Kamala Kempadoo | York University (2024)

Routledge eBooks, Jul 19, 2022

Global Sex Workers, 1998

Anti-Trafficking Review, 2017

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...

Global Sex Workers, 2018

Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered, 2015

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...

A Companion to Gender Studies, 2017

Prostitution has been a persistent theme in the study of society since the nineteenth century, al... more Prostitution has been a persistent theme in the study of society since the nineteenth century, although it is only in second half of the twentieth century that it fully entered social studies as a subject worthy of full academic consideration. In this chapter I identify four main approaches in social studies and research that have been prominent, according to assumptions and explanations about sexual and gender relations. I define the most recent approach as “Sex Work Studies.” It is important to keep in mind that while each trend is presented as distinct, there are many overlaps, borrowings, and blendings that have occurred between them and with other ideas that are not described here. The approaches therefore should not be treated as discrete or autonomous, but rather can be read as trends in which a specific account of gender and sex dominate political, theoretical, and social work on prostitution at different periods in history.

Social Sciences, 2017

Social and Economic Studies, 2003

Cadernos Pagu, 2005

Neste texto apresento perspectivas e abordagens importantes no debate internacional sobre o tráfi... more Neste texto apresento perspectivas e abordagens importantes no debate internacional sobre o tráfico de pessoas, e sublinho alguns dos principais pontos de crítica sobre o referencial contemporâneo hegemônico, pontos esses articulados através de projetos de pesquisa-ação e de intervenções contra o tráfico nas bases da sociedade. Argumento que, a despeito de mudanças substanciais no entendimento global sobre o tráfico, fortemente influenciadas por dois discursos feministas claramente diferentes (feminismo radical e feminismo transnacional), muito do que se busca hoje em nome de uma guerra ao tráfico tem conseqüências problemáticas para comunidades pobres ao redor do mundo, e tem implicações em termos de raça e gênero. As políticas norte-americanas são aqui trazidas ao debate para ilustrar algumas dessas tendências.

Race & Class, 2007

Encouraged by the US, the Caribbean is being drawn into a global panic over human trafficking, le... more 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 prostitution, embodied in legislation such as the US Trafficking Victims Protection 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 prostitution renders sexual labour as coerced labour and, as such, misrepresents sexual agency.

positions: asia critique, 1999

Global Sex Workers, 2018

This anthology of essays by scholars, activists, and organization leaders uses studies concerning... more This anthology of essays by scholars, activists, and organization leaders uses studies concerning both male and female sex workers of primarily Third World and developing countries to explore the social and economic issues of the industry. The writers first define both the forced and voluntary trafficking of sex in terms of a labor pool that is often migratory and at times even unionized. Issues of race and morality also play a role in the status and legitimacy of sex workers. These writings also highlight the major organizational movements and conferences of sex workers since the 1970s, as well as discussing the effects of AIDS and other health issues. Much of the literature on prostitution centers on Western cultures or single localities in the developing world.

Meridians

Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered

4 Jvoti Sanghera too disparate in their culinary skills, and have at their disposal a budget whic... more 4 Jvoti Sanghera too disparate in their culinary skills, and have at their disposal a budget which is far too lavish for a mere broth. These "too many cooks" have not only managed to spoil the broth, but some of them have also ended up bonking each other with their spatulas. I ...

Cadernos Pagu, 2016

Resumo No Canadá atual, as questões envolvendo o tráfico humano estão em alta na agenda pública. ... more Resumo No Canadá atual, as questões envolvendo o tráfico humano estão em alta na agenda pública. Uma variedade de atividades é incluída dentro dessa rubrica, incluindo a prostituição doméstica, na qual cruzar fronteiras nacionais ou internas não é um pré-requisito para como o Estado define o tráfico. O Canadá não está sozinho em sua definição expansiva de tráfico humano. Globalmente, trabalho sexual/prostituição, “tráfico sexual”, trabalho infantil, trabalho migrante infantil, e “escravidão moderna” são parte integral dos discursos hegemônicos sobre “os horrores” do tráfico humano. Neste artigo analiso três campanhas proeminentes que sustentam esse discurso e discuto algumas das ações que essas campanhas promoveram. Argumento que um exame mais detalhado deixa visível uma versão do século XXI do “fardo do homem branco” apoiado por interesses ocidentais, corporativos e neoliberais contemporâneos, através dos quais, a exploração e o abuso sem restrições da vida e da força dos/as trabal...

Routledge eBooks, Jul 19, 2022

Global Sex Workers, 1998

Anti-Trafficking Review, 2017

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...

Global Sex Workers, 2018

Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered, 2015

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...

A Companion to Gender Studies, 2017

Prostitution has been a persistent theme in the study of society since the nineteenth century, al... more Prostitution has been a persistent theme in the study of society since the nineteenth century, although it is only in second half of the twentieth century that it fully entered social studies as a subject worthy of full academic consideration. In this chapter I identify four main approaches in social studies and research that have been prominent, according to assumptions and explanations about sexual and gender relations. I define the most recent approach as “Sex Work Studies.” It is important to keep in mind that while each trend is presented as distinct, there are many overlaps, borrowings, and blendings that have occurred between them and with other ideas that are not described here. The approaches therefore should not be treated as discrete or autonomous, but rather can be read as trends in which a specific account of gender and sex dominate political, theoretical, and social work on prostitution at different periods in history.

Social Sciences, 2017

Social and Economic Studies, 2003

Cadernos Pagu, 2005

Neste texto apresento perspectivas e abordagens importantes no debate internacional sobre o tráfi... more Neste texto apresento perspectivas e abordagens importantes no debate internacional sobre o tráfico de pessoas, e sublinho alguns dos principais pontos de crítica sobre o referencial contemporâneo hegemônico, pontos esses articulados através de projetos de pesquisa-ação e de intervenções contra o tráfico nas bases da sociedade. Argumento que, a despeito de mudanças substanciais no entendimento global sobre o tráfico, fortemente influenciadas por dois discursos feministas claramente diferentes (feminismo radical e feminismo transnacional), muito do que se busca hoje em nome de uma guerra ao tráfico tem conseqüências problemáticas para comunidades pobres ao redor do mundo, e tem implicações em termos de raça e gênero. As políticas norte-americanas são aqui trazidas ao debate para ilustrar algumas dessas tendências.

Race & Class, 2007

Encouraged by the US, the Caribbean is being drawn into a global panic over human trafficking, le... more 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 prostitution, embodied in legislation such as the US Trafficking Victims Protection 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 prostitution renders sexual labour as coerced labour and, as such, misrepresents sexual agency.

positions: asia critique, 1999

Global Sex Workers, 2018

This anthology of essays by scholars, activists, and organization leaders uses studies concerning... more This anthology of essays by scholars, activists, and organization leaders uses studies concerning both male and female sex workers of primarily Third World and developing countries to explore the social and economic issues of the industry. The writers first define both the forced and voluntary trafficking of sex in terms of a labor pool that is often migratory and at times even unionized. Issues of race and morality also play a role in the status and legitimacy of sex workers. These writings also highlight the major organizational movements and conferences of sex workers since the 1970s, as well as discussing the effects of AIDS and other health issues. Much of the literature on prostitution centers on Western cultures or single localities in the developing world.

Meridians

Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered

4 Jvoti Sanghera too disparate in their culinary skills, and have at their disposal a budget whic... more 4 Jvoti Sanghera too disparate in their culinary skills, and have at their disposal a budget which is far too lavish for a mere broth. These "too many cooks" have not only managed to spoil the broth, but some of them have also ended up bonking each other with their spatulas. I ...

Cadernos Pagu, 2016

Resumo No Canadá atual, as questões envolvendo o tráfico humano estão em alta na agenda pública. ... more Resumo No Canadá atual, as questões envolvendo o tráfico humano estão em alta na agenda pública. Uma variedade de atividades é incluída dentro dessa rubrica, incluindo a prostituição doméstica, na qual cruzar fronteiras nacionais ou internas não é um pré-requisito para como o Estado define o tráfico. O Canadá não está sozinho em sua definição expansiva de tráfico humano. Globalmente, trabalho sexual/prostituição, “tráfico sexual”, trabalho infantil, trabalho migrante infantil, e “escravidão moderna” são parte integral dos discursos hegemônicos sobre “os horrores” do tráfico humano. Neste artigo analiso três campanhas proeminentes que sustentam esse discurso e discuto algumas das ações que essas campanhas promoveram. Argumento que um exame mais detalhado deixa visível uma versão do século XXI do “fardo do homem branco” apoiado por interesses ocidentais, corporativos e neoliberais contemporâneos, através dos quais, a exploração e o abuso sem restrições da vida e da força dos/as trabal...