Change and Continuity: The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Through Tradition and Postmodernism

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to investigate, through the frameworks of tradition and postmodernism, how continuity and change are impacting on the message and aesthetic of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. In detail, it will look at the role and contribution of invented tradition, ritualistic practices, globalisation, tourism, commercialism and simulation as concepts through which we may understand, through the festival, how the conflict between tradition and postmodernism are at play in our society today.