Representations of macho dancers, a subgroup of male sex workers (MSWs) in the Philippines, pervade in popular culture, especially in films from the 1980s to the present. In academic scholarship, macho dancers are treated as at-risk groups in public health discourse (i.e., HIV/AIDS). These two conditions, focusing on sexualizing and pathologizing MSWs, failed to address social realities regarding the nature of their work. This chapter veers away from medicalized discourse to explore other aspect of male sex work in visual terms and in online contexts, but with considerations. I draw upon visuals collected on social media platforms (particularly, Facebook pages and YouTube channels) and selected interviews from 2013 to 2020 to examine how MSWs construct masculinity. In the visual analysis of the male body, there is a substantial focus on how macho dancers utilize dance to create an ideal image of a man, which enable them to become purveyors of gendered (masculine) aesthetics, and how the processes and intermediaries inside gay bars contribute to this process. Further, I argue that MSWs reproduce traditional notions of heterosexual masculinity, co-opts homosexuality, and participate in a beauty culture that caters to the desires of men and women. These reproductions of gender ideas (particularly on masculinity) operate at the intersection of colonial and local ideas, which are justified through images and performances that draw inspiration from Western and local pop culture.

错误:搜索内容不能为空,请输入英文关键词
错误:关键词超出字数限制,请精简
高级检索

Visual Dimension of Male Sex Work in the Philippines

  • Michael A. Pastor

摘要

Representations of macho dancers, a subgroup of male sex workers (MSWs) in the Philippines, pervade in popular culture, especially in films from the 1980s to the present. In academic scholarship, macho dancers are treated as at-risk groups in public health discourse (i.e., HIV/AIDS). These two conditions, focusing on sexualizing and pathologizing MSWs, failed to address social realities regarding the nature of their work. This chapter veers away from medicalized discourse to explore other aspect of male sex work in visual terms and in online contexts, but with considerations. I draw upon visuals collected on social media platforms (particularly, Facebook pages and YouTube channels) and selected interviews from 2013 to 2020 to examine how MSWs construct masculinity. In the visual analysis of the male body, there is a substantial focus on how macho dancers utilize dance to create an ideal image of a man, which enable them to become purveyors of gendered (masculine) aesthetics, and how the processes and intermediaries inside gay bars contribute to this process. Further, I argue that MSWs reproduce traditional notions of heterosexual masculinity, co-opts homosexuality, and participate in a beauty culture that caters to the desires of men and women. These reproductions of gender ideas (particularly on masculinity) operate at the intersection of colonial and local ideas, which are justified through images and performances that draw inspiration from Western and local pop culture.