The fourth section of my book consists of two chapters. These chapters included, “selling sex for visas: sex tourism as a stepping-stone to international migration”, and “among women: migrant domestics and their Taiwanese employers across generations”
The first chapter of this section outlines the reasons and justifications that women place on sex work, and how it leads to international migration. The chapter focuses on Dominican sex workers from the small town of Sosua. When interviewed these women made the distinction between marriage por amor and marriage por residencia very clear. This is marriage for love verses marriage for visas. These women are not only using sex work for survival financially, but also for the hopes of advancement. The aim of this strategy is marriage for migration. While the sex trade in Sosua is dangerous, the women are able to somewhat control their working conditions because in Sosua the sex work is not tied to pimps or the drug trade. Sosua sex workers target the European tourists who visit the bars and will hopefully take them along when they return home. The reality of this event happening however is slim. Still the possibility that it may happen keeps the women’s hopes alive and makes them continue to do this kind of work. The sex workers in Sousa are also different because these women experience financial gain through this field of work. Usually pushed into these careers because of poverty and single motherhood, the women in Sosua’s sex work earn significantly more money than other job a Dominican woman can obtain in either service or domestic careers. Some young women also pointed out that hanging out in the tourist bars and making money is a better use of their time than waiting in line at the U.S embassy. The internet has increased the traffic of sex tourists into Sosua and similar areas, increasing these women’s hopes of one day obtaining a visa and leaving the country.
Among these sex workers, they have created a sort of culture. The assumption of these workers is that Europe can provide a better life for them. These women value relationships, more importantly marriage. The artifacts are the visas that they can obtain through marriage, which will allow them to travel to Europe. Another artifact the women receive are “letters of invitation”. These letters are the first step in receiving a tourist visa. The women often communicate with tourists whom have returned to Europe through faxes. From this, women value reading and writing skills, which they do not all posses, but often times collaborate with someone who does. From these values the same assumption is made, that Europe will provide a better life for them.
The next chapter of this segment shows how globalization has transformed the relations between Taiwanese women. When the local culture meets global labor, there are three types of labor that produce kin ties. First is “filial kin work” which is care work conducted in order to maintain intergenerational ties. The duty of caring for aging parents is transferred from the son to his wife, creating a gender transfer. Next the daughter in law outsources this care to a migrant worker, which involves what is called a market transfer. The next kind of labor is “kin labor” which is care provided by someone in extended kin to maintain familial ties. These types of labor include unpaid labor offered by mother-in-laws to care for grand children. However many elders do this in order to stay close to their sons rather than out of a love for grandchildren. The last kind is “fictive kin” which includes non-family migrant workers who provide care like a family member for older adults in lieu of actual kin.
Culture is shown through the women of Taiwanese families because the author outlines the change of a culture. This culture used to specify the duties of eldest sons to care for their aging parents, but with the increase of two-income families we see this start to dwindle. Sons, who often pass this duty off to their wives, or hire migrant workers to care for parents, are becoming increasingly independent from linage. The daughter-in-laws who have received this duty from husbands hire migrant workers in their place because they are also working and do not wish to attend to mother and father-in-laws. However some of the culture still remains because these women are careful to make sure mother-in-laws are not threatened by these new workers. This change in culture has urged the government to change its policy. The government has been considering implementing social security benefits, public pensions, and subsidized care for these elders.
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