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• Paul (Author) said:
  

  Hello Everyone

  The idea behind the ‘Sexualities’ Blog is to promote the development of discussion on themes raised within the network, away from the conferences or individual e-mails. This is a space where members can develop their ideas in a community of enquiry, developing their understandings of key issues in the study of sexualities - in particular located around bodies, desires and practices, though not exclusively so. In order to understand practices, it is often necessary to understand behaviours, oriientations, relaltions and identities This project - and so the blob is devoted to developing a greater understanding of sexualities, their meanings and how they manifest, with what effects, in contemporary society, as well as understanding itheir presence, meaning and impact on the past. I would encourage members to pose questions, provide answers and generally engage in what is hopefully a scholarly catalyst to learning and sharing knowledge on the erotic.

  I want to start the ball rolling by asking a question: The last sexualtiies conference in November involved a significant reorientation towards a more embodied approach that considered practices and the deisres that give them meaning. This was not meant to downplay the importance of other dimensions, such as identity, orientation and relations, but to claim that sexuality is a subject that can be accessed fruitful though an approach centred on bodies and their desires and practices. Is this claim one people share? Is there a danger such an orientation diverts attention away from other aspects of sexuality, or indeed areas of sexuality that we should give more prominence to? And what does an embodied approach involve? How should we begin to think about that?

  Contributions, conjectures and responses welcome

  Paul

  -December 3rd, 2009 at 6:05 am
• Fiona McQueen said:
  

  Hi Paul,

  Interesting question, I’ll give you my intiial thoughts.

  I like to take an embodied aproach to sexuality as for me it enables the includion of corporeal experience into sociological empirical research. The work I’m doing just now looking at sexual communication in couple relationships focuses on two main theories: agency and heterosexuality. By including the lens of embodiment, specifically through the inclusion of questions about the role of emotions and feelings within power dynamics, the body is, in a very real way, present in my emprirical research.

  This is of course in line with my personal interest in academia, to produce work which is accessible and relevant to as wide a group of people as possible. With this goal in mind, which I realise is entirey personal and we all differ, I feel turning towards the inclusion of aspects of embodiment is a good thing, and should not be seen as necessarily ‘deviating attention away from other aspects of sexuality we should give more prominence to’. Who can decide for anyone else what we ’should’ be focusing on?

  Fiona

  -January 22nd, 2010 at 3:31 pm

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