Subcultural webs of (health)care in kinked communities of gay fist-fuckers
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12978730 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Julia H Martins (0000-0001-7406-147X, University of Pretoria, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-19 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-29 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychology and Sexuality (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1941-9902 • E-ISSN: 1941-9899 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/19419899.2026.2621753 |
| OpenAlex | W7126027781 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 41 |
Existing research on kink-identified people’s healthcare experiences has focused largely on encounters with mainstream systems, where disclosing kink practices can invite stigma, misunderstanding, or denial of care. Far less attention has been given to the alternative forms of (health)care cultivated within kink subcultures themselves. This article reports findings from a qualitative study of such practices among fist-fuckers. An international sample of 20 kink-identified gay men participated in four online focus groups. Reflexive thematic analysis generated five themes: (1) skill and resource exchange; (2) emotional and psychological support; (3) placemaking care; (4) embodied and experiential knowledge; and (5) communal care and resilience. Framed through queer worldmaking, the findings show how everyday care practices among fist-fuckers form subcultural webs of health promotion and (health)care grounded in reciprocity, intimacy, and collective responsibility rather than hierarchical biomedical models. These practices are affective, emergent, and distributed through embodied knowledge and a communal ethics of care. The article argues that fist-fuckers enact queer worldmaking through the construction of health-and kink-sustaining subcultural webs that allow them to flourish in their kink. In doing so, they offer a critical rethinking of what counts as care, who provides it, where it takes place, and the ethics which organise it.
Human sexuality · Identity (music · Narrative · Race (biology · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy
Focus Group Methodology
Patient-centred access to health care
Feminist Perspectives on Care
Health Equity
Doing Reflexive Thematic Analysis
A queer(er) temporality
Radical Care
The persistent pathologization of BDSM
When safe sex isn't safe
Fisting intimacy
The Role of Social and Sexual Networks in Connecting to Sexual Health Services
One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis
Corporeal Knowledges and Deviant Bodies
Housing
Exploring gender subversion and recuperation in anal fisting among gay men
Assembling the capacity to care
Social geography II
Preparing to play
Fisting Subjectivity
Caring at the edges
Ephemera as Evidence
The Violence of Heteronormativity in Communication Studies
Medical and Surgical Risks in Handballing
No Cock Needed
Philosophical Paradigms, Grounded Theory, and Perspectives on Emergence
Leveraging feminist approaches to care
The Birth of the Clinic
Sexual Traffic
Sex in Public
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |