Lesley Gabriel
Lesley is a postgraduate researcher within the Birmingham School of Media. Their project assesses the ethnohistory of the BDSM community in the West Midlands. Lesley's academic interests include queer oral histories, performance art, tattoo culture and making HE accessible to LGBTQ+ students.
Current Activity
Areas of research include:
- BDSM
- Fetish
- Kink
- Oral history
- Queer oral history
Areas of Expertise
- Queer oral histories
- Performance art
- Tattoo culture
- Making HE accessible to LGBTQ+ students
Qualifications
- MA Social Sciences, Open University
- BA (Hons) English Language and Literature, University of Central England (now Birmingham City University)
Teaching
Lesley currently teaches on the Popular Images optional module on the BSc (Hons) Psychology course.
Research
An ethnohistory of the BDSM community in the West Midlands
Lesley's research will use ethnohistorical and oral history methodology to find out about the development of the BDSM community in the West Midlands, a diverse and vibrant community that had hitherto not been the subject of academic study. The Black Country was known as a major producer of BDSM staple items, such as chains and leather. Lesley is interested to see whether there is a link between the industrial past and the development of the BDSM community within the region. The BDSM community is largely working-class and it is anticipated that older community members may have worked in Black Country factories.
The rapid expansion of the internet into every aspect of life has had a huge impact on the BDSM community and has revolutionised the manner in which community members connect to each other. There is a fear within the West Midlands community that unless the pre-internet recollections of older members are collected, a whole way of living will be lost. There is therefore a sense of urgency to the research, given the fragility of memory within the ageing population Lesley will be interviewing. This research will use oral histories from long-time community members, as well as archival information to produce an ethnohistory of a secret community.
Postgraduate Supervision
- John Mercer (Director of Studies)
- Oliver Carter
- Gemma Commane
Publications
Forthcoming: Prague, March 2019, "Local history with a twist: An ethnohistory of the kink community in the West Midlands" at the first global conference for Kink
March 2016: “50 Shades of Suburbia: The BDSM Scene in Birmingham, UK” at the “Sex and the City: Reactionism, Resistance and Revolt V - Spaces of Empowerment and Social Inclusion” session of the American Association of Geographers conference.
Gorizia, Italy, March 2016 “Planning an ethnohistory of the BDSM scene in Birmingham and the West Midlands” at the ‘Bodifications: Mapping the Body in Media Cultures’, FilmForum/MAGIS International Film Studies Spring School, University of Udine (DAMS Gorizia). San Francisco
Birmingham City University, Feb 2016: “We don’t have that here!” Planning an ethnographic study of the BDSM scene in Birmingham and West Midlands area” at the BCMCR seminar session “Cult, Gender and Sexuality: The politics of alternative sexualities”