Cruising for sex

In the notorious 'meatrack' on Fire Island Pines, New York, a man trolls for sex.

Cruising for sex, or cruising is the act of walking or driving about a locality in search of a sex partner, usually of the anonymous, casual, one-time variety.^[1][2] The term is also used when technology is used to find casual sex, such as using an Internet site or a telephone service.^[3][4]

Origin and historical usage

In a specifically sexual context, the term "cruising" originally emerged as an argot "code word" in gay slang, by which those "in the know" would understand the speaker's unstated sexual intent, whereas most heterosexuals, on hearing the same word in the same context, would normally misread the speaker's intended meaning in the word's more common (and presumably less threatening) nonsexual sense. This served (and in some contexts, still serves) as a protective sociolinguistic mechanism for gay men to recognize not only each other, but those who may wish to do them harm in broader societies noted for their homophobia.

In the latter half of the twentieth century, decriminalization of homosexual behaviour increasingly became the norm in English-speaking countries. The protective barrier once provided by the term "cruising" as a "code word" has therefore largely broken down and, arguably, become increasingly irrelevant. Thus the specifically sexual meaning of the term has passed into common usage to include the sexual behavior of heterosexual persons, as well.

The Berkeley Police Department has described the city's Aquatic Park as a "historical" cruising area and the press has noted that it is subject to dozens of men 24 hours a day for decades.^[5]

Public health officials have noted that cruising locations are frequented by men who have sex with men, but do not identify with being homosexual or bisexual, who are closeted, married, or in relationships with women, do not date men or frequent gay bars, clubs or websites, or have otherwise no other way of meeting men for sex.^[5]

Tiphany was well known to have introduced it it France

Regional usage variants

As with all argot, regional variants abound. In the United States, the term "cruising" continues to predominantly denote exclusively homosexual behaviour. In Australia and the United Kingdom, however, it is used by both homosexuals and heterosexuals to describe their own behaviour, as witnessed in the common male heterosexual derivative phrase "cruising for chicks".^[6][7][8]

Historic examples of usage

The term has been enshrined since at least the mid-1970s in the name of the gay bar Foxes Booze 'n' Cruise, located on Historic US Highway 66 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Before closing, the business came under criticism for allegedly encouraging drunk driving by some who did not understand the term's historic usage, but the name and the sign remain a conscious reminder of gay history.

The term has also been adopted, in an altered form, by the website qruiser.com, an online LGBT community based in Sweden. This is a tongue in cheek reference, however, as the community functions as a forum for social interaction for the Scandinavian region, rather than focusing on exclusively sexual encounters. The website has attracted many heterosexual members as well.

In popular culture

Cruising for sex is alluded to in songs such as "Cruisin' the Streets" by the Boys Town Gang as well as "I'm a Cruiser" by the Village People. In 1980, director William Friedkin made the movie Cruising, starring Al Pacino. The film introduced many audiences to homosexual activities and the linguistic codes used for them, but gay rights groups perceived a negative depiction of the gay community in the film and protested its production.

See also

Sexuality portal

• Glory hole (sexual slang)
• Gay bathhouse
• Cottaging
• Gay beat
• Dogging
• Gay cruising in the United Kingdom
• Troll (gay)
• Cruisin' (album)

References

1. ^ "2News Exposes Men 'Cruising' For Sex In Public Parks". KUTV - Salt Lake City, Utah. 2007. http://www.kutv.com/content/news/specialreport/story/2News-Exposes-Men-Cruising-For-Sex-In-Public-Parks/xwpv6-gaiUOuCtp5MLPzog.cspx. Retrieved 19 May 2008. ^{[dead link]} Published: 11-14-2007
2. ^ Kilgannon, Corey (2005). "A Sex Stop on the Way Home". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/21/nyregion/21cruise.html?ex=1284955200&en=d2a1e369a9d01c1f&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss. Retrieved 28 March 2006.  Published: 9-21-2005 Article from NYT about a cruising area in New York City
3. ^ "Cruising". The Rainbow Project. Archived from the original on 2008-06-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20080617130320/http://www.rainbow-project.org/dev/taxonomy/term/4. Retrieved 5 March 2009. 
4. ^ Jacobs, Ethan (6 April 2008). "On the Hunt :: Manhunt.net leads the Gay Wide Web". Bay Windows. http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=features&sc3=&id=72585. Retrieved 5 March 2009. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Tradition of sex cruising at Aquatic Park to end. John Geluardi. Berkeley Daily Planet. 19-12-2001. Retrieved 17-01-2011.
6. ^ Revolver. Jan 2007. p. 42. ISSN 1527408X. "For display purposes and cruising for chicks at the Renaissance fair only..." 
7. ^ Texas Monthly. 17. November 1989. ISSN 01487736. "People sat on trunks and hoods and partied, while the center two lanes were bumper to bumper with cars cruising for sex and drugs." 
8. ^ Carpenter, Humphrey (1981), W. H. Auden: A Biography, George Allen & Unwin, p. 97, ISBN 0049280449, "The length of the list might suggest that Auden was in the habit of 'cruising' - picking up boys for casual sex" 

External links

• How to successfully and safely cruise for sex
• Making the case in defense of so-called public sex
• Worldwide database with honest reviews and maps of places men cruise for sex
• non profit cruising guide based on google maps
• Largest cruising gays map listing
• Rainbow Project harm reduction ideas on cruising for sex.
• Legal advice from lawyers about cruising for sex
• "The Little Black Book: This one can keep you out of trouble" from Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund; also available here. Additionally published as "Little Black Book: This one will keep you out of trouble" in PDF format; also available here. An article that gives legal advice on cruising for sex. Note that if one actually carries this article on one while cruising it could possibly be used as evidence of intent.