Cllr Dr Max Morris
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maxmorris.bsky.social
Cllr Dr Max Morris
@maxmorris.bsky.social
1.6K followers 1.1K following 97 posts
Green Oxford City Councillor. Senior Lecturer in Criminology & Sociology @ Oxford Brookes University focusing on gender & sexuality. Views my own. They/them.
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maxmorris.bsky.social
Counterprotesters turn out for trans-exclusionary feminism event (Cherwell News): cherwell.org/2025/10/18/o...
Councillor Max Morris, Green Party member of Oxford City Council, told Cherwell: “I was at today’s counter-protest to resist the far right and Posie Parker’s hateful rhetoric, both in a personal capacity as a non-binary person and as a local councillor.” “Oxford City Green Party councillors, candidates, and supporters have been showing up routinely to stand in solidarity with our diverse communities. At the last council meeting, we successfully called on Oxford City Council to stand with minority groups in our city and oppose the division stoked by the far right.”
October 19, 2025 at 10:00 AM
maxmorris.bsky.social
The people of Oxford showed up on mass to resist the far right and Posie Parker's hateful rhetoric today. Sadly, the government's silence has left a vacuum which these groups have rushed to fill. Never welcome in our city. Also big thanks to whoever handed me this sign. #GenderAnarchy #TransRights 🏳️‍⚧️
Max holding a "Down with the Fash" placard in a crowd of counter-protestors
October 18, 2025 at 2:16 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
Enjoyed exploring the countryside this weekend with @apowelllaw.bsky.social in seasonal colours 🍁🌰🍂
Max in a woodland Alex in an alleyway Max by bright red vine leaves Alex crossing stepping stones
October 12, 2025 at 10:33 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
Had an amazing weekend at the Green Party Conference. Catching up with old friends and making lots (and lots) of new ones as the party's membership soars. Inspiring to be a small part of a movement that's bringing hope rather than hate and light in what can sometimes seem like ever darker times. 🏖️☀️💚
Max and Alex on Bournemouth Pier
October 6, 2025 at 9:21 AM
maxmorris.bsky.social
New semester, new frumpy jumper 👾🌈💖
Max trying on a retro jumper in a changing room mirror
September 17, 2025 at 5:00 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
Well that might just be the fastest and most flattering peer review I've ever received! 🤩

Drawing on unpublished data from my book to explore identity and respectability politics in queer/sex work social movements. 🏳️‍🌈

If anyone wanted to publicly review my book I can probably get you a free copy? 📖
"1. A really interesting—and extremely well-written— analysis of sex work, sex worker rights, and queer liberation politics. The reviewers both agree that this paper is as close to perfect as one would hope. While both have made minor comments throughout, they hope that these clarificatory queries will further strengthen your already stellar paper. In particular, they both flagged the need to expand a little on the social backgrounds of your interview subjects as this would add depth to, and contextualize, your analysis of respectability politics. On a personal note, I particularly enjoyed reading about your participants’ experiences as they navigated identity in a “post-identity” era. 2. We ask that you add an updated abstract and indicate some key words with your abstract that could relate to these themes..."
September 12, 2025 at 2:48 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
This week I received some physical copies of my first book, 'Not Sex Work: Queer Intimacy, Post-identity, and Incidental Encounters in the Digital Era'. It explores the overlaps between #SexWork and #LGBTQ+ studies through a queer socialist feminist perspective. 📚☂️🏳️‍🌈 www.routledge.com/Not-Sex-Work...
A pile of Max's book, Not Sex Work, on a Pride Progress flag Max holding a copy of their book
September 6, 2025 at 7:45 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
As of today my book is available for pre-order and you can read a preview of the first few pages to get a sense for the direction I'm taking (see screenshots of the introduction below). Applying a 'queer socialist feminist lens' to sex and work in the digital era. 📲 www.routledge.com/Not-Sex-Work...
"1 Defining Sex, Work, and Sex Work Not Sex Work This book begins with a question: what is sex work? Carol Leigh coined the term in 1979 when attending a feminist workshop on the 'Sex Use Industry' by suggesting that the event's title should be changed to 'Sex Work Industry'. As she recalled, 'How could I sit amid other women as a political equal when I was being objectified like that, described only as something used, obscuring my role as actor and agent in the transaction?' (Leigh, 1998, p. 230). Today, sex work is the preferred term within both activist and academic networks to characterise a diverse range of paid sexual behaviours, both direct and indirect, replacing more traditional terms such as prostitution or whoring by offering'a more affirmative and inclusive term for erotic labour within feminist movements' (Brooks-Gordon et al., 2021, p. 812). I too adopt this definition of sex work as my starting point. Replacing older, gendered, and more pejorative labels such as 'call girl", 'harlot", 'hooker', 'prostitute', or 'whore', alongside those used for (typically younger) men such as 'rent boy', the term sex worker is also better suited to the now dominant research paradigm for understanding commercial sex: the social and economic model (see, e.g, Wolkowitz et al., 2013). This model places greater emphasis on how sex work can be understood as a form of labour like (m)any other(s), including various forms of expertise and exploitation (Smith & Mac, 2018). Relatedly, drawing on the critical 'makeshift economy' approach to social history, Walkowitz (2016) noted how socialist feminists have interpreted 'prostitution as sexual labour, an integral part of the survivalist strategy of the poor over many centuries', while adding that the..." "...'improvisational skills', 'psychological complexity', creativity, and political agency of women who sold sex challenges the determinism of many survivalist interpretations (pp. 189-193). Such models have shifted the focus of researchers to consider the emotional and physical skills demonstrated by sex workers as key reasons to (1) oppose their criminalisation and stigmatisation and (2) support their human and labour rights, aims that I support. In responding to this first question, however, a second one arises: what is not sex work? The title of this book is inspired by the many conversations I have had with gay, bisexual, and queer young men over recent years, including those who participated in my doctoral research: a project titled 'Incidental Sex Work' (Morris 2018a). These participants agreed to sell sex online but did not advertise as, nor consider themselves to be, sex workers. Contrasting my study with her own, about people who 'dabble' in sex work as a 'side hustle' in addition to performing forms of 'square work', Bowen (2021) has characterised incidental sex work as applying to those 'who may not acknowledge that they sell sex or identify as sex industry workers' (p. 44). Yet, as several participants suggested, my construction (perhaps imposition) of a new label to characterise their behaviours as a distinctive type of sex work might not have been appropriate or justified in the first place. By giving a name to something which had previously only been commented on in passing by researchers, sometimes referred to as 'adventurous' (Luckenbill, 1985), amateur' (Harcourt & Donovan, 2005), or 'occasional' (Grov & Smith, 2014), the original study's title could be seen as self-contradictory. For the participants, being paid for sex once, twice, or a handful of times was considered something casual, experimental, nonprofessional, or, as I termed it, incidental: a range of activities which did not require a label. Therefore, in this book, I attempt..."
August 28, 2025 at 4:20 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
Sun on the beach and fun on the campsite this bank holiday weekend! ☀️🏖️🍦🏕️🔥🍔
Max sunbathing on a beach Max holding a salted caramel ice-cream Max's mum and her boyfriend by a camp fire Campsite BBQ
August 26, 2025 at 5:02 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
View from the Ashmolean's rooftop restaurant Alex walking along a fallen tree in the woods Max taking in the woodland scenery by Boars Hill Alex and Max visiting New College
August 19, 2025 at 2:25 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
This summer we decided to do a holiday from home (or "staycation") to sample many of the touristy things that we never usually get to in Oxford. Good for the environment, local economy, and personal bank balance! Also learned a lot about culture and history (and ghosts) right on our doorstep. 😎🍰🏛️🌳🚌👻
Max in central Oxford Alex enjoying afternoon tea at the Ashmolean museum Max at Varsity bar overlooking the spires Alex and Max on an open top tour bus
August 19, 2025 at 2:20 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
Oxford city centre was bustling this weekend but there are so many pretty places to chill in. 🌳
Max relaxing in Christ Church Meadow
July 27, 2025 at 6:31 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
Had a wonderful time at Oxford Pride (in a personal capacity as political parties were rightly banned for failing trans people). 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
Alex and Max at Oxford Pride Oxford Pride on Broad Street
June 7, 2025 at 7:33 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
I'm thrilled to announce that my first book, Not Sex Work, will be published as part of Routledge's Interdisciplinary Studies in Sex for Sale series in August. If you are interested in the intersection of #SexWork and #Queer studies, add this to your reading list! 📖 www.routledge.com/Not-Sex-Work...
The book cover of 'Not Sex Work: Queer Intimacy, Post-identity, and Incidental Encounters in the Digital Era' by Max Morris, part of the 'Interdisciplinary Studies in Sex for Sale' series by Routledge. "This book explores the parallel histories and intersecting politics of LGBTQ+ people and sex workers, including the role of digital media in shaping the experiences of both in the early twenty-first century. Drawing on the first empirical study with gay, bisexual, and queer young men who agreed to sell sex online without advertising or identifying as sex workers, it examines what the term ‘incidental sex work’ means. Adopting queer methods and feminist theories to explore how definitions of ‘sex’ and ‘work’ have become increasingly unstable in the digital era, it considers how casual, occasional, and unprofessional forms of sex work are arranged on different platforms, from Grindr to OnlyFans. This book will appeal to students and researchers studying sex work and social media across a wide range of fields. It will also be useful for campaigners, policymakers, and healthcare practitioners interested in the implications of incidental sex work."
May 29, 2025 at 4:50 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
If you do one thing today, make sure it's to #VoteGreen 💚😎🗳️
Alex and Max at a polling station
May 1, 2025 at 3:05 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
Very proud to have spoken at today's protest organised by Oxford For Trans Rights. I noted that our city has the highest density of trans people outside of London, that Green Party city councillors have led the way on trans inclusive policies, and that we will never go back on them! 📢💚🏳️‍⚧️ #TransRights
Max speaking into a megaphone at a trans rights protest in Bonn Square, Oxford
April 27, 2025 at 12:50 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
Very excited to be on my way to #SLSA2025 at Liverpool University (my alma mater)! I'll be presenting two papers which seek to develop concepts, new and old: Queer Porn in the 'Play Economy' and 'Gay Capital' in the UK Asylum System. Looking forward to meeting many other socio-legal researchers. 📑🌈⚖️
Queer Porn in the Play Economy: What Distinguishes Amateur from Professional Sex Work? Abstract This paper considers whether the boundaries between amateur and professional porn have become increasingly indistinct in the digital era. Drawing on 55 qualitative interviews with gay, bisexual, and queer young men who sold sex online but did not identify as sex workers, I look at how the participants shared photos and videos of themselves on social media platforms. Through visual methods of data collection and analysis, this research highlights gaps in the social and economic model of sex work. If the behaviours described by the participants were understood as forms of work, they could be interpreted through the lens of labour studies as part of the platform economy. In a changing digital landscape, however, I suggest that many creative aspects of such content creation might be better interpreted through a conceptualisation of the play economy, where the creation and distribution of sexualised content has become more commonplace, and where ‘casual’ forms of ‘fun’ have become a marketable commodity. This monetisation of the (queer) self, principally through sharing photos/videos on social media platforms (e.g. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube) has an overlap with content shared on sexualised media platforms (e.g. JustForFans, OnlyFans, Pornhub). In this context, what distinguishes ‘work’ from ‘play’ was characterised by the participants as a combination of the effort put in, the scale of income, the regularity of performance, and—perhaps most importantly—whether one thinks of it as a ‘job’ or not. Finally, the implications of these trends for queer identities, legal frameworks, and rights-based movements are discussed. Stream LABOUR LAW AND SOCIETY Gay Capital in the UK Asylum System Abstract Morris (2018) has argued that some gay friendship groups demonstrate forms of symbolic capital—emerging from shared knowledge and cultural referents—which supplement other forms of capital and can, in particular contexts, enhance the social capital people possess. Writing in the context of the French Asylum system Bouchet-Mayer and Ferez (2024) have argued that gay capital offers a useful framework to understand the kinds of knowledge and representation which is required to navigate such asylum systems. Drawing on 26 semi-structured interviews with people seeking asylum, legal representatives, and people working in the third sector undertaken by Powell (2024), this paper assesses the applicability of gay capital to the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ people seeking asylum in the UK. In particular, we consider the extent to which the concept provides a useful framework for understanding the expectations and forms of knowledge conveyed by decision-makers. Through this consideration, Morris and Powell offer a critical reconsideration of the concept in terms of its applicability in a context which is both globalized and state driven. We suggest that gay capital remains a useful heuristic device for understanding the ways in which particularistic expectations, sometimes called second order stereotypes, come to be fostered within administrative settings such as the asylum system. Stream GENDER, SEXUALITY AND LAW
April 14, 2025 at 4:58 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
Don't mock my approach to cooking! 😤
A cabbage and carrots protruding out of a saucepan with the lid balanced on top
March 19, 2025 at 7:49 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
Today at work I made a protest sign during an #LGBTQ+HistoryMonth workshop because I am a very serious criminologist! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
Protest sign reading 'No Police At Pride' with handcuffs hanging off the 'c' and forming the dot over 'i' (with the latter cuff covered by pink fluff)
February 24, 2025 at 5:22 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
Wonderful to attend this talk by @apowelllaw.bsky.social for the East Oxford Refugee-Led Research Hub. Really glad to see this educational and research opportunity for asylum seekers and refugees emerge in our city.
An arrow pointing to the 'Refugee-Led Research Hub, East Oxford' event Alex Powell, Principal Lecturer in Law at Oxford Brookes, presenting on 'Refugee Law in the UK'
February 14, 2025 at 5:44 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
This weekend's walk was along the Thames path, through Abingdon and onto Clifton Hampden. The only problem we had was diminishing light and very few buses back on a Sunday! 🌥️🚌
Alex and Max on Clifton Hampden bridge over the River Thames
January 19, 2025 at 6:05 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
This weekend's walk was a fully pavemented, urbanised escapade. I can remember my grandma introducing me to the term flaneuring, which seems apt. 🥾🌂
Alex and Max on Market Street, Oxford City Centre
January 12, 2025 at 5:00 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
One of our new year's resolutions was to go for long walks every weekend. Oxford is surrounded by beautiful countryside, so looking forward to both urban and rural adventures. 🏘️🌳
Alex and Max in the Oxfordshire countryside
January 4, 2025 at 4:50 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
Had a delightful end to a very difficult year by visiting family and exploring Bristol with @apowelllaw.bsky.social. 💕
Alex and Max with Clifton Suspension Bridge behind
December 30, 2024 at 11:30 PM
maxmorris.bsky.social
Had a very merry Xmas in Dorset with @apowelllaw.bsky.social! 🎄🎁🥂📚☃️
Max and Alex wearing paper crowns Scrabble board Social Science: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford Aerial Map and Guide, Oxford City Walks Max wearing a pink bobble hat
December 25, 2024 at 7:44 PM