Red Riviera

Ghodsee Kristen Ghodsee

Description

This compelling ethnography of women working in Bulgaria's popular sea and ski resorts challenges the idea that women have consistently fared worse than men in Eastern Europe's transition from socialism to a market economy. For decades western European tourists have flocked to Bulgaria's beautiful beaches and mountains; tourism is today one of the few successful-and expanding-sectors of the country's economy. Even at the highest levels of management, employment in the tourism industry has long been dominated by women. Kristen Ghodsee explains why this is and how women working in the industry have successfully negotiated their way through Bulgaria's capitalist transformation while the fortunes of most of the population have plummeted. She highlights how, prior to 1989, the communist planners sought to create full employment for all at the same time that they steered women into the service sector. The women given jobs in tourism obtained higher educations, foreign language skills, and experiences working with Westerners, all of which positioned them to take advantage of the institutional changes eventually brought about by privatization.Interspersed throughout The Red Riviera are vivid examinations of the lives of Bulgarian women, including a waitress, a tour operator, a chef, a maid, a receptionist, and a travel agent. Through these women's stories, Ghodsee describes their employment prior to 1989 and after. She considers the postsocialist forces that have shaped the tourist industry over the past fifteen years: the emergence of a new democratic state, the small but increasing interest of foreign investors and transnational corporations, and the proliferation of ngos. Ghodsee suggests that many of the ngos, by insisting that Bulgarian women are necessarily disenfranchised, ignore their significant professional successes.

Sujets

• Sociologie, société et politique
• Russia
• Labour economics
• Russie

Informations

• Publié par: Duke University Press
• Date de parution: 02 novembre 2005
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780822387176
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The Red Riviera

Next Wave: New Directions in Women’s Studies

a series edited by inderpal grewal,

caren kaplan, & robyn wiegman

∫duke university press 2005

all rights reserved

printed in the united states of america on acid-free paper$ designed by rebecca giménez typeset in minion by keystone typesetting

library of congress cataloging-in-publication data appear

on the last printed page of this book.

Duke University Press gratefully acknowledges the support of the Fletcher Family Research Fund at Bowdoin College, which provided funds toward the production of this book.

toand JosephineMehdi

The Red Riviera k r i s t e n g h o d s e e

Gender, Tourism, and Postsocialism on the Black Sea d u k e u n i v e r s i t y p r e s s d u r h a m a n d l o n d o n 2 0 0 5

Contents

1 2 3 4 5

Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Shattered Windows, Broken Lives Making Mitko Tall 43 The Red Riviera 76

21

To the Wolves: Tourism and Economic Transformation Feminism-by-Design 151 Appendix A: Tables 175

Appendix B: Formal Interviews Notes 189 Glossary 209

Selected Bibliography Index 223

211

182

115

Acknowledgments

There are many people to whom I am deeply grateful for their encourage- ment, assistance, and support in the long process of writing this book. At Berkeley, I had the great fortune to be surrounded by magnificent pro- fessors and dedicated mentors. First and foremost, my thanks go out to my dissertation adviser and academic taskmaster, Pedro Noguera. Pedro was my steadfast ally from the day I set foot on campus, and his bound- less enthusiasm for knowledge and social change have made their indel- ible marks on my career. More specifically, I want to thank him for following me out into the parking lot after a 1996 California-wide educa- tional reform conference at the Berkeley Marina Hotel, and personally talking me out of leaving my Ph.D. program. Pedro’s unquestioning confidence in me and his continuing friendship are responsible for much that I have achieved. It is no understatement to say that I could not have finished this book without him. My deepest appreciation also goes out to Caren Kaplan for taking so much of her precious time to work together with me throughout gradu- ate school. Caren was my tireless supporter, providing encouragement but also pushing me to expand my intellectual boundaries. Her feminist- theory class at Berkeley has the distinction of being the hardest class I took in all of my eleven years of higher education. The fascinating theo- retical depths to which she brought me were the foundation of my own interest in Women’s Studies, and the driving force behind my interest in gender and economic transition in Eastern Europe. But Caren’s influence on my development goes beyond the example she set as an incredible scholar; she is also one of the most amazing women I have ever known. Despite the plethora of academic and personal commitments she had,