Gendered Border Regimes and Displacements: The Case of Filipina Sex Workers in Asia

Abstract

This article examines how the navigation of gendered border regimes, specifically the protectionist emigration regime of the Philippines and the punitive immigration regime of Hong Kong, results in the displacement of migrant sex workers from the Philippines. These border regimes at both ends of the migration spectrum are shaped by distinct gendered discourses of the “innocent victim” in the case of the Philippines and the “bad woman” in the case of Hong Kong. By establishing the limits of state power, this article illustrates how the circumvention of gendered border regimes by migrant sex workers results in their displacement as trapped, nomadic, and precarious circular migrants. Findings in this article are based on participant observation conducted in Hong Kong between 2010 and 2013, interviews with sex workers and officials of the Philippine government, and analysis of migration laws and policies in the Philippines and Hong Kong.