The relationships transcend the racial, economic and power limitations.
This disregard for the traditional relational constraints produces some unique outcomes as it is not unusual to see a white foreign professional woman in the arms of a rural male with limited education and even less income. These associations are desired by young males as it opens new vistas of opportunity for them. They are able to acquire some income, status and the possibility of an exit out of poverty to a foreign country.
As with any endeavor there are associated risks. There is the possibility that the woman may move on to another male who appears to be a better prospect. There are occasions when the males are taken to the home country of the woman they are unable to fit in. In the metropolitan country education is a premium, and he has little so his income earning potential is very low. What initially was a promising liaison becomes a disappointment to both parties.
The appeal of the Rasta is part of the fuel for this arrangement. However the initial meaning of the Rastafarian...
A nostalgic and idealized view of virility and male potency has replaced the resistance motif. This reality truly expresses in concise terms the change to gender relations that occurs. In the romance economy of Jamaica the traditional gender roles of the local males and tourist women become inverted. The women hold economic superiority and power but the males hold local knowledge and the attraction of the exotic.
The romance tourism of Jamaica provides an intriguing opportunity to observe the reconstruction of gendered relations. Travel opportunities bring together two diverse groups who under normal circumstances would never meet. In their interaction they dispense with the traditional structures and relational types. They create new interactive episodes that are derived from the power relations and are interpreted through the desire to experience the novel and exotic. This interaction suggests that future gender relations may take forms not related to past relationships or cultural structures.
