McGill University, Geography (External organization)

Description

Postdoctoral fellowship: Sex, space and globalization: The political economy of gay tourism in Tel-Aviv - McGill University

As the largest metropolitan area in Israel, Tel Aviv is perceived as the natural and even only home for the Israeli lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The city has recently witnessed a radical change in its approach to this community, including significant investment of municipal and state capital in the promotion of gay tourism. The proposed interdisciplinary study will explore the cultural, political-economical, ethnic and urban implications of this understudied phenomenon, with particular focus on the strategic branding of Tel Aviv as a global city and gay haven and heaven in the Gay Tourism and Brand Israel campaigns of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Finance. To assess how global gay tourism has altered the social politics of space in Tel Aviv, this study concentrates on the effects of the promotion and resulting high visibility of the gay tourism industry on Tel Aviv's branding as a global city, on the one hand, and on the local LGBT community's sexual and cultural landscapes on the other. The first of its kind in the Israeli context, this qualitative study contributes to current scholarly debates on sexual citizenship and belonging, and on the globalization of sexualities and city branding in Israel and globally.

Period	2016 → 2017
Held at	McGill University, Geography, Canada