Sanky-panky
Encyclopedia
A Sanky-panky, or Sanky, is a male
sex worker
, found in the Caribbean
. A sanky-panky solicits on beaches and has clients of both sexes or only women. When with men, the sanky-panky assumes an active (a.k.a. top
) role, but when with women, assumes the role of an ideal lover.
While strictly speaking they are not prostitutes, since they do not directly negotiate money for sex, they are more likely to create a pseudo-relationship which can be continued when the guest returns home. They then attempt to ask for money
to be sent to them primarily by wire transfer
, often using elaborate stories such as "sick relatives". A sanky's ultimate goal is to obtain a marriage
visa
to the tourist's native country, marry the tourist, then leave for areas of the country with large populations of their country persons.
they are known as bricheros (which are male and usually target female tourists) and bricheras (who are females instead and target male tourists). They hang out in popular tourist destinations and may even involve themselves in business involving tourism in order to reach their prey. The word might come from the English word "breach" or its partially false cognate
"brecha" as they reach through the breach made between themselves and these tourists in the process of establishing a parasite and host asymmetrical economic relationship between both. The curious thing with bricheros is that they succeed not in raw appeal but in the personas they build. Representing a mixture of the streetwise local and the knowledgeable savant on their native culture they appeal to the tourist's interest in the exotic
and their existence furthers terrible social gaps between both sides of the experience.
director Jose E. Pintor. In his comedic film entitled Sanky Panky
, audiences follow the life of a young Dominican man named Genaro (played by Dominican comedian Fausto Mata) who travels to Bávaro
to work at a resort
in hopes of finding a "gringa" or a white American
woman who will give him a visa. In the process, he meets a young heartbroken woman and her two older and oversexed aunts. The story that follows presents the beauties of Dominican resorts but portrays the realities of poverty
in the Dominican Republic
while simultaneously immortalizing the "sanky panky" via major motion picture.
A film that explores this topic in a Francophone
context is Heading South
.
Male
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
sex worker
Sex worker
A sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry. The term is usually used in reference to those in the sex industry that actually provide such sexual services, as opposed to management and staff of such industries...
, found in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. A sanky-panky solicits on beaches and has clients of both sexes or only women. When with men, the sanky-panky assumes an active (a.k.a. top
Top
A top is a toy that can be spun on an axis, balancing on a point. This motion is produced in the most simple forms of top by twirling the stem using the fingers. More sophisticated tops are spun by by holding the axis firmly while pulling a string or twisting a stick or pushing an auger as shown...
) role, but when with women, assumes the role of an ideal lover.
While strictly speaking they are not prostitutes, since they do not directly negotiate money for sex, they are more likely to create a pseudo-relationship which can be continued when the guest returns home. They then attempt to ask for money
Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
to be sent to them primarily by wire transfer
Wire transfer
Wire transfer or credit transfer is a method of electronic funds transfer from one person or institution to another. A wire transfer can be made from one bank account to another bank account or through a transfer of cash at a cash office...
, often using elaborate stories such as "sick relatives". A sanky's ultimate goal is to obtain a marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
to the tourist's native country, marry the tourist, then leave for areas of the country with large populations of their country persons.
Bricheros
In PeruPeru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
they are known as bricheros (which are male and usually target female tourists) and bricheras (who are females instead and target male tourists). They hang out in popular tourist destinations and may even involve themselves in business involving tourism in order to reach their prey. The word might come from the English word "breach" or its partially false cognate
False cognate
False cognates are pairs of words in the same or different languages that are similar in form and meaning but have different roots. That is, they appear to be, or are sometimes considered, cognates, when in fact they are not....
"brecha" as they reach through the breach made between themselves and these tourists in the process of establishing a parasite and host asymmetrical economic relationship between both. The curious thing with bricheros is that they succeed not in raw appeal but in the personas they build. Representing a mixture of the streetwise local and the knowledgeable savant on their native culture they appeal to the tourist's interest in the exotic
Exotic
Exotic can mean:*In mathematics:**Exotic R4 - differentiable manifold homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to the Euclidean space R4**Exotic sphere - differentiable manifold homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to the ordinary sphere*In physics:...
and their existence furthers terrible social gaps between both sides of the experience.
Sanky-Pankies in popular culture
The persona of the "sanky panky" has been brought to the big screen in 2007 by SpanishSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
director Jose E. Pintor. In his comedic film entitled Sanky Panky
Sanky Panky (film)
Sanky Panky is a 2007 Dominican Republic comedy film directed by José Enrique "Pinky" Pintor.The film was produced entirely in the Dominican Republic and highlighted issues about the Dominican diaspora, The film was shown at the 24th Chicago Latino Film Festival in 2008.-Plot:The film is a comedy...
, audiences follow the life of a young Dominican man named Genaro (played by Dominican comedian Fausto Mata) who travels to Bávaro
Bávaro
Bávaro is a touristic area in Punta Cana, located in La Altagracia province, the easternmost province of the Dominican Republic. Bavaro was developed together with the resort area and tourist region of Punta Cana, as a town for resort workers...
to work at a resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
in hopes of finding a "gringa" or a white American
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
woman who will give him a visa. In the process, he meets a young heartbroken woman and her two older and oversexed aunts. The story that follows presents the beauties of Dominican resorts but portrays the realities of poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
while simultaneously immortalizing the "sanky panky" via major motion picture.
A film that explores this topic in a Francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
context is Heading South
Heading South (film)
Heading South is a 2005 French drama film by director Laurent Cantet and based on three short stories by Dany Laferrière, it depicts the experiences of three middle-aged white women in the late 1970s, traveling to Haiti for the purposes of sexual tourism with young men...
.