Constructing Ibiza: The Holiday Career and Status Stratification

Abstract

The Southside Crew raise a number of interesting issues here. Firstly, they discuss here the way in which different holiday destinations are populated by, as they see it, a certain ‘class’ of individual; Magaluf in Majorca is where the ‘easy birds’ are but Ibiza is different because there are supposedly ‘quality birds’ who are ‘upper class’. Indeed, I feel this highlights something quite unique about how Ibiza is constructed which separates it from other holiday destinations around the Mediterranean which the British frequent in that it offers different classes across the social strata the same thing — excessive consumption (Chapter 8). In addition, what the Southside Crew perhaps don’t recognise, yet seem to be describing, are groups of young British women from the same class bracket who are more seasoned on the holiday circuit; some of whom have had their fair share of blunt encounters with men and are, as a consequence, less forthcoming to male advances. This, as we shall see, does not deter their candid approaches for sexual conquest (Chapter 9) but the fact they think the ‘birds are easier’ says something about how young British men in this cohort objectify their female counterparts (Chapter 8). Do bear these issues in mind throughout this chapter but what I want to draw attention to here is the fact that the Southside Crew seem to be accumulating some sort of holiday experience in these resorts.