The Impact of Globalization of Sex Trade

The radical and liberal position stemming from a heteronomative origination of sexual freedom focusing on women and ignoring other sexualities

The U.S. Department of the state reports that the sex trade has underreported numbers because the gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual (LGBT) sex trade ignored in sex trade statistics (Martinez & Kelle, 2013).  Also, globalization of sex trade has caused a 58.7% increase in exploited LGBT thought sex trafficking (Martinez & Kelle, 2013).  The impact of globalization of sex trade has skewed numbers about the total effects of how many sex workers migrate.  Martinez & Kelle (2013) found that the LBGT community is afraid to report sexual entrapment because of the negative stigmas concerning sexualities outside societal norms. In the world today, the existence of the human sex trade is not a local or national problem, but a quickly growing globalization issue.  The sex traffickers’ impact of globalization on sex trade is tied in the world’s financial system.

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The human sex trade business has become increasingly lucrative, while sex trade agents are willing to take the risk to obtain access to millions of tax-free dollars. In a study by the Urban Institute, they found that sex trade agents are willing to risk everything because the sex trade industry estimated earning a billion dollars per year (as cited in Molland, 2014).  The sex trade industry has graduated to globalization of trafficking human beings, weapons, drugs while accounting for over 15% of the world’s commerce (Watson, 2009, p.2).  Also, the global human sex trade has become technology-savvy, delivering human bodies fueled by customers that depend on sexual services in foreign countries.  The human sex trade has evolved geographically becoming the primary locations for sex tourism seeking diverse sexualities (Kansas State University, 2016). 

The massive growth of the global human sex trade because of diverse sexualities has infused revenues into the world economy.  In agreement, Lune (2018) found that the primary reason for the tremendous growth because of the multiplicity of sex workers that fall under the LGBT spectrum.  Due to this, the sex trade industry has flourished exponentially and become a dominant global commodity. 

In a report by Lowrey (2014), they discuss the estimated revenues of the illegal sex trade in the United States based on the following cities of Kansas City, Atlanta, Seattle, Denver, Miami, Washington, San Diego, and Dallas.  In an article by Lowrey (2014, p.4), they found that the underground economies of sex trade have significantly impacted these eight major cities. The revenues generated from the sex trade market in Atlanta is 290 million.  In the city of Miami, the economics of sex trade make a massive amount of $235 million.  In the city of Seattle, economics from sex trade industry generate $112 million in revenues (Lowrey, 2014, p.5). The sex trade agents are prospering because the demand for illicit sex has reached every end of the globe.  Also, the revenues have increased internationally and in the United States.

The perspective of liberal feminists suggests that the human trafficking industry exploits a system of violence against women and does recognize any other type of sexualities (Hasmath, 2012).  Liberal feminist views suggest that sex trade primarily oppresses or emancipates women based on the theory of sexual freedom. The primary belief surrounds societies dominated by men, who benefit from the subordination of women without recognizing or admitting the existence of any other sexualities (Thompson, 2016).  Also, the views subscribe to the belief that sexual and marital orientation is only suitable for individuals of the opposite sex.   

In a study by Shulman et al. (2009), found that the legalization of same-sex relationships has been marginalized and devalued by society based on the feminist critical theory based on the dominant male culture that leads to suppression of women.  Furthermore, Shulman et al. suggested that community needs to accept the existence of sexual freedoms and sexualities such as same-sex relationships, who face oppression, inequality, as well as unconstitutional discourses (Shulman et al.,2009). 

In a journal article by Merriman (2012), found that radical feminist views regarding the globalization of the sex trade suggest the sex trade market is finding new ways to exploit women. The modern exploitation schemes are marriage brokers, Internet social networks, and convincing poverty-stricken women to migrate for a promising job.  Also, the globalization system allows men to maximize upon and exploit a capitalist framework by using the prosperity of financial gains to dominate women in foreign continents (Merriman, 2012).  The booming growth of technology and globalization via the Internet has allowed the sex trade to operate nearly anywhere in the world.  Also, the radical feminist views suggest that the globalization has sustained a system that depends on revenues in male-dominated market-leading women to behave in highly sexualized demeanors.   

Push and Pull Theory

The push-pull theory is the idea that poverty is the main factor that convinces migrants to leave their current country of residence to migrate to another country for the promise of freedom and a better life. The pull theory applies to the traveling sex tourist seeking relaxation, adventures, and escape in an international location (Puchovka, Romancer & McFarlance,2016).

The characteristics of the push and pull theory directly influence human sex trade infrastructure.  The push characteristics include a group or population of people migrating due to living in poverty, lack of jobs, economic instability, home country oppression, and underserved households (Hasmath, 2012).  Other push factors lead to the decision of sex workers to migrate are political unrest, ethnic discrimination, and lack of educational opportunities.  The pull factors also include sex trade workers’ motivation to leave their country for foreign locales for a chance to thrive in a better living environment.

The push and pull theory about sex trade pushes unwilling participants to leave the home residence for foreign places, while simultaneously pulling people away from home for favorable conditions (Ramos, 2017).  The push and pull theory of globalization applies to distribution and migration of sex trade workers.  The sex trade victims are placed into unfavorable conditions because the globalization of sex trade has a high demand for sex worker services internationally.

The entire human trafficking market exists because of global gaps between underprivileged regions and countries.  In an earth & environment article by Ramos (2017), they describe the push and pull theory of migration derived from some unfavorable push conflict such as family hardship, poverty, unnecessary wars, and lack of work.  As a result, the pull theory applies based on migration for want of a better life, job opportunities, education, and the ability to freely practice religion (p.2).  The push and pull theory is an example of the impact of globalization of sex trade industry that has a two-directional movement.  The pull theory illustrates the unfavorable factors such as poverty, no access to education, high cost of living, and chastised for ethical choices.  The push theory referencing the globalization of the sex trade; women leave for foreign lands for promise of a better life (Stanojoska & Petrevski, 2012). 

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A recent study by Hardwick and Tremblay (2014) found that the common theme in the migration of sex trade participants is that these participants sometimes make emotional decisions while trying to escape a volatile and oppressive country.  The secondary motivation is sacrificing for the entire family seeking to find a better way of life while searching for passageways that lead to personal and family growth.  The emotional choice and universal themes to leave one’s country to find stable settlement for their family describe the push and pull factors that influence the decision to chase global opportunities.  Also, a host of factors contribute to sex trade workers wanting to leave home because of economic, environmental, social, and cultural reasons (Hardwick & Tremblay, 2014).

Impact of Globalization

The effect of globalization on the sex trade business has created a commodity of sexual goods and services in a capitalist market.  The marginal sex industry has grown into a central international labor market that exploits sex workers globally.  One of the impacts of the globalization involves the exponential growth of human trafficking while becoming colossally mass-produced internationally.  The secondary effect of globalization of sex trade surrounds the expansion of sexual goods in underdeveloped countries that are experiencing a wide-scale development.  As a result of globalization, sex trade creates enormous profits from the marketing of sexual services resulting in women becoming sexual products. Sex trade’s globalization impacts a country’s environment, values, economic system, and the migration of sex workers seeking opportunities (Gilbertson, 2015).  The impact of globalization on the sex trade led to organized crime organizations infiltrating the United States and extending to the foreign countries.  The organization crime enterprises can extend the reach to poverty-stricken areas because of impact of globalization. Also, increase the number of forced sex workers abroad. The organized crime units have the resources and illegal sex trades in the United States that now can operate internationally.(Weiss,2014).

The impact of globalization of sex trade has reached alarming numbers regarding the number of sex workers in the world.  In 2016, The International Labor Organization reported that over 40 million people trapped in the sex trade circles and that 25 percent of those sex trade workers were children (Swarens, 2018, p.1).  The globalization of the sex trade has seen an increase in forced labor, reaching significant numbers of 24.9 million victims and over 15.4 million have been forced into marriage (Swarens, 2018, p.1).  The author suggests that the globalization quadrupled the commercial sex trade market to an estimated 4.8 million women and children, and over 1 million sexually exploited victims (Swarens, 2018, p.1).

The impact of globalization of sex trade created migration patterns of people based on gender, age, and social class, who move bilaterally influenced by improving conditions.  The dissatisfied sex workers are exiting the current harsh environment that keeps their families in political fear.  Globalization continues to impact the sex trade by encouraging the mass movement and migration of sex workers.  A recent study (Wang, 2018) found that the impact of globalization in sex trade poses a threat to local economic development because of the wealth created by human trafficking.  The local economy thus becomes stagnant, hampering the economic growth of that region. The adverse effects of globalization surround sex trade, starting an international migration of sex services and corruption.  Also, foreign countries trade sex trade revenues instead of developing the country’s resources.  

In a research study by Spyropoulos (2018), they found that the globalized sex trade in Nigeria followed a capitalist relationship that sold services of sex workers as commodities. The poor living conditions in Nigeria because of an impoverished community cause women to pull towards a better life while being pushed into a life of exploitive servitude. The growing globalization of the sex trade manages human beings as an industrial product traded all over the world.  Spyropoulos also found that globalization of the sex trade opened the market for other types of services such as harvesting.  The globalization of sex trade created an 80% increase in massive migrations of women fleeing their home countries to find better living conditions in Italy (Spyropoulos, 2018, p.219.)

In a journal article by Merriman (2012), they found that the globalization of the sex trade suggest that the sex trade market is still finding new ways to exploit women. The modern exploitation schemes are marriage brokers, social internet networks, and convincing poverty-stricken women to migrate for a promising job.  The globalization system also allows men to maximize capital by using the prosperity of their financial gains to dominate women in foreign continents (Merriman, 2012).  The booming growth of technology and globalization due to the Internet allows sex trade to communicate anywhere in the world.  It also suggests that globalization has sustained a system that depends on revenue in a male-dominated leading market, causing women to behave in highly sexualized demeanors.   

In an article by M’Cormack (2012), he suggests that the impact of globalization of the sex trade industry has devastated millions of people while simultaneously earning billions of dollars.  In the United States and foreign countries, criminal organizations can face jail time and court fines.  The globalization of sex trade also combined with technological advances such as the Internet, has made the business sex trade a significant commodity.

The impact has the same push and pulls the driving force that hurt both the countries that sex workers migrate to and their home countries.  The implications include the dissolution of the family unit and leaving family members.  Also, low-income families that must sell children into sex trafficking so the family can survive.  The profits from sex trade have become so lucrative that sex workers have expanded globally into sexual slavery.  Other impacts of the sex trade’s globalization are an increase of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS while spreading illness globally.  Countries were sex work is significantly present have an increase in criminal enterprises seeking a piece of the billion-dollar industry (M’Cormack, 2012, p.2).

List of References

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