Chemsex and barebacking

I examine autoethnographically the intersections of chemsex, barebacking, and sexual panic, critically challenging the dominant discourses surrounding these areas of study. Drawing from my personal experiences, the study employs the metaphor of off-road motorbiking to interrogate the complexities of...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Lucero Díaz, Jorge Humberto|||0000-0001-6431-6168
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:308260
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/308260
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.5565/rev/athenea.3752
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Chemsex
Barebacking
Sexuality
Ethnography
Risk management
Sexualidad
Etnografía
Gestión del riesgo
Descripción
Sumario:I examine autoethnographically the intersections of chemsex, barebacking, and sexual panic, critically challenging the dominant discourses surrounding these areas of study. Drawing from my personal experiences, the study employs the metaphor of off-road motorbiking to interrogate the complexities of risk, pleasure, and the body. My analysis highlights the paradoxical ways in which society valorises risk in extreme sports while pathologising risk-taking in sexual encounters, particularly among men who have sex with other men in chemsex. I critique the moral panic that marks certain bodies as deviant and subject to social regulation. I argue that barebacking in chemsex, often reduced to public health concerns, should instead be understood within a broader socio-cultural context where pleasure, the body, and risk are negotiated. I complexify binary notions of safety and danger linked to sexual panic, urging a nuanced understanding of chemsex and barebacking that recognises their relational aspects.