Globalisation and Transnational Sexualities

The literature in the field of critical sexuality studies published between the years 2000 and 2006 reveals an increasing preoccupation with the theme of globalisation. Although major topics of interest vary according to the authors in question and their disciplinary backgrounds, definitions of contemporary globalisation invariably refer to the rapidly increasing movement of people (through migration, tourism and trafficking), capital, information, and ideologies around the world. Sexuality can no longer be analysed or understood without taking into account the effects of these global flows. They are deeply implicated in any analysis of HIV/AIDS (Altman 2001; Binnie 2004; Schoepf 2001), the social, cultural, economic and political regulation of sexuality (Altman 2001; Altman 2004; Kim-Puri 2005), prostitution and sex trafficking (Long 2004; Parker et al. 2004; Piper 2005), space, place and queer mobility (Binnie 2004; Collins 2005; Puar 2001; Puar 2002), and citizenship and sexual rights discourses (Bell and Binnie 2000; Bell and Binnie 2004; Binnie 2004; Corrêa and Parker 2004; Parker et al. 2004; Plummer 2003; Stychin 2001). These broader themes, however, are associated with various complex issues that cannot be understood through the lens of globalisation alone and must be explored in their own right and reviewed separately. In this review, we will focus on the most popular theme encountered in the critical sexuality literature: the role that globalisation has played in the construction of sexual identities.