The Moral Lessons of Chemsex: A Critical Approach

This book explores how gay and bi men’s lived experiences of chemsex intersect with its cultural representations. It argues that while normative moral frameworks are often used to talk about chemsex, chemsex sub-cultures contain their own valuable moral frameworks that can provide lessons about some of the most pressing concerns of contemporary society.

Drawing from a tradition of scholarship that views queer sub-cultures as having pedagogical value for all of society, Maurice Nagington critiques norms that govern lives in relation to: the interactions of bodies, sex and capitalism, trauma and tragedy, the regulation of boundaries, and the disciplinary apparatuses in modern society. Each chapter takes its lead from themes informed by the analysis of longitudinal interviews conducted over a two-year period by the author and an archive of materials concerning chemsex such as films, soundtracks, health promotion pamphlets, newspaper articles, blogs, and ethnographic field notes. Linking the accounts of interviewees to wider debates about and representations of chemsex, this innovative book develops a cohesive narrative about the moral lessons chemsex can teach us.

Contributing to the emerging field of critical chemsex studies, this volume is of interest to advanced students and scholars interested in gender and sexuality studies, sociology of health and illness, medical anthropology, critical public health and criminology, as well those who are involved in chemsex and wish to read and reflect about it as more than just a problem.

The Open Access version of this book, available at http: //www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

Dr Maurice Nagington is a lecturer in Health Sciences at The University of Manchester, UK. His research interests include the intersections of health and cultural analysis, with interests in chemsex, ethics, HIV, sexual health, Covid-19, and palliative care.