Hello Everyone!
My name is Brian Frederick and I'm a PhD candidate in the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate in Cultural & Global Criminology at the University of Kent and the Universität Hamburg. My research focuses on the effects of the on-going commercialisation and commodification of gay culture, as well as the effects of the gentrification of gay/queer physical space (i.e., ‘gay ghettos’). One of these effects, I believe, has been the emergence of counter-homonormative gay/queer virtual spaces (e.g., online bulletin boards, online social-sexual networks, web-based social networking applications) which are used to facilitate the sharing of drug-driven sexual experiences among gay and queer men. Through my research, I have also been exploring the stigmatisation, marginalisation and oppression of gay and queer men by gay men, specifically, as well as by the contemporary ‘gay rights’ movement, generally.
Though my research may not seem to satisfy a prima facie exploration of queer kinship, I am particularly interested in the QUEERKINSHIP mailing list as it pertains to non-normative intimacy. Certainly, some of the drug-driven sexual experiences I have encountered in my research can be described as non-normative (not to mention intimate). I look forward to hearing more form all of you.
All best,
Brian
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