‘The lines are blurred’
same-sex relationships and the local practice of sponsorship in Cambodia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/genl.32942Keywords:
Sexual Transaction, Cambodia, Narrative AnalysisAbstract
This paper addresses recent calls in the field of sociolinguistics to engage more fully with the language of sexual transaction. In the case of this study, the focus is on transnational same-sex relationships, locally termed as 'sponsorship' arrangements, which are formed in the 'ethnosexual contact zones' of Siem Reap, a major tourist city in Cambodia. Utilising a positioning analysis of narrative accounts from local and non-local men, I will show how these relationships are discursively constructed across blurred lines between charitable support and sexual transaction. As such, I draw attention to the 'subjugated knowledges' that emerge from this analysis to inform the social practice of sponsorship as a local language practice. This is a local language practice that foregrounds the possibilities for action, made available through locally circulating discourses of opportunity, development and empowerment, along with the sexually agentic subject positions formed through engagement in Siem Reap's sexualised spaces.
References
Appleby, R. (2009) The spatial politics of gender in EAP classroom practice. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 8(2): 100–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2008.09.004
Bamberg, M. and Georgakopoulou, A. (2008) Small stories as a new perspective in narrative and identity analysis. Text and Talk 28(3): 377–96. https://doi.org/10.1515/TEXT.2008.018
Bauer, T. G. and McKercher, B. (eds) (2003) Sex and Tourism: Journeys of Romance, Love, and Lust. New York: Routledge.
Borba, R. (2016) Turning tricks: possibilities and challenges for a sociolinguistics of sex work. Paper presented at the 9th International Gender and Language Conference, Hong Kong, May.
Brennan, D. (2004) What’s Love Got to Do With It? Transnational Desires and Sex Tourism in the Dominican Republic. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822385400
Bucholtz, M. and Hall, K. (2005) Identity and interaction: a sociocultural linguistic approach. Discourse Studies 7(4–5): 585–614. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605054407
Collins, D. (2009) ‘We’re there and queer’: homonormative mobility and lived experience among gay expatriates in Manila. Gender and Society 23(4): 465–93. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243209340570
De Fina, A. (2009) Narratives in interview – the case of accounts: for an interactional approach to narrative genres. Narrative Inquiry 19(2): 233–58. https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.19.2.03def
De Fina, A. (2013) Positioning level 3: connecting local identity displays to macro social processes. Narrative Inquiry 23(1): 40–61. https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.23.1.03de
De Fina, A. and Georgakopoulou, A. (2012) Analyzing Narrative: Discourse and Sociolinguistic Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
De Lind van Wijngaarden, J. W. (2015) ‘Moving on up’: making sense of male sex work in Thailand. In P. Aggleton and R. Parker (eds) Men Who Sell Sex: Global Perspectives 159–72. New York: Routledge.
Dubois, J. W. (2007) The stance triangle. In R. Engelbretson (ed.) Stancetaking in Discourse: Subjectivity, Evaluation, Interaction 139–82. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.164.07du
Farrer, J. (2011) Global nightscapes in Shanghai as ethnosexual contact zones. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 37(5): 747–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2011.559716
Foucault, M. (1980) Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings1972–1977. New York: Pantheon.
Georgakopoulou, A. (2007) Small Stories, Interaction and Identities. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/sin.8
Hoefinger, H. (2013) Sex, Love and Money in Cambodia: Professional Girlfriends and Transactional Relationships. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203550786
Kramsch, C. (2015) Applied linguistics: a theory of the practice. Applied Linguistics 36(4): 454–65. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amv039
Milani, T. M. (2014) Marginally speaking. Multilingual Margins 1(1): 9–20.
Myers, G. and Lampropoulou, S. (2012) Impersonal you and stance-taking in social research interviews. Journal of Pragmatics 44(10): 1206–1218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2012.05.005
Pennycook, A. (2010) Language as a Local Practice. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203846223
Rubdy, R. and Alsagoff, L. (2014) The cultural dynamics of globalization: problematizing hybridity. In R. Rubdy and L. Alsagoff (eds) The Global–Local Interface and Hybridity: Exploring Language and Identity 1–10. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Ryan, C. and Hall, C. M. (eds) (2001) Sex Tourism: Marginal People and Liminalities. Hove: Psychology Press.
Sanders, T. (2005) ‘It’s just acting’: sex workers’ strategies for capitalizing on sexuality. Gender, Work, and Organization 12(4): 319–42. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0432.2005.00276.x
Schiffrin, D. (1996) Narrative as self-portrait: sociolinguistic constructions of identity. Language in Society 25: 167-203. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500020601
Talmy, S. (2010) Qualitative interviews in applied linguistics: from research instrument to social practice. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 30: 128–48. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190510000085
Weitzer, R. (2009) Sociology of sex work. Annual Review of Sociology 35: 213–34. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-070308-120025
Bamberg, M. and Georgakopoulou, A. (2008) Small stories as a new perspective in narrative and identity analysis. Text and Talk 28(3): 377–96. https://doi.org/10.1515/TEXT.2008.018
Bauer, T. G. and McKercher, B. (eds) (2003) Sex and Tourism: Journeys of Romance, Love, and Lust. New York: Routledge.
Borba, R. (2016) Turning tricks: possibilities and challenges for a sociolinguistics of sex work. Paper presented at the 9th International Gender and Language Conference, Hong Kong, May.
Brennan, D. (2004) What’s Love Got to Do With It? Transnational Desires and Sex Tourism in the Dominican Republic. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822385400
Bucholtz, M. and Hall, K. (2005) Identity and interaction: a sociocultural linguistic approach. Discourse Studies 7(4–5): 585–614. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605054407
Collins, D. (2009) ‘We’re there and queer’: homonormative mobility and lived experience among gay expatriates in Manila. Gender and Society 23(4): 465–93. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243209340570
De Fina, A. (2009) Narratives in interview – the case of accounts: for an interactional approach to narrative genres. Narrative Inquiry 19(2): 233–58. https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.19.2.03def
De Fina, A. (2013) Positioning level 3: connecting local identity displays to macro social processes. Narrative Inquiry 23(1): 40–61. https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.23.1.03de
De Fina, A. and Georgakopoulou, A. (2012) Analyzing Narrative: Discourse and Sociolinguistic Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
De Lind van Wijngaarden, J. W. (2015) ‘Moving on up’: making sense of male sex work in Thailand. In P. Aggleton and R. Parker (eds) Men Who Sell Sex: Global Perspectives 159–72. New York: Routledge.
Dubois, J. W. (2007) The stance triangle. In R. Engelbretson (ed.) Stancetaking in Discourse: Subjectivity, Evaluation, Interaction 139–82. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.164.07du
Farrer, J. (2011) Global nightscapes in Shanghai as ethnosexual contact zones. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 37(5): 747–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2011.559716
Foucault, M. (1980) Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings1972–1977. New York: Pantheon.
Georgakopoulou, A. (2007) Small Stories, Interaction and Identities. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/sin.8
Hoefinger, H. (2013) Sex, Love and Money in Cambodia: Professional Girlfriends and Transactional Relationships. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203550786
Kramsch, C. (2015) Applied linguistics: a theory of the practice. Applied Linguistics 36(4): 454–65. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amv039
Milani, T. M. (2014) Marginally speaking. Multilingual Margins 1(1): 9–20.
Myers, G. and Lampropoulou, S. (2012) Impersonal you and stance-taking in social research interviews. Journal of Pragmatics 44(10): 1206–1218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2012.05.005
Pennycook, A. (2010) Language as a Local Practice. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203846223
Rubdy, R. and Alsagoff, L. (2014) The cultural dynamics of globalization: problematizing hybridity. In R. Rubdy and L. Alsagoff (eds) The Global–Local Interface and Hybridity: Exploring Language and Identity 1–10. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Ryan, C. and Hall, C. M. (eds) (2001) Sex Tourism: Marginal People and Liminalities. Hove: Psychology Press.
Sanders, T. (2005) ‘It’s just acting’: sex workers’ strategies for capitalizing on sexuality. Gender, Work, and Organization 12(4): 319–42. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0432.2005.00276.x
Schiffrin, D. (1996) Narrative as self-portrait: sociolinguistic constructions of identity. Language in Society 25: 167-203. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500020601
Talmy, S. (2010) Qualitative interviews in applied linguistics: from research instrument to social practice. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 30: 128–48. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190510000085
Weitzer, R. (2009) Sociology of sex work. Annual Review of Sociology 35: 213–34. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-070308-120025
Published
2019-04-08
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Rowlett, B. J. L. (2019). ‘The lines are blurred’: same-sex relationships and the local practice of sponsorship in Cambodia. Gender and Language, 13(1), 23-47. https://doi.org/10.1558/genl.32942
