''My Daughter Would Say I am a Superwoman''

The article examines media portrayals of prominent female managers in Slovenian tourism and hospitality to analyse their success narratives and the underlying ideas shaping their social positions. Using post-feminism (McRobbie, 2004; Banet-Weiser et al., 2020) as a theoretical framework, it explores how gender myths and neoliberal individualism combine to justify female achievement. The study employs the performativity approach (Goffman, 1959; Butler, 1988) to investigate how women navigate and reproduce existing gender and class narratives in their media performances. Media interviews with successful Slovenian female managers in the tourism and hospitality sector were analysed to reveal how gender and class discourses intersect in their self-presentations. The identified self-performing strategies include a) the myth of meritocracy, bolstered by the gendered discourse of greater renunciation, b) the dialectic between references to women’s solidarity and the emphasis on individualism, and c) the portrayal of feminine care and empathy alongside a display of strict discipline and determination. Against the background of the intimate relationship among neoliberal ideology, postfeminism, and media culture, future policies fostering gender equality in the tourism industry should address practices aimed at bridging unequal opportunities and the materiality of language.

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Publication Details

Journal
Tourism
Published
2025-01-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.37741/t.73.1.7
Primary Topic
Digital Games and Media
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

''My Daughter Would Say I am a Superwoman''

Andreja Trdina, Hana Kuhar
Tourism
Digital Games and Media
article

''My Daughter Would Say I am a Superwoman''

Andreja Trdina, Hana Kuhar
article en

Abstract

The article examines media portrayals of prominent female managers in Slovenian tourism and hospitality to analyse their success narratives and the underlying ideas shaping their social positions. Using post-feminism (McRobbie, 2004; Banet-Weiser et al., 2020) as a theoretical framework, it explores how gender myths and neoliberal individualism combine to justify female achievement. The study employs the performativity approach (Goffman, 1959; Butler, 1988) to investigate how women navigate and reproduce existing gender and class narratives in their media performances. Media interviews with successful Slovenian female managers in the tourism and hospitality sector were analysed to reveal how gender and class discourses intersect in their self-presentations. The identified self-performing strategies include a) the myth of meritocracy, bolstered by the gendered discourse of greater renunciation, b) the dialectic between references to women’s solidarity and the emphasis on individualism, and c) the portrayal of feminine care and empathy alongside a display of strict discipline and determination. Against the background of the intimate relationship among neoliberal ideology, postfeminism, and media culture, future policies fostering gender equality in the tourism industry should address practices aimed at bridging unequal opportunities and the materiality of language.

TourismVol. 73(1)
University of Maribor (SI)
Openalex Percentile: Top 98%
Digital Games and Media
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