Gay Cruising In England And Wales - Wall Stone Texture - White Stone Texture Manufacturer

History

History

The history of gay cruising is fairly poorly documented, as the illegality of gay sex meant that those who used such cruising grounds were likely to be discreet about them. Rictor Norton, author of Mother Clap's Molly House (a reference to Margaret Clap), is one of the few historians to address the topic. He believes that the first gay cruising grounds and gay brothels in London may have sprung up in the early 17th century. Theatres were sometimes denounced as such by moralists of the time.

Legal history

Before the 20th century, anal sex, whether conducted in public or private, was illegal under sodomy laws, including the Buggery Act set down by Henry VIII in 1533. The penalty for anal intercourse during most of this period was death, however, specific proof of successful anal penetration was required for this verdict to be brought; the lesser crime of "gross indecency" carried penalties including the pillory (as in the case of the Vere Street Coterie, who were arrested in a raid of a gay club in 1811), transportation, imprisonment, etc.

The death penalty for anal sex was lifted in 1861, however, gay men have continued to be at risk of prosecution for public sex. An 1855 law prohibited "gross indecency" including mutual masturbation and oral sex. Eventually, in 1967, the Wolfenden Report led to the legalisation of homosexual sex in private; no such legal privilege pertains to sex in public places either for homosexual or heterosexual sex.

A number of well known people have been arrested for sex in public places in England and Wales, including:

Simeon Solomon, who was arrested in a London toilet in 1873 with a 60-year-old stableman. He was later also arrested in France for a similar offence.

Wilfrid Brambell was arrested in a toilet in Shepherd's Bush on November 6, 1962.

Tom Driberg charged with indecent assult after two men shared his bed in the 1940s and used his position as a journalist several times to get off later charges when caught soliciting in public toilets by the police.

Peter Dudley, arrested in 1981 in a toilet in Didsbury.

Sir John Gielgud, arrested for "importuning" in 1953 in Chelsea.

William J. Field (Member of Parliament) arrested for persistently importuning in a public toilet in 1953. Field appealed against the conviction twice but failed on both occasions.

Joe Meek, arrested in a toilet in Islington in 1963.

Michael Turnbull was arrested in Hull for cottaging in a public toilet in 1968, before he became Bishop of Durham.

Peter Wyngarde, arrested (under his real name, Cyril Louis Goldbert) in Gloucester bus station public toilets in September 1975 for gross indecency with Richard Jack Whalley. He was fined 75.

Stedman Pearson, arrested in a toilet in New Malden in 1990.

Leigh Bowery, arrested for gross indecency at Liverpool Street Station in 1985.[citation needed]

Areas with a history of gay cruising

Norton (2007) lists a number of cruising grounds during the Georgian era. These included St. James's Park, Moorfields, the public privies at Lincoln's Inn, and Smithfield prior to the Gordon Riots.

Hampstead Heath has a long history of gay cruising with a long history of police arrests, homophobic attacks and, from the late 1990s, minimal active policing and support by gay sexual health organizations. During an interview on BBC News24, George Michael, who was allegedly caught cruising on Hampstead Heath by News of the World photographers, claimed that his cruising was de facto private because it occurred at 2am In 1992, MP Alan Amos resigned his seat after he was found by the police "engaging in a homosexual act" on Hampstead Heath.

Clapham Common is nationally known for gay cruising. The Labour Party MP Ron Davies resigned after national newspapers reported that he was attacked and robbed by a man whom he met on the Common. A number of homophic attacks have occurred around the common, including the murder of Jody Dobrowski. The gay themed film Clapham Junction was set around the lives of gay men in the area and included scenes of cruising and cottaging.

Current situation

The Sexual Offences Act 2003, which prohibits "sexual activity in a public lavatory", has nothing to say about sex in other public places. However anyone who engages in homosexual or heterosexual intercourse in public can find themselves charged with offences under the Public Order Act, if the police have sufficient evidence to convince a court of law that the activity was witnessed by a third party, or there was a high likelihood of the activity being witnessed by a third party.

Presently, there is an active population of men who visit cruising grounds, which include parks, picnic areas and lay-bys where sex takes place in the bushes or other sheltered areas. These areas exist in all parts of Britain, including isolated rural areas. The attitude of the police to cruising at any given location varies, according to the time of the day or night, and the level of public concern measured by the number of complaints from local residents and councillors. Occasionally, police will visit a cruising area during the early hours of the morning with the intention of advising cruisers of the risk of homophobic attacks, and any persons seen to be involved in sexual behaviour will be asked to move on rather than being arrested. A number of police forces actively participate in on-line discussions with cruisers in order to gather information on hate crimes and to discourage cruisers from using locations about which complaints have been received.

Many cruisers[who?] complain about the practice of leaving evidence of sexual encounters, such as discarded lubricant and condom packets, soiled toilet tissue and used condoms, because it draws the attention of other people to the fact that the area is a public sex environment, even if no sexual activity has been seen by others. The presence of such debris leads to complaints to the police and local council on moral or environmental grounds, and an increased police presence.[citation needed]

See also

Dogging

Footnotes

^ Hawkes, Gail (2004), Sex and pleasure in western culture, Wiley-Blackwell, p.127, ISBN 9780745616711, http://books.google.com/books?id=Hdn9i6FJs3UC

^ Talwar, Rajesh (1999), The third sex and human rights, Gyan Books, p.150, ISBN 9788121206426, http://books.google.com/books?id=YGHgAnrX06UC

^ Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution (1963), The Wolfenden report: report of the Committee on Homosexual Offenses and Prostitution, Stein and Day, http://books.google.com/books?id=x601AAAAIAAJ

^ Moran, Leslie J. (1996), The homosexual(ity) of law (annotated ed.), Routledge, ISBN 9780415079525, http://books.google.com/books?id=F-G8O95Yk2wC

^ London theatre record (I. Herbert) 9, Issues 1-13: 269, 1989, http://books.google.com/books?id=eSxaAAAAMAAJ, "In early February 1873, Solomon was caught fucking George Roberts, a 60-year-old stable man, in a public toilet off Oxford Street."

^ Winwar, Frances (1933), Poor splendid wings: the Rossettis and their circle, Little, Brown, and Company, pp.182-184, 241-242, 325-328, http://books.google.com/books?id=ddwCAAAAMAAJ

^ "News in Brief: Conditional discharge for television actor". The Times. December 13, 1962. pp.17. "Wilfred Brambell ... was conditionally discharged for a year and ordered to pay 25 guineas costs at West London Magistrates' Court yesterday for persistently importuning for an immoral purpose at Shepherds Bush Green on November 6"

^ Parris, Matthew; Maguire, Kevin (2004), Great parliamentary scandals: five centuries of calumny, smear and innuendo (revised ed.), Robson, p.126, ISBN 9781861057365, http://books.google.com/books?id=8u7obxZ7MawC

^ "News in Brief: Importuning by actor". The Times. February 25, 1981. pp.4. "Peter Dudley, ... was fined 200 at Manchester City Magistrates' Court yesterday when he admitted importuning for an immoral purpose in a public lavatory"

^ "Fine For "Persistently Importuning"". The Times. 22 October 1953. p.5. "John Gielgud aged 49, described on the charge sheet as a clerk, of Cowley Street Westminster, was fined 10 at West London yesterday on a charge of persistently importuning male persons of an immoral purpose at Dudmaston Mews, Chelsea."

^ Munn, Michael (2007), Lord Larry: the secret life of Laurence Olivier: a personal and intimate portrait, Anova Books, p.165, ISBN 9781861059772, http://books.google.com/books?id=-IrgcXteIMgC

^ Robinson, Shirleene (2008), Homophobia: An Australian History, Federation Press, p.118, ISBN 9781862877030, http://books.google.com/books?id=lWHOI2s9JqQC

^ Parris, Matthew; Prosser, David; Pierce, Andrew (1995), Great parliamentary scandals: four centuries of calumny, smear and innuendo, Robson Books, p.107, ISBN 9780860519577, http://books.google.com/books?id=mUlnAAAAMAAJ

^ Darlington, Andrew (2001), I was Elvis Presley's bastard love-child & other stories of rock'n'roll excess, Critical Vision, p.33, ISBN 9781900486170, http://books.google.com/books?id=UQtyBSE6risC

^ Lucas, Ian (1998), OutRage!: an oral history, Cassell, p.188, ISBN 9780304333585, http://books.google.com/books?id=6M-GAAAAIAAJ

^ Richards, Stephen (2003), Crime through time, Mirage Publishing, p.294, ISBN 9781902578170, http://books.google.com/books?id=KKEYVtatY4IC

^ Larkin, Colin (1998), Colin Larkin, ed., The Virgin encyclopedia of R&B and soul, Virgin in association with Muze Inc., p.121, ISBN 9780753502419, http://books.google.com/books?id=ci7aAAAAMAAJ

^ Howard, Patrick (30 July 2006). "Personal Column: 'I go with gay strangers. We have our own code'". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/personal-column-i-go-with-gay-strangers-we-have-our-own-code-409834.html. "George Michael has admitted to 'cruising' on Hampstead Heath. John O'Brien, a regular, knows the joys and pitfalls of al fresco sex"

^ Lyttle, John (30 May 1997). "The way some sections of the gay press carry on you'd think a fundamental civil liberty was under threat". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-way-some-sections-of-the-gay-press-carry-on-youd-think-a-fundamental-civil-liberty-was-under-threat-1264118.html. "You know gay summer has officially begun when Hampstead Heath is raided again. This summer, every summer ... The weather turns nice and the wildlife, you should pardon the expression, comes out. Hampstead locals taking their progeny for a little sun and air find both heels and buggy wheels sticking to discarded condoms and empty tubs of Crisco - those traditional, tell-tale signs that you have fairies at the bottom of your communal garden. Night and day, but especially night, there's the cackle of mating calls, beating-off around the bushes and a constant stream of furtive trade riding through the glen, occasionally stopping, the little Tinkerbells - so residents claim - to light a fire and verbally abuse those vicious homophobes who have the nerve to object. "I say, would you chaps mind awfully ..." when they turn a corner of woodland to find the Bum Boy Three going at it like the clappers against a mighty oak."

^ "Star to sue over 'cruising' claim". BBC News. 28 July 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5222652.stm. Retrieved 5 October 2009. "George Michael has said he is to take legal action against a man who claimed he had a gay encounter with the singer."

^ Assinder, Nick (17 January 2000). "Clutching at straws". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/603435.stm. "Mr Amos resigned his seat after he was found by the police allegedly engaging in a homosexual act on Hampstead Heath."

^ Milmo, Cahal (18 October 2005). "Murder in park was latest in spate of anti-gay attacks". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/murder-in-park-was-latest-in-spate-of-antigay-attacks-511391.html. "As he made his way home from visiting a friend, Mr Dobrowski was kicked and punched to death on the edge of a well-known gay cruising area on Clapham Common. Scotland Yard said yesterday the violence was so extreme that his killers had no use for a weapon. Fists and feet, rather than a club or knife, were enough to inflict the injuries to the head, neck and chest from which Mr Dobrowski died in hospital at 10.30am on Saturday."

^ Teeman, Tim (July 21, 2007). "Progress, what progress?". The Times. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article2097200.ece. "The drama set for the most publicity is Clapham Junction, about a disparate group of gay men whose lives cross one day after a civil commitment ceremony. They are all in some way compromised by their sexuality: they go to Hampstead Heath, Clapham Common and public lavatories for sex."

^ http://boards.gaybod.com/discus/messages/48464/48464.html

References

Norton, Rictor (2007), Mother clap's molly house: the gay subculture in England, 1700-1830 (2 ed.), Chalford Press, ISBN 9781845883447, http://books.google.com/books?id=89WSPwAACAAJ

External links

The Gay Subculture in Early Eighteenth-Century London

UK Gay Cruising map.

The Cruisin' Ground

world largest gay cruising guide based on google maps

UK Top 10 Cruisiest Gay Beach Guide 2009

Categories: LGBT history in the United Kingdom | Casual sexHidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from October 2009 | All articles with specifically-marked weasel-worded phrases | Articles with specifically-marked weasel-worded phrases from October 2009

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