Trifter

“Elegant resorts…sumptuous accommodations…curl up and relax…in 1 to 5 bedrooms… Kauai- island gem …quiet beaches… jungles and waterfalls…”   Although this line comes specifically from an ad for Suite Paradise, a company specializing in vacation rentals, it could apply to any resort on any of the Hawaiian islands.  It showcases the island’s natural beauty, as well as the luxury offered by the resorts.  It is a perfect example of what Haunani-Kay Trask refers to as cultural prostitution in her article “Lovely Hula Hands: Corporate Tourism and the Prostitution of Hawaiian Culture”.

The bulk of Trasks’s introduction is spent making the connection between cultural exploitation and prostitution.  She makes connections between the femininity of Hawaiian culture, and the patriarchal society that oppresses it, much like the commonly male pimp involved in prostitution.  Suite Paradise’s ad plays upon the theme of Hawaii’s femininity, describing Kauai as having “beautiful” beaches, “perfect …beautiful gardens”, and tranquility.  These are typically feminine aspects, which follow Trasks’s description of Hawaii as a magically alluring female.  These descriptions of beauty are used to sell the island to travelers, like a prostitute’s assets are hawked to attract customers.      

If Kauai is the perfect, untouched (virginal) woman, then Suite Paradise is the pimp.  Nestled in between glowing descriptions of Kauai’s beauty are multiple opportunities for booking, and securing the lowest rates.  The message is that while Kauai is beautiful and welcoming, it can only be enjoyed for a price, even though Suite Paradise boasts “vacations for less”.  Not only is Kauai being sold for to tourists, but it’s being sold at a low price.

Conspicuously absent from any of the photographs are the Hawaiian people, and no mention of them is made anywhere in the ad.  Mentioned in their place are the seclusion, tranquility, and restaurants and golf courses that are encompassed by the resort.  Since such a stress is placed on seclusion, it seems as though special care has been made to separate tourists and native Hawaiians.  Is this so the tourists won’t be troubled by what life is really like for most Hawaiians?  Or is it to insulate the tourists from reality, so as to best preserve the idea of Hawaii as an escape from reality?  Either way, the message is clear that Kauai’s pleasures are only available to those who can afford it, even to the exclusion of people who would otherwise be able to enjoy it.  A prostitute’s glory is only available to people who are willing to pay the fee. 

There are several effects of segregating the tourists and the natives.  First of all, it enables the tourist fantasy of Hawaii as an escape from reality.  There are countless beautiful and pristine beaches in the world; what sets Hawaii apart is its ability to become a place out of time and space in our minds.  It also reinforces the idea of Kauai as a woman for sale, setting up false boundaries about who does and does not deserve to experience Hawaii.

Separating the two worlds also allows tourists to remain ignorant of the culture they are possessing.  Trask points out in her article that one of the unintended perks of privilege is “ignorance of, and yet power over, one’s relations to native peoples”.  People visiting Hawaii don’t need to know that aloha means family in an all inclusive sense, or that the Hawaiians see their stewardship as a spiritual and familial trust.  Tourists are able to enjoy the fruits of the land without having to take any responsibility, or needing any knowledge of the Hawaiian culture.  A friend from Hawaii here at Mills tells me that her boyfriend works at the Polynesian culture center, “a touristy…that has nothing to do with anything”.  A customer can enjoy a prostitute’s body without having to win their love, or care for them afterwards.

Although it may be unintentional, Suite Paradise’s ad for a “heavenly” Hawaiian get-away pimps out Kauai’s natural beauty.  It turns a lovely, once sacred thing into a commodity exclusively for the privileged, and cuts it on from her native people.  And unfortunately, the shallow commercial version is the one that tourists want to see.