Mardi Gras Says ‘Be Drug Free’: Accounting for Resistance, Pleasure and the Demand for Illicit Drugs

Abstract

Focusing on the outcry which followed the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Board’s anti-drug statement of late 1992, this article explores the overwhelmingly negative reaction against Mardi Gras’ position from both health agencies and members of the gay and lesbian community. Based on an analysis of ‘Letters to the editor’ in the Sydney gay press, counter discourses and subjugated knowledges used to contest Mardi Gras’ position are identified. The significance of these counter discourses in relation to major discourses evident within drug theorizing and research is examined. This article argues that cultural and subcultural constructions of pleasure, lifestyle and health need to be considered if the demand for illicit substances is to be adequately accounted for.