‘Like a piece of meat in a pack of wolves’ : gay/bisexual men and sexual racialization

Ale’s doctoral research was generously supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Cesare’s research was generously supported by the European Commission, MSCA-IF-EF-ST Action, grant number: 747110.Human geographers have analyzed the co-constitutive relationship between race, gender and sexualities across different spaces and social contexts and have called for intersectional approaches in discussions of identities, power and space. This article applies an intersectional framework to the processes of sexualization, racialization and exoticization that shape the daily lives and erotic/romantic encounters experienced and narrated by participants to two different projects: gay and bisexual men from a North African background living in Belgium; Italian gay men living in England; non-White gay men living in Italy. By discussing qualitative data collected during interviews with these men, and through a continued dialogue about this data between the authors, the paper explores both the effects of these processes on the lives of participants, and the strategies they enact to navigate their social worlds. The focus is on two elements, central to participants’ narratives: the specificity of the intersectional experience of encountering men who expect a specifically gendered and racialized performance based on ‘roughness’ and ‘wildness’, and the capitalization on these exoticizing and racializing images to increase one’s desirability on the dating/hook-up scene and everyday social and work life. By highlighting these elements, this paper shows the importance of applying an intersectional approach to analyses of the entanglements of racialization and sexualization in order to complicate linear accounts of these processes.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Inclusion in the homonormative world city : the case of gay migrants living with HIV in Barcelona

L'homonormativitat ha esdevingut un concepte hegemònic dins de les geografies de les sexualitats, i els acadèmics crítics emfatitzen les pràctiques d'exclusió en subjectes específics «no desitjats». No obstant això, la literatura ha ignorat el paper d'una de les principals fonts de biaix i discriminació per als homes homosexuals: la positivitat al VIH. El document pretén omplir aquest buit mostrant que les geografies d'homonormativitat i les rutes de migració d'homes homosexuals amb VIH se superposen. El document construeix un relat diversificat i situat dels espais homonormatius com a espais de privilegis (relatius) i inclusió observant les pràctiques i experiències quotidianes d'emigrants gais seropositius italians i francesos a Barcelona, la capital catalana. En considerar les pràctiques quotidianes, l'article se centra en tres característiques generalment associades amb l'homonormativitat neoliberal: individualisme; privatització, domesticació i higiene de la vida sexual; i exaltació de la parella. Metodològicament, els resultats del treball de camp realitzats a Barcelona el 2014 inclouen 16 entrevistes en profunditat a immigrants homosexuals italians i francesos amb VIH.Homonormativity has become a hegemonic concept within geographies of sexualities, with critical scholars emphasizing exclusionary practices towards specific 'unwanted' subjects. However, the literature has ignored the role of one of the main sources of bias and discrimination for gay men: HIV-positivity. The paper seeks to start to fill this void by showing how the geographies of homonormativity and the migration paths of gay men living with HIV often overlap. The paper builds a diversified and situated account of homonormative spaces as spaces of (relative) privilege and inclusion by looking at the everyday practices and experiences of Italian and French gay migrants living with HIV in Barcelona, the Catalan capital. When considering everyday practices, the paper focuses on three characteristics usually associated with neoliberal homonormativity: individualism; privatization, domestication and sanitization of sexual life; exaltation of coupledom. Methodologically the paper results from fieldwork conducted in Barcelona in 2014, including 16 in-depth interviews with Italian and French gay migrants living with HIV.La homonormatividad se ha convertido en un concepto hegemónico dentro de las geografías de las sexualidades, y las investigaciones críticas enfatizan las prácticas de exclusión hacia sujetos específicos «no deseados». Sin embargo, la literatura ha ignorado el papel de una de las principales fuentes de sesgo y discriminación para los hombres homosexuales: la positividad al VIH. El documento pretende llenar este vacío mostrando que las geografías de homonormatividad y las rutas de migración de hombres homosexuales con VIH se superponen. El artículo hace un relato diversificado y situado de los espacios homonormativos como espacios de (relativo) privilegio e inclusión al observar las prácticas y experiencias cotidianas de los inmigrantes homosexuales VIH positivos italianos y franceses en Barcelona, la capital catalana. Al considerar las prácticas cotidianas, el artículo se centra en tres características generalmente asociadas con la homonormatividad neoliberal: individualismo; privatización, domesticación e higiene de la vida sexual; y exaltación de la pareja. Metodológicamente, los resultados del trabajo de campo realizados en Barcelona en 2014 incluyen 16 entrevistas en profundidad a inmigrantes homosexuales italianos y franceses con VIH.L'homonormativité est devenue un concept hégémonique au sein des géographies des sexualités, et certains spécialistes critiques mettent l'accent sur les pratiques d'exclusion concernant certains sujets spécifiques « non désirés ». Cependant, la littérature a ignoré le rôle de l'une des principales sources de biais et de discrimination chez les hommes homosexuels : la séropositivité pour le VIH. Le document vise à combler cette lacune en montrant comment les zones géographiques s'inscrivant dans l'homonormativité et les trajectoires de migration des hommes homosexuels séropositifs se chevauchent souvent. Le document construit un récit diversifié et localisé d'espaces homonormatifs en tant qu'espaces privilégiés (relatifs) et d'inclusion tout en observant les expériences et les pratiques quotidiennes des migrants séropositifs italiens et français à Barcelone, la capitale catalane. Lorsqu'il examine les pratiques quotidiennes, l'article se concentre sur trois caractéristiques généralement associées à l'homonormativité néolibérale : individualisme ; privatisation, domestication et hygiène de la vie sexuelle ; exaltation du couple. Méthodologiquement, les résultats du travail effectué à Barcelone en 2014 comprennent 16 entretiens approfondis avec des immigrants italiens et français homosexuels atteints du VIH

Here, there, everywhere: The relational geographies of chemsex

In recent years sexualised drug use, usually referred to as chemsex, has become the object of intense media health-related panic and increasing academic scrutiny. Critical social scientists have challenged pathologising perspectives, analysing the socio-cultural and political economy dimensions of chemsex. Against the silence of geographers in this emerging field, the paper develops a geographical relational analysis of chemsex, focusing on the experiences of gay men living with HIV in two Italian cities (Bologna; Milan) and Italian gay men living with HIV in three English cities (Leicester; London; Manchester). Demonstrating the constitutive role of place in the practice of chemsex, the paper frames place relationally, that is, as the encounter between here and there, the material and the virtual, imagined geographies and lived spaces. To emphasise the central role of place and geographical knowledge to understand chemsex, the paper builds on ‘weak theory’, as it conceives things as open, entangled, connected and in flux, while focusing on ordinary practices and heterogeneity in more-than-human worlds. Showing how chemsex represents an embodied, relational geographical encounter among different human and non-human actors, places (both physical and digital), imaginations and desires, the paper highlights the role of sexual practices in the relational construction of place-making, therefore calling for an increased engagement with sex itself within the field of geographies of sexualities

Citizenship, Justice and the Right to the Smart City

This paper provides an introduction to the smart city and engages with its idea and ideals from a critical social science perspective. After setting out in brief the emergence of smart cities and current key debates, we note a number of practical, political and normative questions relating to citizenship, justice, and the public good that warrant examination. The remainder of the paper provides an initial framing for engaging with these questions. The first section details the dominant neoliberal conception and enactment of smart cities and how this works to promote the interests of capital and state power and reshape governmentality. We then detail some of the ethical issues associated with smart city technologies and initiatives. Having set out some of the more troubling aspects of how social relations are produced within smart cities, we then examine how citizens and citizenship have been conceived and operationalised in the smart city to date. We then follow this with a discussion of social justice and the smart city. In the final section, we explore the notion of the ‘right to the smart city’ and how this might be used to recast the smart city in emancipatory and empowering ways

Chemsex at home: homonormative aspirations and the blurring of the private/public space divide

Sexualised drug use -usually referred to as chemsex- represents an established cultural practice among gay men in contemporary societies, mostly associated with home settings in urban areas. Against the reductionism of existing studies that conceptualize home as merely the location where chemsex occurs, the paper explores the ways in which the multidimensional character of home shapes chemsex experiences and cultures. Drawing on 25 interviews with gay men living with HIV who practice chemsex in England and Italy, the paper's analytical effort is organised around three points. The first concerns the pleasures and affects generated by practicing chemsex at home, blurring the private/public space divide. The second regards the specific (material) configurations of home spaces that enhance the experience of chemsex. The last sheds lights on the possibilities offered by chemsex parties in private homes, for some gay men, to spend time in types of housing that they aspire to but cannot realistically achieve, while encountering men who embody homonormative ideals

Produzione Accademica, Linguaggi e Posizionamenti: Riflessioni a Partire da Decolonialità e Privilegio di Rachele Borghi

Partendo dal testo di Rachele Borghi Decolonialità e Privilegio (2020), questo scambio a quattro voci realizzato online nel pieno della pandemia interroga alcune delle questioni fondamentali del dibattito accademico critico contemporaneo: posizionalità; linguaggi; produzione di sapere critico all’interno dell’università neoliberista e rapporto con i movimenti sociali; metodologie di ricerca, etica e cura; pedagogia, condivisione e sapere incarnato

Produzione Accademica, Linguaggi e Posizionamenti. Riflessioni a Partire da Decolonialità e Privilegio di Rachele Borghi

Partendo dal testo di Rachele Borghi Decolonialità e Privilegio (2020), questo scambio a quattro voci realizzato online nel pieno della pandemia interroga alcune delle questioni fondamentali del dibattito accademico critico contemporaneo: posizionalità; linguaggi; produzione di sapere critico all’interno dell’università neoliberista e rapporto con i movimenti sociali; metodologie di ricerca, etica e cura; pedagogia, condivisione e sapere incarnato

Produzione Accademica, Linguaggi e Posizionamenti: Riflessioni a Partire da Decolonialità e Privilegio di Rachele Borghi

Partendo dal testo di Rachele Borghi Decolonialita' e Privilegio (2020), questo scambio a quattro voci realizzato online nel pieno della pandemia interroga alcune delle questioni fondamentali del dibattito accademico critico contemporaneo: posizionalità; linguaggi; produzione di sapere critico all’interno dell’università neoliberista e rapporto con i movimenti sociali; metodologie di ricerca, etica e cura; pedagogia, condivisione e sapere incarnato

'Se Necesita Encontrar las Palabras para Decirlo' La Marginalización de la Geografía de Género y de la Sexualidad en Italia: Entrevista con Rachele Borghi DOI: 10.5212/Rlagg.v.4.i2.173178

entrevist

Gay men living with HIV in England and Italy in times of undetectability: a life course perspective

Following the ‘Swiss Statement’ in 2008, there is now established medical evidence that people living with HIV on therapies and with an undetectable viral load for more than 6 months cannot transmit the virus to others. Drawing from geographical analyses of the life course and the body, the chapter focuses on the impact of undetectability on the lives of gay men living with HIV in England and Italy, arguing that being diagnosed with HIV and the paradigm of undetectability represent turning points in the life course of people with HIV. To frame the relationship between HIV and the life course, the chapter adopts a geographical perspective centred on the body, conceptualized in relation to its materiality and fluidity, but also as a fundamental scale of analysis to understand the migration choices of people with HIV. Methodologically the chapter results from a comparative transnational project conducted between 2018 and 2020 and based on different research methods (an online survey, biographic interviews, interviews with service providers, media discourse analysis)