TEAROOM SEX UNIT PDF

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November 11 TEAROOM TRADE

Module 10: HUMPHREY’S RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ●

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Defining tearooms ○ Public bathrooms for impersonal sex for men ○ Large urban areas, malls, businesses, universities ○ Low publicity, not really investigated by police ○ “cottaging “ in england ○ May have come to its name as T for toilet written down as tea ○ Very minor act ■ Fine and 6 months in prison ○ It is not considered very serious in the eyes of the law Purpose and scope of humphreys research ○ Humphrey says he learned about them while he was a priest Humphreys research methodology- discovering the tearooms ○ He interviewed 12 men who engaged in these tearooms ○ He didn’t find it hard to locate these rooms but did not know where they were before he started ○ Graphic and gay graffiti ■ Graffiti tells you what to do for what you want ○ Broken pane of glass is typically a sign of an active tearoom ○ The watch queen role Desroches’ study- discovering tearooms ○ 190 men charged ○ Someone was killed in victoria park ○ Likely easy to find on the internet now Humphreys study the watch queen role ○ Humphrey observed people in these activities ○ People were suspicious of him observing ○ Watch queen gets their pleasure by watching ○ No doors on the bathroom stalls ○ Connected the people to their license plate and then later interviewed them in their homes (50 people) ○ Hard to have watch queen role in some bathrooms in places like malls ■ No need to have a look out in these bathrooms Humphreys sample- in-depth interviews ○ Because he was there so frequently they men began to trust him ○ The intensive dozen ○ Tried not to generalize ○ He received a lot of criticism for his watch queen role

Module 11: RULES, ROLES, PLAYERS AND RISKS OF THE GAME ●

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Rules of the game ○ Rules is the word for norms ○ No exchange of biographical information ○ Do not engaged in behaviour with teens or children ○ No coercion ○ These rules are in place to minimize the risk involved ○ Very impersonal, no talking ■ May say thanks or make a sexual comment The players ○ Watch queen, voyeur lookout role, waiters ○ Straight people are easily identified ○ Toughs ■ Beat up or harass the men involved ○ Queers and peers ■ Boys prostituted themselves to gay boys

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They enganged with gay men they didnt like to look down on them Considered themselves to be heterosexuals even though they are engaging in sexual activity with gay men Insertee and inserter role ○ One sided oral sex ○ Aging crisis ■ Majority of the insertee’s were older ○ Insertee is someone who is more acceptable of their sexual identity ○ Some men would go into the bathroom looking for sex but left after ○ They have some sort of signal for people to know which role they are interested in playing ○ Many interaction in stalls for more privacy and comfort ○ No reciprocity when it comes to fellatio Non-verbal gestures and tearoom sex ○ Everything is done in silence ○ Linger in the bathroom ○ Look around, make eye contact ○ Looking for exploratory signals ○ Not going to offend someone who is straight, but able to be picked up if someone if looking for the signals ○ Passing notes ○ Tapping your foot for a blowjob ○ Some are super quick and get right to it whereas others go slow and are nervous ○ Insertee may stick around after to fellate 4 or 5 more people ○ Length in the bathroom varies, 20-30 minutes ■ 5-40, average is 18 minutes Coping with intrusions ○ They stop if they don't recognize the person ○ Stop the action ○ Look innocent ○ Observe the intruder as to why they are there ○ Not likely to be bothered ○ Resume after the person has left ○ Gestures play a pivotal role The risks of the game- the police ○ Possibility of being arrested ○ Potential of blackmail ○ 190 men arrested and exposed in newspaper Risks- toughs and venereal disease ○ Throwing bottles and rocks at these rooms ○ Minimal sexual disease transmission through oral sex ○ High risk of HIV with anal ○ Not common for disease transmission ○ Risk of blackmail, disease, arrest or assault

Module 12: A TYPOLOGY OF TEAROOM PARTICIPANTS ●

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The people next door ○ Interviewed 50 men ○ He did not open with the knowledge of knowing that they engaged in tearoom sex ○ Used another 50 men as a control group ○ 13 men refused to be interviewed ○ 54% were married ○ 62% had lived hetero lifestyles ○ 58.4 were married, 6.3 separated or divorced, 3.15 were common law ○ Many of these men valued and wanted to protect their family ○ A large part of their self-concept is largely heterosexual Humphreys typology of tearoom participants- the trade ○ Independent or dependent ○ Someone not married is independent, they dont have as much at stake or someone to hide this from, less

vulnerable Type 1; the trade ■ Married men with dependent occupations ■ The group with the highest risk ■ Slightly lower socioeconomic class, lower education than the other 3 levels The ambisexuals ○ More liberal about their sexual identity ○ More open and willing to talk about it ○ Women who marry these men likely do not know about this side of them ○ Open minded sex and less hung up on tearoom sex activities ○ The recignize their homosexual side and activities ○ The ambisexuals are not trying to flee an unhappy relationship, unlike the trades ○ Seek sex because they likely dont recieve it at home ○ Tearooms add spice to their lives ○ ¾ play the insertee role at one time Gay participants in tearoom sex ○ Unmarried and independent occupations ○ Less to lose if they get caught ○ Identify as part of the gay community ○ Play either role ○ They make up the smallest percent ○ 14% ○ Tearoom sex is not really accepted in the gay community ○ Gay men have lots of alternatives so they do not need to go to these rooms Closet queens ○ People who are in the closet still ○ Hidden deviants ○ Fairly religious and lonely ○ Afraid of being in the homosexual subculture ○ May be predatory ■ Seeking out young boys ○ Not really fitting into either of the homo or hetero culture ○ Socially isolated ○ Risk losing their job but also risk the criminal justice system by getting involved with young boys ○ Known to be promiscuous ○ Hustling young boys ○ Lone wolf type ○

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Module 13: THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ●

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The breastplate of righteousness ○ How men present themselves to the public ○ Present themself in a “righteous manner ○ Proper and convsevative ○ Breastplate of righteousness acts as a shield to def;ect anyone from suspecting they are involved in tearooms ○ Misdirection ○ Express religious values ○ Emphasis on how conservative these men are The breastplate of righteousness- desroches’ study ○ Very consevative, well groomed, proper and religious ○ One man committed suicide ○ He anticipated the loss of everything in his loss ■ Anomic suicide The protection hypothesis- humphreys ○ Protection hypothesis ○ Does Not protect offenders from police surveillance, being arrested, being disgraced or losing their family The reaction formation hypothesis- desroches

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○ Reaction formation ○ Psychiatric, psychological concept ○ When people do things that are not necessarily rational ○ Breastplate of righteousness is an overreaction to guilt ○ Emotional catharsis ○ Compensation ○ Done for emotional reasons rather than reactive ○ Reaction formation tries to explain the breastplate of righteousness as a way of coping with guilt The self-validation hypothesis- desroches ○ Personal or internal consumption ○ They are able to live with themselves because of the breastplate of righteousness ○ It reserves them, they aren't perves, or jerks ○ By convincing other people that they good, upstanding people, they are able to convince themselves of it Hypothesis #4 cause or effect- desroches ○ Assume the tearoom behaviour comes first, then develop a conservative life style, when in reality it isnt true ○ All hypotheses have validity ○ Conservative lifestyle came before their involvement ○ Could become more conservative and religious after engaging in tearoom sex ○ self-validation

Module 14: DESROCHES’ RESEARCH ON TEAROOMS ●

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Desroches study of tearooms- data and research methodology ○ Very detailed information from the police ○ Photograph men going in and out of the bathrooms ○ Locations of tearooms is different, and lack of lookout role Shopping malls as a favorite location for tearoom activity ○ Park bathrooms are still more present ○ Can occur in large companies, universities ○ Womens side of the bathroom is rarely used ○ 85-90% only use these bathrooms for sex purposes ○ Malls have increased numbers ○ Less risk of detection in mall versus parks ○ Police patrol public parks ○ Less arrests in malls, warning or trespassing ban ○ Climate control Desroches’ study- age and occupation ○ 14-68, average age 41 ○ 3/190 people were teens ○ Both groups fit profile of middle aged men ○ Wide occupational status ○ No real patterns with occupations ○ Mainly working class, middle or lower ○ Not many really poor or really rich Desroches study- marital status ○ Desroches study ■ 58.4 married and living with spouse ■ 6.3 separated or divorced ■ 3.14 common law ■ 68% live hetero lives ○ Humphreys study ■ 54 married ■ 8% separated ■ 62 hetero lives ○ Majority lived in their area ■ 30/37 men lives outside of the area in community 4 ■ 90% or more lived in the area Sexual behaviour in the washrooms- desroches’ findings

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○ Influenced by the characteristics of the washroom ○ In a place that cant be seen from the opening ○ Could leave if they hear someone coming in ○ Done in a stall with doors ○ Activity to show they were interested for 15-20 minutes before the sex acts occured ○ Some went right into the action, others preferred the flirtation and foreplay ○ Very very occasionally anal happened ○ Sometimes done under the stall so they never see each others face ○ Most situations the inserter leaves first ○ Hand mirrors, pens, markers ○ Paper bag used ○ Sometimes done in the open and sometimes more than 2 people ○ Men in a circle, “jerk circle” 4 or 5 men ○ Men waiting outside the bathrooms Humphres’ study and desroches’ study- an overview ○ Most of the data discovered by police is congruent with humphreys observations ○ Do not know anything about each other outside of these rooms ○ Patterns are very similar in the 2 studies ○ Discreet and careful

Module 15: MOTIVATION TO TEAROOM SEX ●

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The motivation to tearoom sex ○ Sexual encounters ○ Makes more sense for gay or bi men ○ Straight men want to keep that side of them hidden ○ Gay men who are in the closet are not ready to come out to everyone ○ Straight men just want to be the insertee, in their mind its still straight Motivation continued ○ Anomie theory merton's version ○ May not have access to real sex ○ Their wives have put on weight or so not want sex ○ Men do not blame their wives ○ Not attractive enough to have affairs ○ Prostitutes are expensive ○ Perception that this is safe, impersonal, they dont know each other ○ Quick, free safe ○ More danger, risk, more interesting A question of deterrence ○ Men are fairly complacent ○ Men are not too concerned about benign arrested ○ Drop their guard after a long time ○ Underestimate police capabilities ○ Do not understand the severity or humiliating aspects until they are caught ○ Unaware it is a criminal offence...