Zach Wyant (300207093)
Sociology 1125
November 10, 2014
Women Who Travel For Sex

This article really shows the way that we as human have evolved. Some information regarding our actions in society and the actions and behaviours deemed acceptable within society can be gleaned from the article. Our social structure is what allows us to have social relationships and social institutions to meet new people and bond over similar interests.

A conflict perspective assumes that groups and individuals that are constantly competing over scarce resources shape social life. Conflict perspective also states that more powerful groups control society with their wealth and power. The article specifically focuses on single woman and their willingness to engage in sexual acts with total strangers. It can be said that there is a more powerful group profiting off these women. It appears that dating life gets more difficult with age. For example, less people are available for sexual intercourse as time progresses. ‘Sex tourism’ can be defined as travelling away from the immediate vicinity to find a sexual partner. It acts as a way for women to have what they want with no strings attached. In essence, these women are no longer competing over scarce resources. In this example the powerful group, the women who are willing to travel, are taking advantage of the less fortunate group, the women who cannot or do not travel. In addition, the women involved in sex tourism are typically fairly wealthy. There is a high price attached to travelling as such. The women who can pay to travel for a sexual experience of this nature take advantage of the workers offering these services. Another perspective is the feminist perspective. This perspective believes in gender inequality. The feminist theory uses a conflict approach to gender roles and the inequalities that are attached. This could include the way that women and men express themselves in public. Our society looks down on women who accept payment for sex. These women are treated unfairly and quite poorly in society. Another example of gender inequality is in the number of sexual partners that can be construed as acceptable. A man who has had several sexual partners is a hero among his fellow men but the roles are reversed and woman has or has had multiple sexual partners, she is a pariah and considered lower than the rest. An example in pop culture is the televisions show ‘How I Met Your Mother’, where there are references to this difference in gender roles in each episode as the main characters try to find love. A man is triumphant when he has multiple partners but a woman is a ‘slut’. This is a double standard based in typical gender inequalities. However, in this article the women are the paying consumer and the gender inequality is reversed. In sex tourism men can be the ones accepting payment while the women pay. No matter who pays, sex tourism is much safer for both parties involved that buying sex off of a street. It is stated in this article that when most people hear about sex tourism they think of a "bald, corpulent, middle-aged American guzzling Mai Tai cocktails in a Bangkok strip club” when in truth, sex tourism is an equal opportunity for both men and women.

Finally, the interactionist perspective focuses on the concrete details of what goes on among individuals in everyday life. This perspective seeks to study how we communicate with others and how these interactions create a sense of self-fulfillment and identity. A large part of this ideology revolves around language and how our thoughts are shaped by it. In