The Muscolosi’s Style: Ethnography of the Muccassassina in Rome

The Muccassassina in Rome is the most prominent LGBT+ party in Italy. This paper describes a first, and so far unexplored, ethnographic research of one of the regular groups at the party who call themselves the muscolosi. After careful observation of the practices of aesthetic construction of the body in their party’s parure, an attempt was made to understand how and whether the transmissibility of such techniques takes part in the creation of ties and relationships within the group and the nature of such relationships. In addition to the observations conducted during the party, the research was supplemented with interviews with six men who identify themselves as belonging to the muscolosi.