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| Photo by Raphael Siniora |
The stereotype of sexual tourists in Costa Rica being older, gray-haired, North American and European men long past their primes is being shattered in the 21st century by a new generation of libidinous travelers who happen to be younger, and -in some cases- female.
In a recent article by Tim Rogers of online media network Fusion.net, the author visited two well-known spots in San Jose where sexual dalliances between prostitutes and traveling johns are commonplace: The Del Rey Hotel and Casino and the neighboring Key Largo bar; this is how Mr. Rogers described the scene:
Recently a newer generation of prurient 20- and 30-somethings are starting to elbow out the geriatrics at the bar. [These] younger sex-minded tourists are breaking the generation barrier and tearing down old prejudices that have long made Costa Rica’s mongering scene an old white man’s game.“The U.S., with its Puritan roots, looks down on this type of behavior. But it’s normal in many parts of the world,” says Michael, a 31-year-old sex-tourism proselytizer who brought five buddies to Costa Rica for a vacation in late January — his sixth such trip in seven years.
Elsewhere in the article, Mr. Rogers interviews young men who look, in his opinion, “surprisingly sober and good-looking.” This handsome young buck justified his presence in what is known to be aden of prostitution in Costa Rica with a bit of social commentary:
“[more] successful people — athletes and actors — do this all the time.”
The sexual tourist stereotype is no longer confined to men from Canada and the United States; Mr. Rogers interviewed a young man from Mexico who confessed he initially came to Costa Rica as an eco-tourist but then decided to try his hand -so to speak- as a sexual tourist.
The new generation of young men found at places where prostitutes ply their erotic trade includes domestic tourists; a section of popular online discussion board ForodeCostaRica.com, most Ticos are younger than 30 years of age, and they openly discuss not just the Del Rey Hotel but also secret spots beyond the Central Valley where they can sow their wild oats. These online forum dwellers see their sexual “hobby” as an overall fun activity; they don’t look at their older, foreign counterparts with contempt -they actually wonder if their libidos will carry them to that age someday.
Is It Always OK When Women Do It?
It’s not just younger men who are exploring sexual tourism in Costa Rica and other parts of the world. A 2014 article by Brenda Zurita of online news and opinion site BarbWire.com explains:
They fly to a foreign country to find sex. They pay young locals to fulfill their desires during these vacations. They pay for hotel rooms, food, rent, new clothes, and electronics. They are engaging in sex tourism.And they are women.
As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, the phenomenon of women who engage in sexual tourism can be seen in the Caribbean community of Puerto Viejo, a town with a significant expat population. To this effect, women from Europe greatly outnumber their North American counterparts. It is interesting to note that there is a stereotype that dominates the world of female sex tourists, and that is their preference for darker men. As Ms. Zurita explains:
The men who have sex with these women have different names in different countries: “bumsters” in The Gambia, “Rastitutes” or “beach boys” in the Caribbean, and “sanky pankies” in the Dominican Republic.
In Puerto Viejo, the number of sexual tourists who seek the company of young Afro Costa Ricans is but a fraction of the men who flock to the Del Rey and other spots in our country. It could be this discreet lower number that makes female sex tourism appear more positive than the traditional image of older and lascivious fat guys on the prowl for younger women. There’s also a greater expectation of romance when the sexual tourist is a woman; alas, Ms. Zurita concludes:
Women who are looking for love with men they pay for sex are going to be sadly disappointed after they’ve been sufficiently fleeced of their money. Women sex tourists will learn they can buy sex, but they cannot buy love or happiness.
The above is not entirely supported by sociological research conducted by Canadian anthropologist Susan Frohlick of the University of Manitoba. Dr. Frohlick is a research authority on the sexual marketplace of Puerto Viejo; you can read more about her work in our 2013 article The Gigolos of Puerto Viejo: Ladies Pursue and Buy Romance in Costa Rica, which (not surprisingly) is one of our most popular articles. Dr. Frohlick’s conclusions about women who seek sexual gratification by young Afro Costa Ricans in Puerto Viejo are refreshingly positive insofar as how often the tourists and the male prostitutes actually fall in love and become a couple.
Could sex tourists becoming younger and including women soften the image of sexual tourism overall? Only time will tell; at this time, the justifications of younger men are hedonistic and the justifications of women are romantic. Nonetheless, there will always be sharp observers such aswell-published online author Michael Reed, who discusses the positive spin applied by those who cover the female sex tourism phenomenon:
Psychologically, there is a consistent theme, in the attitude of both the writers and the female sex tourists, of willful denial.Some of the women feel that they are not actually engaged in sexual tourism per-sec; they prefer the term “romance tourism”. One of the case studies referred to in Liz Hoggard’s Independent article explains, “The words “sex tourism” make me think of City boys who go to Thailand with their mates for seedy conquests to boast about. It’s different for women. When they go abroad for sex, it’s about wanting to feel special and escaping the boundaries at home.” However, the popular conception of what is meant by romance seems at odds with paying $80 for oral sex.
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