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Sexual non-monogamy in tourism

Author

Listed:
  • Qiu, XuDong (Oliver)
  • Cohen, Scott
  • Skinner, Jonathan

Abstract

This study advances the theorisation of sex in tourism by conceptualising extradyadic sex as a form of touristic leisure amongst queer men using Grindr during travel. Drawing on 26 in-depth interviews, it identifies two types of sexual non-monogamy – monogamish and open – to examine how mobility, anonymity, and digital mediation enables situational disinhibition and the negotiation of intimacy, pleasure, and relational ethics beyond monogamous norms. Grindr functions as a socio-sexual infrastructure through which extradyadic encounters generate emotional (un)availability and resistance as well as risk, escapism, and validation. Framing extradyadic sex in tourism as a digital-situational assemblage of intimacy moves tourism scholarship beyond the monogamy-promiscuity binary, revealing how queer tourists reconfigure intimacy, desire, and wellbeing through travel.

Suggested Citation

  • Qiu, XuDong (Oliver) & Cohen, Scott & Skinner, Jonathan, 2026. "Sexual non-monogamy in tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:anture:v:116:y:2026:i:c:s0160738325002099
    DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2025.104103
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    References listed on IDEAS

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