CUS3206 Reading Response 2 Wong ka yee Sally 4030730

The reading introduced the messages conveyed from the famous book “Eat, Pray,
Love”. The book was influential and contributed to the feminist movement globally.
The case of EPL was the experiences of the middle-aged female writer, she had been
self-discovering, self-rescuing by the “Eat, Pray, Love” process in three different
vocations-Italy, India and Bali. Then, the EPL ideas had brought into a marketing
brand which targeting female audiences. “Products that bear the Eat, Pray, Love
(EPL) brand (both officially and unofficially) range from perfume, tea, yoga gear,
prayer beads, and jewelry to EPL -themed travel tours that include spa treatments,
visits to temples, and copious amounts of yoga and meditation—all activities Gilbert
herself partook in as she wrote her book.”1 (WILLIAMS, 2011)

The ideas behind “Eat, Pray, Love” was not literally eat, pray and love every day.
Before the discovery trip, Gilbert found herself suffered from unhappy marriage and
depression. “I don’t want to be married any more. I don’t want to live in this big
house. I don’t want to have a baby (Gilbert 10).”2 (WILLIAMS, 2011) The writer
found herself should pursuit other desires for life rather than the motherhood and
social reality after the trip. “Such messages of liberation and self-rescue seem to
support a feminist vision of women’s empowerment in which women resist
patriarchal social norms-marriage, children, being selfless-by placing importance on
their own spiritual development and happiness.”3 (WILLIAMS, 2011) The EPL
movement was a new form of women’s empowerment focusing on the change of
women’s stereotyping and in the pursuit of own happiness. Compare to others
feminist movement like #metoo movement which gathered people with same
experiences and of the same goals. People through marches and procession to reach
public attentions and social coherent to empower women’s right. The EPL movement
would rather apply in a more mild, casual way to express women’s emotions. It was a
discourse of individuality which applied in the consumer culture and the freedom of
participation, showing women’s power and independence. The EPL marketing
provided and satisfied the consumer culture. The “feminine products”, which they like
using in pink, flower and pastel color which implied that the product were only for
them. Girls and women who were buying in the conditions may find the product
unique and meaningful.
1
Williams, Ruth. “Eat, Pray, Love: Producing the Female Neoliberal Spiritual Subject.” The Journal of
Popular Culture, vol. 47, no. 3, 2011, pp. 613–633., doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00870.x.
2
Williams, Ruth. “Eat, Pray, Love: Producing the Female Neoliberal Spiritual Subject.” The Journal of
Popular Culture, vol. 47, no. 3, 2011, pp. 613–633., doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00870.x.
3
Williams, Ruth. “Eat, Pray, Love: Producing the Female Neoliberal Spiritual Subject.” The Journal of
Popular Culture, vol. 47, no. 3, 2011, pp. 613–633., doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00870.x.
The EPL ideas also made a step to the tourism industry by promoting the women can
also make their footsteps through different countries like what the writer had
experienced. While the self-discovering travel experience was not merely to put
emphasize on spending to show women’s empowerment, but to embrace the local
culture by a romanticized view. Rather than sightseeing the famous destination, the
reform of travel aimed to engage in locality. “Gilbert admires women doing road
work, busting up rocks under the sweltering sun . . . looking so strangely beautiful in
their jewel-colored saris and their necklaces and bracelets.”4 (WILLIAMS, 2011) The
writer had found the travel made her reflect her own life and attitude by learning the
behavior of the locals. The new model of EPL was not only focusing on spending, but
rather a female neoliberal spiritualism ignoring the system of consumption and
production. While the “disconnection between consumption and production is one of
the negative byproducts of globalization”5 (WILLIAMS, 2011) In the case of cultural
tourism, the product was the culture itself, in which downplayed the money exchange
as the traveler want to act like a native more than a foreigner. In the way they met
new people, having nice conversation and receiving lovely hugs. The empowerment
was switching from spending, but now to buy “empowerment” from the friendly
natives. However, impacts did make to the locals such as the case of Bali. Bail was
not hailed as a summer paradise, but also for the passion and smile from the local
people in which people love to call it “Balinese culture”. As the government had
launched the policy “Cultural Tourism Regulation”, giving the ideas that people
selling local culture as a product to the tourist. The “official” culture had turned the
“culture” into commodity, representation or somehow performance. How might one
policy define the culture? Now, the friendly culture we meet would rather a policy.
The Balinese’s identity was being shaped, conceptualized and forced by the
colonization, nationalism, or perhaps, the new colonization by tourism.

Reference:
Williams, Ruth. “Eat, Pray, Love: Producing the Female Neoliberal Spiritual
Subject.” The Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 47, no. 3, 2011, pp. 613–633.,
doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00870.x.

4
Williams, Ruth. “Eat, Pray, Love: Producing the Female Neoliberal Spiritual Subject.” The Journal of
Popular Culture, vol. 47, no. 3, 2011, pp. 613–633., doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00870.x.
5
Williams, Ruth. “Eat, Pray, Love: Producing the Female Neoliberal Spiritual Subject.” The Journal of
Popular Culture, vol. 47, no. 3, 2011, pp. 613–633., doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00870.x.