In the context of homosexuality and gay sexuality, the term “gay cruising” the targeted, active and usually mobile search for a sexual partner - usually in public areas.
This search can be done on foot, by bike, by car or even by boat. The term “cruising” comes from the English seafaring language and means something like “to cruise with the ship” or “to sail around”.
How does gay cruising work?
This form of searching for quick sexual adventures with same-sex partners basically works through non-verbal signals that show general interest. These signals are known in the scene and to those in the know.
It can be certain forms of body language or relevant gestures - or previously defined items of clothing, color codes or the wearing of certain, eye-catching accessories.
This type of contact initiation breaks with common social conventions, according to which an intimate shared experience is usually preceded by a more or less formal introduction, getting to know each other or mediation by third parties, agencies or other intermediaries.
Cruising is unmistakably aimed at having quick, spontaneous, harmless and often anonymous sex in private or public spaces. Without a long warm-up phase and sometimes no verbal exchange is necessary.
gay cruising draws its special appeal and gives many practitioners a certain kick.
However, this practice must be clearly distinguished from prostitution, as no money is involved and no other material intentions are involved.
Gay cruising has a long tradition
It is wrong to assume that this is a relatively new phenomenon. The first mention goes back to Ovid , who wrote about it in his Ars amatoria from the 1st century BC. He suggested market squares, temples or the racetrack as favorite cruising areas.
Even in the Middle Ages, there were repeated reports of urban areas and public toilet facilities being mentioned as relevant meeting places.
Photo by Kevin Grieve, Unsplash
homosexual subculture developed, especially in the booming London, with numerous relevant meeting places such as gay bars and clubs (so-called Molly Houses ).
At that time, the English authorities made systematic efforts to suppress this new subculture - for example with the help of raids and arrests.
cruising areas developed - in London, among others, in parts of Covent Garden and West Smithfield, in the green areas of Lincoln's Inn, the gardens of St. James's Park, on London Bridge and at the Royal Exchange. At this time the first active flaps with glory holes appeared.
Almost simultaneously, similar scenes developed in other European cities - including Paris, Vienna and Amsterdam.
The US YMCA buildings - not least because of the song by the Village People. This meant places of exclusive young masculinity that were used as cruising areas.
Especially in the early 20th century, this was completely contrary to the propagation of chastity at the time and repeatedly caused a lot of public uproar.
There were frequent opportunities for sexual advances and experiments among young men, especially in the sports halls and later also in the swimming pools. For technical and hygiene reasons, people often swam naked in them in the mid-20th century.
In the early 1980s, AIDS led to increased caution in casual sex partners
Cruising behavior was ultimately changed significantly by the Internet and, most recently, by the rise of numerous dating apps, which have made contact with potential sex partners much easier.
transgression also plays a role - a kind of fetish for living out private acts in (semi-)public. Meetings in the wild are still very popular – so-called wild gay cruising .
You can find out more about this at www.gay-boys.org
Cruising hotspots and popular meeting points
Basically, nowadays you can arrange meetings almost anywhere - even with the help of your smartphone - in order to spontaneously indulge your desire with a complete stranger.
However, there are still a number of popular hotspots and relevant locations to indulge in your search for a sex partner:
Offline:
- Clubs/parties
- Cafes/Bars
- Gay saunas (indoor cruising in a protected gay area)
- Parks/Glory Holes/Parking Lots
- Darkrooms
- Gay info shops
- Sex/porn cinemas
- Sex shops with video booths
- Leather bars/clubs
- Public toilets
- Subway stations
- arcades
- Gyms
- Beaches / dunes / swimming lakes / river banks (outdoor cruising)
- Bookstores
Care is taken to ensure that the following requirements are met for a suitable cruising area:
- Ability to see many people in a short period of time or concentrated in one place
- Ability to lounge around without drawing attention to yourself
- Ability to escape quickly if necessary
- Opportunity to expose genitals - as in urinals, baths and saunas
On-line:
- Gay chats
- PlanetRomeo
- GayRomeo
- Gaydar
- Grindr
- Growlr
- Scruff
- Manhunt
- Craigslist
- CruisingforSex.com
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