[Commlist] CfP - Queer Sex Now Symposium

Call for Papers

Queer Sex Now


2 November 2026

London, UK



‘The time has come to think about sex. To some, sexuality may seem an 
unimportant topic, a frivolous diversion from more critical problems of 
poverty, war, disease, racism, famine, or nuclear annihilation. But it 
is precisely at times such as these - when we live with the possibility 
of unthinkable destruction - that people are likely to become 
dangerously obsessed with sexuality.’



Originally written in 1982, Gayle Rubin’s words feel just as pertinent 
in 2026. As the world continues to careen from crisis to crisis, 
contestations over queer sex and sexuality have come sharply into focus. 
From the giddy global response to Heated Rivalry,to tightening controls 
on queer online spaces; from increasingly sexualised forms of queer 
nightlife, to mounting threats to sexual health funding; from the 
proliferation of categories of sexual orientation, to resurgent 
transphobia and homophobia - queer sex has become a lightning rod in 
contemporary culture wars.


Queer Sex Nowis a one-day symposium hosted by Queer@King’s, in 
collaboration with the Gender and Sexuality Research Cluster at 
Birmingham City University, aiming to untangle the knotty, contradictory 
questions that have emerged around queer sex in the present moment. The 
symposium takes ‘queer’ as inclusive of all minoritised sexualities and 
genders. It hopes to engage scholars, activists, artists, and 
practitioners in interdisciplinary conversations on topics such as (but 
not limited to):


Media and cultural representations of queer sex

Queer sex and the law

Queer sexual health

Queer sex and queer nightlife

Queer sex and fatness

Queer sex and disability

Race, migration, and diasporic queer sexual cultures

Ageing, later-life, intergenerational desire and queer sex

Queer sex cultures online

Queer dating apps

Queer pornography

Queer sex and activism

Queer intimacies

Queer sexual ethics

Queer cultures of sexualised drug use

Artistic interventions into queer sex

Trans, non-binary, and intersex sexualities

Asexuality, demisexuality, and the politics of (non-)sex


If you are interested in presenting at this symposium submit a 200 word 
abstract + short bio via this form 
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSegWwxNqJNFYnnPoPKBDBMiQJXyX7RsQJd4tQm3qzeDPm7gwA/viewform>by 
1st May 2026.Presentations will be 20 minutes.


Queer Sex Nowwill happen on Monday 2nd Novemberat KCL’s Strand Campus.


For further information email:


Dr Zeena Feldman (KCL) (zeena.feldman /at/ kcl.ac.uk) 
<mailto:(zeena.feldman /at/ kcl.ac.uk)>

Dr Jamie Hakim (KCL) (jamie.1.hakim /at/ kcl.ac.uk) 
<mailto:(jamie.1.hakim /at/ kcl.ac.uk)>

Prof. John Mercer (BCU) (john.mercer /at/ bcu.ac.uk) <mailto:(john.mercer /at/ bcu.ac.uk)>


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