Dr Paul Ryan
Biography
My main research and teaching interests lie within the sociology of the family & personal life, sexuality and the law. I have taught modules:on • Culture and Everyday Life (First Year), Contemporary Social Theory (Third Year), Sex, Law and Society (Third Year) • Fieldwork Methods (Second Year), Media, Culture & the Construction of Crime (Second Year) & Qualitative Research Methods (MA)
Research Interests
My main research interests lie within the sociology of the family & personal life, sexuality and the law and minority health. My earlier work has focused on LGBTI communities and the history of the movement
from the decriminalisation of homosexuality to the successful campaign for gay
marriage in 2015, highlighting the creation of new categories of sexual
citizens and the consequences for those sexual relationships that remained
outside the regulation of the state.
My Post-doctoral research, and first book, combined a
documentary analysis and a life history study of letters sent to the popular
agony aunt, Angela Macnamara in the 1960s and 70s. The analysis revealed how
families navigated intimate decisions about dating, fertility and sexuality within
the confines of a religious and legal structure, contributing to a more nuanced
understanding of Irish family life.
My current research explores sex work and regulatory regimes governing prostitution within a European context. I published Male Sex Work in the Digital Age (London: Palgrave) in 2019 exploring how migrant male sex workers' use of social media has created both a flexible and ambiguous understanding of commercial sex in Ireland. The work illustrates how male sex workers use their micro-celebrity on social media (Grindr, Instagram) to construct a brand that can be converted into financial advantage within the sex industry. The digital identities that are created provide the photographic and video material that are broadcast on new subscription platforms like OnlyFans.
I am also interested in minority health. I completed a project (with Dr. Kathryn McGarry) funded by HIV Ireland in 2020 exploring the possible consequences of new legislation (Criminal Law Sexual Offences Act 2017) on sex workers’ health and well-being. There is a specific focus on migrant female and trans sex
workers and their level of engagement in sexual health services and practices such as condom
use and HIV testing.
I have recently completed a project with Dr. Kathryn McGarry, Becky Leacy and Patricia Leahy, funded by the HSE and the National Office for Suicide Prevention (2021-22) developing prevention strategies for sex work communities affected by poor mental health, minority stress and suicide.
My current research projects:
I am working on a research project being delivered by HIV Ireland, in collaboration with dental practitioners, representative organisations, and people living with HIV (PLWHIV) to improve health outcomes and quality of life for PLWHIV. The project is funded by the Gilead UK and Ireland Fellowship and Medical Grants Programme, which supports local innovation and best practices in caring for people living with HIV.
I am also working on a project 'Moving Beyond Impossible Conversations: Sex Work and Knowledge Production in Europe' with Dr. Isabel Crowhurst (University of Essex) and Dr. Giulia Garofalo Geymonat (Università Ca' Foscari Venezia).
I welcome inquires from prospective PhD students interested in these research areas.
Research Projects
Book
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
2019 | Ryan P. (2019) Male Sex Work in the Digital Age: Curated Lives. [DOI] | |
2013 | Ryan, P. (2013) Asking Angela Macnamara: an Intimate history of Irish lives. Dublin: Irish Academic Press. |
Book Chapter
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
2021 | McGarry, K, Ryan, P, Berry, A. and Guarani, B. (2021) 'Sex worker management of their health and well-being in the context of criminalisation' In: Nothing about us without us: Giving voice to diversity in Criminological Research. Bristol : Policy Press. | |
2020 | Ryan, P. (2020) ''The Gay Marriage Referendum in an Age of Neo-Liberalism'' In: Ireland: A Sociological Profile and Irish Society: Sociological Perspectives. Dublin : UCD Press. | |
2020 | Ryan, P. (2020) 'Contested Knowledge: Victim Narratives, Autobiography and the Rise of Neo-Abolitionist Prostitution Policy in Ireland' In: The production of gendered knowledge. Dublin : UCD Press. | |
2017 | Ryan P.; Huschke S. (2017) 'Conducting sex work research in a politically contentious climate: Lessons from Ireland' In: Sexualities Research: Critical Interjections, Diverse Methodologies, and Practical Applications. London : Routledge. [DOI] | |
2017 | Ryan, P & Ward, E (2017) 'Ireland: The Rise of Neo-Abolitionism and the New Politics of Prostitution' In: Assessing Prostitution Policies in Europe. Milton Park : Routledge. | |
2013 | Ryan, P. (2013) 'The Pursuit of Gay and Lesbian Sexual Citizenship Rights, 1980-2011' In: Sexualities and Irish Society: A Reader. Dublin : Blackhall Press. [Full-Text] | |
2012 | Whitaker, T., Ryan, P. and Gemma Cox (2012) '‘What I Knew was What I Learnt on the Street! Irish Drug Using Sex Workers Accounts of How They Contracted HIV and Hepatitis C' In: Immunodeficiency. London : InTech. | |
2007 | Ryan, P. (2007) 'Coming out of the dark: a decade of gay mobilisation in Ireland 1970-80' In: Social Movements and Ireland. Manchester : Manchester University Press. | |
2004 | Cinneide, SO; Ryan, P (2004) 'Ireland: disinterested commentary, but how effective?' In: OECD and European Welfare States. Cheltenham : Edward Elgar Publishing. | |
2023 | Ryan, P. (2023) '‘Selfies that Pay’: #OnlyFans and the Online Lives of Migrant Male Sex Workers in Ireland' In: Genders and Sexualities in the Social Sciences. [Link] [DOI] |
Peer Reviewed Journal
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
2021 | Ryan, P; McGarry, K (2021) 'I miss being honest' sex workers accounts of silence and disclosure with health care providers in Ireland'. Culture, Health and Sexuality, . [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
2016 | Ryan P. (2016) '#Follow: exploring the role of social media in the online construction of male sex worker lives in Dublin, Ireland'. Gender, Place, and Culture, 23 (12):1713-1724. [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
2011 | Whitaker, T, Ryan, P. & Cox, G (2011) '‘Stigmatization Among Drug-Using Sex Workers Accessing Support Services’'. Qualitative Health Research, 21 (8):1086-1100. [Full-Text] | |
2011 | Ryan, P (2011) 'Love, lust and the Irish: Exploring intimate lives through Angela Macnamara's problem page, 1963-1980'. Sexualities, 14 :218-234. [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
2010 | Ryan, P (2010) 'Asking Angela: Discourses about Sexuality in an Irish Problem Page, 1963-1980'. Journal of the History of Sexuality, 19 :317-339. [Full-Text] | |
2006 | Ryan, P. (2006) 'Researching Irish Gay Male Lives: Reflections on Disclosure and Intellectual Autobiography in the Production of Personal Narratives'. Qualitative Research, 6 . [Full-Text] | |
2003 | Ryan, P. (2003) 'Coming Out, Staying In: The Personal Narratives of some Irish Gay Men'. Irish Journal of Sociology, 12 . [Full-Text] |
Other Journal
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
2013 | Ryan, P. (2013) 'Reappraising the Irish Sexual Repression Narrative of the 1960s: Was Ireland Different?' History Ireland, 20 . [Full-Text] |
Conference Contribution
Published Report
Reviews
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
2010 | Ryan P. (2010) Asking angela: Discourses about sexuality in an irish problem page, 1963-1980. [Reviews] [DOI] [Full-Text] |
Outreach Activities
Organisation | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
RTE 17/01/2017 | Civic Society | RTE 17/01/2017 Morning Ireland ‘The Politics of Divorce twenty years on’ [Link] | |
Newstalk FM 17/01/2017 | Civic Society | Newstalk FM 17/01/2017 The Politics of Divorce Twenty Years on’ [Link] | |
Mildlands Radio 103 28/05/2016 | Civic Society | Mildlands Radio 103 28/05/2016 CSO Figures on Fertility & Divorce | |
Newstalk 17/05/2016 | Civic Society | Newstalk 17/05/2016 Gay Marriage | |
RTE 06/05/2012 | Civic Society | RTE 06/05/2012 The History Show The Sixties in Ireland Special, [Link] | |
RTE 25/11/2011 | Civic Society | RTE 25/11/2011 RTE Radio One John Murray Show discussing Asking Angela Macnamara [Link] | |
Newstalk 09/01/2012 | Civic Society | Newstalk 09/01/2012 Sean Moncrief Show on Newstalk discussing Asking Angela Macnamara [Link] | |
TV3 31/01/2013 | Civic Society | TV3 31/01/2013 Tonight with Vincent Browne Regulating the Sex Industry [Link] |