The fierce tribe

by Mickey Weems

"In this ethnography that documents the folk nature of popular culture, Mickey Weems applies interdisciplinary interpretation to a subject that demands such a breakdown of intellectual boundaries." "The Circuit, an expression of Gay culture, comprises large dunce events - gatherings, celebrations, communions, festivals. Music and dance drive complex, shared performances - electronic house music played by professional DJs and mass ecstatic dancing that engenders a sense of communitas." "Other performances, from drag queens and concerts to contests, theatrics, and the individual display of muscular bodies are part of the festivities. Body sculpting through muscle building is strongly associated with the Circuit, and masculine aggression is bath displayed and parodied. Weems, a participant-observer with a multidisciplinary background in anthropology, folklore, religious studies, cultural studies, and somatic studies, considers the cultural and ethical dimensions of what to outsiders might