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.