ABSTRACT

Chemsex – the use of specific, illicit substances to facilitate and enhance sexual encounters – has been documented extensively across the Global North using qualitative methodologies. Elsewhere, however, little is known about the phenomenon. Our article addresses this gap in the scholarly literature by exploring how chemsex encounters transpire in the Philippines. Through semi-structured interviews, we demonstrate the spatiotemporal nature of chemsex scenes, showing how people move between physical and virtual domains across time as they find sexual partners, procure drugs, and organize and attend the actual encounter. Consequently, the risks faced by chemsex practitioners – to health and to security – are also spatiotemporally plotted within intersecting physical and virtual risk environments, and best mitigated by a form of experiential expertise that is likewise temporally determined. Ultimately, chemsex scenes in the Philippines are distinguished from the rest of the world by the state-led “war on drugs.” We consider our findings in the context of this war, showing how its very real and often fatal threats have shaped the way people navigate chemsex scenes and mitigate the risks through “counterpublic health” measures, and how its prominent ideologies and discourses are reflected in the ways by which people make sense of their drug use.

摘要

Chemsex——使用特定的非法物质来促进和加强性接触——已在全球北方使用定性方法进行了广泛记录。然而，在其他地方，人们对这种现象知之甚少。我们的文章通过探讨 chemsex 遭遇如何在菲律宾发生，解决了学术文献中的这一空白。通过半结构化访谈，我们展示了 chemsex 场景的时空性质，展示了人们在寻找性伴侣、购买毒品以及组织和参加实际遭遇时如何在物理域和虚拟域之间移动。因此，chemsex 从业者面临的风险——对健康和安全的风险——也在时空上绘制在交叉的物理和虚拟风险环境中，最好通过一种同样由时间决定的体验式专业知识来缓解。最终，菲律宾的 chemsex 场景与世界其他地方的区别在于国家主导的“毒品战争”。我们在这场战争的背景下考虑我们的发现，展示了它非常真实且通常是致命的威胁如何塑造了人们驾驭 chemsex 场景并通过“反公共卫生”措施减轻风险的方式，以及其突出的意识形态和话语如何反映在人们理解他们吸毒的方式。