       Document 0540
 DOCN  M9620540
 TI    The gay dance party culture in Sydney: a qualitative analysis.
 DT    9602
 AU    Lewis LA; Ross MW; National Drug and Alcohol Research Center, University
       of New; South Wales, Kensington, Australia.
 SO    J Homosex. 1995;29(1):41-70. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/96025270
 AB    We investigated the gay dance party phenomenon in Sydney in terms of its
       social and historical context by carrying out 16 qualitative interviews
       with patrons and organisers of these events. Sydney with a population of
       3.5 million is both the capital of New South Wales and the Gay capital
       of Australia. The gay dance party appears to be a response to a number
       of conditions which co-existed in the mid 1980s, as previously suggested
       by Wotherspoon (1991). These included the decriminalization of
       homosexuality and enactment of the anti-discrimination legislation which
       set the scene for greater expression of a gay lifestyle, the tradition
       of inner-city gay bars and private parties as meeting places, and the
       development of an inner-city gay enclave centred around the Kings Cross,
       Surry Hills, and Darlinghurst areas. In addition, the development of
       so-called party drugs such as Ecstasy which acted as mood-modulators,
       the availability of appropriately sited venues, with the development of
       laser-lighting and other computer-generated light shows, and the new
       threat of HIV infection acted to provide the context for a more
       ritualized set of social interactions which fulfilled social and
       psychological needs for many of the gay party patrons.
 DE    Adult  *Dancing  Homosexuality, Male/*PSYCHOLOGY  Human  HIV
       Infections/PREVENTION & CONTROL/PSYCHOLOGY  Male  New South Wales
       Psychotropic Drugs  Sex Behavior  *Social Environment  Street Drugs
       Substance Abuse/PSYCHOLOGY  Support, Non-U.S. Gov't  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).

