Annals of Gay Sexuality Vol. 2: New Gay Ethics and Amories
Editors: Marcus Greatheart MD, MSW, University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine Robert Birch, M.A., PhD (Cand.), University of Victoria, Social Dimensions of Health Program
Art Director: TBD
CALL FOR SUBMISSION(S)
We’ve noticed some discrepancies among the men we love and fuck regarding the ethics of our sexual behaviour. Historically we’ve tended toward the Bacchanalian with sometimes little regard for interpersonal consequences. Arguably, anonymous sex continues to be motivated in part by safety from legal and moral authorities; it strips away a lover’s outside world and relationships along with their clothing. As gay men, we tend to talk and ‘process’ less than our lesbian sisters and best girlfriends, and it seem the more fleeting and anonymous the affair, the more silent we can be. One friend in particular is a bedrock of ethical slutdom, stating unequivocally that it’s inappropriate — downright immoral — to fuck someone behind their partner's back. This assumes, of course, the hook-up contravenes any agreement between the couple about play outside the relationship. He’ll ask his most casual of fuckbuddies about their relationship status and will leave a dude hangin’ if the guy is fucking around on his monogamous lover. We note that Dossie Easton’s seminal work The Ethical Slut is a fundamental resource, capturing expertly the larger issues of polyamory and communication in open relationships. At the same time, the unique experiences and issues of contemporary gay men have yet to be thoroughly probed. These include (but are not limited to):
Polyamory, polyandry, and gay men’s open relationship agreements
Sexual, emotional and domestic (non-)monogamies
Conflict resolution and jealousy management for the successful couple
Threesomes, foursomes and moresomes: (con)sensual couple-sluttery, its ecstasies and aftermaths
Sex with friends: Making fluid our traditionally static social roles
When fuck buddies become buddies we fuck: negotiating the sex-to-friendship transition
Infidelities: just for straights?
Asking and telling: whose responsibility is disclosure?
Being the other (wo)man: sex with married men whose primary partner believes them to be monogamous and/or heterosexual?
Posting self-made video online: the transgressive turn-ons of unconsented “hidden camera” filming and stealth condom-to-bareback video
Competing definitions of consent: intergenerational discords and opportunities
PnP: communities condoning substance use, exiling the drug addict
The nightmare-necessity of non/disclosure of HIV status
To test or not to test: the implications of non-disclosure and known-exposures
Cumdump etiquette
The social politics of trans-cis gay sex: an emerging ethics
The ethics of shame: screwing with our shade
How to be an ethical gay/queer slut: a users guide
This project intends to capture the present-day tastes, textures, sights and smells of our sex as gay/queer men. We invite text and/or image submissions that are raw and thoughtful, erotic and cogent, immediate yet spell-checked. Send us your personal narratives, photos, curated #tweets, ‘txt msg’ conversations, Facebook posts, selfies, and non-fiction poetry and prose. Be experiential and subjective, self-reflective and critical. Write about us, not them. Take responsibility over blaming. We envision this as a community-culture making process. We welcome topics that cross and co-mingle with race, social class and ability. Work by trans* men is especially encouraged. To begin, please submit a two-paragraph premise:
i) setting out your idea/story/image and
ii) explaining how you see your offering as erecting/enriching/eroticizing this conversation about gay ethics and amories.
We plan to publish Fall 2016/Winter 2017. Deadline for proposal submissions is June 1, 2016, but contact us sooner if you can; we’ll reply within 4 weeks with feedback and next steps. Final manuscripts/images must be submitted by July 31, 2016, to meet our production schedule. Email ethicapress@gmail.com Authors/artists of accepted works will receive one complimentary copy of the anthology and one limited share in the profits from sales of the book (after production costs). Discounted copies of the anthology will be made available to all accepted contributors for readings and events. Further details will be provided. This is a cooperative project. All contributors are expected to participate in the marketing and promotion of the project. AGS Vol. 2 follows on the heels of AGS Vol. 1, The Contemporary HIV Zeitgeist which explores shifts in gay men’s sexuality in light of recent advances in HIV treatment like PrEP and TasP. The reviewer from the Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health commended AGS Vol. 1 for “the raw beauty and talent of this highly relevant and intimate examination of gay male sexuality. Indeed, this book should be considered as a representative introduction to gay men’s health and sexuality as it is lived. These artists should be commended for the courage and tenacity that must have been exercised throughout the publication process.”
Deadline for proposal submissions is June 1, 2015
To submit your idea, first read the entire Call for Submissions.
