Toward a Feminist Travel Perspective: Re- thinking Tourism, Digital Media, and the "Gaze" Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Winet, Kristin Kay Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 30/09/2021 08:20:35 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/565902 Winet 1 TOWARD A FEMINIST TRAVEL PERSPECTIVE: RE-THINKING TOURISM, DIGITAL MEDIA, AND THE “GAZE” by Kristin Kay Winet __________________________ Copyright © Kristin K. Winet 2015 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WITH A MAJOR IN RHETORIC, COMPOSITION, AND THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2015 Winet 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Kristin Winet, titled Toward a Feminist Travel Perspective: Re-thinking Tourism, Digital Media, and the “Gaze,” and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. _______________________________________________________________________ Date: May 5, 2015 Dr. Anne-Marie Hall _______________________________________________________________________ Date: May 5, 2015 Dr. Ken McAllister _______________________________________________________________________ Date: May 5, 2015 Dr. Judy N. Temple Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. ________________________________________________ Date: May 5, 2015 Dissertation Director: Dr. Anne-Marie Hall Winet 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that an accurate acknowledgement of the source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED: Winet 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I would like to acknowledge and graciously thank my dissertation committee at the University of Arizona, Drs. Anne-Marie Hall, Judy Temple, and Ken McAllister, for always inspiring me, challenging me, and getting me to ask the difficult questions. Were it not for your support of both me and your belief in this project, I would not have found the confidence to develop my voice as a scholar. Anne-Marie, thank you for inspiring me to get back to my creative writing roots and for reminding me that three pages a day isn’t impossible. Judy, thank you for your book recommendations, your solid guidance on feminist theory, and your careful readings of my work. Ken, thank you for your insightful questions and for pushing me to consider my subject more deeply. I would also like to thank Professor Philip Lee Williams at the University of Georgia, who, ten years ago, saw a spark in me and helped me understand that I had a knack for words and that becoming a writer could be a reality for me. To my mom and my dad: Thank you for raising me to be a strong, independent woman (and bookworm!). Thank you for helping me study abroad in Spain all those years ago, for taking me to the airport when I was all tears and nerves, and for ultimately giving me the gift of travel, a muse that has never left me. Thank you for letting your crazy girl jet off, time and time again, to places that I know gave you more grey hairs than you’d bargained for. Thank you for never questioning me, my life’s path, and this unexpected journey. To both of you I am eternally and unwaveringly grateful. To my sister Elizabeth: Thank you for always believing in your big sister, for sending me so many supportive text messages throughout this process, for listening to me when I needed to talk, and for telling me that you are proud of me. I, too, am so proud of you and the woman you have become! Drew, thank you, too, for joining our family and for being my sister’s soulmate. To my wonderful Winet family: Thank you for all of your love, support, and positive energy as your son and I pursued our educations. And thank you, too, for letting me take your son to the ends of the earth! I am so blessed to have all of you in my life. To my dear friends, both near and far, who haven’t let distance stop us from picking up where we left off, every single time. To Rachel, whose steadfast friendship has gotten me through more tough nights and bouts of insecurity than I can count, and whose faith in me in eternal. To the 2004 EC Group Leaders: Thank you for sharing in The Malta Experience with me and for changing my life in ways I could have never dreamed. To Lina and everyone in AIESEC Cartagena: Thank you for letting me stumble all over my words while I was learning your beautiful language and figuring out how to become a teacher. To all the Tourism Boards I have had the immense pleasure of working with: Thank you for giving me opportunities to see the world in ways I could never have imagined. From chayote in Costa Rica to tom ka gai soup in Thailand, I am a better eater, traveler, and feminist because of the experiences you have shared with me. To Ryan: Thank you for being you. When I fell head over heels for a poet in board shorts seven years ago, I couldn’t have imagined where life would take us…. I’m so glad to be on this journey Winet 5 with you. And to Giuseppe and Luigi, our two little Italian-named tabbies whose snuggles have meant more to me than I can express. Voglio bene con tutto il mio cuore! Winet 6 DEDICATION To my mom, my dad, and my sister, who taught me, so many years ago, and continue to remind me, everyday, that I could fly. To Ryan, who during this process, was first a boyfriend, and then a fiancée, and now a husband, and who supports me in ways I never thought possible. And to all the incredible souls and lifelong friends I’ve met on my travels, both near and far. I love you all. Winet 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ 9 LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ 10 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. 11 CHAPTER 1: TRENDS IN CONTEMPORARY TOURISM STUDIES: (RE)THINKING DISCOURSE, COMMUNICATION, AND MEDIA ................................................................... 12 1.1 Entering the Conversation: Rescuing Travel from the Fringes .......................................... 12 1.2 A Personal Encounter with Telling Travel Stories ............................................................. 24 1.3 Trends and Patterns in Contemporary Tourism Studies ..................................................... 29 Tourism as an Object of Inquiry: Situating The Tourist and The Tourist Gaze ................... 29 Contemporary Conversations: Expanding the View & The Discursive Turn....................... 35 Defining a Definitional Framework: Tourism vs. Travel ..................................................... 39 1.4 Turn Toward New Media Travel: The “End” of Tourism or Just the Beginning? ............. 46 1.5 Explanation of Methods: Blending Autoethnography & Feminist Rhetorical Criticism ... 51 1.6 Overview of Chapters ......................................................................................................... 56 CHAPTER 2: THEORIZING A FEMINIST TRAVEL GAZE: CHARTING NEW TERRITORIES FOR WORLD KNOWLEDGE-MAKING ........................................................ 62 2.1 Coming to Travel Writing: A Story .................................................................................... 62 2.2 Travel Writing as a Historically Patriarchal Genre? ........................................................... 70 A Foundation for Thinking Critically About Travel Writing ................................................ 70 Social Constructions: (De)Constructing the Masculine Logic of Travel ............................. 73 2.3 Defining the Project’s Terms .............................................................................................. 78 What is Travel Writing? What are Travel Stories? .............................................................. 78 Feminist Travel Writing: A Heuristic From Which to Begin ................................................ 82 2.4 Locating Feminist Scholarship in Tourism Studies ............................................................ 83 Entering an Unfamiliar Space: Gathering the Voices .......................................................... 83 2.5 Potentiality for a Feminist Travel Gaze .............................................................................. 89 Revisiting the