The secretive body: Roland Barthes's gay erotics

Studies of Roland Barthes' writings usually tackle the absence of any open admission on the writer's part regarding his suspected homosexuality. The issue became more marked with the publication of 'Incidents,' which presented a geography of Barthes' supposedly homosexual activities in Morocco. An analysis of the descriptive constraints in Barthes' works as they generate a different body and other affects will reveal a Barthesian sensuality that is friendly and loving as it avoids combat or aggression. On the other hand, a more sympathetic reading of Barthes will show that his concept of sex is one that is reserved yet full of intentions.