EDC, EDM, AND ECSTASY: An Exploration of Asian American Attraction to Electronic Dance Music Festivals

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the increasing number of Asian American youths participating in raves, a scene that has been predominantly white and middle-class in the United States. Drawing on the sociology of ritual, group formation, and cultural taste, I argue that the status of raves as a boundary-erasing ritual provides Asian Americans a unique space in which they can temporarily resolve the paradox of their dual identities as a model minority and a perpetual foreigner. Through in-depth qualitative interviews of sixteen Asian-American youths and participant observation, my research exposed contradictions as hierarchies continue to exist in a scene that is lauded for its unity and non-differentiation. However, it is revealed these complexities of cultural formation are the very reason why raves are attractive to Asian-Americans. This thesis highlights the necessity of sacred cultural spaces for minority groups in the United States.