Jonathan A. Allan is Professor in the Department of English, Drama, and Creative Writing and Gender and Women’s Studies. Dr. Allan is an editor for Journal of Bodies, Sexualities, and Masculinities, interim editor of Boyhood Studies, and Vice-President of the American Men’s Studies Association. Dr. Allan sits on the Editorial Boards of Journal of Men’s Studies, NORMA: International Journal for Masculinity Studies, Journal of Femininities, Journal of Popular Romance Studies, and Chasqui: Revista de literatura latinoamericana.

Dr. Allan’s research has long focused on the taboo and the obscene, or topics that might be understood as “unmentionable,” and most often in discussion with men and masculinities. Thus, his work explores how men’s bodies, for instance, are censored or made taboo. For example, he has recently explored men and the procreative realm, studying men’s infertility as well as vasectomy. Dr. Allan seeks to understand the nature of the taboo and the obscene while also highlighting the importance of the topics under consideration, for example, the relation between health and the taboo. Why is it that so many are afraid of their bodies being seen, even in the context of a doctor’s office? In other work, Dr. Allan has considered the idea of nudity and nakedness, as well as the hints of the naked body (for example, underwear), to understand why this is (or is not) obscene. What connects all of this work is a curiosity about how obscenity is managed, understood, and challenged, as well as its limits.

His first book, Reading from Behind: A Cultural Analysis of the Anus (University of Regina Press, 2016), considered societal and cultural anxieties surrounding the butt, the rear, the ass, the anus.  His most recent book, Uncut: A Cultural Analysis of the Foreskin (University of Regina Press, 2024) provides an interdisciplinary study of the foreskin and circumcision. Instead of focusing on circumcision, Dr. Allan considers the foreskin, drawing on a wide range of sources (from sex manuals and pregnancy books to policy documents and scientific studies) to understand how it is discussed, represented, and understood. He continues to research the foreskin and circumcision. His article, “Reading Anti-Circumcision Activism in Clothed with the Sun: The Quarterly Journal of Clothes-Optional Living,” which appeared in the Journal of American Culture, received the Carl Bode Award for Outstanding Article (Popular Culture Association). This paper is part of his ongoing interest in anti-circumcision activism, particularly its fascinatingly complex and nuanced history. In his lab, Dr. Allan maintains an archive of material related to the penis, circumcision, and the foreskin, which includes everything from magazines to books, parenting manuals, books about puberty and growing up, sex manuals, and legal and policy documents. Many of these documents, particularly rare ones, are being digitized to ensure their preservation.

Dr. Allan’s current research focuses on nudism and naturism. In this work, he seeks to understand nudism and naturism as embodied practices and cultural traditions with their own ethical philosophies. Of course, nudism is often treated as taboo, but why is nudity taboo? Is the nudity found in art the same as the nudity found at a beach or resort? In this work, Dr. Allan explores nudism’s own ideas. He thus draws on the intellectual work of nudists, from nudist magazines through to memoirs and documentaries. This project explores how nudists think about a host of issues: is nudism anti-religious? Is nudism good for health and well-being? Does nudism promote body positivity? Why were nudists fascinated by Esperanto? How does nudism make sense of social issues, from racial integration to LGBTQ inclusion? Thus, he sets out to understand how nudist authors write back to and comment upon myths about nudism. In this project, Dr. Allan approaches this through a global lens and thus works with materials in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, and German.

Dr. Allan received his PhD from the Centre for Comparative Literature at the University of Toronto. He holds a Master of Arts in Studies in Comparative Literature and the Arts from Brock University, a Master of Arts in Spanish Language and Culture from Queen’s University, and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Spanish from Queen’s University.

Research Areas:

• Gender and Sexuality Studies
  • Critical Studies of Men and Masculinities
  • Critical Femininities
  • Circumcision and the Foreskin
  • Infertility
• Literary and Cultural Studies
  • Theories and Practices of Interpretation: Originalism, Textualism, Close Reading, Reader Response, Pragmatism
  • Psychoanalysis and Affect Theory
  • Sexuality, Eroticism, Obscenity, Indecency, Pornography, and Censorship
  • Nudity, Nakedness, Nudism, Naturism, Freikörperkultur, Gymnosophy
  • Fashion, Clothing, and Style
  • Photography, Visual Culture, and Cinema
  • Indigenous Literatures (Canada, USA, Latin America)
• Research Ethics and Methods
  • Right to be Forgotten
  • Ethics, Archives, and Special Collections
  • Sexuality and Research Ethics
  • Indigenous Research Methods and Ethics

Teaching Areas:

• American Literature (American Renaissance, 20th Century)
• Indigenous Literatures in Canada
• Latin American Literature and Cultural Production (19th and 20th Century)
• Literary Theory, Criticism, and Method (esp. 20th century)
• Sexuality Studies
• Critical Studies of Men and Masculinities

Upcoming Lectures

“Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: An Introduction to Christian Naturism.” Popular Culture Association. April 8-11, 2026. Atlanta, Georgia.

“‘Locker rooms make more sense than usual’: Making Sense of Masculinity, Hockey, and Heated Rivalry.” Hot Takes and Ice Skates: A Heated Rivalry Colloquium. May 14, 2026. Australia. [Online: Keynote Address]

Publications

Books and Edited Collections

Snip Snap: A Cultural Analysis of Vasectomy. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press (forthcoming, in production).

Uncut: A Cultural Analysis of the Foreskin. Regina: University of Regina Press, 2024.

Men, Masculinities, and Infertilities. London: Routledge, 2022.

Men, Masculinities, and Popular Romance. London: Routledge, 2020.

Reading from Behind: A Cultural Analysis of the Anus. Regina: University of Regina Press, 2016; and, London: Zed Books, 2016. (Japanese translation appeared in 2018)

Virgin Envy: The (In)Significance of the Hymen. Regina: University of Regina Press, 2016; and, London: Zed Books, 2016. (with Cristina Santos and Adriana Spahr)

Inversions of Power and Paradox: Studies of Monstrosity. Oxford: Interdisciplinary Press, 2012. (with Elizabeth Nelson).

Forthcoming Publications

• “Men’s Dress in Popular Romance Novels.” Intellect Handbook of Men’s Fashion. Eds. Jose Blanco F., Ben Barry, and Andy Reilly.
• “The Male Embarrassment: Nudism and the Fear of Erections.” Journal of Gender Studies.
• “Reading Sociopornographic Books: Genre and Dirty Work.” Porn Studies.
• “Elena as Novela del dictador: Juan Manuel de Rosas, Pulp Fiction, and Obscenity.” Canadian Review of Comparative Literature.
• “‘Does it really matter?’ Foreskins and Circumcision in Australian Nudism.” Journal of Australian Studies.

Select Publications (since 2023)

• “The Flight from the Feminine and Femmephobia in the Critical Study of Men and Masculinities.” Journal of Femininities 2.1 (2025): 61-86.
• “The Spectre of Docking in Circumcision Debates.” Sexualities 28.1-2 (2025): 336-348.
• “Fathers and Sons in Marcos Zimmermann’s Desnudos sudamericanos.” NORMA 20.2 (2025): 140-157.
• “‘So come on, folks, join the naturists and learn to love others’: Nudist Fantasies, Misconceptions, and Discourse in Facts on Nudism.” American Review of Canadian Studies 54.4 (2024): 407-425.
• “Seeking Smut: Collaborations between Researchers, Librarians, and Interlibrary Loans in the Study of Sexuality and Desire.” Porn Studies 11.1 (2024): 51-68. (with Heather E. Tornblom)
• “Fresa y chocolate: Heterosexuality, Paranoia, and Maricón Cinema.” Chasqui: Revista de literatura latinoamericana 53.1 (2024): 31-52.
• “‘Condoms Break. Birth Control Fails’: Heroes in the Procreative Realm and Jessica Scott’s Anything for You.” Journal of Popular Romance Studies 13. Online.
• “Reading Foreskin Quarterly: Aesthetics as Argument Against Circumcision.” Journal of Men’s Studies 32.1 (2024): 178-196.
• “Reading Anti-Circumcision Activism in Clothed with the Sun: The Quarterly Journal of Clothes-Optional Living.” Journal of American Culture 46.4 (2023): 308-318.
• “Softcore Romance: On Naked Heroes and Beefcakes in Popular Romance Novels.” Porn Studies 10.3 (2023): 283-298.
• “Preputial Phantasies in Lisa Braver Moss’s The Measure of His Grief.” Northern Lights: Film & Media Studies Yearbook 21.1 (2023): 51-61.
• “The Future of Historical Research in Popular Romance Studies.” Journal of Popular Romance Studies 12 (2023): Online.
• “The Normal Foreskin: Puberty, Adolescence, and Growing Up.” Boyhood Studies 16.1 (2023): 1-17.
• “‘Husbands are Pregnant, Too!’: Caring Masculinities in Pregnancy Books for Men.” Journal of Men’s Studies 31.2 (2023): 282-302
• “Against Typologies: Affect and Masculinity Studies.” The Routledge Companion to Gender and Affect. Ed. Todd W. Reeser. Routledge, 2023. 43-54.

Courses

• 30.142: Indigenous Literatures in Canada (Winter 2026, to be taught Fall 2026)
  • Cross-listed with Native Studies (68:142)
• 30.147: Literary Traditions
• 30.250: The Long Novel
• 30.338: Latin American Literature
  • Cross-listed with Francophone Studies and Languages (58:SPAN:338)
• 30.348: The Joy of Text: Literature and Sexuality
  • Cross-listed with Gender and Women’s Studies (36:348)
• 30.383: Between Men: Literature and Masculinities (to be taught Fall 2026)
  • Cross-listed with Gender and Women’s Studies (36:383)
• 30.401: Censorship and Obscenity
  • Cross-listed with Gender and Women’s Studies (36:401)
• 30.402: Erotica
  • Cross-listed with Gender and Women’s Studies (36:401)
• 36.261: Diverse Masculinities
• 36.366: Critical Readings in Gender (Winter 2026)