2:07 p.m.
________________________________
Från: Rebecka Fingalsson <rebecka.fingalsson(a)mau.se>
Skickat: den 24 augusti 2026 10:03:35 (UTC+01:00) Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern, Rome,
Stockholm, Vienna
Till: Rebecka Fingalsson <rebecka.fingalsson(a)mau.se>; DL-HS-CSS-intern
<dl-hs-css-intern(a)mau.se>; Linda Åkeflo <linda.akeflo(a)gu.se>;
ida.hall(a)soch.lu.se <ida.hall(a)soch.lu.se>; theodor.mejias.nihlen(a)liu.se
<theodor.mejias.nihlen(a)liu.se>; tobias.herder(a)med.lu.se
<tobias.herder(a)med.lu.se>; Amanda Klysing <amanda.klysing(a)psy.lu.se>; Julia
Bahner <julia.bahner(a)soch.lu.se>; Avery Franken <a.franken(a)uva.nl>; Ryan
Alsaid <ryan.alsaid(a)mau.se>; Sofia Hammarström
<sofia.hammarstrom(a)vgregion.se>; Layla Khairallah <layla.khairallah(a)mdu.se>;
Martino Fenoglio <martino.fenoglio(a)gmail.com>
Kopia: Jack Lukkerz <jack.lukkerz(a)mau.se>; Charlotta Carlström
<charlotta.carlstrom(a)mau.se>; Camilla Palm <camilla.palm(a)mau.se>; Charlotta
Holmström <charlotta.holmstrom(a)mau.se>; Kiin Catrine Andersson
<kiin.catrine.andersson(a)mau.se>; Ylva Grönvall <ylva.gronvall(a)mau.se>;
Kristofer Hansson <kristofer.hansson(a)mau.se>; Sara Johnsdotter
<sara.johnsdotter(a)mau.se>; Mats Lundström <mats.lundstrom(a)mau.se>; Josephine
Ingridsdotter <josephine.ingridsdotter(a)mau.se>; Dawan Raoof
<dawan.raoof(a)mau.se>; Eva Elmerstig <eva.elmerstig(a)mau.se>
Ämne: Öppet CSS-seminarium med Róisín Ryan-Flood
När: den 28 oktober 2026 13:15-15:00.
Var: NIC1229-Mötesrum (Malmö)
Welcome to a seminar with Professor Róisín Ryan-Flood organised by CSS and the Nordic
network for LGBTQ+-research on health and living conditions!
You are welcome to participate at Niagara in Malmö, Sweden, or online via Zoom:
https://mau-se.zoom.us/j/61547185618
Stone Sexuality as Erotic Framework: Boundaries, Agency, and Intimacy
Abstract:
The term ‘stone’ refers to an erotic identity or orientation characterised by firm
boundaries around receiving particular forms of sexual touch, alongside a preference for
giving sexual pleasure. Stone identities have long been present within lesbian and queer
communities, yet remain under-researched and frequently misunderstood through frameworks
that position non-reciprocal erotics as deficit, trauma, or dysfunction. This paper
presents findings from a qualitative interview study exploring contemporary experiences of
stone identity, including stone butch, stone femme, and relational orientations towards
stone sexuality. While ‘stone’ is historically associated with butch identities and
butch-femme dynamics, this research moves beyond those categories. Drawing on twenty-five
in-depth interviews with stone-identified individuals and people currently or formerly
partnered with them, the study examines understandings of identity, erotic boundaries,
embodiment, intimacy, and relational ethics. Thematic analysis informed by feminist and
queer theory highlights stone identity as a coherent erotic and gendered framework rather
than an absence of desire or intimacy. Participants describe stone sexuality through
agency, boundary sovereignty, gendered embodiment, and relational attunement, while
navigating cultural assumptions about reciprocity, fairness, and sexual norms. Extending
scholarship on butch–femme cultures and queer erotics, the findings demonstrate that stone
has moved beyond butch–femme dynamics while remaining a meaningful contemporary identity
category, challenging dominant sexual norms and contributing to broader debates on
consent, embodiment, and erotic diversity.
Biographical note:
Róisín Ryan-Flood is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Centre for Intimate and
Sexual Citizenship (CISC) at the University of Essex. Her research interests include
gender, sexuality, kinship, digital intimacies and feminist epistemology. She is the
author and editor of numerous books, including Lesbian Motherhood: Gender, Sexuality and
Citizenship (2009), Queering Methodology (2022), Difficult Conversations: A Feminist
Dialogue (2023), Consent: Gender, Power and Subjectivity (2023), Queering Desire:
Lesbians, Gender and Subjectivity (2024) and Stories, Imaginations and Sociology (2026).
She is also co-editor of the journal Sexualities: Studies in Culture and Society. Her
current writing and research projects explore queer relationality, assisted reproduction
and digital intimacy.