One of the Thinking Anthropologically points that stuck out the most while working on this project is that gender intersects with other relations of power.

 

While doing research for this project, we found that a high percentage of  people who are trafficked are homeless youth and that 40% of the homeless youth population identifies as LGBTQIA+.

 

In most cases, these kids and teens leave the home, whether forcefully or to escape abuse by their families for their gender identity or sexual orientation.

 

This shows how gender is a relation of power because of the way members of the LGBTQIA+ community defy the expected gender binary. LGBTQIA+ individuals do not follow the flow of gender and sexuality relations of a binary formula.  

 

They are on a spectrum of identities and exist outside of what is generally accepted in our society - because of this, they experience violence, struggles, oppression, and othering. These experiences are all functions of the powerful over the oppressed. 

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 Another Thinking Anthropologically point that stands out is that gender is shaped by broad global forces. One of these forces that is most prevelant in sex trafficking is capitalism. 

 

People, mainly women, are forced to work for their traffickers to create income for them.

 

Capitalism makes sex trafficking worse because it enables those who are wealthy to exploit the less fortunate.

 

Capitalism comes with classes such as upper, middle, and lower, and it is generally very difficult for someone to leave the class they were born into.

 

Hence, many people who are forced into trafficking seldom have the opportunity to leave, and the cycle of abuse continues.