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Sexual Tourism and the Excitement of the Strange: Heterosexuality and the Sydney Mardi Gras Parade

Gail Mason

University of Sydney, Australia, g.mason{at}usyd.edu.au

Gary Lo

University of Sydney, Australia

The Sydney gay and lesbian Mardi Gras parade is one of the largest public celebrations of queer sexuality in the world today. This article seeks to understand the attraction of the Mardi Gras parade for heterosexual spectators who feel ambivalent or negative towards homosexuality. Drawing upon the concepts of 'the stranger' and 'the tourist' we suggest that the parade has several liminoid features that enable these spectators to momentarily suspend sexual norms that would otherwise inhibit them from attending. In this way, the parade provides an almost ideal opportunity for the ambivalent sexual tourist to experience the pleasure of the strange.

Key Words: heterosexuality • performance • qualitative survey • queer • the stranger

Sexualities, Vol. 12, No. 1, 97-121 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1363460708099115
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