Vulnerable and Spatializing Subjects

Abstract

Even for women who travel frequently, settling into life in an unfamiliar place abroad can be stressful. In Gilgit, Western women anxiously wonder, for example, how to dress, where to live, whom to trust, how to move about town, where to send their children to school, and what to do in their leisure time. In addition to contending with unexpected heat and cold, the lack of ‘mod cons,’ and the absence of other women in the streets, they have to learn new shopping procedures, including how to bargain for cheaper prices in a local language, walk deserted town streets at night when they can’t get a lift, and be vigilant about contaminated food and water. Where can they find yeast, olives, and cheese? How should they interact with Gilgiti men at work? I recognized from my own experiences these women’s narratives of feeling ill at ease in this unfamiliar social, cultural, and religious setting. Daily life in Gilgit can be overwhelming when you are never sure how indigenous people expect you to behave, but it is even worse when you are ambivalent about behaving as you think you should. These minute-to-minute uncertainties and stresses can accumulate to engender feelings of despair, alienation, and exhaustion, as well as tears of frustration. However, most of my research participants, who have large reserves of physical and emotional stamina, eventually learn to negotiate life in Gilgit in ways that allow them to minimize their stress, feel moderately relaxed, carve out spaces of comfort, and construct satisfactory lives and identities for themselves. In short, they devise strategies for ‘stayin’ alive.’