: I can't pick up one day and travel ah foreign to find different different women. In Yard almost all woman is black, where I live at all the women is black, I take the bus all the women is black, I do my shopping all the women is black, I come here (to the beach resort) and oh my gosh now there all different kinds of women, White women, Spanish women, Chinese women. Now I can chat to different kinds of women, not all the time black woman. Another participant suggested that "maybe these ladies come to Jamaica and say we exotic, but maybe we see them and say they are exotic. Everyone wants to try something new and different once in a while, you know”. Another participant argued: l Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Black women are more aggressive, simple as that. It’s not their fault, and it goes back to slavery days. When we were taken from Africa, the white people them were scared that the black man would rise up and take them out, so they stopped the black man from being able to be a real man. Because of this the black women had to pick up the slack and had to be like the man, in the home and with the children and stuff, they had to be more aggressive and tough. White women aren’t aggressive, they are more kind….caring. They gonna help you out without all the cussing and fussing. They sweet, when someone ask me why I prefer to be with a white girl I tell’em at least she gonna make me a sandwich when she done drain me like dirty bath water, aint no way a Jamaican is gonna fix me a sandwich. Another participant noted: You ever hear why most young Jamaican girls start getting involved with sex? Money. That is big thing , women only wan have sex for money. Some time dem mother doan have any money an’ dem have sex fi food, an quick the pikkny learn they doan have give it away. So if you a big man an doan have any money you not gonna be lookin a Jamaican woman. Also speaking to the perceived expectation of Jamaican women for financial remuneration from sexual partners another participant argued: Most times the girls looking material things...lets take for example a man come pass on the road and dem a walk and holla to a girl, she will say, go weh, li Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology she not interested, not in the least. But mek the same man start roll up in a nice car the next day and now all of a sudden, she interested. Thats just how it works, no money, no chat. Sometimes you want to talk to a girl and you tell her yu like her an she would say “move and go on your way you have no money. While foreigner travelers are often seen attracted to locals who exude an “otherness” that they consider exotic (Herold, Garcia & DeMoya, 2001), with Pruitt and LaFont explaining foreign womens’ perceptions of Jamaican men as “the exotic Other has been constructed as more passionate, more emotional, more natural, and sexually tempting.” (1995). My research has demonstrated that, Western women, especially those with blond hair and light eyes, are considered exotic and attractive in areas where the more common phenotype includes darker eyes, hair, and complexion. Consistent with previous scholarship (Herold, Garcia & DeMoya, 2001) the men who participated in this study confirmed that their preferences for tourist partners is dependent on their primary motivation for involvement at that time. While the majority of men reported to prefer young and attractive, preferably blond women, when anticipating sexual conquest alone, when financial gain is desired the men who participated in this study report to seeking out the company of older ( aged 40 or older) white women, overweight women, and other women who may not be considered traditionally attractive. While the men who participated in this study considered every woman who had travelled to Jamaica alone or without the company of a man as potentially interested in the a romantic or sexual experience with a local man (or men) they believed that older or overweight women were often more open to the idea of involvement with a local man because of their perceived inability to “find a man back home”. The participants lii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology considered many of these women to be more accessible than the traditionally attractive blond women they desire for sexual conquest, because having men pay romantic attention to them was a unique occurrence for them. They further believed that these women are also more likely to provide financially for their local boyfriends, and are considered more “generous” and “bighearted”. Holding the assumption that female travelers to the island that perhaps do not accord to traditionally held notions of beauty, are intently interested in the sexual or romantic company of local Jamaican men, the majority of respondents in this study indicated that when desirous of financial gain they will “target it” on these women and “shower dem wit sweet talk” including praises of beauty and sexiness. According to the study participants, these women “fall in love” more easily and are therefore more likely to provide money to the beach boy, as well as more likely to provide remittances to him upon her return home. One interview respondent remarked: A one thing me notice though, the majority a the woman dem who come from farin fi sex, and are willing to sped nuf money on it, is some ole washed up whale who generally cant get a man abroad fi give dem a serious look. The good thing for me is we Jamaicans have a strong stomach and tend not to discriminate. According to Romero-Daza & Freidus some women whose body shapes fall outside Western ideals may be regarded as more voluptuous and sexy when they travel to other countries and therefore receive more attention and feel more attractive to locals (Romero-Daza, &Freidus, 2008). In Gringas and Otavalenos: Changing tourist relation, an article who examines the romantic and sexual relations between young foreign women and in indigenous men in Otavalo, Ecuador, Meisch explains that “the ideal body type [in Ecuador] is more womanly than the liii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology impossibly slim American ideal, so that young women who consider themselves fat or otherwise unattractive suddenly discover that they are considered beauties, and the experience is heady” (Meisch , 1995). My research too has demonstrated that Jamaican men involved in transactional sex with tourist women are aware of these ideals and often seek out relationships with foreign women who are overweight or fall outside the ideal of Western beauty because they tend to be more receptive to their advances. Three Levels of Economic Gains In accordance with previous scholarship, the men who participated in this study confirmed the three levels of economic gains which motivate involvement with tourist women. According to the men who participated in this study the bulk of economic gains achieved by ‘beach boys’ are short term ends, that often include free meals, drinks and admissions into nightclubs and similar events, small amounts of money or gifts left behind upon the tourist woman's departure from Jamaica. Short term ends can also include the ability to take a hot shower in the female guest’s hotel room or spend the night with them (against official resort policy). As one ‘beach boy’ noted: If me a meet a woman and she feelin me, she gonna pay for my meals and drinks maybe, maybe I fuck her right and she gonna leave me a $50 (American) dollars when she dun leave, it all depends yuh know ... Sometimes a woman gonna wan give you dis and dat, leave you bunch new clothes and money, and sometimes she just gonna go. liv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Another participant noted “it's possible that you can receive money, gifts, invitations to parties and bars, trips around the island, and paid drinks and meals, ita a good gig”. In addition to the short term economic benefits, many of the men who participated in this study reported receiving or having previously received what is commonly considered intermediate level economic gains. One of the men who participated in this study reported receiving monthly remittances from a “girlfriend” residing in the United Kingdom, another advised that he had received a large “loan” intended to repair the fictitious hurricane damage caused to his home. He recounted his tale: Ahhh, this one I feel bad for, in 2009 there was a woman here and we got to talking and whatever and I ended up telling her that my house was badly damaged by hurricane Ivan in 2004, I had a feeling she wasn’t gonna leave me anything, so I kept on talking bout my house, how the roof popped off and how it dropped in elevation and all this crazy stuff. On the last day before she went to go home she calls me and tells me she has something for me, so im thinking shes gonna leave me $100 dollars or some shit, let me tell you this woman gave me a loan of like $5000 American dollars to fix up my house! Holy Jesus Christ, I didn’t even know what to do, I was so happy I ran all the damn way home. It is funny though, cause ifyou really think about it what the hell was this women thinking, I was like 18 years old, how the hell did she think I had a house? One ‘beach boy’ advised that his Canadian “girlfriend” travelled to Jamaica annually to spend time with him, he informed that she had purchased a vehicle for him upon her last visit so that lv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology they would have a readily available means of transportation during her vacations. Noting that intermediate level financial gains are often not received by male sex workers simply as gifts but rather as investments foreign women have made, one participant noted: Most of the time me hear these women say this and this is “for us” she might gonna buy me some property but she say its “for us”, they make it like an investment so when they come check me again, we have a spot or a car and things like that. According to the men who participated in this study the far most desirous economic gain available is the ability to migrate abroad through family class sponsorship. All of the men who participated in this study reported having known a fellow ‘beach boy’ who had moved to “foreign” with a woman he had met during her Jamaican holiday. In addition, all the men who participated in this study regarded the possibility of meeting a woman that would be willing to sponsor their entrance in to another country as by far the biggest economic motivation for involvement with tourist women, indicating that the pursuit of tourist women is often used as both a survival strategy and an advancement strategy. One ‘beach boy’, who considered the prospect of meeting a women, who would sponsor his departure from Jamaica, stated “If you want a break you have to link up with white woman who will take you a foreign. Then you’ll get a break”. One ‘beach boy’ who spoke of his desire to find a woman to “file for mi” noted: I know nuff Jamaican men who left Yard with women to go foreign. Nuff of them fall ‘in love’ with them when there in JA but as soon as they get that green card or visa and reach foreign them gone. For me, when I met a new woman I try lvi Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology hard mek her fall in love wit me. I’ll marry her, breed her, whatever she want…..just file for mi. Another respondent, who had unsuccessfully applied for a visitor’s visa to Canada, stated: In Canada and the U.S they don’t want to let Jamaican’s in because we have a certain reputation of being kind of fancy and maybe not ever leaving. But from when you find woman willing to file for you, they don’t tell you nothing. The only chance yute have to mek it is to find woman to file for them. Commenting on a fellow ‘beach boys’ immigration, one participant noted: The stress alone in Jamaica will kill you. But guess what... not everywhere. I know nufyute who migrated from here. They up in Canada and US takin life easy. This one guy, we called him skallywagz, met one nice girl here, she fike for him, him marry her, they have a big house now, a pack of kids and hes good. He drive a teansit bus making nufmoney , That's the goal, make it somewhere where you don't need to worry yourself no more. When questioned about their desire to leave Jamaica some of the men responded that it would be their intention to leave Jamaica and remain abroad with the woman who had sponsored them, starting a family and a life together. Others reported that while their goal was to go foreign through family class sponsorship they had no intention of remaining with the woman who had sponsored them or abroad. One beach boy commented: lvii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology The end goal for me is to get a sponsor to take me either to the US or England, work two three jobs, save up enough money and come back to Jamaica. If you have money Jamaica is paradise, and I want to come back to paradise with enough money to enjoy my life. Another, who would allegedly remain with the woman who sponsored her assuming she maintained her ability to financially support him remarked “you nah haffi worry about me, as long as your money right. You take me to America an you money right, we cool, your money run out, I ah run out too” Consistent with the existing scholarship, the men who participated in this study confirmed one of the main motivations for involvement with female tourists is economic, ranging from short term material goals such as obtaining free meals and entertainment, spending nights in tourist resorts and receiving small amounts of cash, to an intermediate level of obtaining money for transportation such as a motorcycle or car or a gift or loan to purchase property or start a small business. For most of the men who participated in this study the prospect of trips to North America or Europe or being sponsored through marriage or family class sponsorship to live and work in either of those geographic areas, was considered the highest possible economic goals, one that the majority of respondents strived to achieve. Obtaining Payment With regard to seeking compensation from tourist women, specifically for short term material goals, the men who participated in this study informed that they never directly ask for a specific sum of money, but instead use a variety of tactics to “play up” their dire financial situations, in hopes of motivating the tourist women’s generosity. For example, they reportedoften suggesting lviii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology to women that they would like to accompany them to dinners or nightclubs but that they were unable to pay for their meal or admissions. Other approaches to obtaining short term financial ends include speaking excessively about the gravity of their financial plight. Another approach reported was the exaggeration of financial circumstances, where the study participant fabricated stories told to tourist women. For the study participants, appealing to women’s empathy and sensitivity is a far more rewarding and dignified option than directly requesting a specific some of money. Noting the perceived benevolence of tourist women emotionally involved with ‘beach boys’, one participant commented: Hmmm, that’s tricky, I learned a long time ago that you never ever want the woman to think she is paying for sex, she gonna catch a bad vibe about that for sure. You have to be smooth about it if you are looking to make some cash. Most of the time the woman that come and are experienced in these kinds of things are ready to just give it up, but sometimes you have to ease into the conversations. One time, as an example, I took this girl to where my mom live in New Kingston, from when she saw how we livin she start to feel real bad, she start to pay for everything, and she start to send me back some of her wages each month. From when me a saw that, I realize you have to appeal to these woman. Woman by nature is sensitive and caring, and shes gonna try and help if she think she has a good man. lix Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology One study participant who reported exaggerating his financial plight to solicit the financial aid of tourist women informed that he often made up stories that informed women of an immediate financial need, he noted: From me a know she interested in me, imam start to tell her different things. One time I say me mommy’s in hospital and I can’t pay doctor’s bill, one time I can’t pay light bill, and they ah come cut it off tomorrow, one time I need fi get antibiotics and can’t pay the chemist. In the same vein another participant remarked: To tell you the truth, when it comes around the time for the lady to be headed home I usually start to tell her some stuff about my situation, I tell her like it’s a secret and I am embarrassed to talk too much about it. I find that they usually come to feel bad and like to leave me a little token before them go home. One of the older men who participated in this study indicated that it was his impression that the tourist women were aware of the economic element to their relationship but it was far more conducive to not approach the situation as a “simple cash for sex situation’: A well-seasoned sex tourist and an experienced renta already know the score and how to play it. It may be unspoken to how the transaction may end up or what it may cost that's where experience comes in. Spending caliber will be monitored within a short period of time. It would make no sense to fix a price , although I think there are instances when this happens, when a more lucrative opportunity may present itself. For me, I really watch a woman and her habits before I go and approach her, I see how much she gonna spend at the casino, how much she lx Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology gonna spend at the shops and stuff, that way I have an idea of her financial caliber. You overstand… its not gonna make sense for me to beg her $100 dollars when she have much much more than that. In Sum, with regard to seeking payment, the study participants reported that they never directly ask for a specific sum of money but rather use different strategies to elicit financial ‘gifts’ from the women they become involved with. Ranging from drawing attention to their financial hardships to exaggerating their poor financial situations and outright lying, the tactics utilized by the men who participated in this study demonstrates that complicated nature of female sex tourism in Jamaica. Chapter Conclusion The individual experiences of the men described above offer valuable insight into what motivates initial and continued involvement in transactional sex in Jamaica. The men who participated in this study reported that in addition to the overall interest and enjoyment of casual sex with female visitors to the island the chief motivation for involvement in the informal sex trade is economic. Whereas previous scholars have insisted that Jamaican men, influenced by the consumption mandated by Jamaica’s dancehall culture, are drawn to sex work by the opportunity of earning a prosperous living, which extends far beyond meeting ones means of substance, the men who participated in this study describe their entrance into sex work as a mechanism to escape poverty. From the possibility of hot showers in guest’s rooms to family class sponsorship abroad, the men who participated in this study speak of a ‘hustle’ that offers a strategy for both survival and advancement, concepts that are situated in the larger context of the overall tourism industry in Jamaica, and the ways in which marginalized men are able to adapt and restructure lxi Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology their lives to both survive and thrive in their community. By engaging in transactional sex with female sex tourists the men are better able to support themselves and their families, as well as potentially immigrate to developed countries. Contrary to the existing literature, the prospect of escaping poverty and providing financially for their families was a motivation for entrance and continued participation in the tourist oriented informal sex trade. Apart from using female sex tourism as a mechanism for escaping poverty, the men who participated in this study indicate that transactional sex also allows them to provide for their families, an important area for male identity in Jamaica. In explaining this, Brown et al (1997, p. 98-99) raised a series of issues related to male identity Firstly they note that men are seen as the ones responsible for the economic livelihood of their families regardless of the employment status of the woman as financial provision for the family is not her designated role. The man is not seen as a man in Jamaican culture if he cannot provide financially for his children and offer protection from external harmful forces. Secondly, Brown et al note that men in Jamaican culture view it as God’s will that they should be the heads of their families. They argue that this view is also shared by women who feel that when they happen to be heads of households, it is not by their own choice but because they are forced to do so. In Adolescent and Young Male Sexuality and Reproductive Health Study – Jamaica, Chevannes and Gayle (2000) summarize this issue as follows: lxii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Despite the differences in social background, the adolescents and young men seemed quite united about their definition of manhood. Of greatest importance is the male’s ability to provide for the family. He must maintain not only the children but also the mother of those children. Additionally, he must care for his own mother. ( p. 78) LaFont (1992) describes the expectations most Jamaican women hold of financial remuneration from men in exchange for sex and domestic duties by women with the result that much of men's role fulfillment in romantic and sexual relationships with Jamaican women is dependent on his ability to earn and dispense cash. Women expect that a man with whom they are having an intimate relationship with will contribute financial support and that he will display an ability and willingness to do so early in a relationship (LaFont, 1992). Given that a man is not considered a “real” man in Jamaica unless he is heterosexually active, with polygamy or multiple relationships enhancing masculinity, the ability to provide financial support is necessary for men to be successful with women and thus verify ones manliness." As previous scholarship, and the participants in this study note, "No money, no talk" or "No money, no chat" are common expressions in Jamaica and serve as metaphor for the fact that for Jamaican men the road to Jamaican women and therefore status are inseparably linked. The sex tourism of Western women allows Jamaican men an arena to both secure sexual access to women (and associated social status) as well as economic resources. In contrast to a Jamaican man's relationship with a Jamaican women, a man's relations with foreign women does not depend on his ability to provide income. Pruitt and LaFont (1995) argue that a tourist women's interest in Jamaican men is not predominantly financial.Thus he is "able to acquire the desirable lxiii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology reputation of being successful with women without the financial outlay necessary in his own culture" (p. 429). This chapter illustrated the methods, perspectives, and motivations of men who utilize sex tourism as a strategy for improving the material conditions of their lives, the following chapter will attempt to exemplify the tourist women's motivations for involvement with local Jamaican men, as perceived by Jamaican men. CHAPTER THREE: STUDY PARTICIPANTS PERSPECTIVES OF FEMALE TOURISTS Perspectives on Female Involvement with Local Men lxiv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology While the main reasons reported by previous scholarship for the involvement of female tourists with local Jamaican men have been either the search for a romantic love relationship (Pruitt &LaFont, 1995) or sexual excitement and novelty (de Albuquerque, 1998), the men who participated in this study perceive racial motivations to be the primary motivating factor for women who travel to Jamaica with the explicit intention of engaging in sexual relations with local men and those who do not intentionally put themselves in a sex tourist position, but find themselves involved in a sexual encounter with local Jamaican men. There is a well-documented link between sex tourism and various forms of racism, a link that the men who participated in this study were astutely aware of. As noted, female Western sex tourists are seen as being attracted to Jamaican men by racist sexual stereotypes that include fantasies where the exotic ‘other’ is more passionate, more emotional, more natural and sexual tempting (Pruitt &LaFont, 1995). Women also enter into relationships with Jamaican men, according to this interpretation, to feel as though they are able to ‘tame’ a man who is reputed to be the raw, highly sexed ‘other’, a real man with a primitive manhood (Taylor, 2006). These fantasies often arise out of associations between nationality and race which are rooted in colonial racist discourses (Brennan, 2004). Racism supports and reinforces white Westerners’ desires for exotic sexual experiences. This desire, more appropriately referred to as “post-colonial fantasy,” is fueled by “First World desires to consume the dark skinned ‘native’ bodies of the developing world…” (Brennan, 2004). This contemporary Western association between nationality, race, and sexuality has evolved from colonial notions of race, gender and sexuality in which white Europeans were set in opposition to the darker “natives” they colonized, Brennan lists the racist dichotomies that run through colonial discourses as “Native instinct and white self-discipline; native lust and white civility; native sensuality and white morality (Brennan, 2004). The fantasy lxv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology of the sexual prowess of black men is nurtured through radicalized, sexualized images of bodily commodities, reminiscent of earlier relations between the colonizer and the colonized (Brennan, 2004), where women are seeking a sexual experience with the embodiment of their radicalized fantasies and tourist destinations become a safe environment where female sex tourists can enact control over an imagined masculinity which is stereotypically constructed as aggressive and violent (Taylor, 2006). These associations made between race and sexuality inadvertently justify the tourist woman’s desire to experience the exotic Other. From this lens the Caribbean is a space that is constructed as different, “sexual mores are different, people are naturally promiscuous and sex is more natural” (Taylor, 2006, p.760). Research on tourism advertising points to the use of sexual imagery and descriptions designed to attract visitors, with Dann (1996) finding that sexual expressions in Caribbean advertisements reflect the sexual mythology of the islands, which presents black people in the West Indies as sexualized subjects. Sanchez Taylor’s (2000) ethnographic work in Jamaica demonstrates the racist sexual stereotyping employed by tourist women who engaged in romantic or sexual experiences with Jamaican men. Using the results from a questionnaire in which women were asked to describe their local “boyfriends”, Taylor argues that “most of the female sex tourists emphasized how for them Black Jamaican men possessed bodies of great sexual value”. Arguing that the comments of the surveyed white women objectify the men in much the same way that black women are sexually objectified as ‘Other’ by male sex tourists Taylor provides several examples of questionnaire comments including one woman’s description of her lover as ‘sweet, friendly, gorgeous-great body’; another woman’s summation of hers as ‘dark skin-younger-small frame’; lxvi Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology and another as ‘Handsome, physically fit, 27-year-old, honest, proud, serious, family man, excellent lover’ (Taylor, 2000). The men who participated in this study were all well aware of the link between sex tourism and racism, and were all very familiar with the racial stereotypes that precede black men. All of the interview participants regarded racial motivations to be the primary motivating factor for women who travel to Jamaica with the explicit intention of engaging in sexual relations with local men and those who do not intentionally put themselves in a sex tourist position, but find themselves involved in a sexual encounter with local Jamaican men. The raced motivations, as perceived by the men who participated in this study can be divided into two distinct categories; firstly is the perceived inability to “experience different races at home” and secondly is the desire to “fuck real black men”. To Experience Something New According to the men who participated in this study the inability to “experience different races” in their native countries leads many women to become involved with Jamaican men during their holiday. Consistent with Taylor’s research (2000) which finds that a few of the women she interviewed expressed overtly hostile racism towards local men but “wanted to transgress both the racialised and gendered codes that normally govern their sexual behavior, while maintaining their honour and reputation back home” . One participant noted: lxvii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Many financially successful women want to experiment with different types of men but would rather not do it within their own region due to being self-conscious on what their friends and family would say, so they do it abroad. Sometimes the society in the region that these women come from doesn’t let women have experiences with men from other races, and they come to Jamaica because they want to try it but don’t want to be judged for it at home. Anyone who has lots of opportunities with all types of women will tell you that this is the average mentality of many women that are financially successful. People come on vacation really to have the chance to enjoying different things, a different environment, climate and people. It's important to them that they experience Jamaica and for a lot of men and women that means a sexual experience in Jamaica. One of the men reported having a brief sexual relationship with a women from the Southern United States who was on a “bachelorette trip” shortly before her wedding back home He recounted: I don’t remember where she say she come from, Atlanta or Alabama I think, all I remember she say I have never been wit a black man, and imgonna be married soon and wont ever have the chance again. Pointing to his own desire to sexually experience women of different ethno racial backgrounds, one participant commented: In my opinion, this is not a complicated thing at all, everyone wants to try new things, its what makes life exciting. Just the same as I want to try Asian woman lxviii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology and Indian women and whatever, they want to try a black man. They probably heard about Jamaican man being good in the bed and they want to see for themselves. Another argued: I know one thing for sure, some of these women simple and plain want a chance to experience a relationship with a black man, but sometimes this is a big risk for them at home. One woman that I had the chance to talk to told me one thing I will never forget as long as I live, she told me that where she comes from they have a saying 'once you go black, you can't ever go back, because no white man will want you'. So for some women they want the chance to experience things that their society won't let happen. Another argued: The one thing I hear all the damn time is that these fuckin women want to ‘try something exotic’. I’m always so pissed off when I hear that, cause first of all I know yall got black men back home you just don’t want to be seen with them, and second I’m not a tin of rum raisin ice cream that you can try a scoop of cause you don’t got none at home. Sex with Black Men While the men who participated in this study spoke somewhat sympathetically of the women who they perceived as unable or unwilling to engage in relationships with men outside of their lxix Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology race back home, they perceived that the majority of women with raced motivations for involvement with Jamaican men came for “sexual adventures” and to “fuck real black men”. When questioned about why single or unaccompanied women choose Jamaica as their holiday destination, one participant reported “I think there are many many reasons, but the biggest one me hear is dem say Jamaican men have some big hood and can fuck the women dem proper.” Another argued: For real, the reason in racism. In Jamaica we don’t have much racism, it only comes up when we and them get involved, you know. You hear them say all sorts of fuckrey about Jamaican men, and even all black men. You hear black men have big hood, Jamaican man is wild in the bedroom, tear up the sheets and shit, you hear Jamaican man gonna breed you no questions asked, you hear Jamaican man knows how to take care of his woman. But please, your really gonna tell me you really believe all Jamaicans have some big hood, and don’t cheat and whatever. That don’t make no sense at all. That’s bullshit, and I only say its racist because if imgonna walk round town talking bout how all white women are quick to run head or docile and let their man walk over them like some doormat someone is gonna call me on my shit. Noting his knowledge of the sex tourism industry in other Caribbean countries one participant commented: lxx Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Jamaica is just one of the many places they go, so lets not get it twisted. But the ones that come here, usually know what they are looking for. They are looking for some big buddy and some wild rasta man. Another argued: I can only feel that some of these ladies come looking for a little toy to play with for one two weeks, they feed you, and kiss you, and hug you up and take you places and they are just looking for someone with a big whatever to play with at night time. The men who participated in this study perceived racial motivations to be the primary motivating factor for women who travel to Jamaica with the explicit intention of engaging in sexual relations with local men and those who become situational involved. In sum, while the racialization of male sex workers has not received nearly as much academic attention as that of female sex workers, the participants of this study conclude that the female travelers to the region have expressed curiosity and interest regarding the racialized stereotypes of black men as hypersexual individuals with oversized sex organs (Johnson, 2012). Compliments and Expectations Jacqueline Sanchez Taylors research (2000), which found that almost half of the single tourist women survey in Jamaica had entered into one or more sexual relationships with Jamaican men while on holiday, concludes that when tourist women who participate in sexual relationships with local men while on vacation and are subsequently asked to comment on their lover an emphasis is placed on the possession of bodies of great sexual value . In accordance with the lxxi Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology research of Sanchez Taylor, the men who participated in this study felt the motivations of the female tourists to the island are made clear to them from both the type of compliments they receive from tourist women and the communicated expectations. According to the men who participated in this study, the vast majority of compliments paid to Jamaican men are regarding their physical appearance and often intrinsically tied to their ‘blackness’. One study participant noted “you wanna know how come I know they is looking for some nice black buddy, cause them look you in the eye and tell you I love your nice black buddy. It’s no secret thing.” Another stated; From you ah a yute that come cross these foregin women you start notice what them ah tell you, them tell you “I love your skin, its so black and shiny” , them tell you them like your body, your hair, your mouth. Listen, I don’t care bout none of that cause I know I talk about pure breast and botty, but some of these women gonna swear them in love with you, you can’t love someone and only see what is on the outside, same way I cant hook up with some white ting, say I love her figure and her hair and whatever and say I love her. Another noted; Neva eva inna my life did one women for foreign tell me she like me, like me, not my ass and not my dick. They think they so sweet talking bout them love your hair and skin and voice, but real talk im a good guy, im no idiot, nevaeva one of dem tell me I like you, you smart, you this or that. lxxii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Another argued; From before I told you in Jamaica, black women are a dime a dozen, but if you think about the flip side I guess for Jamaican women, black men are a dime a dozen, so they don’t admire the same things as a white women does. It make sense too, if you think about it, she black, her mommy black, her daddy black, her pikney black, so she not gonna say nice things about things black men have. But white women flatter me you know, they like my lips for example, these are some black man lips so no black women gonna say she likes my lips, or they like my hair, same thing, or my skin, like seriously when is a black girl gonna feel she likes my skin, it’s the same as hers. In addition to the compliments that the men who participated in this study reported receiving from tourist women, compliments often restricted to physical appearance and linked to their ‘blackness’, the participants in this study recounted numerous experiences where the physical and sexual expectations placed on them were also inextricably linked to racist steryotypes about black men and their sexuality. The men who participated in this study suggest that the tourist women that they have engaged in sexual relationships with communicated expectations including large sexual organs and uninhibited and skilled sexual partners. One study participant, who was obviously upset shared his recollection of one of his first sexual experiences with a tourist woman, he recalled; Lord help me, me a swear I would neva eva tell nobody dis, but when I first started out, while back, wit dis ting, I hooked up with a white woman from the United States and after we did the ting, she just lied there, face all mek up sad, so lxxiii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology me said to her “what’s the issue” and she all sad look at me and say “I could have gotten that back home…it was good… but I expected more”. Never in my life did I feel so embarrassed but to this day I have no idea what she was expectin. Another participant noted; When it comes to the bedroom, the women that come here in search of some real big hood from a real Jamaican man, will tell you straight up what they are looking for, but even the ones who are not gonna tell you have an impression of what they want from a Jamaican man. Even a nice foreign girl is gonna have certain ideas about Jamaican men, she wants some big hood, a man who’s gonna giver some serious lovin. One girl who come check me often told me “I make love with my husband, but when I come here I don’t want to be able to walk for a couple of days. The men who participated in this study were all well aware of the assumptions and stereotypes held by tourist women about Jamaican men, and were all more than willing to profit from the perpetuation of these ideal. A fundamental component of the relationships that develop between tourist women and the Jamaican men involved in transactional sex is the performance of race and masculinity by the male sex workers in order to attract these women. According to Butler’s (1988) theory of gender performativity, gender is the effect of reiterated acting, one that produces the effect of a static or normal gender while obscuring the contradiction and instability of any single person's gender act. This effect produces what we can consider to be "true gender", a narrative that is sustained by "the tacit collective agreement to perform, produce, and sustain discrete and polar genders as cultural fictions is obscured by the credibility of those lxxiv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology productions – and the punishments that attend not agreeing to believe in them” (p. 22). This idea of performativity reflects the constructionist position on sex and gender, lending support to the fluidity of notions of gender that are often perceived in society to be fixed: “gender is in no way a stable identity or locus of agency from which various acts procede; rather, it is an identity tenuously constituted in time-an identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts” (p.22). Because gender is instituted through the stylization of the body and, hence, must be understood as the mundane way in which bodily gestures, “movements and enactments of various kinds constitute the illusion of an abiding gendered self” (Butler, 1988, 23). From this perspective, masculinity, then, is an “acting out” of maleness, exteriorizing gendered behaviors through combinations of gestures, aggression, and gait (Lewis, 2004). In the case of this present research, the men who these men enact ‘racial’ and gendered performances in order to attract and entice tourist women and sell their sexual services. Exaggerated Difference According to the men who participated in this study, by performing the stereotyped role of Jamaican man they are able to accord to tourist women’s expectations and attract and establish relationships with them. As previous scholarship has demonstrated, female tourists have reported seeking relationships with young, fit, “natural” black men who embody a black masculinity that is specific to the men of the West Indies, and therefore unattainable at home (O'Connell Davidson & Sanchez Taylor, 2005). The men, in turn, use their bodies in order to create the fantasy that they expect tourist women to desire, in this case the expectation of an authentic Jamaican man. lxxv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology In ‘The Embodiment of Tourism among Bisexually-Behaving Dominican Male Sex Workers’ Padilla (2007), examining the global and local values placed on Dominican men’s bodies and the ways sex workers use their bodies to broker tourists’ pleasure, finds that given the economic importance of intimate exchanges with foreigners, participants’ interactions with tourists were often highly performative, and characterized by the desire to produce a ‘‘marketable fantasy’’ (Padilla, 2007). According to Padilla, tourists sought particular expressions of ‘‘Dominican’’ male sexuality and local men sought to engender consumer erotic experiences that were perceived as ‘‘authentic.’’ In order to produce a marketable fantasy, local men had cultivated the ability to deploy their masculinity and sexuality in ways that maximized their desirability to tourists. Following Padilla’s conceptualizations, the men who participated in this study reported that in order to produce a marketable fantasy, they had cultivated the ability to deploy their masculinity and sexuality in ways that maximized their desirability to tourists. As an expression of this, the men’s sexual narratives often emphasized how Jamaican men’s sexualities and bodies are fundamentally ‘‘different’’ from those of their clients. These narratives exaggerated the differences between themselves and their white foreign clients. Men who participated in this study reported that “differences” between races, bodies, and cultures were often exaggerated in order to entice clients into feeling that the encounters with Jamaican men were truly exotic. One participant, who noted using language as a mechanism for exaggerating difference noted; Yuh see how me and you are talking now, I never ever would talk like this to a woman I was trying to chop. Not a woman from foreign. Wit them I only speak heavy patois, for example. I mean I went to school, my mom was a school lxxvi Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology teacher, I know how to speak proper. I mean my mom would busy my ass if I spoke patois as a yute, she taught me proper. But I know that for me to hollar at these women it's about being different. That's what they want and boy that's what in going to give them. So yeah man, I speak patois, I tell them oh see how you say this I would say that, see how your skin is like this way mine is like this, in Jamaica we do this and Jamaica we do that. I'm telling you man, it's about being different than them. And yeah ok, we are different than them but to hear me tell it I'm some extraterrestrial who's never laid eyes pon a white person before. Another participant noted; Like I told you before, the one thing I hear all the damn time is that these fuckin women want to ‘try something exotic’, exotic means not the same, that much is obvious, so you have to really mek yourself not the same like them. In my heart I really and truly believe that no matter what colour your skin, or where you hail from people, is people and there really isn’t much different about them, but when you are tryin to be the exotic thing someone is looking at you have to find what is different and wave it like a flag. So for example, I talk about a black man’s body is different from a white man’s body, we are more fit, have bigger buddy, stuff like that. One participant, interestingly the oldest ‘beach boy’ that participated in this study, noted; Jamaica is marketed as a place for fantasy, by the media abroad and by our own government. I was abroad in England and I saw a television advertisement for Jamaican travel and in the background was a very famous Bob Marley song lxxvii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology playing and there was a Rasta man bathing his skin under a waterfall, the advertisement said ‘Come to Jamaica and feel alright’. Our government profits by putting out that kind of image of the country and I profit by taking that image, understanding the meaning, and using it. If a women comes from foreign for some romantic experience she wants what she sees in the advertisements, but she doesn’t even understand the advertisement and what she wants. She really wants an experience with someone tropical and a fantasy, she knows what that is going to look like, but it is my job to show her that this tropical Rasta man is the fantasy that she has, that I am so unlike anything that she knows or could get from home. Another participant simply noted; If these travelers were looking for someone just like them they would stay at home. You don’t travel half way around the world to look for someone like you, so it would be stupid of me to pretend I was like them, so I pretend to be so different from them. Assuming that female travelers to the Island of Jamaica are interested in a black masculinity that is distinct to the West Indies and notably 'different' from the masculinities accessible in their local cultures, the men who participated in this study reported strategically exaggerating racial and sexual ‘differences’ to maximize their desirability to foreign tourists. In addition to constructing narratives exaggerating the differences between themselves and their white foreign clients, the participants reported engaging in two major performances of lxxviii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology masculinity, performances that can be largely understood in context of Jamaica's postcolonial history: Rude boys and Rasta (Hall, 2001). By performing the stereotyped roles of Rude boy and Rastas they are able to meet tourist women’s expectations and attract and establish relationships with them, thus profiting from their racial marginalization. The Rude Boys One of the more compelling performances of Jamaican masculinity is the ‘Rude Boy’ (Hall, 2001). Thomas (2004) argues that this Jamaican male identity, developed in the early 1960's in response to the harsh conditions afflicting the largely black, urban underclass, and developed into a swaggering, menacing presence that characterizes the black underclass up to current times. This Rude Boy or Bad Man subculture arose from the poorer sections of Kingstonand was associated with violent and discontented youths. During the 1960's, these youths sometimes found temporary employment from ska and rock steady sound system operators in order to disrupt competitors' dances (leading to the term ‘dancehall crasher’). The violence that sometimes occurred at dances and its association with the rude boy lifestyle gave rise to a slew of releases by artists who addressed the rude boys directly with lyrics that either promoted or rejected rude boy violence. Starting in the 1970s, Jamaican reggae music replacedska and rocksteady music associated with the rude boys. By the 1980s, dancehall became the main Jamaican popular music genre and the performance of rude boy masculinity evolved into the dancehall ‘Badman’ that continues to characterize Jamaican underclass masculinity (McGlashen).Today, a Bad Man is someone that willingly uses intimidating tactics through facial and bodily postures to gain power, respect and resources. This behaviour is prevalent among bullies and gangs (McGlashen) lxxix Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Gray's (2003) theory of badness-honour tells that a Badman can be identified by the: public aggressive displays of personal violence and defensive postures...language, facial gestures, bodily poses and an assertive mien to compel rivals or allies to grant power, concede respect, accord deference or satisfy material want (Gray, 2003) While Thompson et al (1992) identify aspects of masculinity found in all cultures, including a love for adventure and danger and an avoidance of doing anything that appears feminine in all areas of their lives, including career, interests, emotional vulnerability, and sexuality , the severe economic decline in Jamaica has rendered Jamaican masculinity “little more than violence and the total rejection of anything perceived of as feminine or homosexual” (Reddock, 2004). Analyzed predominantly by non-Jamaican feminist scholars, literature concerning Jamaican dancehall music and culture is pervaded by discussions of Jamaican dancehall masculinity, which as previously noted, is defined by misogyny, homophobia, and violence (Lewis, 2003). His analysis of dancehall masculinity notes that any such analysis has to establish a distinction between hegemonic masculinity and other subordinated forms of masculinity. He argues that hegemonic dancehall masculinity refers to: An orientation which is heterosexual and decidedly homophobic. It prides itself on its capacity for sexual conquest and ridicules those men who define their masculinity in different terms. Hegemonic dancehall masculinity often embraces misogynist tendencies in which women are considered inferior. Departure from this form of masculinity could result in the questioning of one’s manhood” (Lewis, 2003, p. 108) lxxx Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology According to Brown, who analyzed the sexual content of several popular dancehall songs, this definition of masculinity “adequately describes the way masculinity functions in Jamaican dancehall culture” (1999). Within the dancehall community, masculinity is an “organization of cultural principles that instruct its subjects primarily through the songs that are produced by the artists, both male and female” (p.4), these songs are the medium that expressly promote masculinity as being irrevocably tied to sexuality. ` Batson-Savage (2007) describe the Dancehall music that has come to characterize Jamaica's Badman as “the marriage of digital beats and slackness: that moment in music in which lyrics about guns, women’s body parts and men’s sexual prowess come together… (p. 224)”. In the Dancehall culture, the penis is a form of power, a display of masculinity. For the Jamaican male, according to Pinnock (2007), “the vagina has to be conquered as a demonstrable way of mastering sex and sexual knowledge and power in the wider society” (p. 10) Hardcore and very explicit sex is a crucial component of Dancehall’s performances of masculinity and as a result, the penis is a highly valued part of this discourse (Pinnock, 2007). Through statements such as these, in the dancehall culture, it is clear that masculinity is determined by sexual exploits and the conquering of the female. Examining how sex as the thematic focus in songs of both female and male dancehall artists, Brown (1999) concludes that as a cultural activity and an action, dancehall music is influenced by the dominant ideologies that are implicit to the culture, with conceptions of masculinity premised on misogyny and sexual prowess as masculinity. In Cooper’s (1989) examination of dancehall lyrics, she concludes that dancehall music and culture advances a set of beliefs that marginalize the female, promotes violence as control and privileges violent heterosexuality lxxxi Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology (Cooper, 1989). Probing the lyrical content of two popular songs recorded by male dancehall artists, Mavado and BujuBanton, she, amongst others argues that the dancehall community through its music and male domination promotes the belief that heterosexual sex is a violent act and that “inflicting pain on the female body is the signature sign of pleasure” (Cooper, 2006). Amongst the literature arguing this position, the lyrics to Mavodo’s 2007 dancehall hit “Squeeze Breast” and Buju Banton’s “Gal fi Beg” are used as evidence. In Jamaician dancehall culture, a 'Badman' is the ultimate heterosexual male: strong, tough, and sexually successful with women (Waagbo, 2007) Some of the men who participated in this study felt that many of the tourist women that they engaged in sexual and romantic relationships with, consistent with the scholarship on Jamaican masculinity, were preoccupied with the idea of a hypersexual and dangerous Rude Boy masculinity. One participant noted "some of these women is looking for a Ras, some of dem is looking for someone fi ruff it up and carry on like a G Another argued: The young women are always looking for their dancehall king. They like the clothes, the style, the music, the men. If we was in the States women would be looking a 'bad boy' in Jamaica they lookin a Rude boy. lxxxii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Another noted that "in Jamaica every man wants to be a DJ, the next Vybz (referring to Vybz Kartel), the next Buju, Mavado, and every woman wants to be the one who locks down the Vybz, the Buju and Mavado". The men who participated in this study felt that many tourist women were interested in men who accorded to hypersexual and dangerous Rude Boy masculinity and thus structured their role performance, and tactics for approaching and seducing tourist women around the performance of this masculinity. Some of the men who participated in this study felt that foreign women were specifically interested in Jamaican men because they were perceived to have a "roughness" and sexual nature that foreign men do not possess, accordingly the participants reported enacting a "roughness" to attract tourist women. One study participant, who recounted his tactics for seducing foreign women in exacting detail, professing the strategic and purposeful use of behaviors he felt tourist women expected and appreciated in Jamaican men, noted; These women are looking for a G (gangster), as sure as God, so I give ‘em what them want. I walk up to them in full swagga, talk to them nice, always patois. I mek sure they have the opportunity to watch me dance, so I take them either to the spot here or some club, and then when the ice is broken I tell them all the things I’m going to do to them as soon as we are alone. I know what they want, they want a real G. lxxxiii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Another participant noted: In this point, I don’t even have to approach women no more, I walk past them couple of times, with no shirt on and pants sagging, smoking some ganga, actin like I don’t give a shit bout them and they come approach me. I used to work for a small restaurant and there I knew how to get most tips, you dress clean and sharp, smile and be patient and friendly and some tourists respond to that, but some tourists respond better to this. Another reported: I dress a part, wife beater, jeans, clarks. I've got over 100 tattoos. I know what the women dem want and I am what they want. I am fit, clean, and the real deal. The women carry on like they want a real bad man, but they dont want any risk themselves, so it's a fine line you haffi mek sure you neva cross, you haffi be the gangster they think they looking for, but they can't fear you in the least. Another noted: A lot of time me hear about how dancehall impact and influences society, but dancehall reflects the reality of Jamaican society. That's what interests women the harsh reality that is Jamaica's rude boy. In real life I grew up in country with my mum and my pops, but to have ten cents to rub together I tell the white women from foreign I grew up pon the orner in Kingston, I am a struggling artist, that im gonna be the next big DJ, that im a hustler, Im a G. In sum, and as previous scholarship has demonstrated, female sex tourists seek relationships with young, fit, “natural” black men who embody a black masculinity that is specific to the men of lxxxiv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology the West Indies, and therefore unattainable at home (O'Connell Davidson & Sanchez Taylor,2005). One of the more compelling performances of masculinity that is specific to the West Indies in general and to Jamaica specifically is the Rude Boy. A 'Rude boy' ,or 'Badman'. is the ultimate heterosexual male: strong, tough, and sexually successful with women. The men who participated in this study felt that many of the tourist women that they engaged in sexual and romantic relationships with, consistent with the scholarship on Jamaican masculinity, were preoccupied with the idea of a hypersexual and dangerous Rude boy . The men themselves thus structured their role performance, and tactics for approaching and seducing tourist women around the performance of this masculinity. By structuring the performance of their masculinity around the idea of a 'Rude boy' masculinity the men who participated in this study reported that they were able to accord to tourist women’s expectations and able to attract and establish relationships with them, thus profiting from their racial marginalization. Rastafarians An equally compelling performance of masculinity in Jamaica is the Rastafarian. Hall (2001) discusses the Rastafarian as another visible performance of masculinity that is an historic manifestation of the struggle for survival by the rural and urban poor in the immediate aftermath of colonial domination. Interpretations of the origins of Rastafari have focused on two events during this period: the coronation of RasTafari as emperor of Ethiopia in 1930 and Marcus Mosiah Garvey's writings on the significance of this coronation for people of African descent. The Rastafari ideology, an African-based spiritual ideology that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, captures the experience of black Africans through analogies of the Jewish experience, with the lxxxv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology religious character of Rastafari partly due to the way Jamaican people have identified with and appropriated the Hebrew Scriptures and have seen themselves as the Israelites (Lewis, 1998). The value of the Rastafarian movement is that it provides a narrative for understanding the pain and alienation associated with slavery and its aftermath (Hall, 2011). The Rastafari ideology also captures the salience of an African sensibility, agency, self-determination and black liberation ideology (Bedasse, 2013). Afrocentrism is a central facet of Rastafari culture. It is held that Africa, in particular Ethiopia, is where Zion, or paradise, shall be created. As such, Rastafari orients itself around African culture. Rastafari holds that evil society, or "Babylon", has been white-dominated since the rise of Rome, and has committed such acts of aggression against the African people as the Atlantic slave trade. Rastafari developed among poor and oppressed Jamaicans of African descent who experienced a society which was largely contrary and apathetic to their problems. Rastafari incorporates sociopolitical views and teachings of Jamaican publicist, organizer, and black nationalist Marcus Garvey (also often regarded as a prophet) who was a keen proponent of the "back to Africa" movement, advocating that all people of the black race should return to their ancestral homeland of Africa, and worship the Creator "through the spectacles of Ethiopia" (Barrett, 1988). According to Hall (2011) the Rastafarian is significant to the analysis of male identity construction in Jamaica because it has been so influential on the negotiation of identity choices by so many young Jamaican males. According to Pruitt and LaFont (1995), the connection a Western women develops with a Jamaican man is generally based on her idealizations of his embodiment of manhood, lxxxvi Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology idealizations fueled by the discourse of hegemonic relations constructed through race in which the exotic and erotic are intertwined. Stereotypes of black men and their sexuality and differences between the tourists’ cultures and Jamaican cultures, and the Jamaican display of machismo drawn from their cultural gender scripts, promote the belief that Jamaican men represent archetypal masculinity (Pruitt &LaFont, 1995). While the stereotypes about black men and their sexuality extend to all Jamaican men and perhaps all black men in general, they are particularly prevalent for the black man who stands closer to his “Affrican heritage”, in this case embodied in the Rastafarian identity a. In Jamaica, dreadlocks developed in the 1930’s as a symbol of a spiritually-based Rastafarian culture of resistance. The Rastafarian custom of dreadlocking hair is one of the most visible practices of Rastafarianism.It is important to note, that while the dreadlocking of hair has become almost synonymous with Rastafarianism, and despite the fact that the practice is encouraged of all Rastafari followers (Waters, 1985), not all followers don dreadlocks. They are not deemed necessary for, nor are they equivalent to, true faith. Popular slogans, often incorporated within reggae lyrics, include: "Not every dread is a Rasta and not every Rasta is a dread..."; "It's not the dread upon your head, but the love inna your heart, that mekyaRastaman" (Sugar Minott); and as MoganHerritage sings: "You don't haffi dread to be Rasta...", and "Children of Selassie I, don't lose your faith; whether you do or don't have your locks 'pon your head..." The wearing of hair in uncombed, coiled locks known as dreadlocks, for followers of Rastafarianism, symbolizes the mane of the Lion of Judah, the sacred totem of its followers. In Rastafari culture the Lion of Judahishistorically a symbol of the Israelitetribe of Judah in the Book of Genesis, and a phrase in the Book of Revelation representing Jesus. The matted locks, lxxxvii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology formed naturally by followers of Rastafarianism by allowing hair to grow in a natural pattern without cutting, combing or brushing and washed with pure water alone, for the Rastafari, represents Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, crowned November 2, 1930 with titles of: King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God and Power of the Trinity. Rastas hold that Selassie is a direct descendant of the Israelite Tribe of Judah, through the lineage of King David and Solomon, and that he is also the Lion of Judah mentioned in the Book of Revelation. Rastas further hold Haile Selassie I to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. The image of the lion, further to representing what the Rastas consider to be Jesus incarnate, conveys certain qualities which are considered to be positive by the Rastafarians. These include such attributes as strength, dominance, nobility and 'righteousness'. These attributes are to some extent derived from the popular image of the lion, being symbolized as the 'King of Beasts', hence the power and prestige associated with such a kingly position. Despite its alleged goals of egalitarianism, the Rastafari culture is patriarchally structured.Themale leadership in the religion promotes sexist ideas about women and women's nature (Rowe, 1980). Although the Rastafarians claim that women are 'theologically' equal to men, they still conceptualize Babylon, referring to human government and institutions that are seen as in rebellion against the rule of God, in the form of a woman; a woman who represents evil, corruption, sexual promiscuity and filth. The implications of this discrepancy between the ‘ideal' reality as opposed to the 'actual' reality, can be found in the social fabric of the Rastafarian lifestyle (Rowe, 1980). The sacred lion totem is often interpreted as both the symbolic representation of Haile Selassie I and as representation of the ‘maleness’ of the religion. According to Barrett (1988): lxxxviii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology ... the lion represents not only the King of Kings, but the dominant maleness of the movement. The Rastafarians simulate the spirit of the lion in the way they wear their locks and in the way they walk( p. 142) . According to Waters (1985), despite Jamaica’s relatively small Rastafarian population of approximately 24,000, it is precisely the ideals of dominant maleness that leaves men with dreadlocks, who are assumed to be Rastafarian, receiving substantially more attention from foreign women than Jamaican men without locks. According to Pruit and LaFont, "whether due to an agreement with the Rasta political philosophy and a desire to demonstrate lack of prejudice, or an attraction to the powerful masculinity projected by the Rastas, or both, men who assume the Rastafarian identity have proven to be particularly popular with the female European and American tourists with a lust for the exotic" (p. 431). Cassirer, in “Travel and the single male: the world's best destinations for the Single Male” (1992) speaks of the attraction he perceived between white women and assumedly Rastafarian men. He writes; The Jamaican men swoop down upon the single woman (no age requirement here), seducing them with their easy-going way and smiles of “no problem man.” Most every single white girl we saw (yes, most were English nurses or an Italian tour) had a local boyfriend. Seems as we American men find Asian women a mystical creature, European women find these dreaded black hunks an irresistible delicacy. (p. 132) lxxxix Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology The men who participated in this study too spoke of what they perceived to be more attention paid to the men that Western women perceived to be Rastafarian men. One study participant, who was upset by the beach resorts official policy to not hire men or women who don dreadlocks, argued: The dreads have it the best, these white woman love them some rasta man. Here at the resort, it their babalyon policy that no dreads can come work here. So if you have dreads you have to just shave them off cause you’re not getting job here wit them. But anyways, everyone knows that if you don't have dreads you have to work twice or three times as hard to get these women. Another noted: The Rastas get nothing but love from white women. Everywhere you go you see white woman fallin over these men like they some kind of stars. That's a funny thing cause here only certain type of women, usually rasta woman is looking for a rasta man. With Jamaicans Rastas have a kind of reputation of being kind of lazy, or off, being like drug addicts who can't stick to one woman and who have so many kids but with other people Rastashave a reputation of being gentle and natural and live simply, and that is their appeal. Another noted: I can definitely, for certain, tell you that women from foreign do have a special kind of love for the Rasta man. For a long time now, many women have been coming to Jamaica to have an experience with the culture of the Rastafarian, to learn about it and to experience it. It’s a simple way of life and women want to xc Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology unwind and take it easy with Rasta man, Rasta man know how to take it slow and easy and no bother with worry. One Rastafarian man who participated in this study assumed the attraction to Rastafarian men was based in the spiritual realm, he noted: Rasta has always been and has always will be, it is a spirit that is ever lasting, and that is why women flock to rasta man, she sense his spirit as a genuine spirit and she feels like she already know him from when he first tell her hi. Another Rastafarian man who participated in this study noted: The Bible tells us Lamech had two or three wives, that is proof that a man is not supposed to just have him one Empress and nothing else, that is the truth. The essence of a man is of the lion, you never gonna see a lion with only one lioness, and that is to take an example from the natural world. The lion, the symbol of man , is always surrounded by females and the female surround him to feel his power, it’s the same way with humans. The women who love me love because I have the disposition of a lion, they can feel my power and my grace, and they know that they are sheltered when I am there. In a similar vein, another study participant commented on the perceived attention western women paid to Rastafarian men who are members of the Bobo Ashanti. Known as Bobo Dreads, members of one of the strictest mansions of Rastafari cover their dreadlocks with turbans and wear long robes. He observed that “the woman dem love the bobo dread, that is a ras them all love. Them love his spirituality and his nature.” Another participant noted: xci Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology If you can look like Sizzla or Capleton (both reggae artists and members of the Bobo Ashanti) you are guaranteed a high degree of success with white women. Jus wrap up your locks and call yourself a prophet and you've got it made. In addition to noting that Rastafarian men are felt to fare better with tourist women, some of the non-Rastafarian men or men without dreadlock reported feeling that they were at a considerable disadvantage in terms of attracting tourist women than their dreaded counter parts. One participant noted argued that “from you a ball head you haffi try three times as hard to chat a woman. You haffimek them understand what you a deal wit, that you gonna give them the same lovin a bobogonna give.” Another participant, who appeared genuinely upset when speaking about the attention Rastafarian men and those perceived to be Rastafarian received, argued: I couldn’t tell you what the appeal is for white women to Rasta man, I spent some serious amount of time considering it, and I came up with they forever smell like ganja, the don’t use deodorant so them stink and they beat nuff women. So I don’t get the appeal, but the thirst is real I’m telling you. You see me, I’m a nice looking , clean shaven kind of guy, and aint no way I can compete with no Ras, not when it comes to the white women dem. One study participant, who felt that he needed to compensate for his lack of dreadlocks and rasta identity, noted: If you don't rock dreadlocks you have to make big effort to compensate. Cause I think if these women want American or English man they would go look for that, xcii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology so you have to make them know you are a Jamaican man, with or without the locks....( do you try to compensate for you lack if dreads?) there are different ways, you have to think of what these women came to hunt out, a black man, nice fit body, big hood and so on and you have to show them that is you. I make them see me in my swim trunks or dancing and partying and carrying on, I speak to them in a way that they think a Jamaican man is supposed to talk to them. While many of the men who participated in this study simply noted the perceived increased attention white tourist women focused on the men they assumed to me Rastafarian and their feelings of disadvantage, some of the men reported staging themselves as Rastafarian men in order to attract foreign women and subsequently financially profit from the interactions. One participant noted: I ain't no rasta man, I don't pray to jah, not gonna follow now false prophet Salasie, but I am guilty of pretending that that is my way of life to have opportunities with some different women. It's just the way of life that they are interested in and want some knowledge on so because of my locks they are like drawn to me an I kind of play it up, but I'm a Christian man. Another participant, who emphatically spoke of the need to “show yourself off” in order to attract tourist women, noted: Dancing is like one big way that you can kind of show yourself off. You know what you see a bunch of rasta man just moving and flipping up their hair and all the women come to gather around and look and want to have so experiences with him. xciii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Another participant argued: You didn’t see in the gift shop them have these shirts, and plates and mugs and shit with this picture of a man, black as tar, with some long ass dreeds, beating on a steel pan drum, it’s a cartoon picture so the man is coloured just black, but him have his Ethiopian hat on and some crazy coloured shorts. That is what girls from foreign expect from Jamaican man, dark body, dreadlocks, and to be happy and smiling and be surrounded by music, reggae music. If you expect to have any type of success with women who understand that is a what a Jamaican man is, you have put on your big ass smile, throw your hair around every time you hear a one two beat and ‘just feel alright. Another argued: To be real, the only reason I start to dread my hair was because I start to know the attention that the Ras get from the women, same time I start to wear this necklace (pointing to a necklace donning the colours of the Ethiopian flag behind an image of Bob Marley). Another noted: For me, when I walk out my house I act like a Ras, for me it’s like during Carnival, you pick a costume and you try and make it work, that is what I am doing every day when I leave for work to interact with the tourist folk. They know what they think Rasta is, I know what they think Rasta is and I rock that costume, but when I come home I know in my soul I aint no Ras. xciv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology In sum, the connection a Western women develops with a Jamaican man is generally based on her idealizations of his embodiment of manhood, idealizations fueled by the discourse of hegemonic relations constructed through race in which the exotic and erotic are intertwined (1995). While the stereotypes about black men and their sexuality extend to all Jamaican men and perhaps all black men in general, they are particularly prevalent for the black man who stands closer to his “Affrican heritage”, in this case embodied in the Rastafarian identity (Pruitt &LaFont, 1995). According to several authors (Waters, 1985), despite Jamaica’s relatively small Rastafarian population of approximately 24,000, it is precisely the ideals of dominant maleness that leaves men with dreadlocks, who are assumed to be Rastafarian, receiving substantially more attention from foreign women than Jamaican men without locks. In addition to noting that Rastafarian men are felt to fare better with tourist women, some of the non-Rastafarian men or men without dreadlock reported feeling that they were at a considerable disadvantage in terms of attracting tourist women than their dreaded counter parts. Some of the men who participated in this study reported performing the 'role' of a Rastafarian men in order to attract foreign women and subsequently financially profit from the interactions. Chapter Conclusion The men who participated in this study were all well aware of the link between sex tourism and racism, and were all very familiar with the racial stereotypes that precede black men. All of the interview participants regarded racial motivations, ranging from the desire to experience 'something new' to wanting to engage in sexual relations with 'real black men' to be the primary motivating factor for women who travel to Jamaica to engage in sexual relations with local men. According to the men who participated in this study, by performing the stereotyped roles of xcv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Jamaican masculinity they are able to accord to tourist women’s expectations and attract and establish relationships with them. In order to produce a marketable fantasy, local men had cultivated the ability to deploy their masculinity and sexuality in ways that maximized their desirability to tourists. Men who participated in this study reported that “differences” between races, bodies, and cultures were often exaggerated in order to entice clients into feeling that the encounters with Jamaican men werevb truly exotic. In addition to constructing narratives exaggerating the differences between themselves and their white foreign clients, the participants of this study reported performing two major performances of masculinity, Rude boys and Rasta. CHAPTER FOUR: DISCUSSION xcvi Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology The experiences of the respondents offer valuable insight into what motivates initial and continued involvement in transactional sex in Jamaica. For the men, aside from the enjoyment of casual sex with female tourists their chief motivation for involvement in the informal sex trade is economic. All of the interview respondents in this study indicated that their current rate of employment compensation, and the rate of compensation they could expect based on their educational background and skills was the Jamaican minimum wage of $5000 Jamaican Dollars (approximately 51 Canadian Dollars) a month, a wage they all considered as insufficient for survival. The insufficiency of the available wage compensation is the incitement to become economically involved with tourist women. The racial composition of Jamaica in 2012 was: black 75%; Afro-European 13%; East Indian and Afro-East Indian 3%; and, white 5%. This racial composition reflects the history of Jamaica’s political economy. The English took control of Jamaica from Spain in 1655 and by the end of the seventeenth century had developed large-scale sugar production via the plantation system, which used black slaves for cheap, unskilled labour (Alexander,1977). After emancipation in 1838 white planters introduced East Indian, and later Chinese people to replace black ex-slaves, many of whom left the plantations to establish peasant villages on hilly land where sugar could not be grown commercially (Alexander,1977). Historically, Jamaican society was divided legally into free, freedmen, and slave categories (freedmen being former slaves who did not have the full rights of a free man) (Alexander,1977). Today while the class system is more complex it is still racially stratified. Jamaica's wealth is distributed largely along racial lines, reflecting Jamaica's slave-plantation heritage. Four classes can be identified in the urban areas of Jamaica: the propertied upper class; white collar middle class; skilled, semiskilled working class; and unskilled lower class (Alexander,1977). A rough correlation of class and race xcvii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology persists up to today with the lower classes being disproportionately occupied by black people. The descendants of black slaves tend to be among the poorest people in Jamaica, while white and mixed-race descendants of plantation owners and traders tend to be better off. These extremes are reflected in the nation's distribution of income: in 1996 the wealthiest 20 percent of Jamaicans controlled 43.9 percent of the wealth, while the poorest 20 percent controlled only 7 percent. In fact, the poorest 60 percent controlled just 34.3 percent of wealth. In effect the richest were almost fifteen times better off than the poorest, in terms of consumption. The Jamaican unemployment rate is approximately 14%, with the highest numbers of unemployed citizens falling within the 25-34 age group for both males and females (Statistical Institute of Jamaica 2013).The 14-24 age range of males has an unemployment rate of 22.5% with the majority of those unemployed being black Jamaicans. Research byChevannes (2001) and Gayle (2002) indicates clearly the immense pressure that unemployed young males face due to the expectation for them to earn money and help support their families, despite his circumstances including his age and training. Jamaica has a very large informal sector that is estimated to involve over one-quarter of the Jamaican work force. This sector incorporates practices colloquially called hustling which includes gambling, smuggling, illegal currency exchange, the sale of stolen goods, petty stealing, begging, go-go dancing, prostitution and conning (Gayle 2002). Despite the fact that Jamaica's informal sector is underresearched and fairly unknown to most Jamaicans, Gayle (2002), estimated that about one-third of the urban labour force are employed within it.. Hustling is usually a high-risk activity and according to Gayle (2002) there are a number of reasons why young men engage in it because of: the inability of government to raise the standard of living or employment rate; lack of education xcviii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology or skill training; difficulties involved in getting a job due to area stigma; and the desperation of single mothers and baby mothers and their need for themale to earn money. Chevannes (2001) speaks of the immense pressure placed on young males to provide income for the family and to do so at any cost. In addition to being able to afford housing, food and other necessities for themselves the men who participated in this voiced a desire to be able to provide for their families, including their children, girlfriends, and parents. Thus, the men who participate in transactional sex with tourist women are able maintain the concept of Jamaican masculinity by proving that they are able, by any means, to provide for themselves and their families. In addition to affording financial opportunities the sex tourism of Western women also allows Jamaican men an arena to both secure sexual access to women and therefore the social status afforded to Jamaican men who are sexual successful with women. For many of the men who participated in this study involvement in sex tourism provides an arena for otherwise marginalized men to adapt and recreate their lives in order to survive the persistent poverty that plagues many Jamaicans since the emancipation period. The men who participated in this study were all well aware of the link between sex tourism and racism, and were all very familiar with the racial stereotypes that precede black men. All of the interview participants regarded racial motivations to be the primary motivating factor for women who travel to Jamaica with the explicit intention of engaging in sexual relations with local men and those who do not intentionally put themselves in a sex tourist position, but find themselves involved in a sexual encounter with local Jamaican men. The raced motivations, as perceived by the men who participated in this study, can be divided into two distinct categories; firstly is the perceived inability to “experience different races at home” and secondly is the desire to “fuck real black men”. xcix Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology Assuming that female travelers to the Island of Jamaica are interested in a black masculinity that is distinct to the West Indies and notably 'different' from the masculinities accessible in their local cultures, the men who participated in this study reported strategically exaggerating racial and sexual ‘differences’ to maximize their desirability to foreign tourists. In addition to constructing narratives exaggerating the differences between themselves and their white foreign clients, the participants of this study reported performing two major performances of masculinity, performances that can be largely understood in context of Jamaica's postcolonial history, have come to characterize Jamaican performances of masculinity: Rude Boys and Rasta (Hall, 2001). And according to the men who participated in this study, by performing the stereotyped roles of Rude Boy and Rastas they are able to accord to tourist women’s expectations to attract and establish relationships with them, thus profiting from their racial marginalization. The factor of race distinguishes black masculinity from other masculinities. For black men, their lived experiences include the historical and psychological effects of racial, political and economic oppression (Wise, 2001). Franklin (1994) argues that, "[M]asculinities are constructed. Black masculinities, in particular, are constructed under the cloud of oppression" (p. 278). In discussing the black masculinities featured in the 1991 film Boyz N the Hood Wiegman (1993) astutely notes that the black male is "stranded between the logics of race and gender: On the one hand, as a black within a racist social and political hierarchy, he has neither power nor privilege; yet, on the other hand, as a male within a still patriarchal power structure, he has both " (Wiegman, 1993, p. 178). According to Henry (2002) one method of compensating for a c Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology perceived lack of power, potency, or manhood is to adopt what Katz and Earp (1999) calls the "Tough Guise," the pose or mask of "hard" masculinity . Alexander (2003) notes that the performance of the Tough Guise is more complex for black men who perform the "cool pose". According to Majors and Billson (1994) the "cool pose" is the "presentation of self many black men use to establish their male identity. Cool pose is a ritualized form of masculinity that entails behaviours, scripts, physical posturing, impression management, and carefully crafted performances that deliver a single, critical message: pride, strength, and control" (p.4). Cool pose helps American black men counter stress caused by social oppression, rejection and racism. They note that "cool pose" is a distinctive coping mechanism that serves to counter, at least in part, the dangers that black males encounter in a daily basis and is an important strategy that some black males have developed for dealing creatively with the realities of everyday life. Black males who use the "cool pose" are often "chameleon-like in their uncanny ability to change their performance to meet the expectations of a particular situation or audience. They manage the impression they communicate to others through the use of an imposing array of masks, acts, and facades (p. 4) ." The adoption of the two major Jamaican performances of masculinity, Rude Boys and Rastas, by Jamaican men is essentially the same as the African American enactment of the "cool pose". The men who participated in this study confirm that they profit both economically and socially by enacting the masculinities of Rude Boys and Rastas, demonstrating that, like the "cool pose", the performance of these distinctly Jamaican masculinities serve as a distinctive coping mechanism that serves to counter the economic and social marginalization that Jamaican men encounter on a daily basis. By these means, Jamaican men have developed a creative way for dealing with the systematic harm done by the legacy of slavery and the continued realities of racial oppression . ci Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology The adaptation of a markedly Jamaican "cool pose" aids the Jamaican man in navigating the social and economic inequalities produced from the interaction of class, gender and ethnicity. According to the men who participated in the study, tourist women were thought to desire a particular expression of “Jamaican” male masculinity and sexuality. Whether enacting a fundamentally 'different' masculinity, a dangerous Rude Boy masculinity or a Rastafarian masculinity the men who participated in this study sought to engender consumer erotic experiences that were perceived as “authentic.” MacCannell (1973) introduced the concept of authenticity to sociological studies of tourist motivations and experiences four decades ago and explained that the process of modernization has led “moderns to seek reality and authenticity in the more simplistic, natural lifestyles of other cultures and previous time periods” (p. 591). Since then, the subject has become an agenda for the study of tourism. Authenticity is relevant to some kinds of tourism such as ethnic, history or culture tourism, which involve the representation of the Other or of the past, (Wang, 1999) and not others, and it is mainly its museum-linked usage which has been extended to tourism. For example, products of tourism such as works of art, festivals, rituals, cuisine, dress, housing, and so on are usually described as “authentic” or “inauthentic” in terms of the criterion of whether they are made or enacted by local people according to custom or tradition. And in this sense, authenticity connotes traditional culture and origin, a sense of the genuine, the real or the unique. Authenticity, in regarding different cultures or peoples that are to be toured, is a label attached to the visited cultures in terms of stereotyped images and expectations held by the members of tourist-sending society. According to Wang (1999), as example of how authenticity is often cii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology determined, “what is the real Japaneseness is what has been marked; however, what is located in Japan without being marked is in a sense not the real Japaneseness and hence not worth seeing” (p. 355). Accordingly, “authenticity is thus a projection of tourists own beliefs, expectations, preferences, stereotyped images, and consciousness onto toured objects, particularly onto toured Others” (p. 355). MacCannell (1973) introduced the concept of "staged authenticity" in the context of ethnic tourism. Tourees (hosts) put their culture and themselves on sale in order to create an appealing package. The notions of authenticity and staged authenticity are germane to this research project in how the men who participated in this study employ different Jamaican masculine identities as embodied performances of “authentic” Jamaican male sexuality, thereby putting their culture and themselves on sale in order to create an appealing package. By projecting back on the tourists the tourists own beliefs, expectations, preferences, and stereotypes, the Jamaican men who participated in this study demonstrated how the shaping of their bodies and identities to the “authentic” Jamaican men that tourist women expect allows them to make a living within the harsh material constraints they face. MacCannell's (1973) central theory is that every tourist wants to have "authentic" experiences in which they can "experience the real life of the society that they visit and to see the true original sights that made that place famous or infamous in the first place" (p. 601). It is his contention that all tourists seek authenticity as the genuine, worthwhile and spontaneous experience of travel (MacCannell, 1973). Expanding on the work of Erving Goffman, MacCannell expands Goffman's front- and back-stage dichotomy into six regions which he claims are theoretically ciii Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology distinguishable, ranging from being overtly front-stage (a place built for tourists) to being explicitly back-stage (where the locals live their true lives without being seen by the visitors). MacCannell (1973) notes that in tourism, there is a continuum from front-stage to back-stage reality, rather than a clear and sharp divide. However, the back regions of tourist resorts that tourists are allowed to enter into are often fake and like a stage behind the stage, one step along the continuum (Taylor, 2006). With the perception that female travelers to the Island of Jamaica are interested in a "real" black masculinity that is distinct to the West Indies and notably 'different' from the masculinities accessible in their local cultures, an important attribute of female sex tourism is authenticity, or at least the perception of it. Therefore, one of the key roles of the men who engage in transactional sex with tourist women, who wish to experience an "authentic" Jamaican experience, is to provide access to what is perceived to be the "real" back-stage. By acting as "authentic" cultural brokers the men who participated in this study profit both in terms of masculine social status and financially by introducing foreign women to an "authentic" backstage. However, the back region that tourist women are ushered into with the aid of "real" Jamaican men is often fake, with the stylized bodily performances of masculinity acting like a stage behind a stage. Consistent with the findings of the current research, previous researchers who have examined sexual–economic relationships between tourist women and local men in developing countries civ Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology have tended to concentrate on the men’s agency and as such have described them as "entrepreneurs, cultural brokers, or players who commodify aspects of their racialized or ethnic identity in order to make a living" (Taylor, 2006, p. 750).However the implications of the present study for understanding female sex tourism is that greater attention needs to be paid to the links between sexuality, racism and economic power. While a limitation of this research is that it explicitly focused on the testimony of the Jamaican men involved in transactional sex with tourist women and therefore cannot claim conclusively that female sex tourists to Jamaica are motivated by racism, the men who participated in this study perceived racial motivations to be the primary motivating factor for women who travel to Jamaica with the explicit intention of engaging in sexual relations with local men and those who become situational involved. While the racialization of male sex workers has not received nearly as much academic attention as that of female sex workers, the participants of this study concluded that the female travelers to the region have expressed curiosity and interest regarding the racialized stereotypes of black men as hypersexual individuals with oversized sex organs (Johnson, 2012). Taylor's (2001) research demonstrates that while few of the female sex tourists interviewed expressed overtly hostile racism towards local men, most tapped into "exoticising rather than denigrating racisms" and sought out ‘sexual adventures and experimentation’ with ‘exotic’ Other men (p. 760). Both historically and currently the Caribbean is a space that is constructed as different. "Sexual mores are different, people are naturally promiscuous and sex is more natural (Taylor, 2001, p.760.)". Historically, stereotypes of black sexuality flourished during slavery, cv Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology exactly the same image of the Caribbean male as powerful and exceedingly promiscuous that endures today. Currently the tourism industry not only commodifies and sexualizes the men and women in developing nations, but also the landscapes, cultures, and entire populations as well (Johnson, 2012). Scholarship on travel and tourism advertising reveals the use of sexual imagery and descriptions designed to attract visitors and finds that sexual expressions in Caribbean advertisements reflect the sexual mythology of the islands, which presents black people in the West Indies as sexualized subjects (Johnson, 2012). There are several dominant themes in the promotional image of Third World tourist destinations including Jamaica, one major theme being the possibility of sexual liaison with nonwhites ‘Others’ (Britton, 1979). Sex tourism marketing is rampant and overt in Jamaica. In Jamaica, a perception of escapism is encouraged through advertising by all-inclusive adult-only resorts that encourage tourists to demand any pleasure they wish, as well as smaller travel companies which arrange sex tours. According to Shared Hope International's report on sex tourism ' Demand, A Comparative examination of Sex tourism And trafficking in Jamaica, Japan, Netherlands, And the United States' whereas sex tourist destinations such as Amsterdam and Las Vegas have reputations as tourist destinations for those seeking commercial sex, "Jamaica’s warmth and location in the Caribbean makes it more sensually and sexually appealing as an escape from reality. The idea of an “island escape” where all of one’s senses can be stimulated is portrayed in virtually all of Jamaica’s marketing efforts" (p. 23). Following the historical and contemporary "exoticisation" of Black Jamaican men the men who provide sexual services to tourist women, as discussed above, indicated that they perform their ‘Otherness’ in ways that are desired by the tourist. By enacting their race, masculinity and cvi Master’s Thesis - S. Spiteri; McMaster University – Department of Sociology overall Otherness in a manner that male sex workers feel accord to the expectations and desires of foreign women they are producing and perpetuating racist stereotypes about the Other and having to subjectively experience sexualized racisms as both personally and financially empowering. While the men reported utilizing transactional sex as both a survival and advancement strategy, and receiving a superior masculine status as well as financial and material benefits, they also reinforce and perpetuate the racist stereotype about the black male as both hypersexual and dangerous. The Jamaican men who are economically and socially marginalized, marginalization that inextricably linked to both contemporary and historical racism, play into rather than resist or oppose racist stereotypes about black male sexuality, leaving the impression that in order to survive economically, they have to contribute to their own continued oppression. 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