Innovation and Impact of Sex as Leisure in Research and Practice

This book responds to the need to investigate the complex links between sex and leisure and their implications for research and practice. Understanding sex as leisure aligns with sex-positive culture that focuses on affirming pleasure in the contemporary sexual discourse and advocating for sexual diversity, freedom, empowerment, and fulfilling sex lives. The focus of this book is on analyzing the complexity of sex as leisure in various socio-cultural and geographical contexts, with particular reference to vulnerable populations and pressing sexual issues, including sexual pleasure and expression, biomedicalization of sexuality, and social justice and sexuality. Specific chapters offer diverse international coverage and address the links between a positive sexuality framework and leisure research. The chapters cover sexual play and sex toys based on consumer experience perspectives; using the leisure lens to analyze sex and pornography addiction; quadriplegic sexuality and leisure; rejection and resilience on a gay cruise; relational dynamics of aging, exploitation, and deceit in sex tourism; sexual harassment of solo female travelers; and the complexity of consent in the sexualized leisure space of a pornography expo. This book will be of great value to those interested in transdisciplinary scholarship as it critically broadens the bio-psycho-socio-cultural perspective of sex as leisure. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal, Leisure Sciences.

Liza Berdychevsky is an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. Her research revolves at the nexus of heath, wellbeing, and sexuality in various leisure and tourism contexts, with a particular focus on vulnerable populations, aging, gender, and tailored sexual health education. Her research contributes to a deeper understanding of sexual health and offers directions for health education and prevention and intervention methods. Neil Carr is a Professor in the Department of Tourism, University of Otago. His research focuses on understanding behavior within tourism and leisure experiences; with a particular emphasis on children and families, sex and animals (especially dogs). The brains behind the wonky façade of Neil belong to his wife, Sarah, and dog, Ebony (and before her Gypsy and Snuffie).

Introduction: Innovation and Impact of Sex as Leisure in Research and Practice 1. Positive Sexuality as a Guide for Leisure Research and Practice Addressing Sexual Interests and Behaviors 2. Escaping into Sexual Play: A Consumer Experience Perspective 3. Are Sex and Pornography Addiction Valid Disorders? Adding a Leisure Science Perspective to the Sexological Critique 4. Quadriplegic Sexuality: Demystifying Misconceptions 5. Rejection and Resilience in a "Safe Space": Exploratory Rapid Ethnography of Asian-Canadian and Asian-American Men's Experiences on a Gay Cruise 6. "Romantic Entertainers" on Kenya's Coastal Tourism: A Case of Sex Tourism 7. The Dark Side of Solo Female Travel: Negative Encounters with Male Strangers 8. Consent and Sexualized Leisure in Sin City: Observations from a U.S. Pornography Expo in Las Vegas