For straight
travelers, the word “cruising” may only imply traveling via cruise ship. But in
queer culture cruising has an entirely other meaning, the act
of seeking sexual partners in public spaces, be they parks or bathrooms or
alleyways. The sexual encounters that occur in these spaces are usually
anonymous one-time liaisons.
In Cruising:
An Intimate History of a Radical Pastime, Alex
Espinoza argues that the origins of the practice trace back to Ancient
Greece. Attitude notes that cruising in England
(and efforts to use the culture to “catch” gay and bi men) was documented in
1698 when the first recorded instance of entrapment involved a gay man lured to
a private room in a London tavern.
Cruising was
once one of the only ways for gay men to meet other men for sex, but in the age
of hook-up apps it seemed to have lost its relevance or become a past-time of
only those with public or outdoor sex fetishes.
Sure, there
were still reports of the practice persisting, like when Attitude reported
on 2017's first Let’s Go Outside party “at George Michael’s former stomping
grounds on Hampstead Heath.” Which Zia X, a 28-year-old Londoner described as
“a celebration of him refusing to be shamed into silence and to make a video
about how wonderful it is to fuck outside.”
But mostly,
cruising was considered consigned to the history books — until the pandemic
hit. In 2021, the Grindr blog BLOOP reported on “a notable
resurgence in the classic act of cruising.”
Sex and
relationship therapist, Joe Kort explained the phenomenon, saying, “I think
that there’s fatigue in the social and physical distancing. Cruising offers the
opportunity to have physical connection, but from a distance, so it’s a perfect
fit for the current pandemic situation.”
Although many
use Grindr to order sex direct to their homes, there have always been those who
still used it to hook up in public places. Newer apps like Squirt (which has a
cruise feature), and Sniffies (a map-based app perfect for cruising) are
helping to direct a new generation to cruising grounds.
And walking
through public parks or along public beaches looking for sexual opportunities
is still a common practice. We’ve all heard stories about men wandering through
the Ramble section of Central Park and stumbling into a sexual experience. And
for some, that’s the biggest turn-on.
“Cruising and
public sex is a kink. It’s taboo, and the risk of getting caught and/or watched
can really charge folks’ erotic energy,” licensed therapist, Todd Baratz, told
Grindr last year.
“Cruising’s
intrinsic connection to nature, in combination with the vulnerability of
exposing yourself to participate, make it an almost spiritual and very humbling
experience,” argues John Ripploh, writing for coupleofmen.com. “While
cruising is certainly not without risks…[by] breaking through the societal
norms that restrict us in our everyday lives, cruising is a celebration of
lust, equality, and attraction.”
Ripploh calls
traveling and cruising “the perfect match,” writing, “The vulnerability of
being nude in a strange place, protected only by a few dunes or a forest, is
liberating and extraordinary. Beyond our conventional mating rituals, the
cruising area is an arena of male virility that allows individuals to feel like
an elemental part of nature again…it’s the men that visit it that keep it
alive.”
SOURCE: OUT TRAVELER
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