|
Advanced search
Previous page
|
Title
'In Goma I'm a superstar!': Rwandan sex workers and the negotiation of social and spatial mobility |
Full text
https://hdl.handle.net/1842/42021; http://dx.doi.org/10.7488/era/4743 |
Date
2024 |
Author(s)
Lensu, Suvi |
Contributor(s)
Nugent, Paul; Swanson, Heather; European Research Council; Anthropology of Human Security in Africa (ANTHUSIA); 'Beyond Borders': ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius, Hamburg |
Abstract
This doctoral thesis delves into the embodied migrations of Rwandan women and trans cross-border sex workers within East and Central Africa. Based on a year-long immersive ethnographic
fieldwork conducted in 2019, I examine how social and spatial mobility across borders is
influenced, contested, and facilitated by factors of sex, gender, and their intersections. To enhance
their livelihoods, assert their sexual and non-normative gender identities, and evade societal stigma,
my Rwandan sex worker interlocutors embarked on weekly cross-border journeys within the
neighbouring countries. Over years they developed cosmopolitan tactics and somewhat profitable
yet precarious livelihoods that catered to their and families' needs and desires. Additionally, some
women ventured into smuggling of second-hand clothing and cosmetics'to be sold at a profit in
Kigali or gifted to family members. While transnational sex work has often been studied in the
context of sexual trafficking or as a facet of broader migratory movements from the Global South
to the Global North, with academic interest only recently focusing more on South-to-South
trajectories, studies analysing temporary cross-border sexual migration within Sub-Saharan Africa
remain scarce. Furthermore, in the realm of border and mobility studies, the recent reorientation
towards an emotional and sexual perspective, underscores the significance of embodied and
intimate experiences and practices within larger mobility contexts. In addressing these gaps and
shifts within the existing literature, this analysis demonstrates that borders are not merely navigated
but also reproduced, extending beyond their physical demarcation to encompass abstract facets of
border and boundary formation. Set against the backdrop of temporary border closures due to the
Ebola outbreak, as well as the additional restrictions imposed by the Rwandan government on the
importation of goods, this research examines the social negotiations and moral exchanges.
Moreover, I explore the intricate interplay between mobility and aesthetic labour, highlighting their
paramount and mutually constitutive roles, magnified by the heightened customs restrictions
imposed by the government on the very materials used in aesthetic practices. Furthermore, I delve
into the permeability of boundaries in relation to borders and bodies, utilizing sorcery as a
phenomenological standpoint to address how borders both perpetuate and give rise to
transnational anxieties. Ultimately, in contrast to the conventional framing of sex workers and
LGBTQI+ people as occupying liminal and marginal spaces, this thesis illustrates their central role
in asserting their rights and by subverting power though aesthetic and spiritual practices as well as
intimate kinship and embodied border negotiations. By fostering cross-border mobility between
their home communities and transnational sense of belonging, I argue that my interlocutors
effectively position themselves at the heart of these intricate dynamics, exemplifying their
significant role in shaping mobility beyond its conventional borders and boundaries. |
Subject(s)
Rwanda; sex work; borders; mobility; livelihood; beauty; witchcraft; cosmopolitanism; feminist theory; gender studies; queer studies |
Language
en |
Publisher
The University of Edinburgh |
Relation
Lensu, S. 2015. Whore, mother, citizen?: The need for a re-definition of the citizenship of sex workers in Argentina. Master's Thesis in Latin American Studies. University of Stockholm, Institute of Latin American Studies |
Type of publication
Thesis or Dissertation; Doctoral; PhD Doctor of Philosophy |
Format
application/pdf |
Rights
2025-07-12 |
Repository
Edinburgh - University of Edinburgh
|
Added to C-A: 2024-08-20;15:33:37 |
© Connecting-Africa 2004-2024 | Last update: Saturday, July 6, 2024 |
Webmaster
|