Christina Hart
4th Hour
Lovely Hula Hands
When first hearing this paper explained in class I thought it
would completely be about the prostitution happening in Hawaii.
However, after reading the paper I learned it was about much
more than just the sexual exploitation happening there. It was
about how the culture feels about the tourism happening in their
state and the way they feel about sort of being “pushed to the
side” when it comes to equality in our country.
One thing I found very interesting is Hula dancing is used
as sort of a “sexual fantasy” for tourists, instead of the traditional
use of the dance for celebrating life and happiness. The author
talked about how when people go to see these dances they use
it as a time to slip away from reality and view the dancers as
“Objects of affection” instead of people participating in their
culture. Another thing I found very interesting was also how the
tourists truly did overpower the hawaiian society. And not only
people who come to visit the state, but those from the mainland
who have then made Hawaii their permanent home. When this
article was written tourists outnumbered residents 6 to 1. To live
in a state where outsiders were currently coming into where you
live must be very overwhelming. Although this happens in other
states such as New York and California, I feel that when people
go to visit Hawaii they view their culture as almost a “fantasy”,
that it is not truly real and that they can enjoy it for a short period
of time. However, they fail to realize that for centuries native
Hawaiians have lived here and have created their traditions and
culture and now it is being treated as a vacation spot for a
weekend or two.
Overall there was a lot going on in this article so at times it was
kind of difficult to follow along, but what I truly got out of this
article is that the culture and traditions of Hawaii are being
pushed to the side due to the fantasy of what they believe the
state should be like.