‘It’s Been Nice, but We’re Going Back to Our Lives’: Neo-Tribalism and the Role of Space in a Gay Resort

This chapter offers a review of gay holidays at a gay resort within the scope of neo-tribal theory. Focusing upon the underlying neo-tribal characteristics such as fluidity in membership, shared sentiment, rituals and symbols, this chapter emphasises the importance of space as a point of coherence around which neo-tribes form. The chapter argues that space acts as an agency to enable the aforementioned characteristics. A sense of belonging, connectedness and affinity are the paramount qualities that define the internally embedded culture within a neo-tribe. Vorobjovas-Pinta concludes that space is a fundamental converging characteristic required for a neo-tribe to exist. Space is elevated in its relationship to neo-tribes, in the sense that feelings of collective ownership by the tribe of space, are constitutive of tribal identity itself.