Balinese Women In Gastronomic Tourism: Redefining Roles And Cultural Capital In A Globalizing Industry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47608/jki.v19i22025.333-354Keywords:
Balinese women, gastronomic tourism, cultural capital, gender roles, social constructionAbstract
This study aims to identify and analyze the construction of Balinese women’s roles in sustainable gastronomic tourism in Gianyar Regency. It begins by addressing the underexplored issue of how Balinese women negotiate and redefine their gendered positions within a rapidly globalizing tourism context. Using a qualitative interpretive approach, this research applies a thematic interpretation and constant comparative method supported by role theory, social construction theory, and Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of social practice. This research involved eight purposively selected female culinary entrepreneurs. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and visual documentation. The findings reveal that Balinese women construct their roles in four key categories: cultural initiators, cultural instructors, adaptive professionals, and cultural curators. They successfully convert domestic habitus and cultural capital into economic and symbolic capital within the tourism arena. These findings demonstrate how women’s agency bridges domestic and public spheres while fostering gender equality, cultural resilience, and sustainable tourism. Despite facing dual role burdens and structural constraints, their adaptive strategies have generated multidimensional impacts across economic, social, and cultural domains. This study contributes theoretically by integrating three sociological frameworks to explain role transformation, practically by offering insights for gender-responsive tourism development policies in line with the sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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