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Individualistic Roamers Or Community Builders?:Differences And Boundaries Among Rvers

The number of leisure and working RVers roaming America?s highways, now conservatively estimated at over eight million, continues to increase (Curtin 2001; Sommer 2003). In spite of their growing presence and unique lifestyle, these populations remain sociologically understudied. This exploratory case study of two distinctly different RV parks is a small but significant step toward filling that research gap. At both RV parks I found a diverse population of individualists who value self-contained travel, freedom, relaxation, and sociality. In spite of sharing a collective, subcultural lifestyle, they differed along multiple axes. Marked differences separate RVers into three broad groups (full-timers, long-termers, and vacationers) and into multiple subgroups within those categories. I analyzed triangulated data sources using a theoretical lens that combines subcultural and boundary work theories. I concluded that full-time and long-term RVers practice boundary work and form subcultural identities based, primarily, on levels of commitment and divergent RVing practices.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:MSSTATE/oai:scholarsjunction.msstate.edu:td-3695
Date10 December 2005
CreatorsMattingly, Gloria Anne
PublisherScholars Junction
Source SetsMississippi State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceTheses and Dissertations

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