Dr Max Morris

Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Sociology

School of Social Sciences

maxmorris@brookes.ac.uk

Role

Max joined Oxford Brookes University in 2022. Before this, they were based in the Department of Criminology, Politics and Sociology at Kingston University. They completed their PhD in Sociology and Social Policy at Durham University in 2019.

Areas of expertise

Gender
Sexuality
HIV
Sex Work
Social Media

Teaching and supervision

Modules taught

Creating Criminology
Media and Crime
Gender and Society
Sociology of Health and Illness
Digital Crime and Criminology
Gendering Intimate Relationships
Sex that Offends

Max has been recognised as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) since 2020.

Supervision

Max welcomes PhD and MSc by Research applications from students in the areas of disability, gender, and sexuality studies, especially where this aligns with their research expertise focusing on people living with HIV, LGBTQ+ people, sex work, social media, feminist and queer theory.

Research

Max has published research on topics including the criminalisation of HIV, declining homophobia in educational settings, media representations of gender and sexual minorities, and incidental sex work in the digital age. They draw on creative methods and queer theory to understand the role of law and society in constructing identities.

Research group membership

Critical Legal Perspectives on Society, Law, Gender, and Diversity (CLSGD).

Research grants and awards

'Incidental Sex Work: Casual and Commercial Encounters in Queer Digital Spaces' - Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
'Living Through Two Pandemics: The Experiences of HIV+ People during COVID-19' - Centre for Research in Communities, Identities and Difference (CResCID), Kingston University London.
'Not Sex Work: A Follow-up to the "Incidental Sex Work" Project' - Strategic Research Fund, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University.
'Speaker Series: Critical Perspectives on Gender, Sexuality, and Society' - Strategic Research Fund, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University.

Publications

Brooks-Gordon B, Morris M, Sanders T, Harm reduction and decriminalization of sex work
Sexuality Research and Social Policy 18 (2021) pp.809-818 ISSN: 1868-9884 eISSN: 1553-6610 Harm reduction and decriminalization of sex work Open Access version on RADAR
Morris M, The limits of labelling: Incidental Sex Work Among Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Young Men on Social Media
Sexuality Research and Social Policy 18 (2021) pp.855-868 ISSN: 1868-9884 eISSN: 1553-6610 The limits of labelling: Incidental Sex Work Among Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Young Men on Social Media Open Access version on RADAR
Morris M, The politics of testing positive
Culture, Health & Sexuality 23 (11) (2021) pp.1485-1499 ISSN: 1369-1058 eISSN: 1464-5351
Ashford C, Morris M, Powell A, Bareback sex in the age of preventative medication: Rethinking the "harms" of HIV transmission
The Journal of Criminal Law 84 (6) (2020) pp.596-614 ISSN: 0022-0183 eISSN: 1740-5580 Bareback sex in the age of preventative medication: Rethinking the "harms" of HIV transmission Open Access version on RADAR
Morris M, “Gay capital” in gay student friendship networks
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 35 (9) (2017) pp.1183-1204 ISSN: 0265-4075 eISSN: 1460-3608
McCormack M, Wignall L, Morris M, Gay guys using gay language
The British Journal of Sociology 67 (4) (2016) pp.747-767 ISSN: 0007-1315 eISSN: 1468-4446
Morris M, Anderson E, "Charlie Is So Cool Like": Authenticity, Popularity and Inclusive Masculinity on YouTube
Sociology 49 (6) (2015) pp.1200-1217 ISSN: 0038-0385 eISSN: 1469-8684
Morris M, McCormack M, Anderson E, The changing experiences of bisexual male adolescents
Gender and Education 26 (4) (2014) pp.397-413 ISSN: 0954-0253 eISSN: 1360-0516

Morris M, Not Sex Work: Queer Intimacy, Post-identity, and Incidental Encounters in the Digital Era ,
Routledge (2025) ISBN: 9781032384320 eISBN: 9781003345053 Not Sex Work: Queer Intimacy, Post-identity, and Incidental Encounters in the Digital Era Open Access version on RADAR

Morris M, “I wouldn’t really like to be labelled or put into a box”: The post-identity politics of queer/sex work social movements in the digital era
in Bhanji N, Rahman M, Thiel M, & Tse-Shang DT (ed.), The SAGE Handbook of LGBTQ+ Studies, SAGE Publications (2026) “I wouldn’t really like to be labelled or put into a box”: The post-identity politics of queer/sex work social movements in the digital era Open Access version on RADAR
Morris M, Queering discourses of prostitution, homosexuality, and age of consent: How social media troubles traditional and contemporary constructions of sex work
in Cooper E, Graham L, Armstrong L, Zebracki M, Maginn PJ (ed.), Navigating contemporary sex work, Palgrave Macmillan (2024) ISBN: 9789819768585 eISBN: 9789819768592 Queering discourses of prostitution, homosexuality, and age of consent: How social media troubles traditional and contemporary constructions of sex work Open Access version on RADAR
Morris M, How to survive another plague: Autoethnographic reflections on antiviral medication, cultural memory, and dystopian metaphor
in Jaime García-Iglesias, Maurice Nagington, and Peter Aggleton (ed.), Viral Times: Reflections on the COVID-19 and HIV Pandemics, Routledge (2024) ISBN: 9781032345567 eISBN: 9781003322788 How to survive another plague: Autoethnographic reflections on antiviral medication, cultural memory, and dystopian metaphor Open Access version on RADAR

Morris M, review of Contemporary Masculinities in the UK and the US: Between Bodies and Systems
Men and Masculinities 23 (2) (2019) pp.398-400 ISSN: 1097-184X eISSN: 1552-6828
Morris M, review of Porno? Chic! How Pornography Changed the World and Made it a Better Place, by Brian McNair
Sexualities 18 (4) (2015) pp.519-520 ISSN: 1363-4607 eISSN: 1461-7382
Morris M, review of Touching encounters: sex, work, & male-for-male internet escorting, by Kevin Walby, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 2012, 232 pp., US$25.00 (paperback), ISBN: 9780226870069
Psychology & Sexuality 5 (4) (2013) pp.378-380 ISSN: 1941-9899 eISSN: 1941-9902

Morris, M, Homophobia ,
(2019)
Morris M, Incidental sex work ,
(2018)
Morris M, Anderson E, Homophobia ,
(2017)

Professional information

Memberships of professional bodies

Sex Work Research Hub (Board Member)