Kamala Kempadoo - Academia.edu (2024)

Caribbean sexuality is both hypervisible and obscured. That is, it is celebrated in popular cultu... more Caribbean sexuality is both hypervisible and obscured. That is, it is celebrated in popular culture as an important ingredient in Caribbean social life and flaunted to attract tourists to the region, yet is shrouded in double entendre, secrecy and shame. In this article, I present a review of the main trends in studies of Caribbean sexuality, arguing that while there are few exclusive studies on the subject there is much we can draw upon for insights into Caribbean sexual relations, sexual expressions and sexual identities. Drawing from published as well as “grey ” materials, this article points out that Caribbean sexuality is often perceived and analysed as linked to force and (domestic) violence against women and children, sexually transmitted infections (i.e. HIV and AIDS), and economic imperatives. It is also widely accepted as attached to heterosexuality and gendered imbalances of power, as well as to men’s sexual agency. Studies of same-sex relations, transactional sex, prosti...

Cadernos Pagu, 2005

Journal of Human Trafficking, 2015

The Women's Review of Books, 1998

Abstract: Encouraged by the US, the Caribbean is being drawn into a global panic over human traff... more Abstract: Encouraged by the US, the Caribbean is being drawn into a global panic over human trafficking, leading to greater policing and surveillance of migrant women and the sex trade. Drawing on colonial precedents, the moral outrage about women trafficked into prostitu-tion, embodied in legislation such as the US Trafficking Victims Protec-tion Act, obscures the deeper causes of exploitation and oppression and leads to the demonisation of those in undocumented, hyper-exploited labour forces. Moreover, the false equation of trafficking with prostitu-tion renders sexual labour as coerced labour and, as such, misrepresents sexual agency.

SEXING THE CARIBBEAN

Global Sex Workers, 2018

Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered

Global Sex Workers, 2018

Social and economic studies, 2003

Caribbean sexuality is both hypervisible and obscured. That is, it is celebrated in popular cultu... more Caribbean sexuality is both hypervisible and obscured. That is, it is celebrated in popular culture as an important ingredient in Caribbean social life and flaunted to attract tourists to the region, yet is shrouded in double entendre, secrecy and shame. In this article, I present a review of the main trends in studies of Caribbean sexuality, arguing that while there are few exclusive studies on the subject there is much we can draw upon for insights into Caribbean sexual relations, sexual expressions and sexual identities. Drawing from published as well as “grey” materials, this article points out that Caribbean sexuality is often perceived and analysed as linked to force and (domestic) violence against women and children, sexually transmitted infections (i.e. HIV and AIDS), and economic imperatives. It is also widely accepted as attached to heterosexuality and gendered imbalances of power, as well as to men’s sexual agency. Studies of same-sex relations, transactional sex, prostit...

Introduction Abolitionism, Criminal Justice, and Transnational Feminism : Twenty-first-century Pe... more Introduction Abolitionism, Criminal Justice, and Transnational Feminism : Twenty-first-century Perspectives on Human Trafficking Kamala Kempadoo Shifting Paradigms Globalization, Labor Migration, and Human Rights: Unpacking the Trafficking Discourse Jyoti Sanghera Cross-Border Movements and the Law: Renegotiating the Boundaries of Difference Ratna Kapur Miles Away: The Trouble with Prevention in the Greater Mekong sub-region Phil Marshall and Susu Thatun Reflections by an Anti-Trafficking Activist Lin Chew Complicating the "Problem" of Sex Work From Anti-Trafficking to Social Discipline, or, the Changing Role of "Women's" NGOs in Taiwan Josephine Ho Trafficking in Lives: How Ideology Shapes Policy Melissa Ditmore The Myth of Nepal-to-India Sex Trafficking: its Creation, its Maintenance, and its Influence on Anti-Trafficking Interventions John Frederick Sex Worker Rights Organizations and Anti-Trafficking Campaigns Edited by Kamala Kempadoo Reports from the fi...

Canadian Woman Studies, 2003

In January 2013, on a visit to Georgetown Guyana, I had a special opportunity to interview Andaiy... more In January 2013, on a visit to Georgetown Guyana, I had a special opportunity to interview Andaiye about research by the women’s organization Red Thread. Andaiye is a co-founder and organizer of Red Thread, as well as an internationally renowned activist for working women’s rights. While aspects of her work with Red Thread have been covered in various media, I hoped through the interview to hone in on her perspective of the roles and meanings of research in the organization’s activities and to add to the documentation of Red Thread’s unique experience with research. During the interview, Andaiye repeatedly stressed that she did not have all the information and that certain details needed verifying by other members of Red Thread. After the interview she filled in and elaborated on the transcript as much as possible. The following, then, is an example of a mixed method for documenting history and practice, incorporating a great deal of reflection and some dialogue, and bringing to lig...

Caribbean sexuality is both hypervisible and obscured. That is, it is celebrated in popular cultu... more Caribbean sexuality is both hypervisible and obscured. That is, it is celebrated in popular culture as an important ingredient in Caribbean social life and flaunted to attract tourists to the region, yet is shrouded in double entendre, secrecy and shame. In this article, I present a review of the main trends in studies of Caribbean sexuality, arguing that while there are few exclusive studies on the subject there is much we can draw upon for insights into Caribbean sexual relations, sexual expressions and sexual identities. Drawing from published as well as “grey ” materials, this article points out that Caribbean sexuality is often perceived and analysed as linked to force and (domestic) violence against women and children, sexually transmitted infections (i.e. HIV and AIDS), and economic imperatives. It is also widely accepted as attached to heterosexuality and gendered imbalances of power, as well as to men’s sexual agency. Studies of same-sex relations, transactional sex, prosti...

Cadernos Pagu, 2005

Journal of Human Trafficking, 2015

The Women's Review of Books, 1998

Abstract: Encouraged by the US, the Caribbean is being drawn into a global panic over human traff... more Abstract: Encouraged by the US, the Caribbean is being drawn into a global panic over human trafficking, leading to greater policing and surveillance of migrant women and the sex trade. Drawing on colonial precedents, the moral outrage about women trafficked into prostitu-tion, embodied in legislation such as the US Trafficking Victims Protec-tion Act, obscures the deeper causes of exploitation and oppression and leads to the demonisation of those in undocumented, hyper-exploited labour forces. Moreover, the false equation of trafficking with prostitu-tion renders sexual labour as coerced labour and, as such, misrepresents sexual agency.

SEXING THE CARIBBEAN

Global Sex Workers, 2018

Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered

Global Sex Workers, 2018

Social and economic studies, 2003

Caribbean sexuality is both hypervisible and obscured. That is, it is celebrated in popular cultu... more Caribbean sexuality is both hypervisible and obscured. That is, it is celebrated in popular culture as an important ingredient in Caribbean social life and flaunted to attract tourists to the region, yet is shrouded in double entendre, secrecy and shame. In this article, I present a review of the main trends in studies of Caribbean sexuality, arguing that while there are few exclusive studies on the subject there is much we can draw upon for insights into Caribbean sexual relations, sexual expressions and sexual identities. Drawing from published as well as “grey” materials, this article points out that Caribbean sexuality is often perceived and analysed as linked to force and (domestic) violence against women and children, sexually transmitted infections (i.e. HIV and AIDS), and economic imperatives. It is also widely accepted as attached to heterosexuality and gendered imbalances of power, as well as to men’s sexual agency. Studies of same-sex relations, transactional sex, prostit...

Introduction Abolitionism, Criminal Justice, and Transnational Feminism : Twenty-first-century Pe... more Introduction Abolitionism, Criminal Justice, and Transnational Feminism : Twenty-first-century Perspectives on Human Trafficking Kamala Kempadoo Shifting Paradigms Globalization, Labor Migration, and Human Rights: Unpacking the Trafficking Discourse Jyoti Sanghera Cross-Border Movements and the Law: Renegotiating the Boundaries of Difference Ratna Kapur Miles Away: The Trouble with Prevention in the Greater Mekong sub-region Phil Marshall and Susu Thatun Reflections by an Anti-Trafficking Activist Lin Chew Complicating the "Problem" of Sex Work From Anti-Trafficking to Social Discipline, or, the Changing Role of "Women's" NGOs in Taiwan Josephine Ho Trafficking in Lives: How Ideology Shapes Policy Melissa Ditmore The Myth of Nepal-to-India Sex Trafficking: its Creation, its Maintenance, and its Influence on Anti-Trafficking Interventions John Frederick Sex Worker Rights Organizations and Anti-Trafficking Campaigns Edited by Kamala Kempadoo Reports from the fi...

Canadian Woman Studies, 2003

In January 2013, on a visit to Georgetown Guyana, I had a special opportunity to interview Andaiy... more In January 2013, on a visit to Georgetown Guyana, I had a special opportunity to interview Andaiye about research by the women’s organization Red Thread. Andaiye is a co-founder and organizer of Red Thread, as well as an internationally renowned activist for working women’s rights. While aspects of her work with Red Thread have been covered in various media, I hoped through the interview to hone in on her perspective of the roles and meanings of research in the organization’s activities and to add to the documentation of Red Thread’s unique experience with research. During the interview, Andaiye repeatedly stressed that she did not have all the information and that certain details needed verifying by other members of Red Thread. After the interview she filled in and elaborated on the transcript as much as possible. The following, then, is an example of a mixed method for documenting history and practice, incorporating a great deal of reflection and some dialogue, and bringing to lig...

This report is the result of research, commissioned by UNAIDS-Caribbean Regional Support Team in ... more This report is the result of research, commissioned by UNAIDS-Caribbean Regional Support Team in 2009 on the sex industry in 14 CARICOM countries. It is the first study of its kind to cover all the member countries of CARICOM, and both deepens existing insights into the industry and indicates new areas and problems. The aim of the study was to identify the common types of sex work and describe the main locations where sex work takes place, the specific characteristics of sex worker populations, and the kinds of populations that sex workers service. It was also to seek to assess awareness of HIV and risk factors amongst the populations involved in the sex industry. The overall objective was to generate a broad definition of sex work and an analysis of the sex industry that could be used for the region as a whole and that would help to inform national and regional HIV programming, policy and decision making as well as influence current legal and public health debates.