Gay public cruise

Cruising

This blog was written by our Sexual Health Outreach Worker, Chris Dunbar.

Sometimes, having sex in the safe confines of your bedroom just doesn’t cut it. You may be looking for somewhere new, seeking thrill or adventure, or just not be able to include the sex you want within your four walls. You may have heard someone talk about cruising, or possess been asked if you want to go, but what does it actually mean?

Let’s have a look together at what it means, the laws, and general safety if you do settle to give it a go.

Definition

Cruising is walking or driving about certain areas, called cruising grounds, looking for a sexual partner. These meetings are usually one-off, anonymous encounters.

Cottaging is a legal title used to explain anonymous sex meetings in public toilets.

Where do the terms come from?

Cruising: The word originated as a gay slang term, sometime in the early 1960s, as a way for people who knew its definition to arrange sexual meetings. It was a way to plan sexual encounters without attracting the attention of people who may aspire to report them to the authorities, or inflict injure. The term is used many countries including the UK, the U

Secret Signals: How Some Men Cruise for Sex

Aug. 28, 2007  -- While many Americans may only be vaguely familiar with the idea of "cruising," there is a secret world of sex between men that exists in public places across the country.

The police officer who arrested Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, in a men's restroom at the Minneapolis airport for allegedly looking to engage in gay sex wrote in his June notify that he "recognized a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct."

Craig tapped his foot up and down and swiped his hand underneath the bathroom stall in which the undercover cop was sitting, according to the police report.

Those actions led to Craig's arrest by Detective Dave Karsnia and the senator's guilty plea to a disorderly conduct charge. Craig told reporters today that he did nothing inappropriate and said his guilty plea was a mistake.

Public places like men's restrooms, in airports and train stations, truck stops, university libraries and parks, have long been places where gay and bisexual men, particularly those in the closet, congregate in order to gather for anonymous sex.

Over time, people familia

Cruising in London: 17 places gay men meet for public sex, according to website

Now that dating and hook-up apps have made casual sexual encounters more convenient, the number of people seeking partners for thrills in public places is on the decrease.

But it is by no means a dying past-time.

Defying the Grindr and Tinder monopoly on casual sex, ‘gay cruising’ sites such as this one provide detailed maps of the most popular widespread spots in London to get it on.

The site lists open-air locales, toilets, bathhouses and bookstores with star ratings and tips for how curious forum readers can acquire the most from their cruising experience.

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Here are the most popular London hotspots:

The Underground

Topping the ratings is the ubiquitous London Underground.

Praised as a diverse pick-up hotspot, since its visitors include literally “anyone who rides the tubes”, the guide says that the last carriage on the train is the best spot for cruising.

Rating: 4 stars

Cannon Highway Station

A 4-star rating is given to the station, wi

The Freddie Guide to: Cruising

What is lgbtq+ cruising?

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Straight cruising is a vacay on a boat. Lgbtq+ cruising is the art of hooking up in widespread.

Cruising is almost always anonymous, and can be one-on-one, in groups, or with others watching. It’s done by using non-verbal cues to show you’re both interested – think of it like a covert, horny code. Some people will hold sex right there, while some may take their spouse to a more discreet location.

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Where did cruising come from?

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Cruising has a drawn-out history in the queer community. There are recorded cruising spots in cities like Toronto, London and New York dating back over a hundred years. In the hour before gay bars, when homosexuality was illegal, public places were often the only option for queer people to meet each other.

Evidence for this often comes from prosecution records – we know where people were cruising based on arrests for “sodomy” or “gross indecency”. These were historic offences made to criminalize lgbtq+ sex, and were almost exclusively applied to queer men. Sodomy and indecency laws were ordinary throughout the British Empire, but hold been repealed in most countries.

In the US, anti-sodomy laws were r