Often depicted as deviant or pathological by public health researchers, psychoanalysts, and sexologists, male-with-male sex and sex work is, in fact, an increasingly mainstream pursuit. Based on a qualitative investigation of the practices involved in male-for-male - or m4m - Internet escorting, "Touching Encounters" is the first book to explicitly address how masculinity and sexuality shape male commercial sex in this era of Internet communications. By looking closely at the sex and work of male escorts, Kevin Walby tries to reconcile the two extremes of m4m sex - the stereotypical idea of a quick cash transaction and the tendency toward friendship and mutuality. In doing so, Walby draws on the work of Foucault to make visible the play of power in these physical and commercial relations between men. At once a contribution to the sociology of work and a much-needed critical engagement with queer theory, "Touching Encounters" responds to calls from across the social sciences to connect Foucault with sociologies of sex, sexuality, and intimacy. Walby does this and more, tying this sexual practice back to society at large.

About the Author
Kevin Walby is assistant professor of sociology at the University of Victoria. He is coeditor of Emotions Matter: A Relational Approach to Emotions and Brokering Access: Power, Politics, and Freedom of Information Process in Canada. He is also the Prisoners' Struggles editor for the Journal of Prisoners on Prisons.

Reviews
"Strongly grounded in debates within sociology, Kevin Walby's work reaches beyond its disciplinary base by drawing on anthropology, psychology, and philosophy, as well as on literary/cultural theory and queer theory. Touching Encounters is very well-researched, well-organized, and well-written - an original and fascinating contribution to the new sociology of sex." (Tim Dean, University at Buffalo, SUNY)"



Book Information
ISBN 9780226870069
Author Kevin Walby
Format Paperback
Page Count 232
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 369g
Dimensions(mm) 23mm * 15mm * 1mm