From a transnational perspective of territorial practices, the increased interconnection between people and the economic and social importance of the receding borders between nation-states have contributed to the exposure and dissemination of certain elements, practices, and uses of territory that transcend borders. One of these elements is Pride. In the same vein as the work of the American sociologist Peggy Levitt, who asserts that religion transcends territorial borders, being homosexual knows no borders, so Pride is universal. This community, this transnational identity, imposes itself and assumes an identity heritage that transcends the biological.

Between members of this community, an affiliation transcends physical boundaries, rallying people around a unifying discourse of liberation, whose genesis lies in the revolt from June 28 to July 3, 1969, known as Stonewall, after the bar where the events began. However, another form of liberation, this time sexual and social, was emerging in the shadows, confronting Christian values. In response, a sense of pride was born within the community, leading homosexual communities around the world to take to the streets annually to display themselves on a global scale. This celebration, which runs from June to August, attracts many tourists, often better educated and better off, who can devote a larger share of their income to participate.

During their travels, the latter frequent spaces and places, particularly during sexual practices, the use of which refers to the notion of non-places: a non-place is an interchangeable space where the individual remains anonymous, and this anonymity is often a feature of homosexual sexual practices, notably in saunas historically reserved for men, a tradition dating back to the Romans.

The sauna, where sexual activities are practiced, is therefore an interchangeable space present in all major cities, where the individual remains anonymous. No matter where the sauna is located, it allows anonymity, it is a meeting place, devoid of taboos, a space of authenticity and conviviality. It is a place of anonymity and anonymization of places, individuals, and practices, where it does not matter what people are elsewhere. This absence of physical territory, where there is no gay state, enables the creation of a symbolic territory. The gay sauna is both a practice and a territory, where nationality and the relationship to the nation-state no longer matter. The sauna stands at the intersection of territorial culture as a foundation and the site of identity construction, in a context where new spaces are emerging thanks to the growing interconnection of places and globalization. In this perspective of capitalist consumption of space, it is essential to note that these establishments actively contribute to the parallel economy of a community that is not limited to a specific geographical location. The revenues generated support the survival of neighbourhoods associated with the LGBTQ2S+ community, often referred to as “villages.”