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Issues with Representation of Gender Roles in Travel Brochures.

Issues with Representation of Gender Roles in Travel Brochures.
Author: Amber Walsh
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Abstract: This paper focuses on the gender representation in the current tourism industry and how women are represented in tour operators travel brochures. This will be completed by analysing the images displayed in two travel brochures, against Annette Pritchard’s scale.

Keywords: Gender representation; Women’s Right’s; Equality; Tourism Industry; Brochures

Discussion:

The aim of this paper is to identify how women are portrayed in the tourism marketing industry using Annette Pritchard’s conscious model, allowing the analysis of brochure advertisements. Issues with representations of gender in travel brochures was the selected topic, due to the inequality issues being raised more increasingly in today's society.

Issues with gender representation have been documented for many years and advertisements have been under intense scrutiny regarding how women are portrayed. (Kang, 1997), reports women in magazine advertisements and documents were not shown in out of home working roles, in a professional job role and women very occasionally ventured far from their home by themselves or other women. Additionally, women were represented as dependent on men’s protection and men were shown regarding women as sex objects and as domestic carers. It is further reported women were in traditional advertisement roles; cleaning products, food products, beauty products, clothing and home appliances. Where men were shown in advertisements for cars, travel, alcohol, banks and industrial companies. Supporting the argument, men were represented in a high-class professional manner, who cater for women. While women were portrayed in a domesticated, traditional family role.
The tourism industry has been traditionally described as being infused with masculine ideas about adventure, pleasure and the exotic, while having the freedom to travel and undertake unusual activities. While femininity and tourism has been defined in an opposite opinion; which revolves around the women being domestic and relying on the male gender. (Morgan, 2000).

Gender representation is noted worldwide, as the British Virgin Islands has become reliant on sexual images of women to portray the destinations exoticness. Similarly, countries around the pacific had notifiable images of women in bikinis, exotic locals and smiling flight attendant women. While UK tourism brochures were dependent on images of women in bikinis, demonstrating idleness and represented as a sexual object. Compared to men who are represented in a more active role. (Morgan, 2000).

Nonetheless, representations of gender roles in travel brochures have shown some improvement of the years. As (Pritchard, 2001), reports 93% of images in a long-haul travel brochure were women in non-traditional roles. Along with all the non-traditional roles were imagery of women in the single and couples’ brochures.

The methodology used during this paper, was an analysis of two tour operators travel brochures; TUI Family Life November Edition for departures May 2019- April 2020. The second brochure was Thomas Cook Just for Families December 2018 edition for departures April 2019- April 2020. The first fifty images within these brochures were analysed against Annette Pritchard conscious model. Which allows images to be ranked in the appropriate level, depending on what the image is portraying. Ranging from level I where women and men are not seen as individuals to level V where images are portraying men and women as individuals with no representation of inequality. (Pritchard, 2001).

The findings within this paper were, issues with gender representation were still present in travel brochures. TUI represented 54% of women in a traditional role, along with 34% of women illustrated in Thomas Cook’s brochure being in a traditional role. Thomas Cook having a lower percentage of women represented in a traditional role, illustrates Thomas Cook have started to change their travel brochures and tourism marketing. To portray less stereotypical for both genders. Nonetheless, the two brochures are representing women in non-traditional roles, with TUI having 18% of images and 20% of images for Thomas Cook. With these percentages being low, it raises the argument as to how far the tour operators have developed in terms of gender representation. The last finding noted from this analysis was the brochure front cover pages. TUI’s image was a mother and a grandmother in a traditional role, this image can be linked with the portrayal of women in a traditional role throughout the brochure. Negatively impacting TUI, due to the notifiable stereotypical image and the representation of gender being negative, consciously impacting peoples travel choices. Compared to Thomas Cook’s front image; showing four young children by the pool having fun. Allowing families to see the brochure and know the tour operator caters for all the family’s needs.

Comparing the two travel brochures, Thomas Cook is seen to be developing with the representation of gender throughout their brochures. Compared to TUI, who show inequality and issues with gender representation are still present in TUI’s travel brochures and tourism marketing.

After this study, it is apparent there is still issues with gender representation in tourism marketing, with women still being portrayed in a traditional manner; mother figure, passive, idleness and reliant on male presence. If another study was to occur one recommendation would be, to analyse present and past travel brochures. Allowing a further analysis and comparison, identifying whether gender representations and the portrayal of women has developed.

References:

Annette Pritchard (2001), Tourism and Representation: A Scale for Measuring Gendered Portrayals, Leisure Studies, 20:2, 79-94

Annette Pritchard, Nigel J Morgan (2000), Priviledging the Male Gaze: Gendered Tourism Landscapes, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 884-905

Mee- Eun Kang (1997). The Portrayal of Women's Images in Magazine Advertisements: Goffman’s Gender Analysis Revisited, Sex Roles, 37: 979