Gender and the body in tourism geography

Abstract

Gender, sexuality and the body have appeared as new and interesting research subjects in geography and the study of tourism, especially since early 1990s. The gender-sensitive approach has, however, remained a complicated one to adopt. The common prejudices against the feminist discourse, correct and incorrect, often mistakenly render the gender-sensitive approach a women’s issue. The following article is going to argue for a wider adoption of gender-awareness in tourism geographies, and to provide a selection of approaches to choose from. Gender, sexuality and the body are important features of both the practice and theory of tourism, and provide important new insights to those who are ready to explore them.