Revolutionary Desires : Xuanlin Tham on The Political Power of the Sex Scene

We're huge fans of the work of journalist and critic Xuanlin Tham and after years of collaborating on events around film and community, it is SUCH a thrill to come together around a book, their debut: Revolutionary Desires: The Political Power of the Sex Scene.

Revolutionary Desires is a phenomenal addition to the 404 Ink series INKLINGS, perfect bite-sized non-fiction books to dip into delightful niche topics by emerging talents.

So what then are you diving into with this one? Sex scenes!

Cinema is becoming less and less sexy; yet more and more people are rallying against sex on screen. What could explain this growing anti-sex sentiment among the producers and consumers of screen culture?

The sex scene’s intimacies, transgressions, and dedication to pleasure can be uniquely poised to rupture dominant narratives of capitalism and the violences that flow from it. Why is the sex scene, demonised as it is, therefore more politically important and subversive than ever?

Revolutionary Desires seeks to answer that question and to explore the book we have Anahit Behrooz hosting Xuanlin in the bookshop!

Xuanlin Tham is a film and interdisciplinary arts curator based in Edinburgh. They are passionate about expanding art’s storytelling role in the social change ecosystem, and exploring new frameworks through which we can build greater solidarities for human and more-than-human flourishing. As a writer, they have been published in British GQ, The Skinny, i-D, Little White Lies, AnOther Magazine, W Magazine, and gal–dem, among others. They were a finalist for PPA Scotland’s Young Journalist of the Year Award in 2022.

Our host Anahit Behrooz is a writer, editor and journalist based in Edinburgh covering film, literature, cultural politics, and the local arts.