Masculinity under the knife: Filipino men, trafficking and the black organ market in Manila, the Philippines

Abstract

The Philippines has recently achieved notoriety as one of the top five source countries for commercially provided organs, particularly kidneys, globally. The vast majority of commercial organ providers are economically marginal men, thus throwing into question conventional wisdom regarding the gendered nature of human trafficking in which most trafficked persons are presumed to be female. This article examined the motives of men who sell kidneys in Manila's black organ market and their ongoing negotiations when their aspirations are not fulfilled. I suggest that family considerations figure prominently amongst many of the men, who attempt to use the money from the sale of a kidney as a livelihood or family security strategy. Narratives of economically marginal men in the Philippines about the commercial value of their body parts are situated in discourses of traditional Philippines ideas about masculinity, particularly concerning the male breadwinner and also about heroism. Thus, although an emotionally and relationally complex decision, selling a kidney nonetheless allows these men to attempt to reclaim their masculine roles, but often with contradictory outcomes.

La masculinidad bajo el cuchillo: hombres filipinos, tráfico y el mercado negro de órganos en Manila, las Filipinas

Las Filipinas han adquirido recientemente notoriedad como uno de los mayores cinco países proveedores en el comercio de órganos, particularmente riñones, globalmente. La gran mayoría de los proveedores de órganos comerciales son hombres económicamente marginales, poniendo por lo tanto en tela de juicio el saber convencional sobre la naturaleza generizada del tráfico humano en el cual las personas más traficadas se presumen mujeres. Este artículo estudia los motivos de los hombres que venden riñones en el mercado negro de órganos de Manila y sus continuas negociaciones cuando sus aspiraciones no se concretan. Sugiero que las consideraciones familiares figuran en forma destacada para muchos de estos hombres, quienes intentan utilizar el dinero de la venta de un riñón como una estrategia de sustento o para lograr la seguridad familiar. Las narrativas de los hombres económicamente marginales de las Filipinas sobre el valor comercial de las partes de su cuerpo están situadas en discursos de ideas tradicionales de este país sobre la masculinidad, particularmente en lo que concierne al varón sostén de familia y sobre heroísmo también. Por lo tanto, aunque es una decisión emocional y relacionalmente compleja, la venta de un riñón permite sin embargo a estos hombres intentar reclamar sus roles masculinos, pero a menudo con resultados contradictorios.

刀下的男性气概：菲律宾男性、人口贩运与菲律宾马尼拉的黑心脏器市场

近年来，菲律宾已成为全球前五大贩卖人体脏器——特别是肾脏的来源国而恶名昭彰。营利性脏器的提供者，大多数是经济境况不佳的男性，因而对于多半将人口贩运的对象假设为女性的性别化本质之传统思维提出质疑。本文检视在马尼拉黑心脏器市场贩售肾脏的男性的动机，以及当他们的愿望无法被满足时，持续协商的过程。我主张，在这些男性中，多数显着出自家庭考量，他们企图以出售肾脏所获得的金钱维生或做为求取家庭安全的策略。在菲律宾，经济境况不佳的男性对于他们身体部位的商业价值的叙事，坐落于传统菲律宾观念的男性气概论述中，特别是有关男性做为家庭养育者的观念与英雄主义。因此，儘管贩售肾脏是经济上与关係上的复杂决定，却仍然使得这些男性得以试图恢復他们的男性角色，但却经常伴随着矛盾的后果。

Keywords::

• commercial organ provision
• the Philippines
• masculinity
• human trafficking
• heroism

Palabras claves::

• suministro comercial de órganos
• las Filipinas
• masculinidad
• tráfico humano
• heroísmo

关键词::

• 营利性的脏器供给
• 菲律宾
• 男性气概
• 人口贩运
• 英雄主义

Acknowledgements

I thank my uncle, Argil Dellupac, for providing introductions to men in Baseco and for allowing us to use his shop to hold discussions with participants. I also thank my husband, Ariel Ellao, for his research assistance. I appreciate the helpful suggestions of three anonymous reviewers in helping make this a more robust article. Above all, I am sincerely grateful to the men who participated in this study. Normal disclaimers apply.

Notes

^1. All participants were asked about the approximate total number of commercial kidney providers in Baseco and about the gender breakdown of this total. Responses were remarkably uniform, with men stating that only a few women had sold a kidney and there were far more men who engaged in the practice. NGOs working on this issue can only suggest the gender distribution of participants and their assessments tended to confirm those of the participants.

^2. In 2003, the Republic Act (RA) 9208 came into force. It related to the trafficking of persons for a range of purposes, including commercial sexual exploitation, forced labour and organ trafficking. It defines organ trafficking (Section 4, paragraph G) as: ‘To recruit, hire, adopt, transport or abduct a person by means of threat or use of force, fraud, deceit, coercion or intimidation for the purpose of removal or sale or organs of said person’ (Republic of the Philippines 2003).

^3. Although academic research has not been particularly attentive to the topic of men as trafficked persons, some international NGO studies have provided interesting insights into the issue. A recent study of unsafe migration and reintegration of trafficked and exploited persons in three provinces in Cambodia, for example, found that men were more likely to be trafficked than women and that women were far more likely to be recognised as trafficked and receive support. Other studies have documented the widespread presence of trafficking in the long haul fishing industry in Asia, a sector almost exclusively involving male employees (for example Yea Forthcoming).

^4. Pseudonyms are used when referring to participants.

^5. Some of the men in the study were not given the option of post-operative care in the short to medium term after discharge from the hospital. However, other men were given this option and all but one refused it. To what extent then were men acting out a particular form of ‘unhealthy behaviour … to demonstrate masculinity’ (Courtenay 2000, 1390) is unclear. Probing this subject with participants yielded an attitude of indifference that I interpreted as primarily related to the self-perceived worthlessness of their own lives. However, the issue of follow-up health interventions for providers, both in Manila and other sites, is worthy of more extensive analysis.

^6. A study of role models amongst young people in the Philippines found that a large proportion of young men (28%) identified Jose Rizal as their principal role model. The majority of young women identified their mothers (Sandoval, Mangahas, and Guevarra 1998). Jose Rizal (1861–1896) was a patriot and reformer during Spanish rule in the Philippines, writing various treatise on reform and independence for the Philippines. He was executed in 1896, with the day of his execution celebrated annually as a national holiday in the Philippines.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sallie Yea

Sallie Yea is an assistant professor in Geography in the Humanities and Social Science Education group at NIE, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.