N. Razavizadeh; S. Varshovi
Abstract
With the beginning of gender studies over two decades ago, issues such as inequality, constraints, and women's perceptions of fear, risk, threat, and security have gradually been included by researchers in social and tourism fields. The aim of this study is to investigate women's fears while traveling ...
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With the beginning of gender studies over two decades ago, issues such as inequality, constraints, and women's perceptions of fear, risk, threat, and security have gradually been included by researchers in social and tourism fields. The aim of this study is to investigate women's fears while traveling and their strategies to deal with those fears. A qualitative approach was used and in-depth semi-structured interviews with 19 middle-class female participants based in Mashhad were conducted. In the process, three types of fear (structural, social and personal) and three types of coping strategies (structural, social and personal) were identified. In this classification, "structural" fears or coping strategies refer to their sources or methods involving social, physical and spatial structure of a tourist destination. "Social" fears and strategies refer to emotions and reactions appear through interactions. "Personal" fears and coping strategies are related to the realm of cognitive and personal choices, preferences, abilities, and initiatives. Findings show that although women experience fears due to their subjective perception, the objective conditions of tourism environment and social construction help them put up some kinds of active or passive resistance. They understand the fear as an empowering tool. These experiences differ in terms of quality and depth from western context,, and Iranian women have more conservative orientations, but Iranian women they follow a similar path.
