Bananas, Beaches And Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics

The patriarchal structure of international politics and economics was created and has been sustained via human efforts. Men have used policies, tokenism, new language, and cooptation to retain their grip on power. However, women are actors and shapers of this system as well. When they adhere to their prescribed roles, they help sustain the system. If they choose to challenge the patriarchal structure, they almost always face obstacles, humiliation, or worse. However, women who united and organized have effected change and thereby challenged the patriarchal structure. Enloe demonstrates this dynamic in several areas.

The global tourist industry entices men through sex tourism. To do so, policies must enable sex work (as, for example, Thailand did). Women are used as symbols to lure men via advertising campaigns. Iceland used its victory in a beauty pageant as the basis for a campaign to lure men for one-night stands. Women also make choices about when and where to travel. Those choices impact the gendered politics of the tourist industry. When India received widespread criticism for an infamous gang rape, the country chose to crack down on sexual assault. It did so not for the sake of Indian women’s safety but to assure foreign women travelers of safety.