The two “faces” of Antillean prostitution

Abstract

Prostitutes who operate in the refinery town of St. Nicholas, the second largest urban center in Aruba, Netherlands Antilles, fall into two categories: temporary migrants from Colombia, who live and work for 3-month periods in the saloon-cribs along the main street; and permanently resident Dominican Republicans, who live and work in the village ghetto. The Colombians receive encomia, the Dominican Republicans, opprobria. In addition to addressing the differential statuses, prognoses, and earnings of the two groups, this paper also examines the historical background to the development of the differential assessments and offers ethnographic support for the continuation of the structural oppositions that separate the two groups. It is suggested that local perceptions of “other” people (including prostitutes) are tied to specific social and economic circumstances. Variables such as economic competition, ethnicity, length of employment in a low-status occupation, and the generally favored position accorded to “people like us,” in contrast to the negative attitude held toward “people like them,” are examined in terms of their relevance to the differential status of the two groups. It is also suggested that the underlying as well as the overt bases for these stereotypical ascriptions may have broader applicability: differential rather than unilateral assessments may indeed be the norm rather than a peculiarly Antillean perception.