Stag Tourism and Scripted Liminality

Stag party tourism is a highly ritualized contemporary rite of passage that is associated with drunken excess and norm-breaking toxic masculinity. Despite contravening societal rules and encouraging deviant behaviour, stag parties are generally tolerated. This paper explores how stag tourism is a constructed rite of passage and a scripted liminality, packaged by destination marketers, staged by service providers, and performed enthusiastically by participants. Analysis of interview and observational data suggests that the bachelor movie genre is the inspiration which informs expectations and experience. Indeed, the degree of inter-textuality between on-screen (reel life) and off-screen (real life) performances confirms that this is a scripted liminality, informed not by elders or peers, but by Hollywood film makers. We conclude with a discussion of a series of contributions and implications for practice.