Identity and Men Who Have Sex with Men

Azizul Haque from Bangladesh highlighted the difficulties and incongruity of Western labels such as homosexual, gay and bisexual being applied in countries such as Bangladesh where it is culturally inappropriate. In Bangladesh the label or word "Kothi" relates to penetration and feminisation (not meaning a desire to imitate women or become a women). The self-identitification of Kothi is a way of attracting other men for sex. Jon Willis presented qualitative research of 53 male sex workers in Melbourne, Australia. Jon referred to a number of themes that made it difficult for sex workers to define the line between pleasure and business. Also discussed were the various strategies that sex workers utilised in attempts to make this definition. The most important point made in this presentation is the role of HIV/AIDS education intervention in Australia. HIV/AIDS education has tended to reconfigure a focus on pleasure so that it encompasses safety. This research with male sex workers revealed that sex-as-work may not be positioned as pleasurable and sexual safety might be set aside in private-as-pleasure to distinguish from sex work and sex in personal relationships. These two papers created a very rich discussion from the audience around the cultural differences between Australia, Bangladesh and the surrounding regions. Gender differences was also a focus of discussion with some members in the audience questioning the separation of men and women in research, particularly in relation to sex work when the service provision and social networks of sex workers in Australia were integrated for men and women. Transgender people were also mentioned as often being "left out" of this kind of research because of gender segregation. There was also an interesting discussion on the cultural discussions of pleasure and desire and what these terms really mean and how they are understood within their cultural context. However it was generally agreed that despite the cultural differences it was still useful to engage in collaborative research projects so that information could be exchanged and drawn on to inform and potentially lead to new initiatives and research.