FOR LOVE AND MONEY - ROMANCE TOURISM IN JAMAICA

Contesting the constraints of conventional gender identity, many Euro- American women travelers to Jamaica pursue romantic affairs with local men. By elaborating on features from their gender repertoire, men art iculate the women tourists' idealizations of local culture and masculi nity, transforming their identity in order to appeal to the women and capitalize on the tourism trade. The disparity in economic status betw een partners in these relationships creates an opportunity for women t o traffic in men. This situation illuminates the links between economi c status and dominance in gender relations and contradicts conventiona l notions of male hegemony. Power in these relationships is shifting a nd situational, playing off traditional gender repertoires, as well as the immediate circumstances of finance and cultural capital.