Dallas BraggFormer crystal methamphetamine user, I help men who have sex with men break free from the addictive patterns associated with Chemsex. Currently expanding my expertise by seeking to become a Certified

Pod: Def of Chemsex

18 Oct 2025 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

1:30

In this segment of the "Pod: Def of Chemsex" podcast, Speaker A argues that chemsex should be defined specifically as a queer phenomenon, rooted in historic trauma, shame, and a sense of danger that many LGBTQ+ individuals experience. They cite David Stewart’s view that labeling heterosexual sexualized drug use as chemsex can be harmful because it overlooks the unique historical oppression faced by queer people. While acknowledging that heterosexual individuals also engage in sexualized drug use, Speaker A emphasizes that the motivations differ; queer participants often use drugs to navigate danger and shame. Both speakers agree that regardless of label, anyone experiencing harm from drug-facilitated sex deserves support and harm‑reduction resources. The conversation balances anthropological analysis with a pragmatic call for care.

Chapters

attraction, all of which come together to create either like a sense of danger or shame for some people associated with queer sex that these drugs enable some people to overcome. So that's why I think it has to be specifically queer people. And David Stewart actually went as far as to say that he thinks, or thought it was an act of harm to say that heterosexual people could take part in chemsex, because they haven't been subject to the same kind of historic issues and trauma that queer people have. Having kind of engaged with people who work in this sphere for a while, I think that I have come around to agreeing with that definition. But ultimately, you can get to a point where you kind of try to overly— you become too anthropological about it, and you go into the phenomenology too much. And ultimately, if people are using these drugs in this context, and they're encountering harm, then we should, then we should care about helping them. But that's the definition that I would adopt based on all of the literature that's out there.
It's interesting. It's interesting, because I get comments a lot, On social media from, and that, you know, from straight people who say, you know, well, we, we have sexualized drug use too. You're not special. You know, we have, we fuck on Tina too, right? That kind of thing. But I, I do think what you're kind of what you're saying, I, I think what you're saying is that it's the reasons why too. Mm-hmm. Right? Like you, like heterosexual people may be having sexualized drug use, but they're not doing it to escape danger and shame and, and possible harm. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I think, I think so.