Tiago Machado Costa
Thesis Title: The Personal (Preference) is Political: Racialised Eroticisms and Sexual Racism Queer Men's Sexual Cultures in the UK
Tiago's research focuses on the case of sexual racism and racialised desires and how the role these play in queer/gay/bisexual men's sexual cultures in the UK. It seeks to explore the racialised and sexual dynamics of constructing and navigating ideas of desirability, attraction, and arousal in the physical and virtual spaces where these men encounter potential partners, either romantic or sexual. In doing so, they pay attention to the geographical landscapes of queer men's sexual spaces to better understand the collective nature sexual life and its fluid constructions of desirability as a mechanism of normative power. The project uses a multi-method qualitative design using vignette-interviews and video-diaries, hearing from a diverse range of queer men across the UK. Ultimately, the project hybridises queer theory and critical race theory to better understand the matrix of power where racialisation and erotic ideation underpin socio-sexual life.
Biography
Tiago uses they/them pronouns.
In Portugal, they were a Board Member (2015-6) of a LGBTI youth charity, and sat on various EDI committees and boards, at both local and national levels, including the Lisbon City Council Equality and Inclusion Forum and the National Youth Council's (CNJ) policy steering group. They are a trained Inclusion Educator and have oriented workshops on LGBTI inclusive education and practices at several high schools and universities in the Lisbon Metropolitan area.
They hold a BA (Hons) Sociology, First class, and a MA Social Science Research Methods (Sociology), with Distinction, both from the University of Nottingham.
Publications
Public Preferences, Private Desires: Reconceptualising the Post-Racial Public-Private Divide on Grindr in Relation to Discourses of Racialised Desires and Dating Practices, Viral Masculinities Conference: September 2020 (email for access).
The Personal (Preference) is Political: Racialized Desires and Gay and Bisexual Men's Sexual Cultures in the UK. BSA Annual Conference 2022: Building Equality and Justice Now: April 2022 (email me for access).
Public Engagement
I regularly collaborate with the LGBT Foundation, including with their Research and Policy team, and as a speaker in their "Sex Tapes" event series.
Sociology
University of Nottingham
2019 Cohort, 1+3
tiago.machadocosta@nottingham.ac.uk
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiago-machado-costa
Supervisory Team
Andrew K. T. Yip
Esther Bott