The Moral Lessons of Chemsex

Nagington has produced a text that thus far has been sorely lacking in the chemsex literature; one that fundamentally rejects the pathologizing and moralising sentiment that has dominated writing on this topic to date. His book uses chemsex as a case study to address a key philosophical question, ‘how can we have more liveable and viable lives?’ In doing so, he allows space to interrogate dominant narratives of trauma, risk and destruction. A thoughtful, enticing and theory-based exploration of the musicality of chemsex further adds to the novelty of this book and encourages the reader to truly expand their thinking beyond the common tropes that befall this topic – and instead understand chemsex in terms of pleasure rather than fear. Professor Adam Bourne, Director of Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University Nagington’s compelling discussion of chemsex takes us on a critical journey through the debates that have attended its emergence, its representation in a variety of cultural forms, from documentary to pornography, as well as fascinating accounts that participants themselves provide of their experiences. Ultimately, he recognizes a positive potential in the physical relations chemsex facilitates, without denying the dangers and dissatisfactions that some would like us to believe exhaust its significance. Not the least of the book’s achievements, though, is its focus on the Manchester, rather than London, scene and the quite distinctive spatial and social relations that characterize it. Chemsex emerges from this essential account by turns demystified, humanized, localized and theorized. David Alderson, Professor of Literary and Cultural Studies, University of Manchester Grounded in generous conversations with chemsex practitioners, The Moral Lessons of Chemsex develops a truly original, creatively theorized perspective on chemsex. For Nagington, chemsex raises the possibility of an ethics that emphasizes our permeability and vulnerability to each other. The conception of “visceral solidarity” he develops on this basis is compelling and vital. Professor Kane Race, University of Sydney