Women's Studies
Neda Razavizadeh; Zahra Baradaran Kashani
Abstract
Tourism is known as a modern leisure activity in contemporary societies. However, like other leisure activities, there is not an equal access to that among social strata including classes and genders. Furthermore, middle class in Iran experiences a wide range of changes in values, behavioral patterns ...
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Tourism is known as a modern leisure activity in contemporary societies. However, like other leisure activities, there is not an equal access to that among social strata including classes and genders. Furthermore, middle class in Iran experiences a wide range of changes in values, behavioral patterns and choices in recent decades. The purpose of this paper is to answer these questions: (1) what functions do middle class women in Iranian cities identify for lonely/female-only travels? (2) what challenges do they identify in lonely/female-only travels before, ongoing and after travel, and what are their coping strategies? To answer these questions, qualitative approach and ethnographic interview was used as a method. Fourtheen women were interviewed. Findings showed that women identified two functions for lonely/female-only travels: escaping and engaging. The most importatnt challenge for women befor travel were having family’s agreement and managing the household in women’s absance. Emotional and functional issues were two challenges for the female-only travelers when they were on tour. Womens’ coping strategies ranged from passive reactions to active and creative reactions. In conclution, lonely/female-only travel for women is a realm for experiencing, testing and proofing their own power, agency and independence in contemporary Iran.
