Rethinking activism: tourism, mobilities and emotion

Abstract

This article seeks to trouble distinctions between activism and tourism, and activism and regionality. It does this by exploring the role of tourism, mobilities and emotion for a regional Australian queer collective, and their 1400 km return journey to the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. In illustrating the ways this touristic journey represents alternative ways of performing queer activism, I argue that the existence of regional activism deconstructs notions that non-normative sexualities and queer politics do not exist beyond urban centres. Granting attention to the alternative ways the queer collective utilises tourism mobilities as part of their activism strengthens characterisations of leisure as always more than a space of hedonism and escape. Understanding the broader significance of events enables scholars to rethink festivals as spatially and temporally bounded, one off events but rather crucial to the ongoing sustainability of regional queer collectives and performances of queer activism in peripheral areas.

Résumé

Cet article cherche à étudier les distinctions entre l’activisme et le tourisme, et l’activisme et la régionalité. Il fait cela en explorant le rôle du tourisme, des mobilités et de l’émotion pour un collectif gay australien et leur voyage aller-retour de 1,400 kilomètres à la parade de mardi gras des gays et lesbiennes à Sydney. En illustrant les manières dont le voyage touristique constitue des moyens alternatifs de mener à bien l’activisme gay, je soutiens que l’existence de l’activisme régional est une déconstruction des notions que les sexualités non-normatives et les politiques gays n’existent pas au-delà des centres urbains. Accorder une attention particulière aux moyens alternatifs dont le collectif gay utilise les mobilités du tourisme comme outil de leur activisme, renforce les caractérisations du tourisme comme étant toujours plus qu’un espace d’hédonisme et d’échappatoire. Comprendre la signification plus large des événements permet aux chercheurs de repenser les festivals en tant qu’événements ponctuels limités spatialement et temporellement, mais plutôt comme des événements essentiels à la viabilité durable des collectifs régionaux gays et aux actions d’activisme gay dans les zones périphériques.

Resumen

Este artículo busca discutir las distinciones entre el activismo y el turismo, y el activismo y la regionalidad. Esto se hace mediante la exploración de la función del turismo, las movilidades y la emoción para una un grupo regional gay, y su viaje de 1.400 kilómetros al desfile del Martes de Carnaval Gay y Lésbico en Sídney. Al ilustrar las formas en las que este recorrido turístico representa formas alternativas de realizar activismo homosexual, se argumenta que la existencia del activismo regional deconstruye las nociones de que no existen sexualidades no normativas y políticas homosexuales más allá de los centros urbanos. La concesión de atención a las formas alternativas en las cuales el colectivo homosexual utiliza movilidades turísticas como parte de su activismo fortalece, como siempre, las caracterizaciones de ocio como más que un espacio de hedonismo y escape. Comprender el significado más amplio de los eventos permite a los investigadores reconsiderar los festivales como espacial y temporalmente limitados, y como eventos excepcionales pero cruciales para la sostenibilidad en desarrollo de los colectivos homosexuales regionales y las actuaciones de activismo homosexual en zonas periféricas.

Keywords:

• Activism
• tourism
• mobilities
• emotion
• sexualities
• rural

Mots clés:

• Activisme
• tourisme
• mobilités
• émotion
• sexualités
• rural

Palabras clave:

• Activismo
• turismo
• movilidades
• emoción
• sexualidades
• rural

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the reviewers and Gordon Waitt for insightful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. Special thanks to the members of GV Pride, for sharing your time and experiences.

Notes

1. ‘Mardi Gras anthems’ are songs traditionally played as part of SGLMG. They are generally either enjoyed ironically or were considered revolutionary for their time.

2. I here refer to aesthetic discourses as the music, art and artists strongly tied to SGLMG identity.

3. Think About It was an art event launched as part of SheppARTon Festival, the week following Mardi Gras. The project aimed to share the voices and emotions of young regional Victorians who identify with non-normative genders and sexualities to the broader community, in the hope the community would then ‘think about it’. This project was significant because it was part of the highly visible SheppARTon festival, an event which aims to ‘stimulate dialogue and challenge audiences in accessible public environments’ (SheppARTon Festival, 2015). In its current form, the project has been recreated as an online installation (Think About It, 2015).

4. Chill Out Festival is one of the biggest and longest running queer Pride events in regional Australia. It is held in the regional Victorian town of Daylesford – which is approximately 200 km from Shepparton. Traditionally, the event takes place the weekend following Mardi Gras.