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Hitchhiking travel in China: Gender, agency and vulnerability

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  • Gao, Xiongbin
  • Cohen, Scott
  • Hanna, Paul

Abstract

Despite its recent emergence as an alternative way of travel, hitchhiking in China remains significantly understudied, with its gender aspects unexplored. Investigating the (re)constitution of gendered Chinese hitchhiking subjects in contemporary China, this paper rethinks the paradox of agency largely unexamined in tourism gender research. Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted on the South Sichuan – Tibet Route. The findings demonstrate that gendered subjectivities of the vulnerable female and the invulnerable male in hitchhiking are produced by normative heterosexuality and the principle of reciprocity as interrelated discursive regimes. The paper contributes an understanding of resistance as a contested site that accommodates ongoing political debates and ethical reflections, which requires agency to be continuously posed as a question rather than a solution.

Suggested Citation

  • Gao, Xiongbin & Cohen, Scott & Hanna, Paul, 2020. "Hitchhiking travel in China: Gender, agency and vulnerability," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:anture:v:84:y:2020:i:c:s0160738320301468
    DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2020.103002
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhou, Lingxu, 2020. "Hitchhiking tourism and social trust: exploring Chinese experiences through travel blogs," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    2. Gary Xu & Susan Feiner, 2007. "Meinu Jingji/China's beauty economy: Buying looks, shifting value, and changing place," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3-4), pages 307-323.
    3. Figueroa-Domecq, Cristina & Pritchard, Annette & Segovia-Pérez, Mónica & Morgan, Nigel & Villacé-Molinero, Teresa, 2015. "Tourism gender research: A critical accounting," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 87-103.
    4. Zhang, Jingru & Tucker, Hazel & Morrison, Alastair M. & Wu, Bihu, 2017. "Becoming a backpacker in China: A grounded theory approach to identity construction of backpackers," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 114-125.
    5. Harriet Zurndorfer, 2016. "Men, Women, Money, and Morality: The Development of China's Sexual Economy," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 1-23, April.
    6. Cai, Wenjie & Cohen, Scott A. & Tribe, John, 2019. "Harmony rules in Chinese backpacker groups," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 120-130.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Kong, Shaojun & Guo, Jia & Huang, Dan, 2022. "The girlfriend getaway as an intimacy," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).

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