Worlds Passing By: Journeys of Culture and Cultural Journeys

The aim of the present work is to study the visual representation of hosts and guests in Scottish tourist brochures, paying special attention to questions of both gender and race, in order to discuss how such representations may relate to the notions of Scottishness and, ultimately, Britishness.

Evidence will be provided of the use of what might be referred to as 'ethnic nationalism' on the part of some promotional materials. Moreover, all materials will be shown to advocate typical heteropatriarchal values basically through: (1) the absolute predominance of the male figure; (2) the association of the female figure to clearly sexist roles; and (3) the wide use made of the officially sanctioned, heterosexual couple; all of which indicates that tourist materials are deeply imbued with ideology and do not constitute the innocuous texts they are frequently mistaken for.