The traveler and the travelled

Last class we discussed travel and tourism, which introduced male and female roles when it comes to traveling. Men view travelling as a luxurious, fun-filled, relaxing time where they can go live out their wildest fantasies. While women are made to be afraid while traveling, a woman is told 'have fun, but be safe and aware of your surroundings!' In discussing this in class, we talked about how men feel entitled on vacation, possibly to sexual adventures, and this is reinforced by society. However, women are made to feel quite the opposite and if they go on vacation thinking that they can have the same kinds of "fun" as men can then they are in the wrong. This made me think about the double standard, men are almost encouraged to be sexual predators and this is okay, while women are overstepping their boundaries and crossing the line if they believe that traveling means they can commit these same acts.  The men are the 'travelers' in the situation, and the women of their destinations are the conquests that are 'traveled'.

In talking about travel and tourism, the topic of sex trafficking came up and the movie "Taken" was mentioned. It is amazing how in this class the media can truly infiltrate our brains with ideas about the world. Probably everyone feels that somehow each topic could relate to some form of media and this continues to intrigue me in thinking about how women's roles have come to be the way they are, yet they haven't changed much at all. It is a sad truth that stereotypes and prejudices continue to be reinforced and the progress made in these kinds of issues is considerably slow. The media controls are exposure to these issues and only allows us to see what we wanna see. So I want to challenge myself, and I invite you all to do the same, in trying to find positive media images and good causes that deserve support out there. It may be tough and not as easily accessible as those that are constantly allowing us to feel prejudiced about certain issues, but I think it is definitely possible!