When we think of voluntary risk-takers, we picture thrill-seeking daredevils who flirt bravely with danger – high-speed motorsport professionals, big-wave surfers and high-stakes alpine climbers.

These are individuals who the American sociologist Stephen Lyng identifies as ‘edgeworkers’, sensation-seekers who spend their lives training for and getting close to the ‘edge’ between soaring highs and crushing lows.

However, in many walks of life, the choice to brush up against the ‘edge’ does not materialise as immediate life-and-death acts. Defining and taking risks for most of us is relative to our backgrounds, our lifestyles, our occupations , responsibilities and aspirations.

The recent Channel 4 documentary 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story helps us to think through how re

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