Body hair and booty calls: Conceptualising ‘empowered-ness’ in travel and tourism for solo female vanlifers

• Published in: Annals of tourism research 2025-03, Vol.111, p.103905, Article 103905
• Main Authors: Khoo, Catheryn, Thakur, Prachi, Yang, Mona Ji Hyun, Pung, Jessica Mei, Ting, Amanda
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Empowered-ness; Empowerment; Solo travel; Transformative; Vanlife
• ISSN: 0160-7383
• DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2025.103905

The present study focuses on advancing the current discourse from women empowerment to ‘empowered-ness’ by conceptualising solo female vanlifers' bodies from travel reflections as a medium to redefine boundaries for socio-cultural norms. This study adopted a multi-faceted approach integrating social-networking-platform and ethnographic data to examine empowered-ness for women in prolonged mobility, and the role of empowered women's bodies in travel. 421 statements from 285 solo female vanlifers were collected through social-networking-platforms, and supplemented with synchronous longitudinal ethnographic data journalling solo female vanlife. The findings demonstrate that female empowered-ness through vanlife mobility manifests through independence from men, unconventional relationships, and risk-taking behaviour. This conceptual shift from empowerment to an ‘empowered’ framework is a contribution to solo female travel literature. •Focuses on how female vanlifers challenge power structures through agency.•Building a van serves as a transformative journey, fostering independence and pride.•Vanlife empowers women to explore sexual desires and invert roles.•Female vanlifers negotiate norms by enjoying leisure without societal expectations.•The van complicates embodiment and emphasises autonomy in navigating travel.