Race, K.The Gay Science: Intimate Experiments with the Problem of HIV. London: Routledge. 2018. 194 pp. £105 (hbk) ISBN 978‐1‐138‐68382‐2

In The Gay Science, Kane Race examines the effect that the HIV epidemic has had over the last four decades on men who have sex with men (MSM), as well as on the scientists studying the epidemic, policy-makers, and members of society who have engaged with the MSM community. Race explores how HIV social science has engaged with MSM, particularly in urban Australia, with comparisons to similar situations in Europe, the US, and Canada. His investigation spans topics including the gay party scene, choosing partners via technological devices, the definitions and implications of ‘barebacking’ (the practice of sex without condoms), and an analysis of ‘chemsex’ (i.e. when people take drugs to ‘enhance’ sex). Through these explorations, the author takes us into a community that has had to navigate their lives, loves, and sexual choices beneath the shadow of this disease, and allows us an intimate view into their experiences. Early in the book, Race reveals to the reader that not only is he a social scientist, but he is also a gay man who was diagnosed with HIV in 1996. Race has an understanding of, and access to, this complex world, and can approach this topic in ways that perhaps a detached or neutral observer might not be able to. Indeed, he suggests that being in the ‘midst of things’ allows his study to present the ‘personal and social experiments with the problems of HIV’ (p. 3). Throughout his book, Race does an exemplary job of not asserting himself into the text, remaining neutral and non-judgmental whilst discussing topics in a way that avoids shaming participants. In chapter 1, Race discusses the potential benefit of hybrid forms of studying HIV social science, and how they might be ‘assembled to better incorporate and produce scientific findings’ (p. 19). This is a cogent idea in relation to the book's contents and structure. It is an empirical, deeply researched text that is expertly woven with narrative prose, interviews, and case studies. The hybridity of academic and narrative styles creates an accessible read that can be equally appreciated by social scientists, students, and non-experts who have an interest in this topic. Kane seamlessly weaves sources throughout the book from social science research, the work of Michel Foucault, queer theory, and pop culture, such as the 1980s movie Flash Gordon. In chapter 8, he also uses his own messages from an app, called Scruff, to exemplify the utilisation of digital apps to communicate veiled disclosure (the subtle indication to others of one's HIV status). The book is structured so that chapters two to six examine how over the years of dealing with the HIV epidemic, MSM have become responsible players in working towards HIV prevention and harm reduction. Chapter 2 reviews the historical scene of gay partying and how it became a communal infrastructure for gay life, from which new protocols of care arose around sexual health and HIV/AIDS. In chapter 3, Race explores serosorting (the practice of choosing sexual partners based on HIV status) and how that was affected by changing technologies, including dating websites, as the need grew for disclosure of status and for MSM to have a choice in partners who were either HIV positive or negative, depending on their own situations. Chapter 4 situates barebacking in scientific and technical frameworks, illustrating the fluidity of its meaning amongst different people at different times, as well as looking at both the positive and negative aspects of this practice. Chapter 5 discusses heightened fears between sex and death brought on by HIV/AIDS through the lens of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) - drugs that can be taken to reduce the chances of acquiring HIV. More specifically, Race looks at the pros and cons with respect to the MSM community regarding the availability of such medications. Chapter 6 follows these fascinating discussions with an examination of responsibility, where Race's outlines his goal to ‘develop an argument and conceptual framework for tracking the ways in which responsibility for HIV infection is attributed, and the effects of these attributions’ (p. 111). In the second part of the book, Race digs deeper to focus on digital advancements, which have become a prime environment for sexual encounters, and how those digital infrastructures are changing sex and drug practices. He does an excellent job of providing nuanced, complex definitions and discussions regarding behaviours that may be familiar to, but misunderstood by, the general public. Chapters 7 and 8 take a closer look at chemsex and the role which online hookup devices have played in such instances. Race's aim is to disrupt the normative discourse on chemsex, which depends on the renunciation of substance abuse, and proposes that there may be some benefit to the participants of such practices. My only concern with the book was where, in chapter 3, Race details what online profiles on cruising/dating sites might include. Due to the ubiquity of online and mobile apps in contemporary society, this may feel redundant to someone reading the book in 2018 and beyond. Additionally, mobile apps such as Grindr are not discussed until chapter 7. This can be explained by the more historical narrative of earlier chapters, but its notable absence in chapter 3 was problematic. Even a brief mention, or note that it would be discussed later, would alleviate the feeling of disjointedness. But overall, The Gay Science is a rigorously researched text that provides a unique view into the complexities with which the HIV epidemic, combined with advances in medicine and technology, has created within the MSM community. It is an engaging, enlightening, and informative read that I recommend to colleagues.

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