Romance tourism

Abstract

Abstract Romance tourism is a term that some scholars have used to highlight the romantic, emotional, and intimate connections cultivated between foreign tourists and local men and women in tourist destinations (which are usually in developing countries). Most of the literature on romance tourism is based in the Caribbean. D. Pruitt and S. LaFont (1995) first introduced the concept of romance tourism to distinguish heterosexual male sex work from other prostitution relations in the Caribbean (Kempadoo 1999). The distinction between romance tourism and sex tourism is often split along gendered lines. Sexual/romantic encounters between tourist women and local men are more likely to be referred to as romance tourism, while similar encounters between tourist men and local women are often referred to as “sex tourism.” Men who exchange sexual services for monetary gain in tourist destinations often do not self‐identify as sex workers. These men are referred to as beach boys, island boys, players, gigolos, sanky pankys, hustlers, and other local terms. These terms create a separate discursive space for male actors in Caribbean sex work and a strategy to distance men from the stigma of prostitution. These men's sexual practices are consistent with the construction of Caribbean masculinity in terms of sexual prowess, womanizing, and hypersexuality. For instance, Jacqueline Sanchez‐Taylor (2006) emphasizes how Caribbean men draw upon the stereotype of the “black stud” in their sexual‐affective encounters with foreign women.