BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Sabre//Sabre VObject 4.6.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/Zurich X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/Zurich TZURL:http://tzurl.org/zoneinfo/Europe/Zurich BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 TZNAME:CEST DTSTART:19810329T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=-1SU END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:CET DTSTART:19961027T030000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=10;BYDAY=-1SU END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:news353@ethnologie.philhist.unibas.ch DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20240522T120000 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20240613T170000 SUMMARY:Ethno-erotic Economies: Sexuality\, Money\, and Belonging\, in Comp arative Perspective DESCRIPTION:Abstract\\r\\nWhat happens when a people that have long been ve nerated and vilified for the difference of their culture and sexual custom s use that very same difference to produce livelihoods and craft futures? Since the 1980s\, young men of the Samburu ethnic group in northern Kenya have migrated seasonally to beach resorts at the Indian Ocean to sell souv enirs and perform traditional dances for tourists. They have capitalized o n an older\, colonial image of the “tribal warrior” or moran—a proto typical young man whose tall\, slim body adorned in traditional clothes co ngeals a heroic masculinity and an exotic sexuality. This image became a b estselling brand of East Africa as a tourist destination. Numerous white w omen from Western Europe on vacation in Kenya engage in intimate relations hips with these men. Through such intimacies\, Samburu men have found a ne w path to rapid wealth. They have thus devised a way to circumvent the Ken yan state—a state that has long marginalized them—and access money thr ough relationships with foreigners. Ironically\, for these men\, economic and political empowerment has required commodifying a colonial image of et hnic sexuality long used to legitimize their marginalization. The stereoty pe-cum-market “fiction” of an inherently different Samburu moran sexua lity generated a large economy. The effects of these economy reach beyond tourist resorts\, as money\, goods\, and persons circulate widely and enco mpass\, in ever-broader concentric circles\, coastal migrant communities a nd northern towns and villages. They involve complex exchanges and negotia tions that play out in renegotiations of age\, generation\, gender\, kinsh ip\, wealth\, and wellbeing.\\r\\nThis paper asks: How does the commodific ation of ethnic sexuality in tourism shape how ethnic subjects imagine and claim belonging? And how do their desires to belong inform how they marke t their ethnic sexuality? Revisiting Ethno-erotic Economies (University of Chicago Press\, 2017)\, nearly ten years after the completion of this res earch\, this lecture brings in a twofold comparative perspective. It atten ds to (i) changes that emerged over the last ten years in Kenya and that h ave also seen Romanian tourists and travelers growingly involved in these economies\; and (ii) emerging research on Romanians involved ethno-erotic economies globally. X-ALT-DESC:

Abstract

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What happens when a people that have long been venerated and vilified for the difference of their cul ture and sexual customs use that very same difference to produce livelihoo ds and craft futures? Since the 1980s\, young men of the Samburu ethnic gr oup in northern Kenya have migrated seasonally to beach resorts at the Ind ian Ocean to sell souvenirs and perform traditional dances for tourists. T hey have capitalized on an older\, colonial image of the “tribal warrior ” or moran—a prototypical young man whose tall\, slim body ad orned in traditional clothes congeals a heroic masculinity and an exotic s exuality. This image became a bestselling brand of East Africa as a touris t destination. Numerous white women from Western Europe on vacation in Ken ya engage in intimate relationships with these men. Through such intimacie s\, Samburu men have found a new path to rapid wealth. They have thus devi sed a way to circumvent the Kenyan state—a state that has long marginali zed them—and access money through relationships with foreigners. Ironica lly\, for these men\, economic and political empowerment has required comm odifying a colonial image of ethnic sexuality long used to legitimize thei r marginalization. The stereotype-cum-market “fiction” of an inherently different Samburu moran sexuality generated a large ec onomy. The effects of these economy reach beyond tourist resorts\, as mone y\, goods\, and persons circulate widely and encompass\, in ever-broader c oncentric circles\, coastal migrant communities and northern towns and vil lages. They involve complex exchanges and negotiations that play out in re negotiations of age\, generation\, gender\, kinship\, wealth\, and wellbei ng.

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This paper asks: How does the commodification of ethnic sexual ity in tourism shape how ethnic subjects imagine and claim belonging? And how do their desires to belong inform how they market their ethnic sexuali ty? Revisiting Ethno-erotic Economies (University of Chicago Pres s\, 2017)\, nearly ten years after the completion of this research\, this lecture brings in a twofold comparative perspective. It attends to (i) cha nges that emerged over the last ten years in Kenya and that have also seen Romanian tourists and travelers growingly involved in these economies\; a nd (ii) emerging research on Romanians involved ethno-erotic economies glo bally.

DTEND;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20240613T190000 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR