As I flipped through the television channels for the millionth time, I ultimately settled on a Yaz staple: the travel show.
For as long as I can remember, I have been more intrigued by the southern, whale-inhabited waters of Patagonia and the minarets of Istanbul than teen mothers and rich, famous people who only take selfies and not much else. Through Anthony Bourdain, Anthony Zimmern, and even Karl Pilkington, I was able to enjoy termite-eating cultures and learn about the mythical Cuba, and the pariah nation in the millenial age. In fact, I relied so heavily on these in-depth accounts which viewed like a Lonely Planet page come to life, that as I searched in vain for the perfect study abroad destination, it was through these shows that I figured would grant me the insight I so desired and excitement to be instilled.
Perhaps it is because I grew up with a mother who taught me the importance of travel and global citizenship from an early age, through her own solo adventures and trips around the globe, that I remember more vividly memorizing world capitals than the alphabet. Or maybe it is because I have been so entranced by the images of polluted, overpopulated, everlastingly beautiful Cairo that it never occurred to me that my storytellers were not really like me at all.
In fact, this was a revelation I fell upon days ago. This is very likely due to the fact that men’s tight grip in the media, specifically those that work in entertainment and politics, is loosening amidst the allegations of sexual harassment, assault, and misogyny that comes out every day, as predictably as a weather report. It is also likely because marginalized people are finding more ways to combat underrepresentation in just about every facet of life, that I noticed this discrepancy in my favorite past-time.
I began to realize that every show regarding any sort of tourism and hospitality that featured women or people of color usually revolved around homemaking or the South. Soul food and cupcakes, that was the legacy of non-white men on the Food Network and the Travel Channel. The first person to come to mind was Marcus Samuelsson, the Ethiopian-born, Swedish-raised Michelin star-rated chef who was the first black chef to receive the honor—but his presence was predominately in his restaurants. Samuelsson’s face graced episodes of Top Chef, but this was nothing compared to Bourdain and even our favorite chicken frying racist, Paula Deen.
These travel shows featured middle-aged, bald, greying white men from privileged communities ushering their potbellies around the world to criticize, praise, and observe people of color as if to say, “Hey Americans, these brown people are cool to interact with! Look at these beaches! A cute getaway while you’re staying at the Hilton.”
None of these shows are hosted by people who have roots, or even some melanin relative to those of the countries in which they are visiting, with the exception of Europe and those episodes are few. More so, none of these feature a woman and they play like a modern-day Christopher Columbus, exploring where the savages live because it’s a bit too dangerous for the soft, gentle women, who are home nursing their children.
Surely this has to do with the fact that it can be dangerous for women to travel abroad, however it seems absurd and highly improbable to me that Anthony Bourdain does not enjoy filming in Brazil without the protection of security, which can just as easily be used to protect an adventurous woman. But heaven forbid she have her period, right? Or venture to a part of the world that isn’t Paris?
Not to mention that when the world “travelling” is applied to people of color, it usually involves immigration (and certainly African-Americans in the U.S. are too poor to even purchase a passport). However, this logic is flawed and antiquated. While there are fewer people of color travelling, this does not mean that they cannot nor do not want to.
But just as The Cosby Show changed the mainstream view of the black family, a travel show featuring a person of color has the potential to dramatically change not only the trajectory of travel, global perspectives on non-white people, but inspire young black and brown people to step out of the confines of their neighborhoods and explore.
A reggaeton song was the hottest song of the year, women are single-handedly expunging some of the most powerful men of their positions, and it’s only been one year since the United States had a black president. Diversity is the word of this century, it is valued by each institution, company, and organization in the country, whether they like it or not because the people are tired of Eurocentric, male-dominated spaces.
It is beyond time that we apply this logic to the world of travel.