Toward a devouring of restless flesh:

the burgeoning of gay pornography as a field of scientific inquiry

Abstract

This paper examines Júnior Ratts’s (2023) A carne inquieta: pornografia gay, cultura e sociedade, highlighting its contributions to understanding gay pornography as a field in which meanings surrounding the body, gender, sexuality, race, and disability are produced. Drawing on a socio-semiotic approach informed by phenomenology, sociology, and queer theory, the book analyses films, performances, images, discourses, and the experiences of performers and consumers, framing pornography not merely as sexual representation but as a space where social norms are reproduced and contested. The discussion addresses the hierarchisation of male bodies, hypermasculinity, racialisation, the fetishisation of everyday life, and the potential reconfiguration of conventional gender arrangements. The paper also foregrounds the specificities of male sex work within the pornographic industry, challenging interpretations centred exclusively on vulnerability. Finally, it argues that recent transformations in the production and circulation of pornographic content, particularly through subscription-based digital platforms, may renew debates around bodies, labour, sexuality, and masculinities, reinforcing gay pornography as a productive field for further scholarly inquiry.

Keywords: Pornography. Sex work. Sexuality. Masculinities. Anthropology of the body.

Artwork cover: Digital collage produced by Matheus Madson Lima Avelino in 2026.