Femininities in the Field. Tourism and Transdisciplinary Research

Citation

Wengel, Y. (2018), "Femininities in the Field. Tourism and Transdisciplinary Research", Journal of Tourism Futures, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 168-169. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-06-2018-070

Within modern societal constructs where male scholars still dominate academic and research environment at many levels of professional and senior research leadership roles, this book is a well-timed addition on gender and research to Channel View Publications portfolio. The book edited by two inspirational female academics aims to present lived experiences of female researchers during the data collection phase in the field of tourism studies. “The Femininities in the Field” are portrayed through self-reflective case studies. These case studies use first-person narratives that illustrate and analyse the role of gender, portray encountered gender biases and experiences of researchers at different stages of authors’ lives and research journeys.

The book begins with a foreword by experts from the field, includes introduction and conclusion chapter by editors, and consists of 13 individual and co-authored case studies. The book covers themes of access to the field, attire and conduct, sexual harassment, personal safety, and accompanied research, and well-being. Moreover, case studies provide insights into methods widely used in the tourism field, such as face-to-face interviews, participant observation, and ethnography. The content of the book “Femininities in the Field” is current and relevant to today’s contemporary discussions on gender issues in tourism and other spheres of life. Some implications provided in the book contribute to the wider discourse of gender roles, work-life balance, citizenship and cosmopolitanism in the modern neoliberal era. Hence, this book provides a platform for new directions in social science research methodologies, illustrated by specific examples from the tourism field. While this book focusses on women’s experiences, authors aim to expand the gender debate beyond binary male and female categorisation and focus on femininities on the field experiences.

The editors organised the case studies by the age of primary authors, beginning with the youngest author. One main theme of the book is its focus on how gendered practices, expectations and demands shape and impact the collection of research data in the field. In Chapter 5, Brook Porter examines fieldwork experience combined with a transformation to motherhood. The following chapter by Antonia Canosa describes embodies entanglements of her doctoral journey accompanied by her children. In Chapter 9, Catheryn Khoo-Lattimore explores the extent to which researcher’s identity as a mother influences research work with children. Then, in Chapter 10, Lisa Cooke reflects on her transformational experiences from woman to mother during her fieldwork, and in Chapter 11, Emma Stewart describes how the presence of her infant sons enabled her to gain acceptance into Inuit communities in Arctic Canada. Concluding the theme Chapter 13 by Heike Schänzel discusses how motherhood influenced different aspects of her research career and multiple field experiences in New Zealand and Oceania. The encounters mentioned above are moving and have a strong emotional component.

The second theme of the book discusses the narratives of sexism and sexual(lised) harassment encountered by researchers during their fieldwork. Two chapters, one by Jill Hamilton and Russell Fielding and a chapter by Ana María Munar discuss gender in terms of field access and safety of female researchers. In Chapter 2, Jane Godfrey and Stephen Wearing talk about embodied experiences of the role of gender and are raising awareness of sexual(ised) harassment incidents during the data collection and fieldwork. Shannon Switzer Swanson writes a chapter on conducting fieldwork and sexual politics. Next, Lindsay Usher discusses binary positions of insider and outsider in sports tourism destination in Costa Rica. In Chapter 7, Gisele Carvalho talks about femininities and independent travel. The following chapter by Emmanuell Martinez and Catherine Peters illustrates dilemmas faced by women while conducting fieldwork in a male-dominant environment.

I would like to congratulate the editors and authors who contributed to this much-needed book illustrating shared perspectives of female researchers. Brave, honest and sensitive examples uncover identities and describe traumatic experiences of researchers who explore the factors and influences that impact females during the fieldwork. This book is a collaborative work of serious, passionate scholars with lots to say. However, the book lacks examples from Africa, Middle East and Central Asia. Notably, the book is not written by female researchers only and chapters co-authored by male academics provide insights to gender perspectives also from the male point of view and direct towards inclusive gender scholarship.

As a female researcher and a mother who could relate to several chapters and experiences mentioned in the book, I appreciate the transformational and inspiration elements presented by researchers in the first person. Another highlight of the book is its reflexive approach which provides space to re-negotiation of lived events. The focus of the book on tourism as research field does not limit its contribution to wider social sciences and the cases presented could echo in other fields of research. In terms of relevance of the book to the scope of this journal, authors believe that through open discussion and active engagement of gender issues discussed in the book can bring those gender discussion forward in the future. Finally, this book goes beyond gender bias and provides accounts not only of positive lived experiences but also challenges and complexities of being a female researcher in the field. Issues discussed in the book and the understanding of the importance, influences of the researchers’ gender are relevant to volunteers, research students, academics, ethics committee members and journalists. This book definitely should be on a library shelf of any university involved in social sciences research.