Gendered Motivations, Sociocultural Constraints, and Psychobehavioral Consequences of Transnational Partnerships in Cambodia

Stud Gend Sex. 2014 Jan 1;15(1):54-72. doi: 10.1080/15240657.2014.877732.

Abstract

Global flows of people, information and capital have created transnational spaces in Cambodia. Within those spaces exists the formation of complex and multilayered interpersonal relationships between people attempting to capitalize on the opportunities created by these flows. The purpose of this article is to describe these transnational relationships, namely between young women employed in the entertainment sectors in Phnom Penh, and their western male partners, while highlighting the racialized and gendered motivations of the global actors, the inevitable sociocultural conflicts/constraints/ misunderstandings that arise within the partnerships, and the resulting challenges and psychobehavioral consequences experienced by the mobile and differentiated individuals involved in these postcolonial relational formations.