Paper short abstract:

This paper examines how and in what ways older, foreign residents living in Ubud, Bali, engage with contradictory moral regimes in the context of racial inequalities, lifestyle priorities and generational change within Balinese society.

Paper long abstract:

Increasing numbers of older, foreign migrants and retirees are settling in a range of prominent tourist destinations in Southeast Asia, in ways that reflect geometries of power and privilege on a global scale. This paper specifically examines how older, Western residents make sense of racial hierarchies and inequalities in the context of relations with Balinese employees and a modern service infrastructure of cafes and restaurants in Ubud, Bali. Specifically I examine the ways in which such residents engage with contradictory moral regimes that reflect a desire to downplay the virtues of white agency, yet place the self at the forefront of narratives of life and lifestyle in Bali. The ability of older, Western residents to spatially manage such concerns, I argue, is complicated by generational change within Balinese society. Attempts by these residents to contain such aspects of change in static imaginings of a traditional, Balinese other provides a basis to understand how ill-defined or ignored forms of symbolic pollution might transform racialised social structures into overt acts of racism.