Transits: Brazilian women migration in the context of the transnationalization of the sex and marriage markets 1. In this paper I focus on Brazilian women's migration to Europe in the context of the transnationalization and the interconnection of the sex and marriage markets. The analysis is based on anthropological research studies carried out in Italy and Spain with the aim of apprehending the political, economic and cultural aspects associated with migrations connected with the sex markets.
On the basis of the social networks activated during the migratory process and women's participation in the sending and receiving countries, I ponder on the notion of transnationalism present in the debates about prostitution and migration studies. I argue that, in order to understand transnational practices in this type of migration, it is necessary to focus on a broader approach that takes into account women's spaces for agency.
Keywords: marriage market, migration, sex industry, 'sex tourism'. Although sex workers have an important part in creating a transnational social space, they are rarely taken into account in the studies and papers about migratory issues. According to Laura Agustin immigrants of this sort are most frequently included in criminology studies, or depicted as victims when viewed from a feminist perspective. This is clearly visible in the Brazilian literature on the topic, which, as it reproduces the hegemonic viewpoints of the public debates, tends to mistake migration for the purpose of working in the sex industry with people trafficking.
The term transnational thus becomes, in such a context, a synonym for crime-related groups working across the borders.
At the same time, transnationalism as a concept emerged in the debates on migration in the midst of heated discussions. Although approaches differ from one another, those perspectives that focus on the displaced subjects, their logics and networks enable an understanding of the dynamics and consequences of migrations in a variety of social realms, and provide valuable elements for understanding the interweave of migrations and the sex industry. In this paper, I take into account the concept of transnationalism in both fields, having as a reference the migration of Brazilian women to Southern Europe countries in the context of the sex industry.
