Heterotopic erotic oases: The public nude beach experience
Journal
Annals of Tourism Research
Date Issued
October 2010
Author(s)
DOI
10.1016/j.annals.2010.04.003
Abstract
Despite the importance of beaches for a broad spectrum of recreational activities,
very little is known about the multitude of beach use in marginalized spaces offering a range
of opportunities for transgressive behaviour. To explore the ways that the principles of Foucault’s
heterotopia are articulated by users of a gay nude beach, functioning as an erotic oasis,
this study adopted a covert ethnographic approach which involved non-participant observation.
The results of the study offer a unique glimpse into the role of beach, body and sexuality
in the tourism experience and unlock the complexities and entanglements engaged in
deviant beach use. Keywords: heterotopia, erotic oasis, beach experience, nudism, gay space,
sexual body.
very little is known about the multitude of beach use in marginalized spaces offering a range
of opportunities for transgressive behaviour. To explore the ways that the principles of Foucault’s
heterotopia are articulated by users of a gay nude beach, functioning as an erotic oasis,
this study adopted a covert ethnographic approach which involved non-participant observation.
The results of the study offer a unique glimpse into the role of beach, body and sexuality
in the tourism experience and unlock the complexities and entanglements engaged in
deviant beach use. Keywords: heterotopia, erotic oasis, beach experience, nudism, gay space,
sexual body.