Public Sex/Gay Space

Male homosexual activity in public and semipublic locations is a central dimension of gay culture around the world. While never denying the danger of anonymous public sex in the age of AIDS, this book aims to go beyond moralisms about the need to regulate unsafe sexual practices, to discuss the significance of sex in public. This multidisciplinary study provides a portrait of why public sexual activity is such an integral part of gay culture. Contributors investigate a broad cultural spectrum of gay sexual space and activity, exploring issues such as visibility and secrecy, as well as economic status and social class, and the historical trajectories through which certain locations come to be favoured sites for sexual encounters.