The sexual and gender normativities of servicescapes: A queer social identity perspective

Thanakarn Bella Vongvisitsin, Antony King Fung Wong, Brenda Rodriguez Alegre, Fanny Manner-Baldeon and Po Man Tse

Annals of Tourism Research, 2025, vol. 111, issue C

Abstract: The tourism and hospitality industry encompasses a wide range of customer segments, including a diverse representation of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics. This study explores the experiences of LGBTIQ+ customers within servicescapes via social identity theory. Adopting a queer ethnographic approach, the study conducted in-depth interviews with twenty-seven participants identifying with non-normative sexual and gender identities within the Pan-Asian region. Through inductive thematic analysis, six key themes are identified: heteronormativity, cisnormativity, endonormativity, gender essentialism, gender patriarchy, and misandry myth. The study introduces a novel conceptualisation of sexual and gender normativities, with interdisciplinary implications, that challenge the conventional knowledge of servicescapes. Additionally, the study includes practical recommendations for businesses and policymakers to foster more inclusive societies.

Keywords: Cisnormativity; Heteronormativity; Endonormativity; Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ+); Sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC); Social identity theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738325000040
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:anture:v:111:y:2025:i:c:s0160738325000040

DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2025.103898

Access Statistics for this article

Annals of Tourism Research is currently edited by John Tribe

More articles in Annals of Tourism Research from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().