Constructing selfness and otherness through the local gaze: gendered tourism experiences of Sri Lankan women

Abstract

Tourism is a socially constructed space where identities, power relations, and cultural meanings are negotiated. Despite growing participation in tourism, women's experiences in Global South contexts remain underexplored. This study examines how Sri Lankan women construct and negotiate selfness and otherness through the local gaze. An interpretive qualitative approach was adopted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fourteen Sri Lankan women travelers from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings show that women's tourism experiences are shaped by the interaction of internalized gender norms and external social expectations. Selfness reflects the ongoing negotiation of identity, agency, and mobility within contexts characterized by moral surveillance, family responsibilities, safety concerns, and restrictive social norms. Otherness emerges through participants' perceptions of foreign women as freer, more confident, and socially privileged. Rather than representing the lived realities of foreign women, these perceptions function as relational imaginaries through which participants interpret their own identities and mobility, thereby reinforcing unequal gendered hierarchies. The study contributes theoretically by conceptualizing the local gaze as the mechanism through which selfness and otherness are relationally co-produced, extending understandings of the tourist gaze within a Global South and postcolonial context. Empirically, it foregrounds the experiences of Sri Lankan women, challenging Western-centric assumptions of tourism as inherently empowering. The findings highlight the need for context-specific interventions, including family-friendly tourism infrastructure, more equitable treatment of local and international visitors, and initiatives that challenge restrictive gender norms to support women's participation in tourism.