Male sex work and transnational migration : exploring identities practices for survival vulnerabilities and the law in the South African context

Abstract

By paying attention to male sex workers specifically within transnational migration, this study hopes to give greater prominence to discourses on sexual minorities within academia. Furthermore, it is the intention to show the possibility of unearthing queer narratives in contexts and spaces that only seem to reflect gender binaries and hetero-normative arrangements. Therefore, a challenge to no longer limit our observation of the human condition and experiences, particularly as they relate to gender identity and sexuality is posed. Although South Africa is the main jurisdiction of the study, the particularities of its social, political and cultural landscape provide an opportunity to peer into both local and regional responses to so-called ‘sexual subversion’ and sexual diversity. Very significant to ‘the politics of the queer’ has been the manner in which states may be implicated in the concealment of narratives and the creation of ‘silencing cultures’ that make knowledge building around issues such as male sex work within transnational migration complex. Efforts to configure these trials within a human rights framework continue to be met with resistance, as states make use of legal provisions and hostile articulations against what are claimed to be perverse and impermissible sexualities. Therefore, there is an intention on their part to ward off contaminating elements that are regarded as threats to nation-state sovereignty as well as possibly halting an allegedly corruptive Western influence. It is thus the goal of this study to add nuance to discourses on sexual diversity, merging literature in a manner that will elevate queer narratives but also highlight chasms in academia, policies and practices.