Gender and Community-Based Tourism: Theoretical Debates from a Decolonial Perspective
This paper critiques the Western-centric lens in gender studies, emphasising the need for decolonial, intersectional, and inclusive methodologies in community-based tourism (CBT) research. It argues that universalist narratives often overlook local power structures, gendered labour divisions, and so...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Tourism and Hospitality |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5768/6/1/42 |
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| author | Alejandra de María Hernández-González Pilar Espeso-Molinero |
| author_facet | Alejandra de María Hernández-González Pilar Espeso-Molinero |
| author_sort | Alejandra de María Hernández-González |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper critiques the Western-centric lens in gender studies, emphasising the need for decolonial, intersectional, and inclusive methodologies in community-based tourism (CBT) research. It argues that universalist narratives often overlook local power structures, gendered labour divisions, and socio-economic inequalities, disregarding localised knowledge and the structural barriers that shape women’s realities in tourism. In the case of rural women, these dominant perspectives fail to address key issues such as the unequal distribution of benefits, the complexities of tourism participation, and the tensions between market demands, social change, and cultural preservation. This paper calls for context-sensitive approaches that amplify women’s voices and lived experiences in CBT. It highlights the urgency of decolonising knowledge, challenging hegemonic epistemologies that homogenise women’s experiences and reinforce Eurocentric gender norms. The study also underscores intersectionality as a crucial tool to expose the overlapping systems of oppression—including ethnicity, class, race, and access to global tourism markets—that deepen gender inequalities in CBT. Without a decolonial and intersectional lens, tourism studies risk reproducing extractivist logics that marginalise local voices and perpetuate inequitable structures. Future research must move beyond Western frameworks, fostering more ethical, sustainable, and socially just approaches to gender studies in tourism. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-97d27e5dd7d74eda962c648fe976d078 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2673-5768 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Tourism and Hospitality |
| spelling | doaj-art-97d27e5dd7d74eda962c648fe976d0782025-08-20T02:43:09ZengMDPI AGTourism and Hospitality2673-57682025-03-01614210.3390/tourhosp6010042Gender and Community-Based Tourism: Theoretical Debates from a Decolonial PerspectiveAlejandra de María Hernández-González0Pilar Espeso-Molinero1Department of Contemporary Humanities, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, SpainDepartment of Contemporary Humanities, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, SpainThis paper critiques the Western-centric lens in gender studies, emphasising the need for decolonial, intersectional, and inclusive methodologies in community-based tourism (CBT) research. It argues that universalist narratives often overlook local power structures, gendered labour divisions, and socio-economic inequalities, disregarding localised knowledge and the structural barriers that shape women’s realities in tourism. In the case of rural women, these dominant perspectives fail to address key issues such as the unequal distribution of benefits, the complexities of tourism participation, and the tensions between market demands, social change, and cultural preservation. This paper calls for context-sensitive approaches that amplify women’s voices and lived experiences in CBT. It highlights the urgency of decolonising knowledge, challenging hegemonic epistemologies that homogenise women’s experiences and reinforce Eurocentric gender norms. The study also underscores intersectionality as a crucial tool to expose the overlapping systems of oppression—including ethnicity, class, race, and access to global tourism markets—that deepen gender inequalities in CBT. Without a decolonial and intersectional lens, tourism studies risk reproducing extractivist logics that marginalise local voices and perpetuate inequitable structures. Future research must move beyond Western frameworks, fostering more ethical, sustainable, and socially just approaches to gender studies in tourism.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5768/6/1/42indigenous tourismwomen studiesdecolonialityparticipatory methodologiesintersectionality |
| spellingShingle | Alejandra de María Hernández-González Pilar Espeso-Molinero Gender and Community-Based Tourism: Theoretical Debates from a Decolonial Perspective Tourism and Hospitality indigenous tourism women studies decoloniality participatory methodologies intersectionality |
| title | Gender and Community-Based Tourism: Theoretical Debates from a Decolonial Perspective |
| title_full | Gender and Community-Based Tourism: Theoretical Debates from a Decolonial Perspective |
| title_fullStr | Gender and Community-Based Tourism: Theoretical Debates from a Decolonial Perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gender and Community-Based Tourism: Theoretical Debates from a Decolonial Perspective |
| title_short | Gender and Community-Based Tourism: Theoretical Debates from a Decolonial Perspective |
| title_sort | gender and community based tourism theoretical debates from a decolonial perspective |
| topic | indigenous tourism women studies decoloniality participatory methodologies intersectionality |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5768/6/1/42 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT alejandrademariahernandezgonzalez genderandcommunitybasedtourismtheoreticaldebatesfromadecolonialperspective AT pilarespesomolinero genderandcommunitybasedtourismtheoreticaldebatesfromadecolonialperspective |