Liberalism, Lack and 'Living the Dream': Reconsidering the attractions of alcohol-based leisure for young tourists in Magaluf, Majorca

  1. Ellis, Anthony 2
  2. Briggs, Daniel 1
  3. Winlow, Simon 3
  4. Esquinas, Antonio Silva 1
  5. Verdugo, Rebeca Cordero 1
  6. Suárez, Jorge Ramiro Pérez 1
  1. 1 Universidad Europea de Madrid
    info

    Universidad Europea de Madrid

    Madrid, España

    ROR https://ror.org/04dp46240

  2. 2 University of Salford
    info

    University of Salford

    Salford, Reino Unido

    ROR https://ror.org/01tmqtf75

  3. 3 Northumbria University
    info

    Northumbria University

    Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Reino Unido

    ROR https://ror.org/049e6bc10

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Revista:
Journal of Extreme Anthropology

ISSN: 2535-3241

Año de publicación: 2018

Volumen: 2

Número: 2

Páginas: 22-41

Tipo: Artículo

DOI: 10.5617/JEA.6446 GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAcceso abierto editor

Otras publicaciones en: Journal of Extreme Anthropology

Resumen

Much of the academic literature on alcohol-based leisure focuses on the pleasures of hedonism and youthful cultural exploration in environments free from the prescriptions, pressures and routines of everyday life. In this article – in which we present data from our ongoing ethnographic research exploring the experiences and attitudes of young British tourists in the Spanish resort of Magaluf on the island of Majorca – we argue that the standard liberal social-scientific image of youth leisure is naive and misrepresents its variegated reality. Our research indicates that many young British tourists gain little contentment from their holiday in the sun. Rather than embarking on a leisure experience composed of boundless freedom, choice, indulgence, excess and that is indicative of personal consumer sovereignty, many of our interviewees could identify the regimented and commodified nature of alcohol-based tourism. Rather than satisfaction, they felt an imprecise dissatisfaction. Drawing upon elements of psychoanalytic theory, we argue that underneath our interviewees’ accounts of drunkenness and promiscuity lies an obdurate but imprecise sense of lack. Yet, it is precisely this absence which only recharges their motivation to do more of the same the year after in similar destinations, thus confirming the presence, power and domination of consumer sovereignty.

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