Gender, Drugs and Techno music: Investigation of the motivation of drug consumption among raving communities in Skåne region

Abstract: Rave parties are referring to legal, illegal and semi-legal dance parties organized in various venues with the main focus on electronic dance music (EDM) performed by the DJ. These types of parties are typically described through strong community ties, which form the rave culture, and demolition of hierarchal structures among the participants, which allows the transgressive force to exist in this particular context. In the same time, the rave culture is strongly connected to drug consumption in the eyes of the general population. Addressing this concern, given thesis through intersectional analysis will investigate the motivations of the consumption of psychoactive substances among ravers on the example of Skåne region, Sweden. Gender has shown to be a significant factor that influences the patterns of drug consumption as well as the power dynamics among rave participants and, thus, it is included in the research as the main perspective. Drawn on ecological system analysis, this thesis explores how specific characteristics of the rave community organization can influence drug consumption among its participants, and systematize other leading factors that affect the substance use in this particular social group. Situated knowledge was recognized as a main epistemological approach of the given study. Hence, this research is intended to provide a space for presenting the voice of Swedish rave community that was previously underrepresented in local academical discourse. This thesis argues that rave party experience and drug consumption do not have linear correlation even though specific characteristics of the rave culture and the context in which Swedish raves exist can affect the patterns of the drug use. In the same time, personal factors and peer influence have shown a more significant impact on how the person is using drugs. As a result, the study argues that the constructive dialog between state authorities and the rave community representatives can lead to more effective changes in drug consumption situation in Skåne region.