Behind the Smile: Negotiating and Transforming the Tourism-Imposed Identity of Bahamian Women
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BEHIND THE SMILE: NEGOTIATING AND TRANSFORMING THE TOURISM-IMPOSED IDENTITY OF BAHAMIAN WOMEN Dellareese M. Higgs A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2008 Committee: Radhika Gajalla, Advisor Bonnibeth Beale Fonseca-Greber Graduate Faculty Representative Lara Lengel-Martin Kamala Kempadoo ii ABSTRACT Radhika Gajalla, Advisor This research seeks to describe the links between whiteness and tourism in the construction of ‘Othered’ identities. It adds to the challenge of theorizing identity as posed by Frantz Fanon and Stuart Hall, and presents sociopolitical and theoretical insights informed by the historical constructions of whiteness from the lived experiences of black Bahamian women’s struggles for agency. Throughout this dissertation, I use Frantz Fanon’s inquiry into black identity formation—that is, as a construct in opposition to whiteness—as a framework to examine the development of tourism and identity negotiations in the Bahamas. Fanon himself— colonized French, black, expatriate, and activist—knew all too well the pitfalls of being at the margins of many identities. Moreover, with the advent and development of tourism throughout the Bahamas, whiteness became the protracted mode by which Bahamian progress was assessed. The minority white elites in the Bahamas benefited financially from the tourist industry, building an economy and a country where rich wealthy whites are served by the majority black populace, hence the development of a ‘white tourist culture.’ I use the term ‘white tourist culture’ in this dissertation to describe how Bahamian national identity is constructed through our dependency on a tourist economy that has built its financial system on a myth of paradise, where white tourists are catered to, and black Bahamians serve, entertain and cultivate the exotic. Through examination of my own life experiences and the experiences of women working both in and outside of the tourist industry, this work helps to reposition whiteness as a form of iii oppression for racialized Bahamian women. This project uses the voices and experiences of women working in the Bahamas Cultural Markets (the straw market, as it is known by the local people of the Bahamas). It discusses the lived experience of women, who on a daily basis are compelled to ‘perform’ their constructed indigenous identities created through the marketing of the Bahamas to the rest of the world, as the “ultimate tourist destination.” It also focuses on the production and maintenance of representations of whiteness in the way these are constructed and contested in the lived experiences of Bahamian women. I, along with Babb (2002), contend that whiteness is a social location of structural advantage, power and privilege. In this context, I demonstrate that, in tourist populated places like the Bahamas, markets like these are designed to reposition Bahamian women as an exotic proletariat, and they contribute to the continued subjugation of black Bahamian women, while giving white tourists legitimized access to feelings of power and privilege. iv For my sister Tamara, who always knew; the conquering lion shall break all chains. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Authors of any scholarly endeavors, no matter how modest, inevitably incur much debt during the research and production of their work. This dissertation represents no exception in this regard. The completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without the support, advice and the encouragement of so many people who believed in me and the importance of my work. For getting me started with this project and making me believe that I had something to say to the world, and for her help in giving life to this project before it was even articulated as a dissertation. I owe a great deal of debt to Eithne Luibheid PhD (University Arizona). Second, I owe a great debt of gratitude to my siblings, Sonja, Tamara and Gordino Jr, for their love, support and encouragement, which have always been unfailing. And to my mother Jennifer, my debt is too great to be repaid. Many thanks to my friends and sisters I met while at Bowling Green State University, Renata Harden PhD (Fort Valley State University), thank you for the many laughs, while we listened and vibed to the sounds of Bob Marley, or Sizzla Kolongi. Thank you, Kenyatta Phelps PhD (Prairie View A&M University), for being the “June” in our relationship, and providing a space where I felt family while studying so far away from my home. Much gratitude and “NUFF love my SISTREN” (I’ll go to war with you). To Irma and Julita, who provided me with sustenance (good food) that gave me the fuel to complete this project. Thank you to Creed Mushimbo and Ramona Bell, my first friends in B.G. who helped me navigate through the canons of academia and the loneliness living in a new country. To my sweet ‘delicate flower’ James Ross, for the many late night conversations, words of encouragement, and always coming vi through for me when I need it the most. I love you. The staff of the Center for Multicultural and Academic initiatives, many thanks, I love you Nicky and Naoko. Finally it remains to thank four people, whose work and support was absolutely invaluable to the project. Donald McQuarie, Radhika Gajjala, Lara Lengel-Martin, and Kamala Kempadoo. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION…………. ............................................................................................ 1 Lenses of Hegemony ............................................................................................. 1 Seeing My Bahamas, Myself, Through the Lenses................................................. 3 Chapter Breakdown ............................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER I: THE POLITICS OF MAKING A LIVING AT HOME .............................. 8 CHAPTER II. EXAMINING THE PROCESS “BEHIND THE SMILE........................... 16 Slavery/Colonialism and the Creation of “Other”................................................... 16 Performing Tourism: Race and the Black Body ..................................................... 27 Invisible Whiteness ............................................................................................... 32 Methodology ....................................................................................................... 38 Description of Research Site: The Bahamian Straw Market ................................... 47 CHAPTER III. READING THE BLUEPRINT FOR TOURISM...................................... 50 Tourism and Post-Colonialism in the Bahamas...................................................... 50 Post-Colonialism, Culture and Theory ................................................................... 53 Conclusion: From a Personal Perspective .............................................................. 62 CHAPTER IV. THE CREATION OF THE BAHAMAS AS A WHITE ESCAPE ........... 64 CHAPTER V. THE STRAW MAN OF THE STRAW MARKET WOMAN ................... 72 CHAPTER VI. BAHAMIAN IDENTITY: THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NATION.. 82 Hidden Identity: The Suppression of Africa........................................................... 86 The Politics of Transition....................................................................................... 90 The Search for a Valued National Identity ............................................................. 92 viii CHAPTER VII. PRODUCING, SUSTAINING AND PERPETUATING THE TOURIST- IMPOSED IMAGES OF BLACK BAHAMIAN WOMANHOOD ................................... 95 The Effects of Tourism’s Images on Black Bahamian Women............................... 98 CHAPTER VIII. THE PARTICIPANT-OBSERVER BECOMES THE OBJECT............ 107 Colonialism’s Legacy: The Politics of Inferiority................................................... 107 Mapping Identity: Aspirations Meet Material Conditions....................................... 110 Stories from the Market......................................................................................... 112 Conclusion: The Convergence of Voices: The Demand for Respect....................... 131 REFERENCES ......... ....................................................................................................... 135 APPENDIX A. INTERNET ARTICLE............................................................................ 150 APPENDIX B. CONSENT FORM .................................................................................. 151 APPENDIX C. RESEARCH QUESTIONS...................................................................... 153 APPENDIX D. INTERVIEWS ........................................................................................ 155 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 A straw vendor works at her craft .......................................................................... 11 2 Wares on display at the Straw Market.................................................................... 47 3 Bahamian hand-crafted bags on display for tourist consumption............................ 48 4 Performing culture................................................................................................. 77 5 Tourists examine clothing while, seated, a Straw Market vendor looks on ............. 79 6 Waiter serving tourists........................................................................................... 100 7 “A great place to say ‘yes’” ..................................................................................