M. K. Thekkumkattil presents "The Sexuality of Care: On Nursing, Kink, and a Future Without Hospitals"

M. K. Thekkumkattil presents *The Sexuality of Care: On Nursing, Kink, and a Future Without Hospitals*, an essay collection that combines memoir and manifesto to examine critical-care work, queer kink practices, and the possibility of transforming—or ultimately abolishing—the hospital system while preserving and expanding care.

Thekkumkattil draws on their experience as an ICU nurse seeking meaningful ways to care for patients during the COVID era, as well as their experiences with chronic illness, controlling relationships, gender awakening, and new kink-informed relationships. The essays confront the violence embedded in professional nursing and argue that the principles of radical consent found in queer kink can help imagine a different future for patients and care workers.

The author is a trans, disabled, kinky writer and nurse whose liberation is connected to Palestinian liberation. Their work has received support from SmokeLong Quarterly, Tin House, Queer Art Mentorship, Lambda Literary, VONA, and Writing by Writers. Their writing has appeared in the chapbook *Weaving Liberation* and in *Black Warrior Review*, *smoke and mold*, *__figuration*, *Year Round Queer*, and *In the Future There Are No Hospitals*.

When: Tuesday, October 27th 2026

Showtime: 7:00 pm

Venue: Red Emma’s, 3128 Greenmount Avenue, Baltimore, MD

Tickets: Price not available

RSVP: RSVP through Withfriends

Run time: Not specified

Ages: Not specified

Accessibility: Not specified

Venue hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 9:00 am–8:00 pm; Sunday, 10:00 am–4:00 pm