Abstract
The aim of the article is to analyze the motivation of a group of Rio de Janeiro’s men to engage in gay sex tourism, as well as the reasons for a group of Brazilian and foreign male tourists to search for sex with other men in the city. Following mainly Carrier-Moisan (2015), McKercher and Bauer (2003) and Mendoza (2013, 2014), I argue that sex encounters between local men and gay tourists may involve money and perspectives of a better life for local men, especially sex workers, as well as the pleasure of the tourists. The results indicate that gay sex tourism in Rio de Janeiro also involves the negotiation and redefinition of values, stereotypes and expectations, which do not always include money. The study concludes that gay sex tourism in Rio de Janeiro may bring different types of personal involvement among the parts.
Highlights
Despite the heteronormative discourses and hostility towards homosexuals in many societies around the world, gay tourism—a LGBT travel market niche, designed to cater to gay men’s consumer needs—has been strengthened with the spread of LGBT rights from the mid-twentieth century, as well as the changes in the demographic composition and cultural ideologies, the increased educational levels, the establishment of LGBT non-governmental organisations to pressure conservative authorities and the political decisions to equalise the rights of heterosexuals and homosexuals in many countries, such as the authorization for LGBT marriage (Vorobjovas-Pinta & Hardy, 2016)
The results indicate that gay sex tourism in Rio de Janeiro involves the negotiation and redefinition of values, stereotypes and expectations, which do not always include money
Most local men engage in work in sex tourism because of money, which represent a better choice between other possible jobs in Rio or even the salvation in times of harsh unemployment in Brazil
Summary
Despite the heteronormative discourses and hostility towards homosexuals in many societies around the world, gay tourism—a LGBT travel market niche, designed to cater to gay men’s consumer needs—has been strengthened with the spread of LGBT rights from the mid-twentieth century, as well as the changes in the demographic composition and cultural ideologies, the increased educational levels, the establishment of LGBT non-governmental organisations to pressure conservative authorities and the political decisions to equalise the rights of heterosexuals and homosexuals in many countries, such as the authorization for LGBT marriage (Vorobjovas-Pinta & Hardy, 2016). It has motivated numerous studies from the late 1980s, which focused mainly on the earnings, expenditure and travel arrangements of these travellers and often seemed to conceive that the market is homogeneous. Despite the heterogeneity of motivations of gay tourism, the need for safety, the comfort to be with like-minded people and the need to escape from heterosexism are usually indicated in the first studies as key influences on the tourists’ choice, who still face discrimination, especially when they do not conform to expected standards of behaviour regarding stable relationships and gainful employment (Pritchard et al, 2000)
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