Masculinity and the Ethics of Porosity in 'Post-AIDS' Gay Porn

This project theorises gay "pig" masculinities and their visual mediation, which emerged in the last two decades in tandem with the introduction of antiretroviral therapies for the management and prevention of HIV infection. It does so through a close critical engagement with representations of "pig" masculinities in contemporary gay pornography.

"Pig" is a term used by some gay men to self-define themselves in terms of their own sexual practices, which they regard as transgressive, pushing the limits of the body and of its integrity through relentless condomless penetrations, stretching of the rectal sphincter, and exchanges of all kinds of bodily fluids (sperm, urine, saliva, etc). It is used in the names of hookup websites directed at gay men into fetish or "extreme" sex (e.g. NastyKinkPigs.com or AssPig.com) and often included, as a pig head or snout emoji, on usernames or profile text on gay hookup apps like Grindr, Scruff or Recon. It is also a term that, alongside "bareback," has been appearing in increasing numbers of gay porn titles since the mid 1990s. What is interesting about gay "pig" masculinities are the ways in which they appear to be predicated on a transgression of the boundaries of the male body, a blurring of inside and outside, self and other, through the pursuit of relentless penetrations and exchanges of bodily fluids. Unlike hegemonic forms of Western masculinity, which have been shaped by a rejection of all things considered "feminine," including penetrability, gay "pigs" appear to become more "manly" the more penetrated and open to foreign bodily fluids they are.

The introduction of Highly-Active Antiretroviral Therapies (HAART) and viral load testing in 1996 made HIV infection a long-term chronic condition and led to a radical transformation in the lives, identities and sexual practices of gay men. Not only did HAART make HIV infection no longer progress to AIDS but it also makes HIV-positive individuals uninfectious. More recently, the confirmation of HAART's efficiency as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) also means that those who are HIV-negative and having sex without condoms can prevent HIV infection by taking one pill a day. As a consequence, unprotected sex has been uncoupled from the spectre of AIDS and the number of gay men engaging in "barebacking"-that is, in intentional condomless anal sex-has risen exponentially, leading the practice to become mainstream. At the same time, bareback porn has also become the fastest growing genre of gay porn and, today, only a very small minority of studios continue to make visible use of condoms.

It is in that context that gay "pig" masculinities have emerged and become visible in gay online platforms and pornography. This research project will lead to the first monograph and documentary feature film critically discussing "pig" masculinities and their sexual ethics at length. It builds on porn studies, masculinities studies and the posthumanities to theorise "pig" masculinities as "porous" masculinities that simultaneously reiterate and trouble hegemonic traits of Western masculinity, while pushing the limits of the body and opening themselves to new forms of sexual sociability and community formations.

In so doing, the project will contribute to existing critical histories of sexuality, subjectivities, and their visual representations by examining a contemporary form of gay male self-identification, one that is emerging in "post-AIDS" contexts through a complex interplay of desire, sexual performance, biochemical technologies, and 21st-century visual media.

The task of developing a theoretical understanding of the emerging gay "pig" masculinities in the "post-AIDS" world has considerable relevance to non-academic publics, given how sex, gender and sexuality - sensitive subjects of public debate - are shaped by the pursuit of emancipation, self-determination and dignity of minority groups; religious and secular moral codes; legislation and legal discourse; public health policies; sexual healthcare and wellbeing; and biomedical technologies. As such, the Fellowship project will engage a variety of stakeholders outside academia, notably LGBTQ+ publics, creative professionals, professionals working in the porn industry, sexual health workers, and the media. The key activities designed to deliver public impact are the feature documentary film and the piece I will propose and write for the online academic journalism platform The Conversation UK, to which I've been a regular contributor since 2016. The reach of those two activities will be maximised by the project website and by working in collaboration with the University of Exeter's External Relations and Communications team, and with fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest.

The central aim of this Fellowship project is to add to ongoing critical histories of sexualities and subjectivities through an analysis and theorisation of emerging gay "pig" masculinities, as well as their ethics, building on the ways in which they are performed and mediated in contemporary pornography. Through that, the Fellowship will contribute to wider public debates on gay men's sexual practices and masculinities, sexual ethics, and forms of sexual sociability and community formations in the context of the biopolitics of 21st-century neoliberalism. Two core impact activities are connected to this objective:

1) The production of a feature-length documentary on "pig" masculinities. Produced under my leadership, the film will be directed by filmmaker Rob Eagle, with cinematography by Rufai Ajala. Both Eagle and Ajala are young queer film professionals committed to exploring issues of sexuality, gender and identity in their work. As well as allowing me to develop my leadership skills by leading the documentary approach and managing the filmmaking team, the Fellowship will also have an immediate tangible impact in the careers of those young film professionals. Further, the film will premiere followed by a Q&A at fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest in London in November 2020. fringe! is the main independent LGBTQ+ film festival in the UK, drawing approximate 5,000 attendees every year. While not being a formal project partner (because their commitment to screening the film and hosting the Q&A does not translate into a financial contribution), their support is nonetheless central to the potential impact of this Fellowship. fringe! will allow the project to reach the festival's LGBTQ+ public, wider independent film audiences, and film professionals and artists who attend the festival to showcase their work, thus paving the way for impact beyond academia. This will then be furthered by submitting the film to international film festivals of 2021, to the cultural programme of the 25th International AIDS Conference (2021), and by making it freely available online afterwards.

2) Further impact will be pursued by writing a piece on the research findings for The Conversation UK. The Conversation is the leading online platform for journalism written by academics and its stories are often picked up by other national and international media outlets. That has already happened with several of the pieces I've written for the platform, which have been republished by media such as The Independent, Newsweek, The New Statesman, PinkNews, The Conversation France, etc., reaching a combined readership of over 110,000 and triggering substantial online debate. I foresee a similar or even higher level of engagement with the piece I intend to write in the aftermath of this Fellowship.