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New Lover's Lane for College?
Efforts by campus cops to crack down on non-students who use public restrooms for random gay-sex encounters are being called homophobic by some folks in the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (GLBTQ) community, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education.
After a number of complaints, officials at Boston University cracked down and began arresting violators on charges of indecent exposure or lewd and lascivious behavior. Other campuses have seen similar crackdowns.
But some gay students say persecuting participants in this so-called "tearoom" culture is discriminatory.
"Heterosexual couples exploring sex on Lovers' Lane is romanticized, but same-sex sex is treated differently," says Luke Jensen of the University of Maryland at College Park. "The question of public versus private can be a shifting paradigm. Why is a bathroom stall considered a private space except when it comes to sex?"
Supporters say the practice also is an integral part of the coming-out process for homosexuals.
"For some men, their whole connection with gay life stemmed from their experiences in bathrooms," says William L. Leap, a professor of anthropology at American University and the editor of the book, Public Sex/Gay Space. "Tearooms became the basis for social interactions, a way of getting into a friendship network.
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After a number of complaints, officials at Boston University cracked down and began arresting violators on charges of indecent exposure or lewd and lascivious behavior. Other campuses have seen similar crackdowns.
But some gay students say persecuting participants in this so-called "tearoom" culture is discriminatory.
"Heterosexual couples exploring sex on Lovers' Lane is romanticized, but same-sex sex is treated differently," says Luke Jensen of the University of Maryland at College Park. "The question of public versus private can be a shifting paradigm. Why is a bathroom stall considered a private space except when it comes to sex?"
Supporters say the practice also is an integral part of the coming-out process for homosexuals.
"For some men, their whole connection with gay life stemmed from their experiences in bathrooms," says William L. Leap, a professor of anthropology at American University and the editor of the book, Public Sex/Gay Space. "Tearooms became the basis for social interactions, a way of getting into a friendship network.
****(Crazy, something you want to tell us about?
)
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