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Public Space, Public Morality: The Media Construction of Sex in Public Places

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Abstract

Public sex has been the focus of a number of academic texts in recent years, but while some comment more generally on how the media have presented specific forms of public sexual activity, it remains unclear how the media have constructed these undertakings. The phenomenon consists of a number of subcultures aimed at providing sexual enjoyment in public settings in different ways. There has been evidence that those engaging in public sex undertake significant risk that, while motivating for those taking part, can lead to a number of tragic consequences. Some of these consequences include physical attacks by members of the public as well as susceptibility to robbery and even abduction. This article will explore one of the possible reasons behind an unfavourable view of public sex in the public conscience- the mass media, and in particular, newspapers in the United Kingdom. The way in which the media have constructed various forms of public sex will be explored, as well as the information provided in reports, and in particular, the detailing of locations of Public Sex Environments (PSEs).

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Notes

  1. Ashford (2007).

  2. From 1996 to 1997 ‘This Life’, a BBC television drama showed a number of scenes relating to same-sex sexual activity. In 2007 ‘Emmerdale’, the ITV soap opera, portrayed a man (Grayson Sinclair) being attacked while cruising for sex in a park. Also in 2007, The BBC’s ‘Extras’, written by the comedian and actor Ricky Gervais, included a cameo role by George Michael based around cruising for sex on Clapham Common in London. Also, the 2007 TV drama ‘Clapham Junction’ revolved around the lives of gay men over a 36 h period, and included scenes of public sex and related issues.

  3. In 1980, ‘Cruising’, starred Al Pacino as an undercover police detective in the underground gay sex scene in New York City. The 2009 film ‘Dogging: A Love Story’ portrayed a journalist researching the UK’s outdoor sex scene.

  4. Public sex venues (PSVs), which are private indoor spaces such as “gay saunas, gay pornography cinemas and gay bar backrooms” (Frankis and Flowers (2005)) could be construed as a form of public sex for example, dependant on how one constructs ‘public’. It may be that PSVs are not ‘public’ sex due to the privacy of the space, or it may be that the anonymity or notion of sex without having to form a relationship with the other person(s) make these activities public in nature. It is necessary to explore specifically which activities will be included for research purposes therefore.

  5. Coxon (1996, p. 118).

  6. See Byrne (2003).

  7. Ashford (2009).

  8. Ashford (2007).

  9. Bell (2006).

  10. Ibid.

  11. These include swinging, swapping, fetish parties and sex in commercial sex venues: Flowers and Langdridge (2007).

  12. Binson (2001).

  13. As highlighted, the gender makeup is different, with cottaging and cruising consisting of MSM, and dogging being a heterosexual sexual activity. Additionally, those engaging in these activities take transient ownership of different spaces, with cottaging taking place in public conveniences (Ashford (2006)) and cruising and dogging taking place in various outdoor locations, including parks, car parks (specifically in relation to dogging) and landmarks/tourist sites. Also, the activities revolve around different movements and interaction. During cottaging interactions, nothing is spoken, and this is “crucial to the maintenance of privacy in public settings” (Humphreys (1970, p.12)). Cruising activities also include a number of silent interactions aimed at engaging the interest of other MSM (Flowers et al. (2000)).Dogging, on the other hand is an interaction dependent on technology and clear signals (using cars, which is a continuation of the use of technology: Bell (2006)).

  14. Binson et al. (2001).

  15. Flowers et al. (1999).

  16. Byrne (2003).

  17. Ashford (2006).

  18. Byrne (2003).

  19. Rogers, Lois. 2006. Police force is top gay employer. The Sunday Times. January 15.

  20. Edwards, David. 2004. DOGGING FASHION; DAVID EDWARDS VISITS BEAUTY SPOT COLLYMORE MADE INFAMOUS TO DISCOVER. The Mirror. March 6.

  21. _. 2004. Outdoor ‘fun and frolics’ not without risks, warns expert. Birmingham Post. March 3; Spender, Tom. 2004. Muggers target people gathering in car park at night. This is Hertfordshire. March 11; Oliver, Joe. 2004. Beauty spots are ‘dogged’ by pervs. The People. March 21; Gardner, Andy. 2004. Sex sites dogged by thugs. Sunday Mirror. March 21; Wainwright, Martin. 2004. Delegates wrestle with sex in parks. The Guardian. September 9; Kinsella, Annette. 2005. Police close off gay laybys after attacks; Notorious pick-up points targeted by criminals. Coventry Evening Telegraph. February 22; _. 2005. ‘Dogging’ site target for robbers. This is Hertfordshire. July 27; Lewins, David. 2005. Warning signs over robberies at beauty spot. Bath Chronicle. October 22; McQueeney, Kerry. 2006. Robbers target gay men in cruising spots. This is Local London. October 9; _. 2007. Internet bid to warn ‘cruisers’. Lancashire Evening Post. August 8.

  22. _. 2004. 'I was a victim of gaybashing in Louth's notorious public toilets'. Louth Leader. January 22; _. 2004. Outdoor ‘fun and frolics’ not without risks, warns expert. Birmingham Post. March 3; Oliver, Joe. 2004. Beauty spots are ‘dogged’ by pervs. The People. March 21; Gardner, Andy. 2004. Sex sites dogged by thugs. Sunday Mirror. March 21; Kirkham, Sophie and Kennedy, Dominic. Homophobic gang murder victim was survivor of Soho bomb. The Times. November 2; Kinsella, Annette. 2005. Police close off gay laybys after attacks; Notorious pick-up points targeted by criminals. Coventry Evening Telegraph. February 22; O’Neill, Sean. 2005. Barman dies in attack at gay cruising haunt. The Times. October 17; Smit, Martina. 2005. Barman killed at gay cruising spot. This is Local London. October 17; Dodd, Vikram. 2005. Murder on the common: Police fear anti-gay killers may strike again: Hunt on for two men who beat victim on way home Gay community urged to report previous attacks. The Guardian. October 17; _. 2006. 'Dogging' in historic park prompts vigilante threats. Herts & Essex Observer. January 12; _. 2008. ‘Gay hate’ loo knifing. The Mirror. October 21.

  23. Mason (2003, p. 90).

  24. Public sexual activity is not always a criminal offence, but this research relates to its reporting in the media, which as will be explored often reports such activities in terms of criminality.

  25. Williams and Dickinson (1993).

  26. Maguire et al. (2007, p. 302).

  27. Levi (2006).

  28. Johnson (2007) highlights the anxiety within the mass media in relation to the proposed repealing of the existing offences targeted at MSM. The government also recognised the concerns raised by the media: Home Office (2002, p. 10).

  29. Section 71 creates a specific offence of ‘Sexual activity in a public lavatory’, if a person engages in activity that a ‘reasonable person’ would consider ‘sexual’ within a public convenience.

  30. Andrew (2007).

  31. Cohen (2002, p. 29).

  32. Emig (1928); English (1944); Andrew (2007).

  33. Dor (2003).

  34. Ibid.

  35. _. 2004. Town's public toilets haunted by perverts. Louth Leader. January 14.

  36. Oliver, Joe. 2004. BEAUTY SPOTS ARE 'DOGGED' BY PERVS. The People. March 21.

  37. Howarth, Mark. 2005. GONE TO THE DOGS; [Location removed] PLAGUED BY PERVS. Daily Star. February 6.

  38. Jones, Daniel & Insall, Roger. 2005. PEOPLE INVESTIGATION: PARK & WRITHE; CAR PERVS' NAKED LUST INFESTS THE HAUNTS OF INNOCENT CHILDREN. The People. September 11.

  39. Edgar, Gail. 2006. PERVS IN OUR PARKS; RANDY COUPLES ARE HEADING TO BEAUTY SPOTS FOR KINKY SEX AND ORGIES. The People. February 12.

  40. Reynolds, Leda. 2006. Perverts drill holes in toilets; DEBATE: Lewd behaviour behind loo closure. Birmingham Evening Mail. July 21.

  41. White, Richard. 2007. Charl's big day dogged by pervs. The Sun. March 22.

  42. _. 2007. SAINT & SINNERS; FURY AS PERVS MEET FOR DOGGING ON [Location removed]. The Mirror. March 26.

  43. _. 2008. Pervs' charter. The Sun. October 17.

  44. This extract contains many more issues related to the construction of those engaging in public sexual activity. These themes are explored later in the paper.

  45. Emphasis Added.

  46. Schroder, Jonathon. 2004. ‘Flush out gay cruisers from our park toilets'. This is Local London. August 20.

  47. Proudlove, Chris. 2004. Action demanded at notorious car park. The Sentinel (Stoke). November 6.

  48. _. 2004. Town's public toilets haunted by perverts. Louth Leader. January 14.

  49. Fitzgerald, Emma. 2004. ANGER OVER GAY SEX AND DRUGS AT LOOS. The Sentinel. February 3.

  50. _. 2004. STAN: MY SEX SHAME. Nottingham Evening Post. March 2.

  51. Davies, Barbara. 2004. FOOTIE ACE CAR SEX SHAME BERG BLASTS BIG ECK; COLLYMORE: I'M A DOGGING' ADDICT. Daily Record. March 2; Walton, Anthony. 2004. COLLYMORE IN THE DOG HOUSE OVER CLAIMS OF 'THRILLS WITH STRANGERS'; FOOTIE STAR CAR PARK SEX SHOCK. Daily Star. March 2; Harris, Ed. 2004. SOCCER STAR'S SEX DISGRACE. The Evening Standard. March 2; Davies, Barbara. 2004. WHAT I'VE DONE IS SO DISGUSTING. I BEG FOR FORGIVENESS; EXCLUSIVE: COLLYMORE'S SHAME. The Mirror. March 2; _. 2004. STAN: MY SEX SHAME. Nottingham Evening Post. March 2; Syson, Neil & Hagan, Lucy. 2004. COLLYMORE'S CAR PARK SEX SHAME. The Sun. March 2; _. 2004. OUTDOOR ADULT 'FUN AND FROLICS' NOT WITHOUT RISKS, WARNS EXPERT A website advertising Cannock as a ‘dogging' site. Birmingham Post. March 3; Connor, Neil. 2004. FORGIVE ME, SORRY STAN BEGS FRIENDS. Birmingham Post. March 3; Burns, Janice. 2004. 10,000 SCOTS GO DOGGING; BOOM IN STRANGER SEX' ORGIES. Daily Record. March 3; _. 2004. THE DOCTOR: THIS CAN DESTROY COUPLES. Daily Record. March 3; English, Rebecca. 2004. Shame of Collymore. Daily Mail. March 3; _. 2004. IT'S WOOF JUSTICE. Daily Star. March 3; Pilditch, David. 2004. STAR ADDICTED TO HAVING SEX WITH STRANGERS IN CAR PARKS; SHAMED SOCCER ACE COLLYMORE FIGHTS TO SAVE HIS MARRIAGE. The Express. March 3; Shennan, Paddy. 2004. PADDY SHENNAN: IT'S A REAL DOG'S LIFE FOR STAN. Liverpool Daily Echo. March 3; Carroll, Sue. 2004. SUE CARROLL: CHARLIZE HAS SUFFERED. STAN IS INSUFFERABLE. The Mirror. March 3; Taggart, Frankie. 2004. Doggers' Dyke. This is Worthing. March 3.

  52. Taggart, Frankie. 2004. Doggers' Dyke. This Is Worthing. March 3.

  53. Buckley, Will. 2004. SportComment: Dogged Stan's dogging dogs: Britain's fastest-growing sport has a star in Collymore, says Will Buckley. The Observer. March 7.

  54. Gardner, Andy. 2004. SEX SITES DOGGED BY THUGS. Sunday Mirror. March 21.

  55. Kitzinger (1988).

  56. O’Brien (2006).

  57. Powles, David. 2005. SORDID GOINGS-ON IN OUR PARKS. Burton Mail. February 3.

  58. http://www.nrs.co.uk/index.html. Accessed 21 January 2010.

  59. http://www.nrs.co.uk/downloads/pdf/download.php?filename=newspapers_200909.pdf. Accessed 21 January 2010.

  60. Duffy, Gerry. 2005. KILLER HUBBY'S GAY SEX SECRET. The Sun. September 7. (Emphasis Added).

  61. _. 2005. Cottaging puts play on pause. This is Local London. November 2.

  62. _. 2007. Sex shock near scout campsite. Halifax Courier. February 28.

  63. For example: _. 2006. Evil peadophile in police 'safe house'. Bristol Evening Post. May 27; Gaunt, Jon. 2009. Paedos must pay real price for twisted lust. The Sun. October 2; Kirby, Ian. 2009. 10 CHILDREN SAVED BY SARAH'S LAW. The News of the World. March 15; Basnett, Guy. 2009. PERVERT CENTRAL; We reveal the nation's places with the highest concentration of sex offenders. The News of the World. January 11; Haywood, Lynsey, Coles, John, Willetts, David. 2008. MY SEX BEAST EX GOT WHAT WAS COMING; NO TEARS FOR MURDER FIEND. December 13; _. 2008. Pervert scandal. The News of the World. November 30; Basnett, Guy. 2008. Paedo postcode lottery. The News of the World. September 28; Simmonds, Ellie. 2008. Families of pervert's victims speak out. The Oxford Times. May 17.

  64. _. 2004. KINKY ROMPS NEXT TO OLD FOLK'S HOME. Daily Record. August 25.

  65. _. 2005. Flush Them Out. This is Lancashire. February 25. (Emphasis Added).

  66. Powles, David. 2005. TOILET SEX PERV FINED. Burton Mail. April 23.

  67. Cox, Emma. 2006. George defends cruising for kicks. The Sun. July 26.

  68. Malone, Carole. 2006. IT'S KENNY I FEEL SORRY FOR. Sunday Mirror. July 30. (Emphases Added).

  69. Referring to the ‘gay community’ can be problematic in itself. The term has been explored in a number of ways, including its consistence of gay sub-cultures and in terms of the individuals that are part of that community or communities (Barrett and Pollack (2005); Sullivan and Jackson (2001)).

  70. Ashford (2007).

  71. Frankis and Flowers (2005).

  72. Littlejohn, Richard. 2007. So that’s what they mean by BlueWatch!. Daily Mail. October 5.

  73. Littlejohn, Richard. 2007. Why won't the police enforce Blunkett's sex laws? Daily Mail. October 26.

  74. Scott, Paul. 2008. Did Diana try to have an affair with George Michael?; He's promising to tell all in his £6m life story but lost in such a haze of dope, how much can he recall? Here, the Mail jogs his memory … Daily Mail. January 26.

  75. Carr, Mary. 2008. Being gay is not a defence against a charge of preying on young men who are dirt poor. Daily Mail. February 7.

  76. Atkinson, Jane. 2008. Rock Bottom. News of the World. February 24. (Emphasis Added).

  77. Press Secretary to Conservative Party Leader William Hague, 1999–2001.

  78. Platell, Amanda Platell's People; No George, your vile behaviour disgusts us. Daily Mail. July 29.

  79. This was a response to George Michael’s suggestion that “a very large part of the male population, gay or straight, totally understands the idea of anonymous, no-strings sex”.

  80. See Footnote 52.

  81. Syson, Neil and Hagan, Lucy. 2004. COLLYMORE'S CAR PARK SEX SHAME. The Sun. March 2.

  82. Davies, Barbara. 2004. FOOTIE ACE CAR SEX SHAME BERG BLASTS BIG ECK; COLLYMORE: I'M A DOGGING' ADDICT. Daily Record. March 2; Walton, Anthony. 2004. COLLYMORE IN THE DOG HOUSE OVER CLAIMS OF 'THRILLS WITH STRANGERS'; FOOTIE STAR CAR PARK SEX SHOCK. Daily Star. March 2; Harris, Ed. 2004. SOCCER STAR'S SEX DISGRACE. The Evening Standard. March 2; Davies, Barbara. 2004. WHAT I'VE DONE IS SO DISGUSTING. I BEG FOR FORGIVENESS; EXCLUSIVE: COLLYMORE'S SHAME. The Mirror. March 2; _. 2004. STAN: MY SEX SHAME. Nottingham Evening Post. March 2; Syson, Neil & Hagan, Lucy. 2004. COLLYMORE'S CAR PARK SEX SHAME. The Sun. March 2; Connor, Neil. 2004. FORGIVE ME, SORRY STAN BEGS FRIENDS. Birmingham Post. March 3; English, Rebecca. 2004. Shame of Collymore. Daily Mail. March 3; _. 2004. IT'S WOOF JUSTICE. Daily Star. March 3; Norman, Matthew. 2004. MATTHEW NORMAN COLUMN: STAN GIVES BBC THE COLLYWOBBLES. The Mirror. March 6; Edwards, David. DOGGING FASHION; DAVID EDWARDS VISITS BEAUTY SPOT COLLYMORE MADE INFAMOUS TO DISCOVER. The Mirror. March 6; Buckley, Will. 2004. SportComment: Dogged Stan's dogging dogs: Britain's fastest-growing sport has a star in Collymore, says Will Buckley. The Observer. March 7; Tyrrel, Rebecca. 2004. Low society. Sunday Telegraph. March 7; Malley, Paul. 2004. DOGGING SEX SHAME OF SECOND TOP MIDLAND SOCCER STAR (…AND TV PRESENTER, POLICE CHIEF AND LOCAL POLITICIAN; EXCLUSIVE. Sunday Mercury. March 7; Adams, Tim. 2004. Review: Stan of many parts: Fresh out of the Priory following his tabloid ‘dogging shame', the ex-football star met his shrink – and The Observer - to talk about his addiction to sex and ambition to act. The Observer. March 14; Brown, Derek. 2004. COLLYMORE MADE DOGGING VIDEO. ON HIS HONEYMOON. The Sun. March 27.

  83. Sanders, Deidre. 2004. HIS HABIT IS ROOTED IN DEPRESSION. The Sun. March 2.

  84. Shennan, Paddy. 2004. PADDY SHENNAN: IT'S A REAL DOG'S LIFE FOR STAN. Liverpool Daily Echo. March 3.

  85. _. 2004. 'DOGGING' SCANDAL AT [Location removed]. Worksop Guardian. November 5.

  86. _. 2004. Barriers go up to beat car park perverts. Derbyshire Times. December 9.

  87. _. 2006. ‘Dogging' in historic park prompts vigilante threats. Herts & Essex Observer. January 12.

  88. _. 2005. Rape: It is only a matter of time. This is Lancashire. March 9.

  89. Thomas, Sean. 2007. When sex games go wrong. The Times. November 30.

  90. See for example: Kemp, Jackie. 2004. Why so many of us find the Beckham story compelling. The Herald (Glasgow). April 14, where the author highlights that:

    “Some commentators see the idea that the private lives of all and sundry are up for discussion as part of the "feminisation" of the public agenda. They hark back to a time when there was a huge divide between public and private, when the dilemmas that people faced were dealt with in fiction and the home life of our own dear Queen was not up for scrutiny. In those days, had George Michael been caught cottaging the comment would have been confined to one paragraph in the Times: "A Mr Michael was fined 25s yesterday for public indecency" and that would have been it. Except for the whispers.”

  91. Two reader’s letters highlight the possible diversity of views. One reader describes the use of the term ‘pervert’ as “archaic, value-laden, child-like and utterly subjective”: _. 2008. ‘Pervert' is an archaic term. Leicester Mercury. January 30. Another reader (different publication) instead suggests that ‘outing’ those engaging in public sex will not ‘make things worse for them’: “If they have a propensity for dressing up as Batman and lurking about parks late at night. I think you will find that the party's over and exposing them is likely to lead them to take a little counselling”: _. 2008. Top cop must go over sex comments. Lancaster and Morecambe Citizen. October 22.

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Acknowledgments

This article was developed from the paper ‘Public Sex and the Law: The Current Situation and Media Coverage’ delivered at the Annual Conference of the Socio-Legal Studies Association in April 2009. The author wishes to thank those that helped develop the ideas for this article through discussion, and would like to thank in particular Chris Ashford and Vanessa Munro.

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Hennelly, S. Public Space, Public Morality: The Media Construction of Sex in Public Places. Liverpool Law Rev 31, 69–91 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10991-010-9073-x

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