Tourism Development in the Russian Arctic: Reproducing or Challenging Hegemomic Masculinities of the Frontier?

The image of the Arctic can be understood as a part of a larger discourse of the north as an uncivilized, untamed frontier, not suitable or accessible for modern, urban people, but a place for strong adventurers, hunters, and explorers. In this study, we seek to understand how hegemonic masculinities of the north both inform and are challenged by tourism and its representations and practices in the Russian Arctic, in particular the Nenets Autonomous District (NAD). The study is based on the analysis of data collected during several field trips to the region during the period of 2012–2013 and 2014, including semistructured interviews with key stakeholders and observations of tourism practices, as well as content analysis of promotional images of selected tourism companies. Tourism in the NAD is typically adventure based: snowmobile safaris, fishing, hunting, and white-water rafting. There are also different types of indigenous tourism, such as living with reindeer herders for a period of time. The tourism industry covered herein consisted of microfirms and small businesses. The entrepreneurs were all middle-aged Russian men and the tourists were predominantly male middle class Russians from metropolitan regions, traveling as groups of friends or colleagues. The results show that despite the willingness of the tourism entrepreneurs to broaden their customer groups and offerings, the products reproduce the destination as a playground for (male) "hook and bullet" tourists. However, there are also examples of how tourism may challenge or reconstruct the understandings of typically masculine or feminine duties or roles in some specific local contexts.