Lewis L A, Ross M W
National Drug and Alcohol Research Center, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia.
J Homosex. 1995;29(1):41-70. doi: 10.1300/J082v29n01_03.
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.
我们通过对这些活动的顾客和组织者进行16次定性访谈，从社会和历史背景方面调查了悉尼的同性恋舞会现象。悉尼有350万人口，既是新南威尔士州的首府，也是澳大利亚的同性恋之都。正如沃瑟斯庞（1991年）之前所指出的，同性恋舞会似乎是对20世纪80年代中期并存的一系列状况的一种回应。这些状况包括同性恋合法化以及反歧视立法的颁布，这为更充分地展现同性恋生活方式创造了条件；市中心同性恋酒吧和私人派对作为聚会场所的传统；以及以国王十字区、苏里山和达令赫斯特地区为中心的市中心同性恋聚居区的发展。此外，诸如摇头丸等所谓“派对毒品”的出现，它们起到情绪调节作用；合适场地的可得性；随着激光照明和其他电脑生成灯光秀的发展；以及艾滋病毒感染带来的新威胁，为一系列更具仪式感的社交互动提供了背景，满足了许多同性恋舞会顾客的社会和心理需求。
