Women's Changing Social Roles in Ethnic Heritage Tourism Sites: A Case Study of Three Gorges Bubusheng Culture Village

Women are major participants at ethnic cultural heritage tourism sites. The emerging issue ofhow their social roles change as a result of their participation at these sites requires study. The ThreeGorges Bubusheng Culture Village is based on an intangible ethnic cultural heritage feature,the skilledproduction of Zhijiang handmade shoes. It has been developed into a ethnic heritage tourism site withdifferent functions such as the promotion of Zhijiang shoes as a cultural activity,the development of aheritage tourism industry,and women's training and employment. Thus,ethnic cultural heritage tourismactivities can create an avenue of development that promotes women's employment. Taking the ThreeGorges Bubusheng Culture Village as a representative case study,we conducted a field investigation andapplied quantitative analysis to explore changes in women's social roles relating to income,family status, ideology,and social life,following their participation in tourism activities in the village. Changes in theseaspects reflect women's changing social roles resulting from their participation in tourism- relatedactivities. Our study revealed that the village had natural advantages in terms of employing women in theproduction of handmade shoes. The main conclusions from our study are:(1)Women have easier accessto local employment at ethnic cultural heritage tourism sites than at other sites,and their increasingincome from this employment evidently contributes to their family income.(2)The impact of women'semployment at these sites on family income structures differs according to age groups and the degree ofparticipation of local women in tourism activities. These additional earnings from the tourism industry arean essential source of household income for local families.(3)As a result of their participation in tourismactivities,women in Bubusheng Culture Village have the intention and ability to influence familydecisions. This contributes to an improvement in their status regarding the division of labour anddecision-making,and gives them access to more equal development opportunities.(4)Tourism activitiesalso prompt changes in the consumption concepts and professional ideas of local women,which canimprove their quality of life. Moreover,these activities promote intangible cultural values of heritageprotection and inheritance.(5)Women's lifestyles and modes of interacting are also changing inBubusheng Culture Village,because their involvement in tourism activities has resulted in village lifebecoming more rich and colorful. Social relationships have changed from being based on mechanicalsolidarity to organic solidarity as a result of the creation of new"industry margin relationships",whichfavor family harmony and social stability.(6) Women have developed complex social identitiesassociated with their changing social roles. However,these new roles are merely adjustments, supplements,or developments compared with their former ones as wives and mothers. Local employmentof women within the tourism sector has in turn promoted more reflection on their original roles such asincreasing family income,educating their children,and supporting the elderly. To conclude,women'sparticipation in tourism is not only beneficial for the protection and inheritance of ethnic cultural heritage, but also enables women to obtain more equal development opportunities and to achieve family harmonyand social stability. Consequently,the government,business enterprises,and local women need to worktogether to fully realize tourism's potential to simultaneously promote women's development and ethniccultural heritage tourism.