This edited volume explores the multifaceted dimensions of sexuality and its expressions through a range of social contexts. The authors investigate language(s) and bodies as vessels for research as postulated by carnal sociology (Wacquant, 2005), exploring the intricate relationship between language, sexuality and the mediatisation of the latter (De Ridder, 2017) and focusing on how these elements intertwine to shape our understanding of sexual narratives, sexual health, sex positivity, and sexual identities. Questions raised in this volume include:
What are contemporary forms of gatekeeping in translation and ethnographic practices when dealing with sexual content? How does censorship in communication affect the representation of sexualities? How is sexuality presented in translation and ethnographic studies? Which innovative methods are being used in translation and ethnography when studying bodies and Others?
The authors explore how sexuality and desire manifest, along with their potential biases and resulting knowledge gaps, through practical methods, established best practices and lived-experience testimonies from diverse backgrounds. They examine the translation of sexual terms across several loci of expression (e.g. audiovisual translation, literature, digital sexual identities); discriminatory uses of language and censorship; and ethnographic experiences concerning sex, gender, desire and intimacy. This book will be relevant to professionals and researchers in the fields of Translation/Literary Studies and Ethnography/Social Sciences.
Introduction (Mirco Costacurta).- Polari and Modern Camp Talk in
Audiovisual Translation: the Persistence of a Sexual Lexicon in the UKs Drag
Community (Raffaele Pizzo).- Rewriting Chinese Sexuality for the Japanese
Culture: Japanese Translations of Jin Ping Mei in the 20th Century (Lintao
Qi).- Translating Sex and Sexuality. Fifty Shades and Bros in Arabic
Audiovisual Translation (Lucia La Causa).- Sexuality in audiovisual
translation: the case of the English dubbing and subtitling of Supersex
(2024) (Laura Huxford-Bonella).- New mind, old body: translating/constructing
feminine sense and sexuality in early-twentieth century China (Minlin Yu).-
Translating the Body: Taboo, (Self)Censorship and Freedom in the Chinese and
Portuguese Versions of Spring Awakening (Júlio Reis Jatobá).- Desiring the
other: the expression of sexuality under the anthropological gaze (Marco
Tabacchini).- The Erotic Language of Exposure: The Body/Text-Multiple and
Online Sexual Media (Evan J Zhao).- The body of research: negotiations and
translations between sports practice and knowledge in bodybuilding and roller
derby (Aurélie Aromatario and Pierre de Thier).- Understanding Mpox:
Communications Impact on Neutralizing Structural Deviance through Carnal
Sociology (Mirco Costacurta).- Exploring queer kinship in the Chinese
subtitles of Man in an Orange Shirt (Rui Yang).- Beyond Accessibility:
Ethical Reflections on the Mediation and Mediatization of Sex in Audio
Description (Alexandra Sanchez).- Reclaiming Pleasure, Rethinking Porn:
Sexual Empowerment in Survivors of Childhood Abuse (Gabriele Carmelo
Rosato).- Performance art and body modification: a practice-based analysis of
the relationship between power, sexuality, and the body (Luca Federici).-
Conclusion (Piero Toto).
Piero Toto is a Senior Lecturer in Translation at London Metropolitan University, UK. He is the author of Queering Sexual Health Translation Pedagogy (2023) and co-editor of Gender Approaches in the Translation Classroom (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019); he has also authored articles on masculinity, queer language and translation pedagogy. He is an experienced English into Italian translator and a published bilingual poet. He is a member of the editorial teams of literary platform Atelier and lit blog Laboratori Poesia, where he translates contemporary UK poets into Italian.
Mirco Costacurta is a Research Fellow in Social Sciences at the Department of Human Sciences at the University of Verona, Italy, where he works on explicit and implicit investigations of LGBTQ+ conspiracy beliefs from an intergroup and intragroup perspective. Since 2012 he has been involved in sex-positive activism and sex education for young people and adults with NGOs, such as Italian LGBT-rights advocacy network Arcigay.
