In this article, veteran travel blogger, Shubham Mansingka speaks about the Indian travel blogging industry and explains how the segment is gender dominant.
It nears one year to the exact date of when I might have started writing digitally or to put it frankly; stumble upon the world of travel blogging. I had been an active reader of blogs on the internet and had inadvertently come to believe that there were only women in this field. A blogger I met on the road convinced me to write and share my solo experiences from seven years of intermittent travel.
After my specialisation in Economics and then Finance – Mergers & Acquisitions, I went back to manage the family business; growing it four-fold in the space of a few years. There were countless escapes, possible because it was seasonal work. I used to work like a maniac for eight-nine months, dream and head to remote locations to make sure there was no network where I went. I filled the starting pages of countless diaries attempting to pen down my memories. Asthma struck after continued exposure to dust and I ran away from home.
I was thrust with more work, men were supposed to work I was told. Since ages, society has defined work according to the gender of birth. We have been categorised by default as the breadwinners, problem-solvers of the family. The responsibilities of the entire family rest upon our so called broad shoulders. We are super humans and trivial tasks like writing and photography aren’t meant for us.
Eg: There’s a recurring problem with the wheel alignment of the car which can’t be resolved by the chauffeur.
Chances are a male member of the family is gonna resolve the issue.
If it were not to sound sexist, the burden of expectations to earn a regular income seems to be slightly lesser for women. There is a fair bit of freedom with regards to pursuing home based professions (or is the grass greener!) A basic research reveals that it is not only travel blogging, but male bloggers in other streams are few and far between.
There are awards and websites galore propagating and establishing lists of top female travel bloggers and solo female travel bloggers. I am yet to see a list of male travel bloggers in the same respect. This skewed ratio improves slightly when I glanced at global bloggers. Are we putting too much (undue) pressure on our men?
I am being constantly hounded by the family to establish an industry and do meaningful work! Therefore this rant on an autumn day in Jaipur when I was making travel plans to the remote Pangi Valley in Lahaul but a freak foot injury has put paid to my dream winter.
Its time we gave gender equality its due, the other way round.
This article was first published by Shubham Mansingka on his blog Travelshoebum.
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