The Varieties of Ecstasy Experience: A Phenomenological Ethnography

Abstract

Ecstasy (MDMA) has attracted widespread attention with its association as a “recreational substance” that is concentrated in club and rave settings. This paper outlines a phenomenologically grounded ethnographic study of the experiences of ecstasy users in the Sydney, Australia, area. I espouse phenomenology as a framework for describing and understanding these experiences. A number of excerpts are presented from my primary corpus of ethnographic material. For the purposes of this paper I assemble user's reports into nine thematic areas: (1) initial reactions and peaking; (2) the rush; (3) plateau; (4) coming down/scattering; (5) love; (6) peace, love, understanding, and respect; (7) connections on ecstasy; (8) unificatory experiences; (9) returning to baseline. The typical experiences presented in these reports confirm and extend interdisciplinary approaches to understanding ecstasy. I suggest that a context-specific approach that is phenomenologically attuned to user's experiences with ecstasy can contribute to the growing body of literature undertaken in the Australian and international research community.