Negotiating multiple identities
To peel away the layers of meaning that exist between the personal and political, this session will cover religion, culture, class, sexualities, gender and various other permutations of “identity”, and the ways in which people negotiate these multiple identities through their interactions with the state and other socio-economic structures. This session will also look at the fluidity between identities, transitions from one identity to another, and the practical things people do in order to negotiate the realization of their aspirations within these identities.
“Condom versus Viagra”
Whereas there is a great hesitancy in Asia to discuss openly and promote condoms for safe sex, Viagra has been aggressively promoted in the media and marketed widely in the region – oftentimes for needs well-beyond its prescribed purposes – without facing any “moral” or political objection. The juxtaposition of “Condom” and “Viagra” in the title of this session is to indicate that there are different perceptions and values centering on the various types of sex-related products being marketed. This session aims to examine these and related issues, provoking thinking on the way gender and sexual values affect the production of sex-related technologies.
Sexuality in the Tech-Era
Recent statistics show that almost 40 percent of internet users in the world live in Asia. For many Asians, the rapid expansion of networking technologies, including internet and cell phones, has transformed many aspects of their lives, including sexuality. This session will explore how the rapid expansion of networking technologies may be shaping the sexual lives of individuals and communities throughout the region and raise the question of how we might make use of the transformative aspects of technology for achieving sexual rights and sexual justice.
Migrant labor and sexual politics
Asia has become a primary source and locus of international migration primarily among low-skilled workers from within the region and beyond. As Asian states struggle to cope with this trend, policies have attempted to deal with migrants’ sexuality and reproduction in a number of diverse ways. In many HIV prevention and anti-trafficking programs, both of which are often in contract with labor policies and bilateral agreements, migrants are denied their agency and regarded as passive victims of their circumstances. In other words, they are seen as incapable of making their own decisions. This session will take a closer look at these different policies, examine their consistencies and inconsistencies, and analyze the ways in which they impact migrants’ rights and well-being.