“It’s hot to be wanted”: An intersectional reflexive thematic analysis of Australian gay and bisexual men’s constructions of sexual desirability

What gay and bisexual men want and why are not value-neutral questions. Rather, prior work on intracommunity stigma, fetishization, and racial prejudice suggests gay and bisexual men’s sexual desires are inflected by forms of intimate discrimination, most notably racism and anti-fat bias. These systems of discrimination shape who gay and bisexual men see as the legitimate objects of their sexual desires – that is, who and what they find sexually desirable. Yet what constitutes sexual desirability remains unclear. We report on a reflexive thematic analysis of interviews with 24 diverse Australian gay and bisexual men’s (aged 21 to 64) constructions of sexual desirability. Gay and bisexual men construct sexual desirability as multidimensional, involving appearance, affect, and behavior. What interviewees found desirable was dynamic, changing between time, place, and social interactions. Sexual desirability was constructed as shaped by intersecting systems of power. We discuss three: sexual orientalism, sexual anti-fat bias, and sexual racism. We conclude that understanding how and why sexual desirability is inequitably distributed is necessary to redress intimate discrimination among gay and bisexual men and their sexual communities. Future work should clarify how sexual desirability relates to mental and sexual health and social equality more broadly.