In terms of chemsexresearch has focused primarily on the notion of pleasure and shame. But what about the other emotions experienced by people who use synthetic drugs to intensify or prolong their sexual relations?
This is the question that Yannick Gaudette, a doctoral student in social work at UQAM, asked himself. And it is, in my opinion, a question that deserves collective reflection.
According to various sources, approximately 10% of men of sexual diversity consume methamphetamine (a drug you may know as crystal meth). In the general population, the rate would be more like 1%. And in Quebec, methamphetamine is not the only psychoactive substance voluntarily used before or during sexual relations. GHB and ketamine are also used, to a lesser extent…
You have probably heard of the chemsexrecently. Also called party and play (PnP), it is a practice that raises concerns about the transmission of infections, addiction and overdose. Why does it attract people, despite these risks? People who publicly testify to their consumption speak in particular of a pleasure increased tenfold by the drug, a sensation that can be difficult to do without, afterwards.
However, ecstasy is found alongside a whole range of states…
When he consulted the scientific literature on this subject, Yannick Gaudette noted that attention had been paid to the notions of pleasure (whether sexual or from contact with others) and shame (of one’s sexual practices, consumption or sexual orientation), but relatively little attention had been paid to the rest of the spectrum of emotions.
The researcher wanted to know more about the emotional charge of this issue which currently concerns gay, queer and trans communities…
But how do you enter such a vulnerable zone with participants, considering that in qualitative research you often only see them once or twice?
Yannick Gaudette opted for the photovoice method. He met individually with 10 people who were or still are engaged in sexuality under the influence of psychoactive substances to ask them to take photos reflecting the emotions they felt before, during and after practicing the chemsex.
He imposed only one rule on them: no pornographic photos, please.
PHOTO YAGUB ALLAHVERDIYEV, PROVIDED BY YANNICK GAUDETTE
Yannick Gaudette in front of photos of the participants in his project
Two weeks later, Yannick Gaudette met with each participant again to discuss the photos taken, which included several landscapes, lots of flowers, a few crack pipes and even some trash. Sometimes, the staging was more pronounced. One participant illustrated the “dangling” with a portrait of his friends gathered around a foie gras and wine dinner to demonstrate a euphoria that borders on decadence…
During this second interview, the researcher asked each participant why the photos were taken. This is where they opened up about the emotions triggered by sexuality under chemical drugs. Yannick Gaudette is currently analyzing the results of these discussions, but he is already noticing certain trends.
What I see is that the issue of loneliness is very important. People talk about feeling left out and having difficulty connecting with others.
Yannick Gaudette, doctoral student in social work at UQAM
He also observed that loneliness often arises at the same time as shame, when the effects of drugs wear off. During what he calls “the comedown,” participants may also experience feelings of guilt, disgust, sadness, emptiness and great suffering. To ease these discomforts, some use drugs again.
Marked by what he discovered, Yannick Gaudette wanted to share this knowledge with the general public. Thus the exhibition was born PnP/chemsex: a spectrum of emotionshighlighting 29 photos taken by participants. At the launch of the exhibition last August, three participants spoke in front of an audience, one of the highlights of Yannick’s doctoral journey: “As a researcher, you meet people, but you don’t have access to the impact it had. What the participants mentioned was that this work allowed them to become aware of certain emotions with which they were not in contact or did not want to be in contact.”
Perhaps as you read this column, you’re thinking that there’s not much to learn from all this. That people who use synthetic drugs to enhance their sexual pleasure are nothing like you. But exposing the emotions involved in such a process is not only important to understanding its appeal, but it’s also an invitation to reflect on our own feelings.
“As for the chemsexwhen we talk about consumption in general – whether it’s alcohol or cannabis, for example – we have the idea that it’s the comedown that generates the emotion, underlines Yannick Gaudette… But things happened during that evening! We’ve all said stupid things when we’ve had too much to drink. Our anxiety isn’t just because we’re on the hangover, but because discomfort has been experienced through the good times. We shouldn’t reduce these emotions to the dopamine that leaves our body, we have to recognize them and think about them.
Moreover, the doctoral student believes that when we take the question of chemsex through the spectrum of emotions, we realize ” [qu’] “There is not such a big difference between us and those people who we tend to put aside”…
Loneliness is broken by two people and this kind of research shows us what is in our power.
Organized in partnership with the Cri de ralliement collective, Fierté Montréal and the University Institute on Addictions, the exhibition PnP/chemsex: a spectrum of emotions is now in the hands of the RÉZO organization and will soon be offered online thanks to the TRADIS chair.