November 30, 2006
"Romance on the Road" available as an e-book
A month or two ago, I loaded an e-book copy of 
Romance on the Road on my Web site shopping cart, here.
It has proved handy for the steady requests by undergraduate and graduate students writing about female sex tourism who have a paper due in a week and need a copy of RotR quickly.
I am also happy to help any purchaser of the e-book who needs additional reference materials (a bibliography, citations, my saved online discussion forum chats) on a particular of women and love journeys. For example, I helped a student just before Thanksgiving with her paper on women who visit Cuba, providing her with an amazing discussion from the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree forum where tourist women raved about Cuban men -- a discussion from some years ago, long gone from the site, but saved in my files. I also helped direct her to some little-known essays on Cuba from anthologies.
Similarly, I helped a professor who was just returned from Costa Rica, and was pretty amazed at some of the citations I had that were helpful to her study of female tourists.
This is my favorite topic of the moment, so if you are studying women, sex and travel, do contact me.
- posted by jbelliveau at 4:38 PM in Love, Sex, Romance and Travel
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November 29, 2006
Martha Gellhorn's travels
Just thought I'd pass along an enjoyable review, entitled Covering Her Century, by Christopher Benfey of war correspondent Martha Gellhorn (the third wife of Ernest Hemingway).
An excerpt from this article:
Gellhorn followed Hemingway back to Cuba in February 1939, where he was writing For Whom the Bell Tolls and expected her to keep house. Instead, much to his annoyance, she flew to Helsinki to cover the Russo-Finnish conflict, which confirmed her David-and-Goliath view of war. "I promise you," she wrote to Hemingway, "that I have never yet seen the innocent and unarmed other than hunted and destroyed." She also promised him, in a half-joking document titled "Guaranty," that she would never "brutalize my present and future husband in any way whatsoever" and that she recognized "that a very fine and sensitive writer cannot be left alone for two months and sixteen days." By September 1940 she was complaining that "E wants me for himself, altogether," and that "E's book has been an agony, like having children without interruption for months and months." She married him two months later, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with roast moose for dinner.Gellhorn and Hemingway honeymooned, if you could call it that, in Hong Kong, after Collier's hired her to cover the "Chinese army in action" -- in retreat, more accurately, from the occupying Japanese forces. The journey gave Gellhorn one of the liveliest chapters in Travels With Myself and Another, her 1978 memoir of what she called her "horror journeys." She referred to Hemingway as U.C., for "Unwilling Companion"; while he hung out in the hotel bar in Hong Kong, she explored the opium dens, the brothels, the mah-jongg parlors and sweatshops, all overrun with refugees.
I cannot recommend 
Travels with Myself and Another highly enough, with its hilarious chapter, entitled "Mr. Ma's Tigers," on the aforementioned time in Hong Kong and China. I've included in my list of Belliveau's top literary travel books.
- posted by jbelliveau at 3:01 PM in Books, Music, DVDs
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November 19, 2006
Child sexual abuse in Pitcairn -- and many other places
Probably we shouldn't be surprised at the constant thinness of social science research in newspaper articles. Here's another example in The Independent (London), in a story entitled: Pitcairn: The island of fear, which describes a TV documentary entitled Trouble in Paradise: The Pitcairn Story:
Jacqui Christian grew up on an island paradise in the Pacific. The childhood she describes sounds like every over-stressed family's fantasy in her adopted city, London: a serene tropical haven, with no cars, little contact with the outside world, where everyone is a neighbour, or family. "After school we could go riding our bikes or kite-flying anywhere on the island and not worry about being mugged," she says.But that wasn't the whole story. "There was this other side that we never talked about, where being a girl you always tried to avoid being anywhere with an adult male on your own. The older you got, the smarter you got about who was safe to be around and who wasn't." Her first memory of being sexually abused was when she was three years old.
Here's some interesting material from the investigation:
The two detectives who were assigned to Pitcairn under an investigation named Operation Unique, tried to make sense of what had been going on. They came to the conclusion that, because of an apparent lack of law and order, the adult men on the island felt it was their right to do whatever they wished. One man, said George, had admitted that he tried to get girls of 10 or under, because Christian "got them when they were 12, so he had to go younger".[Filmmaker Nick] Godwin has his own theory. "Women were certainly complicit in this," he says. "Although we didn't have time to go into it fully in a one-hour documentary, there was certainly evidence that women not only turned a blind eye, but offered up their daughters to older men in some cases.
"The widespread nature of this kind of activity, in my view, goes back to the island's origins, to the mutineers. We know that some of those women [they took] from Tahiti were very young, and I suspect many of those women may not have come of their own accord. We certainly have documentary evidence of men having sex with very young girls in Polynesia in that time. It was very much part of the culture then ... . All those things feed into the situation today."
OK, what is missing from this?
First, though the filmmaker cites Pitcairn's unique history as a factor, actually rape is an extraordinary problem in Melanesia and Polynesia generally. My chapter on Oceania in Romance on the Road describes the horrific situation in Papua New Guinea where both female and male tourists risk being raped in their travels.
RotR also describes warnings for women traveling in Polynesia to never wander on their own on an island, as this is taken as an invitation for sex.
The chapter on Oceania stresses the isolation of Oceanic societies, where local men who get involved with tourist women suffer great anxiety that they will be abandoned when the woman flies home to her country so far away.
Dea Birkett's book 
Serpent in Paradise (thumbnail description here, scroll down) describes the incredibly circumscribed life on Pitcairn, such that she pays dearly for a one-night stand with an island Lothario -- and for not reciprocating the interest of a quieter, available islander.
I am wondering also if the producers of Trouble in Paradise: The Pitcairn Story looked at the issue of rape and incest in isolated societies. One of the most shocking aspects of my brief week in Barrow, Alaska, in 2004, filling in for the regular Arctic Sounder reporter, was writing up the police report. Dozens of pages described SAMs (sexual abuse of minors), a endemic problem in Native communities in rural Alaska. (I have also read a travel book -- 
An African in Greenland -- set in part in the Inuit community suggesting problems there.)
The common thread here is that on an island such as Pitcairn, with fewer than 50 residents and 3,000 miles from anywhere, and in little Alaska villages not on any road, with illegal liquor flown in by bush plane and long winter nights, girls are at extraordinary risk of being raped by a predatory family member or neighbor.
I've read that astute mothers in remote places, from Alaska to Vanuatu, accompany their daughters everywhere (sometimes toting a rifle) until they reach marriage age.
I suppose it is expecting far too much for producers and journalists to attempt a quick perusal of sociological and anthropological literature when reporting on a topic.
However, the end result of sketchy reporting is that every expert reader of an article (or viewer of a documentary) scratches their head and concludes it is incomplete or lacks context. Plenty of people -- not just anthropologists, sociologists, and criminal justice experts, but also Peace Corps volunteers, backpackers and travel writers (and interim reporters like myself) -- stumble into the sexual cesspit of isolated societies and realize the sexual abuse of minors does not just affect Pitcairn and appears to be rife in much of the Pacific and Arctic ocean areas.
It is too bad more TV producers and reporters don't have access to Jstore, Academic Search Premier or any of the other databases college students can wallow in to find reams of citations to academic journals on any social sciences subject (see for example the databases available at Johns Hopkins University to anthropology or sociology students). Spend a day gathering citations and then wandering into the stacks (or online), and you will finally have a better idea of exactly how Pitcairn is just like Barrow or Papua New Guinea, and exactly how Pitcairn is unique unto itself.
To read more: The Parable of Pitcairn. Musings on the clash between Western jurisprudence and isolated societies.
- posted by jbelliveau at 8:49 AM in Love, Sex, Romance and Travel
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November 14, 2006
Dealing with Beau's end of life
This collage recalling some moments in Beau's life was e-mailed to many of our friends. I have about 70 replies in condolence. Lamont also printed a few for me, which I have mailed to friends who do not have e-mail.
A week ago today, our sheltie Beau (see "Thank you to FOB, Friends of Beau") was euthanized in our home by vet Dr. Lisa Tuzo.
Beau made it to 16 years, 10 months. Because he was battling kidney failure, which is an up-and-down disease, and because dogs stoically try to hide their pain out of a wild survival instinct, it was difficult to pick a time to let him go. I hope to return to this entry and flesh out some of the issues we faced for the benefits of other pet owners, who may not be aware of home care of canine kidney patients, hospice and home euthanasia options.
Some links I found helpful:
Evaluating pain in pets with kidney problems
Life Support Issues: Kidney Failure. Great question -- this is exactly the information I sought without success. Was Beau in a lot of pain from kidney failure, or just weak and sleepy? I do not find the answer provided by the hospice nurse adequate. I will try to get more details on this matter. When I asked my regular vet about palliative care for Beau in his final days, she said, "He's not going to get better." That was not helpful -- palliative care is by definition not curative, but aims at reducing symptoms or pain.
Dr. Tuzo is herself interviewing humans with kidney failure to try to determine their level of pain. This information should be invaluable in applying the facts to our pets who cannot speak for themselves.
One aspect of kidney failure is the odor of ammonia on a pet's breath, from toxins once cleaned by the kidneys and now circulating in the blood. Even if the pet doesn't suffer tremendous pain, one can only imagine this failure of an important body system, and their tremendous thirst as individual cells try to cleanse in place of the kidneys, places them in a difficult position. Beau suffered from uremia, tremendous weight loss (from 30 to 20 lbs.), dull coat and seemed feverish toward his last few days. Kidney failure seemed less menacing than say cancer but still places a tremendous challenge to the body.
Animal euthanasia. The final two paragraphs persuaded me that waiting for a natural death for Beau carried too great a risk of real suffering, especially since he wasn't going to get better:
A word on natural death. Although this may always seem the ideal end, pets do not always die easily in their sleep without help. They may suffer much distress in their final hours, vomiting repeatedly, struggling for breath, or experiencing convulsions. Sometimes, as the organs shut down, the animal may drift into coma, but you cannot count on this happening. If it has become obvious that your pet is no longer enjoying life or showing any enthusiasm for it, it is kinder to put it to sleep and end its suffering.Sometimes death can be sudden, as when caused by a stroke or heart failure. This can be particularly distressing to the owner, when the pet had seemed previously healthy, especially if the cause of death is not apparent. You can request the vet undertake a post mortem, but usually these kind of deaths are unpreventable.
This link also gives a list of a pet's basic needs:
... intended only as guidelines when used as a benchmark in deciding your pet's wellbeing. Euthanasia may not be appropriate even if some of these criteria are not met. Each case for euthanasia should be judged on its own merits and your vet should always be consulted beforehand. As the owner you also know your pet better than anyone.
- Freedom from uncontrollable pain, distress and discomfort.
- Ability to walk and balance.
- Ability to eat and drink without pain and vomiting.
- Freedom from painful, inoperable tumours.
- Ability to breathe freely and without difficulty.
- Ability to hold up head when at rest.
- Ability to urinate and defecate without difficulty or incontinence.
- Ability to see and hear.
- Ability to enjoy food.
- Pet responds to owner and family.
- Not suffering from repeated vomiting and/or convulsions.
End of life decision
How Do You Decide that Today is the Day to Put Your Best Friend to Sleep?
Euthanasia: Gentle Death, Painful Decision
When Should You Put Your Dog Down?: How to make a decision you never want to make. I found this article singularly useless, and am surprised Jon Katz didn't do a bit better job on this difficult topic. While he provides interesting anecdotes and interviews, Katz seems so determined to avoid sentimentalism towards dogs that he comes across as a bit cold. He describes some who euthanize their pets when they lose their "dogness," or lively interest in their surroundings, and others who keep hopelessly ill pets on ventilators. For Beau, faced with a heart and kidney patient, the right euthanasia point seemed somewhere in between. Ultimately, you gauge how much of a dog's withdrawal is fatigue and old age, not yet overwhelming the overwhelming urge of living things to cling to life, and try to sense the moment when your pet's withdrawal changes and becomes preparation for the end as disease overwhelms his organs.
In-home euthanasia
Euthanasia... What To Expect See the section on in-home euthanasia. Lots of details including the need for a plastic sheet. I got ready the following items: box of tissues, damp cloth (to wipe my own face), checkbook to pay the vet, brush to make Beau look nice. The main thing I forgot was a towel to shroud his body for the walk to the vet's car. Alternately, you could make a cardboard coffin for your pet.
Another Dog's Death by John Updike. I believe I read this poem in the Washington Post Book World section soon after its 1993 anthologization. It's quite an unforgettable poem that stays in the mind for decades. Updike's writing made me determined to avoid if at all possible the sad (for me) and uncomfortable (for Beau, who couldn't lay down easily in a moving vehicle) last drive to the vet. The poet makes it clear that as awful as the moment is, his dog enjoys calm and collected final moments. I include this poem here because it details better than a how-to link the advantages of in-home euthanasia.
Hospices for pets
Without realizing it, I had been providing hospice care for Beau for at least four months -- being certain he was let out whenever he stirred to his feet, pureeing foods and syringe feeding him when necessary, and switching to yoghurt and cool foods. I wish I had known about the growing movement toward pet hospice in this country, especially about place in Virginia listed in my first link. This could have made my bumbling efforts to feed Beau and keep him comfortable (for example, buying him his first bed ever, a fleece one, about a month ago.)
Veterinary Holistic and Rehabilitation Center (Vienna, Va.)
The Nikki Hospice Foundation for Pets: History and Philosophy
Hospice Care in Cats
Learn More About the Pet Hospice Program
Products
Hill's a/d Canine Feline (pet food). I had been pureeing a variety of dog foods for Beau in a food processor and syringe feeding him with a catheter syringe from the vet. Actually, I had four syringes that I would fill, refrigerate, warm in hot water, and feed him with. Our vet at Essex Dog and Cat provided some of this prescription food, which did not require pureeing! You may need to mix it with a little water, but then it pulls readily into the syringe, much easier than the pureed dog food, even thinned with water, ever did. Dr. Tuzo also suggests meat baby foods for feeding ill animals.
Quiet Time Pet Bed -- Beau got his first bed in the last month of his life. He still seemed to prefer the floor or carpet but he was so thin this fleece bed with rolled sides seemed best to protect his ribs. He seemed to appreciate being led to the bed and turned one turn to curl into it. Our cats, Olivia and Hanno, appropriated the bed whenever Beau wasn't in it and enjoy it now.
- posted by jbelliveau at 8:09 PM in The Neighborhood
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November 9, 2006
Bahamas appoints a director of romance
Does this sound like a fun job or what? From Travel Weekly:
The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism appointed Freda Madrisotti as director of romance. Her position, which the BMT said is the first of its kind within a tourism office in the Caribbean, will provide a link between hotels, resorts, facilities, vendors and suppliers to ensure seamless and stress-free planning for any romantic occasion. From liaising with the Bahamas Bridal Association and affiliated wedding coordinators to staying current with romance-specific hotel packages in the Bahamas, Madrisotti will serve as the gatekeeper to all things romantic.
This is interesting to me because although the "director of romance" has a job facilitating respectable love -- the wedding on the beach kind -- behind the scenes, the men of the Bahamas, the Caribbean and elsewhere in the world are directing their own freelance romances all the time.
Also, that a country would have a director of romance speaks to the ever-more explicit tie-in between sun, sand and sex in the marketing of the tropics as a destination.
From Romance on the Road:
... Most governments (as well as their citizens) in the developing world come to accept sex tourism as a valuable genesis of airline and hotel receipts.In the Caribbean, for example, government-paid advertising to foster tourism, highlighting sun, sea, sand and friendly locals, indirectly promotes sex tourism as well, given the tight weave of sex and travel in the tropics. And those amiable locals include taxi drivers, waiters and Jet-Ski rental agents willing to befriend tourist women.
A scholarly paper by Beverley Mullings, "Fantasy Tours: Exploring the Global Consumption of Caribbean Sex Tourisms,” further explores this topic (found in the book New Forms of Consumption
- posted by jbelliveau at 9:46 AM in Love, Sex, Romance and Travel
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