A select body

Studies of the organization of gay social interaction have usually focused on the traditional context of bars and cruising areas. This book however describes the phenomenon of large-scale gay dance parties, in which up to 17,000 people dance through the night to deafening music and spectacular light displays, often under the influence of recreational psychoactive drugs. The authors chart the development of the gay dance party, the influence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on its growth, and the dance party as a response to the pressures and stigmas associated with both homosexuality and the HIV/AIDS…