Filipino crosscurrents : oceanographies of seafaring, masculinities, and globalization

Filipino seamen currently compose approximately twenty percent of the 1.2 million international maritime transportation workers. Ninety percent of the world’s goods and commodities are transported by ship. Taken together, these statistics attest to the critical role Filipino seamen play in worldwide maritime trade. In Filipino Crosscurrents, an interdisciplinary ethnography, Kale Bantigue Fajardo examines the cultural politics of seafaring, Filipino maritime masculinities, and globalization in the Philippines and the Filipino diaspora. Drawing on fieldwork conducted on ships and in the ports of Manila and Oakland, as well as on an industrial container ship that traveled across the Pacific, Fajardo argues that Filipino seamen have become key figures through which the Philippine state and economic elites promote Filipino masculinity and neoliberal globalization. From government officials to working-class seamen and seafarers’ advocates, Fajardo’s wide-ranging analysis exposes the gaps in dominant narratives of Filipino seamen in national, regional, and global contexts. Writing in a hybrid style that weaves together ethnographic description, cultural critique, travelogue, and autobiography, Fajardo invites readers to reconsider the meanings of masculinity and manhood. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 Preface: Boatmen and Boyhood......Page 10 Introduction: Filipino Crosscurrents......Page 16 1 The Race of the Century: Galleons and Global City Desires in Manila......Page 56 2 Ashore and Away: Filipino Seamen as Heroes and Deserters......Page 92 3 Ethnography in Blue: Navigating Time-Space in the Global Economy......Page 126 4 Transportation: Seamen and Tomboys in Ports and at Sea......Page 164 Epilogue: Decolonizing Filipino Masculinities......Page 192 Acknowledgments......Page 200 Notes......Page 206 Bibliography......Page 224 A......Page 248 B......Page 249 C......Page 250 E......Page 251 F......Page 252 G......Page 253 H......Page 254 J......Page 255 M......Page 256 N......Page 258 O......Page 259 P......Page 260 R......Page 261 S......Page 262 T......Page 264 W......Page 265 Z......Page 266 Filipino Seamen Currently Comprise Approximately Twenty Percent Of The 1.2 Million International Maritime Transportation Workers. Ninety Percent Of The World's Goods And Commodities Are Transported By Ship. Taken Together, These Statistics Attest To The Critical Role Filipino Seamen Play In Worldwide Maritime Trade. In This Book, Fajardo Examines The Cultural Politics Of Seafaring, Filipino Maritime Masculinities, And Globalization In The Philippines And The Filipino Diaspora -- Book Cover. The Race Of The Century: Galleons And Global City Desires In Manila -- Ashore And Away: Filipino Seamen As Heroes And Deserters -- Ethnography In Blue: Navigating Time-space In The Global Economy -- Transportation: Seamen And Tomboys In Ports And At Sea. Kale Bantigue Fajardo. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. How migrant Filipino seamen navigate alternative masculinities in the global shipping industry