Getting off on sex research: A methodological commentary on the sexual desires of sex researchers

Abstract

In this commentary, we show how self-disclosure can help elucidate the ways that the sexual desires of sex researchers can and do affect their research. We demonstrate this self-disclosure by exploring how our own sexual desires have affected some of our past research through influencing research project choices, methodological choices, methodological interactions, and research findings and conclusions. We propose that sex research of all kinds would benefit if sex researchers would be more willing to disclose their sexual desires and to consider and discuss how their sexual desires have affected their research.

Working at the crossroads of pleasure and danger: Feminist perspectives on doing critical sexuality studies

“…What might trans or gender-queer sex researchers say about the pleasures and perils of sex research and teaching about sexuality (Warner 2004; Whitley, 2015)? How might heterosexual men – particularly those who study women – differently experience the rewards and limitations of this work as they create sexual stories for others (Messner, 1996; Parker and Gagnon, 2013; Thomas and Williams, 2016)? This essay clearly cannot address the complexities of the many other interpretations of the pleasure/danger paradigm in sex research, but it does point to a continued need for self-reflexivity and assessment of the role of the individual researcher (who, especially when outside of the white/male/heterosexual context, is often isolated, silenced, and ignored) in sexuality studies.…”

“…Socializing students to talk about sex in a professional way can lead to uncomfortable and difficult dynamics; one of us had a student who repeatedly used the word ‘cock’ when describing his research on penis size (frequently pointing to his penis while doing so). Such explicit examples of male students sexualizing a conversation also highlight the gendered discomfort women sex researchers might feel in contrast to the reported pleasures men as sex researchers might feel during conversations and interviews (Thomas and Williams, 2016). The intersection of our professional identities and students’ personal lives can also create chaotic and difficult interpersonal exchanges.…”

Enhancing the study of sex work

“…The journal has enabled the complexities of 'doing' research in the sex industry to be discussed in a candid and fairly exposing manner for the contributors, carried out in the spirit of 'keeping real' the everyday nature of researching a tricky area of social life. Hammond and Kingston (2014) talk bravely about their own stigma experienced as researchers whilst Thomas and Williams (2016) flag up the very realness of the sexual desires that researchers in these contexts can experience. Exciting new arts-based methodologies have been shared as a participatory and visual means of getting in touch with the voices and experiences of sex workers (Capous Desyllas, 2013;Cheng, 2012), whilst the complexities of the doing have been fleshed out in the journal some time ago (Sanders, 2006).…”

Geographies of Sexualities: Bodies, Spatial Encounters and Emotions

“…Recently, there has been a growing attention to the desiring body of the researcher and how sexual desires of the researcher affect the choice of a research topic, but also methodological choices and interactions, research findings and conclusions (see e.g. Thomas & Williams ; Carter ; De Craene forthcoming). So far, even after the so‐called ‘reflexive turn’, the researcher's body has remained largely overlooked.…”