Olatunji, A., Gemini, G., & CoPilot, M. (2025)
The storybook version, courtesy of Google Gemini
The ubiquitous imagery of Hawaii as an effortless tropical paradise is a powerful global fantasy, that obscures the complex realities of those who live here. I delve into my lived experience as a mature Black British woman of Yoruba heritage, a doctoral student in Honolulu, whose profound and multifaceted emotional challenges starkly contradicts this idyllic narrative. My disillusionment is not presented as an individual anomaly but rather as a critical case study through which to examine the limitations of simplistic understandings of place and well-being.
By employing a theoretical triangulation of intersectionality, new materialism, posthumanism, I argue that distress emerges from a discordant entanglement with the specific material, social, and political fabric of Honolulu, shaped by the unique and interacting layers of my identity and extensive history of navigating diverse international landscapes. This approach moves beyond individualistic or purely social explanations, highlighting the active agency of the environment and the complex power dynamics that contribute to a sense of alienation within a space often uncritically celebrated as paradise.
I being this article by..
Background – Me
The truth is, I had decided what I wanted from life; who I was and what mattered most. This is from where the problem emerged.
Adekunmi Olatunji 