Tropical sex in a European Country: Brazilian women's migration to Italy in the frame of international sex tourism

Abstract

In Fortaleza, which is one of the main cities linked to sex tourism in the Northeast of Brazil, young low income women leave the country with or invited by sex tourists. While some indeed engage themselves in the sex industry in Europe, others leave it when marrying European men. Focusing on the universe of integrants of couples integrated women from the Northeast from Brazil and Italian men, this paper addresses the differentiations that acquire centrality when these relationships, formed in an ambiguous terrain where sexuality, economic interest and romance intermingle, are contextualized in Italy. I analyze the cultural, political and economic implications of that migration. The study discusses the relationship between gender and economic negotiations in those couples, reflecting on the meanings acquired by "tropical sexuality" in the migrations to that Northern country. Copyright Σ 2007 by Revista Estudos Feministas.