Sex Work in the Digital Age
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This community report is an overview of our Sex Work in the Digital Age project, which explored the health practices and labour strategies of men and masculine-identifying people across the gender spectrum (hereafter referred to as ‘men’) who sell sexual services to other men using online technologies. This includes arranging in-person encounters through escort websites and hook-up apps (e.g. Grindr, LeoList) and conducting online work through fansites (e.g. OnlyFans), webcamming sites (e.g. Chaturbate), sexting platforms (e.g. SextPanther), and digital marketplaces for fetish items like used socks and jockstraps (e.g. Sniffr).
Sex Work in the Digital Age grew out of Wired Sex, a previous SHaG Lab research project about sexualized drug use (aka Party and Play, PnP) among 2SGBTQ+ men. In Wired Sex, we found that many men using hook-up apps for PnP occasionally traded sex for various forms of compensation through informal online arrangements. This prompted us to study how internet technologies shape the ways men engage in sex work.
Indigenous Masculinities and Sexual Health Community Report
This project, “Indigenous Masculinities and Sexual Health: Exploring Community-Driven Interventions Among Boys and Men Through Land-Based Methodologies," is a collaborative effort between the Sexual Health and Gender Lab (SHaG Lab) at Dalhousie University, Healing Our Nations (HON), and the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre (MNFC). This research is a continuation of a multi-year community project focused on promoting sexual health and well-being through relational and holistic healing. The current project builds on Phase One, “Pathways for Sexual Health Promotion Among Indigenous Boys and Men,” which sought to understand and develop culturally appropriate, community-led programming to help improve Indigenous boys’ and men’s sexual health and well-being.
Through community consultation and a co-learning journey with community partners in Phase One, we implemented holistic health ‘Learning Lodges’ and ‘Major Gatherings’ for Indigenous boys and men in Phase Two, the focus of this report. Phase Two sought to deepen our understanding of Indigenous masculinities and enhance sexual health and well-being through implementing community-driven interventions based in culture and tradition.
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Wired Sex Community Report
Increasingly, sexual encounters in the contemporary gay community are facilitated by online technologies (especially social networking websites and apps) as well as chemical substances (psychoactive drugs, prescription medications, steroids, etc.). The Wired Sex research project drew upon poststructural and queer theory to investigate the experiences of gay, bisexual, and men who have sex with men (GBMSM) with sexualized drug use (SDU) online and in person. This framework allowed us to view the use of chemicals and virtual spaces as formative elements in men’s current experiences of pleasure and social connection, shaping how they understand sexuality, health, safety, and community. This community report presents the major themes from our research.
SDU is commonly practiced by GBMSM to experience elevated sexual experiences and escape inhibitions. Online technologies can be used to facilitate GBMSM’s access to sex and drugs. This has the potential to impact GBMSM’s sense of community in various ways. In some cases, online interactions can foster meaningful, long-lasting connections with other GBMSM and renew a sense of community. However, SDU and the use of online technologies can pose risks to those participating in it, such as problematic substance use, Sexually Transmitted and Blood Borne Infections (STBBIs), and increased risk-taking during sexual interactions.
The objective of the Wired Sex project was to better understand the impacts of online technologies and chemical substances on GBMSM—how they understand their bodies, their sexualities, their health, and their connections with each other. To achieve this, a scoping review was conducted to understand the current state of the literature. Next, relevant perspectives were gathered from frontline service providers (n=12) through interviews and GBMSM (n=50) through interviews and questionnaires. The results of this research may help inform community-based efforts to support the sexual health and safety of the GBMSM community.
Click the picture above to read the full community report
Click the picture above to read the full community report
Pathways for Sexual Health Promotion Among Indigenous Boys and Men: A Community Report
The Pathways for Sexual Health Promotion among Indigenous Boys and Men was a research project designed to specifically understand Indigenous boys’ and men’s holistic sexual health in Canada, and more specifically in Atlantic Canada. It was co-developed by Dalhousie University, Healing Our Nation and Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre. The project was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health
The findings from this project informed the proposal for a larger CIHR Operating grant project, Indigenous Masculinities and Sexual Health: Exploring community- driven interventions among boys and men through land-based methodologies, in collaboration with Dalhousie University, Healing Our Nation and the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre. This Indigenous Masculinities and Sexual Health Project is now exploring holistic sexual health of Indigenous boys and men through Major Gatherings and Learning Lodges. These gatherings and lodges are being developed by Healing Our Nation and the Mi’kmaw Friendship Centre based on the findings from this catalyst project and the community-based sexual health findings are being explored by the Sexual Health and Gender Research Lab at Dalhousie University.