| Abstract | The article explores theoretical and methodological understandings of the archive, drawing on a research project that investigates reminiscences of using and encountering pornography in Finland. The contributors’ reminiscences of what they have done with porn can be seen as forming an archive of feelings, which sheds light on attachments and practices often considered ephemeral and hidden, and focuses attention on the queer significance of those practices. We further consider the blurred boundaries between an archive, a collection and a stash in terms of their secrecy, publicness and affective intensity. Finally, we propose that the notion of somatic archives allows for analysis of how encounters with pornography layer through time in our bodies, contributing to forms of sexual knowledge. The article thus examines interconnections between memory work archives, personal porn stashes and somatic archives while analysing the importance and power of pornography in and for everyday life, sexual histories and cultural memory.
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