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"There has been enormous change in social and state acceptance regarding sex and sexualities over the last thirty years or so in the West, with an apparent new acceptance and openness towards diverse sexual practices and sexualities. Much of this change has come about through community claims for rights grounded in critical social theory and the language of citizenship. While accepting that much of this critique has been valuable in advancing rights for sexual minorities, Sexual Citizenship and Social Change raises the spectre that the mode of critique itself may now have become problematic. To this end, this book examines the use and abuse of critique in contemporary sexuality scholarship and associated activism and presents an argument that a new danger for contemporary sexual life emerges from an excess of critique. This implicates a particular form of critique that is detached, and unfettered, set loose from the usual anchor of tradition. What is most dangerous of all with this excess of unfettered critique is that it emerges from within minority sexual communities (and their allies), not from the usual conservative opposition to progressive change. Even the most ostensibly well-meaning critic - and associated critique - can become problematic when their arguments are detached from tradition. So, while recognising there is proven value in critique, it has limits, and we are arguably witness to some sensible limits being breached. While other authors focus their critical efforts on resistance to change and the limitations of tradition, Sexual Citizenship and Social Change takes on critique itself"--

This paper examines the ways in which a divided self may be actively cultivated for thrill in sadomasochistic scenes. In The Divided Self, Laing (1959/1990) presented an existential theory of schizophrenia and personal alienation describing a process where there is a separation of self/body amongst the ontologically insecure outsider. Whilst Laing's theory concerns an experience of deep despair, van DeurzenSmith (1991) argues that the theory should be reconceptualised as a way of understanding the existential anxiety common to all human experience rather than just the extreme experience of psychosis. In this paper I draw on some of Laing's ideas to look at the way in which the splits between the self/body might be deliberately cultivated during sadomasochistic sex scenes amongst ontologically secure individuals. In addition, I explore the ways in which 'petrification' (Laing, 1959/1990) and 'the look' (Sartre, 1943/2003) might also be key parts of the sadomasochistic experience.

In this article we explore the history, culture and practice of the phenomenon known as 'puppy play'. Puppy play is a practice in which people take on the persona of a dog (or handler), with participants often wearing specialist gear to further enhance the experience of being a puppy. We argue that puppy play is best understood sociologically as a 'postmodern-subculture' (Greener and Hollands, 2006). Additionally, we use Irwin's (1973) model of scene evolution to explore the socio-history of the community. Whilst this practice appears to have its historical roots within the highly sexual gay Leatherman sub-culture, there is a division within this community between sexual and social play, with some participants eschewing the sexual entirely. We explore possible reasons for this split through an analysis using recent political theory concerning technologies of the self, sexual citizenship and BDSM. Through this analysis we contribute valuable empirical evidence to debates and discussion about the development of sexual sub-cultures and tensions therein concerning claims for rights and the 'politics of respectability' (Cruz, 2016 a, 2016b).

Work exploring inter-species relating has offered a critique of the anthropocentrism evident within much social sciences research and also suggested that the coming together of the human and animal- Other may offer up potential for an opening-up of human existence. In this article we explore this theoretical move and push it to the limits by examining the relationship between the human and a very particular animal- Other, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Thus we move the focus from an analysis of companionate human-animal relating (Haraway, 2003, 2008) to what appears to be antagonistic species relating. This is empirically grounded through the story of one man living with this virus and how he has come to find a way to accommodate the animal- Other. This article aims to not only advance theory but also provide insights into how it might be possible to find new ways of living with a viral- Other.