A Matter of Gender

For this assignment we were asked to compare the men and women travel writers. The first thing that comes to mind for me is that the men tend to focus more on the religion than the women. Not to say the women don't explore the religion or attempt to learn more about it, but it seems to me that the focus is different. It could be my imagination but it seems the women are a bit more open to different ideologies and less critical of Islam and Muslims in general.

Even in those instances where the male author proclaims a desire to leave behind his prejudices and open himself up to the experiences and ideas he might find abroad, it generally didn't take very long for male writer to turn critical. The only exception to this that I can think of off the top of my head would be Dallam. He seemed to be the only one who simply related his experience and left out any judgements he may have made during his time in Constantinople.

Another difference, with perhaps the exception of Gertrude Bell and Geraldine Brooks, is that the men's writings tend to have a lot more history incorporated into them. I don't remember Duff-Gordon or Montagu providing any kind of history lesson. They tended to focus a bit more on the here and now.

Of course, the most obvious difference between the genders is in relation to gender, although again I must clarify that there are exceptions even here. While most of the women writers tend to reveal or de-mystify Muslim women and the men tend to make gross assumptions, not every woman writer focused on the issue of women. In fact, I'd say two of the four that we've studied have opted to focus more on either day-to-day living or remained firmly rooted in the world of men. Geraldine Bell was at home among the men, something rather unusual considering all the gender rules found in Muslim society. Lucy Duff-Gordon focused more on her male associates than the women, mentioning them only in passing.

However, when the women chose to focus on the women - something the men really could not ever hope to do in the same manner - they really did provide an alternative view of the harem and the women who lived there. They provide a window into a world were society would never allow the male traveller to enter.

In many ways, though, I think the writers shared a great deal in common regardless of their gender. Each reported their experiences, opinions, and observations. They gave us a chance to look into a time and place otherwise unavailable to us. They touch on common subjects like culture and religion. The differences come in the lens through which they view these things.