Masculinities in tourism research : implications and conclusions

That the gender equality imperative and its attendant gender wars are long established, signals that the overarching themes around gender and its many contentions, contradictions and perpetuations in the everyday are undeniable. The continuing ascendency of women in a world that is arguably, on balance, still very much a 'man's world' is due to the perseverance of women in their battle for equality, empowerment and social justice. This, without doubt, disrupts the balance. Thus, like any transition, the trajectory is intense, bumpy and replete with anxiety and discomfort for some, and a source of hope and vindication for others. The bumpiness is alluded to in the opening quotation with the consequence that what being a man means is continually being reshaped amid the ongoing resetting of gender relations. Whether this is considered indulgent naval gazing by the intelligentsia and educated middle class, or timely and necessary in contemporary societies, is up for contention. Notwithstanding, gender relations are clearly pivoting away from hackneyed conceptualisations of masculinity, albeit not without a rear-guard action from constituents that remain rooted in the traditional past.