Estudio crítico de la experiencia homoerótica en dos investigaciones latinoamericanas sobre comercio sexual entre hombres

Abstract

The anthropological study of sexual trade among men has been conducted by a variety of latin american researchers from a dichotomous approach of the sexual roles penetrative/ penetrated which prevent us from being aware of the actual complexity of the matter. This critical study aim is to analyze, from the homoerotic experience anthropology point of view, the theoretical and ideological implications of the dichotomous approach of the sexual roles “active”/“pasive” in “man sexual work” in Cáceres’ and Jiménez’ researches (1999) in Perú, and in Schifter’s and Aggleton’s (1999) in Costa Rica, in order to provide a critic that enables the acknowledgement and understanding of heterogeneity and complexity of homoerotic practices and sexual identities implied in sexual trade among men; the subjective position and the meanings of this activity to the men involved; and the consequences of the dichotomous representations of the matter in the continuation of the patriarchal system. Over the course of this essay, I analyze experiences of the Latin American men that were studied in the researches previously mentioned in order to understand the homoerotic diversity in sexual trade and to question the dichotomous interpreting frameworks that have been used by anthopologists and that, instead of revealing the ambiguous conflicting nature of male gender and sexual identities, they reinforce the patriarchal system and the way it organizes, standardizes and represents commercial homoerotic relationships among men.