Circuit Party

A dance event with historical origins in the gay community’s response to the AIDS crisis. Originally conceived as fundraisers and a means to celebrate life amidst loss, today’s circuit is global and extensive, with highly produced parties that sometimes have a community outreach component and sometimes are commercialized ventures. Circuit events are an expression of freedom as well as a statement of the power and strength of the gay community, but they are not without controversy, as they are often identified with a high degree of superficiality, promiscuity, and drug use. Some of the larger circuit parties are the White Party in Palm Springs, the Black and Blue Party in Montreal, and the Winter Party in Miami, each of which attracts attendees in the thousands to tens of thousands. See “Gay CruiseA term used in verb form to refer to checking out another gay man, perhaps in a sexually predatory way, but primarily characterized by nonverbal signals for sex. Also can be used in noun form to refer to the person being cruised, i.e. “Don’t eyeball my cruise.” Not to be confused with a floating bathhouse of a boat chartered by Atlantis Events (see “gay cruise”).Exclusively gay vacations on chartered cruiseA term used in verb form to refer to checking out another gay man, perhaps in a sexually predatory way, but primarily characterized by nonverbal signals for sex. Also can be used in noun form to refer to the person being cruised, i.e. “Don’t eyeball my cruise.” Not to be confused with a floating bathhouse of a boat chartered by Atlantis Events (see “gay cruise”). ships (Atlantis Events, RSVP) that often feature circuit-style dance parties, weddings, showtunes, and Speedos..”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 24th, 2011 at 10:45 am. It is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.