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1 Sexual Economie s This chapte r i s comprise d o f tw o intervention s a t tw o differen t historical moments, each marked by a pivotal US-led 'world' war.1 Th e first intervention was made in the context of the 1991 Gulf War and its fantasy of a New (Free) World Order composed of peaceful, prosperou s regional communities o f 'free' nations. The second intervention issue s out of the context of the current 'global war on terrorism' and its fantasy of a global civilization of good states and peoples winning the universal crusade against a marauding transhistorica l and regressive barbarism . These two moments serve as a measure of the changes in the prevailing national an d internationa l fantasie s withi n whic h th e Philippine s configures an d coordinates its desires. 1991: Wit h the celebrated emergence of the Asia-Pacific community , the Philippines is confronted wit h the tensions of its historical identity and th e politica l an d economi c crisi s tha t i s it s persisten t reality . A s a region , th e Asia-Pacifi c communit y designate s a politica l an d economic constituenc y represente d primaril y b y th e Unite d States , Japan, Canada , Australi a an d Ne w Zealand , a grou p know n a s th e OECD (Organizatio n fo r Economi c Cooperatio n an d Development ) Five, an d secondaril y b y newl y industrialize d countrie s (NICs ) suc h as Sout h Korea , Taiwa n an d Singapore . Suc h a representatio n an d the excitement for regional prosperity that it generates, however, elid e the contradictor y thir d worl d statu s o f th e res t o f th e Asia-Pacifi c — developing countries like the Southeast Asian nations that threate n I฀3 8฀I ฀Fantasy-Production฀ to disrupt the congenial unity that the dream of 'community' conjures . Once a dominantly geographica l area comprised o f dispersed politica l territories, the Asia-Pacific communit y is increasingly sold t o the idea of constituting a purely economic network among its member nations. Indeed, th e drea m o f 'community ' i s steadil y bein g realize d a s a transnational corporatio n wit h th e powe r t o regulat e an d determin e national as well as individual lives. For th e fantasy o f the Asia-Pacifi c community is one that takes form an d force within a particular globa l purview, namely , th e Firs t Worl d fantas y o f th e Fre e Worl d o r th e international community, which shapes international relations throug h the politica l an d economi c practice s o f individua l nations . I t is , i n other words, the shared ground upon which th e actions and identitie s of it s participant s ar e predicate d — i t i s a fiel d o f orientation , a n imaginary determinin g th e categorie s an d operation s wit h whic h individuals a s wel l a s nation-state s ac t ou t thei r histories . Amon g these categorie s i s sexualit y — i n thi s fantasy , th e economie s an d political relation s o f nation s ar e libidinall y configured , tha t is , the y are graspe d an d effecte d i n normativ e term s o f sexuality . Thi s globa l and regiona l fantas y i s not , however , metaphorica l bu t rea l insofa r as i t grasp s a syste m o f politica l an d economi c practice s alread y a t work amon g thes e nations. 2 Individuals as well as governments act not only as if a unified globa l community did exist, but also as if nations were individual citizens who compose thi s communit y an d who , lik e individuals , behav e i n particular (sexual ) way s an d ac t wit h particula r desires. 3 Tha t international community in effect works in the way it is imagined, bu t only because it is realized as this totality through th e displacement o f its constitutiv e contradiction s unt o...

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