Both the article on sex tourism and the film on Maquilapolis deal with the problem of women having to harm their health, bodies, and reputation for escaping poverty and providing better lives for their families. Though, at first sight, it may seem that the situations of those who work in factories in Mexico and those who are involved in the sex-related business are incomparable, they have one thing in common. It concerns the fact that in both cases, women are forced to perform these jobs to survive and get out of poverty.
When speaking about women in Mexico, about whom the documentary Maquilapolis tells, it is worth mentioning that they get almost no money for the hard and dangerous work they perform. Their health conditions and those of their children and families constantly deteriorate because of the enormous degrees of pollution the numerous plants located in Mexico (Maquilapolis). Everything described above may be related to the negative consequences of globalization, but it is necessary to remember that the positive ones concern providing people with jobs and the ability to earn money on their living. Apart from that, women in Maquilapolis finally were heard by the US government, and one of the abandoned factories polluting the environment was liquidated.
However, the situation with sex tourism in the Dominican Republic is not as promising as the one in Maquilapolis since they sacrifice not only their health and body but dignity and reputation. Due to the growing popularity of sex tourism in Europe, Dominican women are spoken badly of all around the world and sometimes in their own country (Brennan). Their desire to earn money and escape poverty is understandable, and it is what unites them with women in Maquilapolis. The main difference between them lies in the fact that Dominican women exploit foreign men in hopes of better lives. In contrast, women in Maquilapolis rely on themselves and fight corruption with their own forces and knowledge. It is hard to say whether those women are positively or negatively affected by globalization because they gain chances for better lives but pay for them with their own health and even dignity.
Works Cited
Brennan, Denise. “Sex Tourism, Globalization and Transnational Imaginings” Gender in Cross-cultural Perspective. Routledge, 2017, pp. 677-689
Maquilapolis. Directed by Vicky Funari& Sergio de la Torre. California Newsreel, 2006.