Queer@King’s is delighted to invite you to the book launch of Digital Intimacies: Queer Men and Smartphones in Times of Crisis.

In Digital Intimacies (Bloomsbury, 2024), Jamie Hakim (King's), James Cummings (York) and Ingrid Young (Edinburgh) ask ‘how do queer men use their smartphones to negotiate their cultures of intimacy?’ To answer this question the authors interviewed 43 queer men and discovered that, contrary to popular stereotypes, queer men used their smartphones to gain a sense of control of the aspects of their intimate lives that made them feel most vulnerable. In using Stuart Hall’s conjunctural analysis the book argues that these findings not only reveal something about queer men’s relationship to their smartphones but also a broader ‘structure of feeling’ in which more of us desire control during an historical moment of intense crisis.

Discussants Niki Cheong (KCL) and Rosalind Gill (Goldsmiths) will join the event to offer their reflections on the book's significance. A drinks reception will follow.

This is a hybrid event. If you can join us in-person in London, please register for an in-person ticket. If you plan to join us online, please register for an online ticket and a Teams link will be sent to you 24 hours before the event.