IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v6y2017i3p93-d108235.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“At-Risk” or “Socially Deviant”? Conflicting Narratives and Grassroots Organizing of Sex/Entertainment Workers and LGBT Communities in Cambodia

Author

Listed:
  • Heidi Hoefinger

    (School of Liberal Arts, Berkeley College, 12 East 41st Street, New York, NY 10017, USA)

  • Srorn Srun

    (Business Department, University of Cambodia, Northbridge Road, Phnom Penh 12000, Cambodia)

Abstract

Cambodia has experienced rapid economic development and increased globalization in the last two decades, which have influenced changes in sexual attitudes and politics. Yet deeply embedded patriarchal structures that promote adherence to traditional values, gender binaries, and sexual purity of women impede progress in the recognition of the rights of sex/entertainment workers and LGBT communities. Using the framework of sexual humanitarianism, this paper outlines the ways in which these constraints are compounded by two dominant conflicting narratives that place these groups as either at-risk and vulnerable or socially deviant, and deemed in need of interventions that protect and control. Drawing on over a decade of empirical research on the sex/entertainment industries, and broader gender/sexual landscape in Cambodia, as well as current social activism of the authors, this paper also describes the ways LGBT and sex worker communities are engaging in shared organizing and self-advocacy as strategies to address their needs and the consequences left in the wake of sexual humanitarian interventions. In order to contextualize their deeply-rooted legacy in Cambodia, the paper also provides an overview of past and contemporary gender/sexual norms and diversity, and concludes with a call for governments and policymakers to expand support for grassroots movements and to listen more closely to the voices of LGBT and sex worker communities so that the political and social needs of these groups can be addressed.

Suggested Citation

  • Heidi Hoefinger & Srorn Srun, 2017. "“At-Risk” or “Socially Deviant”? Conflicting Narratives and Grassroots Organizing of Sex/Entertainment Workers and LGBT Communities in Cambodia," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-20, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:6:y:2017:i:3:p:93-:d:108235
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/6/3/93/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/6/3/93/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Young, R.M. & Meyer, I.H., 2005. "The trouble with "MSM" and "WSW": Erasure of the sexual-minority person in public health discourse," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(7), pages 1144-1149.
    2. Lawless, Sonia & Kippax, Susan & Crawford, June, 1996. "Dirty, diseased and undeserving: The positioning of HIV positive women," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 43(9), pages 1371-1377, November.
    3. Ronald Weitzer, 2007. "The Social Construction of Sex Trafficking: Ideology and Institutionalization of a Moral Crusade," Politics & Society, , vol. 35(3), pages 447-475, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Winskell, Kate & Sabben, Gaëlle, 2016. "Sexual stigma and symbolic violence experienced, enacted, and counteracted in young Africans’ writing about same-sex attraction," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 143-150.
    2. Julie Fish, 2008. "Navigating Queer Street: Researching the Intersections of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) Identities in Health Research," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 13(1), pages 104-115, January.
    3. Umme Saima Sorna & Selim Reza, 2023. "Sex Trafficking: A Modern-Day Slavery and Exploitation in Modern Times," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(6), pages 410-414, June.
    4. Ronald Weitzer, 2014. "New Directions in Research on Human Trafficking," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 653(1), pages 6-24, May.
    5. Trang, Kathy & Ly, An Thanh & Lam, Le Xuan & Brown, Carolyn A. & To, Margaret Q. & Sullivan, Patrick S. & Worthman, Carol M. & Giang, Le Minh & Jovanovic, Tanja, 2021. "Mental health in HIV prevention and care: A qualitative study of challenges and facilitators to integration in Vietnam," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    6. Zhou, Yanqiu Rachel, 2007. ""If you get AIDS... You have to endure it alone": Understanding the social constructions of HIV/AIDS in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 284-295, July.
    7. Marija Pantelic & Mark Boyes & Lucie Cluver & Mildred Thabeng, 2018. "‘They Say HIV is a Punishment from God or from Ancestors’: Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Assessment of an HIV Stigma Scale for South African Adolescents Living with HIV (ALHIV-SS)," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 11(1), pages 207-223, February.
    8. Alexander Norfolk & Helga Hallgrimsdottir, 2019. "Sex Trafficking at the Border: An Exploration of Anti-Trafficking Efforts in the Pacific Northwest," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-18, May.
    9. Saleh, Lena Denise & Operario, Don, 2009. "Moving beyond "the Down Low": A critical analysis of terminology guiding HIV prevention efforts for African American men who have secretive sex with men," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 390-395, January.
    10. Liu, Chuncheng, 2020. "“Red is not the only color of a rainbow”: The making and resistance of the “MSM” subject among gay men in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    11. Szu‐Szu Ho & Aisha Holloway, 2016. "The impact of HIV‐related stigma on the lives of HIV‐positive women: an integrated literature review," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(1-2), pages 8-19, January.
    12. Truong, T.-D., 2014. "Human trafficking, globalisation and transnational feminist responses," ISS Working Papers - General Series 50429, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    13. Anthony Marcus & Amber Horning & Ric Curtis & Jo Sanson & Efram Thompson, 2014. "Conflict and Agency among Sex Workers and Pimps," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 653(1), pages 225-246, May.
    14. Matheson, Catherine M. & Finkel, Rebecca, 2013. "Sex trafficking and the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games: Perceptions and preventative measures," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 613-628.
    15. Stef Adriaenssens & Giulia Garofalo Geymonat & Laura Oso, 2016. "Quality of Work in Prostitution and Sex Work. Introduction to the Special Section," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 21(4), pages 121-132, November.
    16. Hankivsky, Olena, 2012. "Women’s health, men’s health, and gender and health: Implications of intersectionality," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(11), pages 1712-1720.
    17. Loubiere, Sandrine & Peretti-Watel, Patrick & Boyer, Sylvie & Blanche, Jérôme & Abega, Séverin-Cécile & Spire, Bruno, 2009. "HIV disclosure and unsafe sex among HIV-infected women in Cameroon: Results from the ANRS-EVAL study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 885-891, September.
    18. Cao, Liqun & Stack, Steven, 2010. "Exploring terra incognita: Family values and prostitution acceptance in China," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 531-537, July.
    19. Teela Sanders & Laura Connelly & Laura Jarvis King, 2016. "On Our Own Terms: The Working Conditions of Internet-Based Sex Workers in the UK," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 21(4), pages 133-146, November.
    20. Marshall, Wende Elizabeth, 2005. "Aids, race and the limits of science," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(11), pages 2515-2525, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:6:y:2017:i:3:p:93-:d:108235. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.