Stigma, Shame and Colorectal Health

Posted by Admin on 28 November 2022

Dr Richard Vytniorgu and Dr Jaime Garcia-Iglesias have recently published their report of their study into bottom health, stigma and shame amongst gay men.

The project was funded by a Wellcome Humanities and Social Sciences Research Centres Collaborative Research Seed Award, and enabled collaboration between Drs Vytniorgu, who is based at Exeter, and Garcia-Iglesias, who is based in Edinburgh.

To quote from the report:

“This working paper reports on a Wellcome Humanities and Social Sciences Research Centres Collaborative Research seed award that sought to identify key stakeholders and issues around bottoms and colorectal healthcare. We are interested in exploring how bottoms navigate the anxieties and shame that surround bottoming when accessing colorectal healthcare as well as how those anxieties and fears influence their relationships to providers and on clinical outcomes. This is a preliminary project that sought to identify who the key stakeholders were for this research, what were their key concerns and questions, and what language should be used to represent these.

“This project builds on our long-standing interests in cultural representations of bottoms’ sexual and gendered identities and practices (Vytniorgu, 2022; 2021), and on the impacts of sexual pleasure and desires on health (Garcia-Iglesias, 2022).”

Dr Garcia-Iglesias said of the work, “We are excited by the findings and are looking for ways to take this work forward. We have been fortunate to work with some enthusiastic and committed stakeholders, both clinical and non-clinical, all of whom agree on the importance of work on GBMSM bottoms, bottoming, and broader sexual wellbeing.  Many have also indicated their willingness to take part in further research in this area.”

WCCEH were very pleased to support this exciting and innovative research project. The full report can be downloaded and read here.