Larry Kramer, the influential New York activist, documented this scene, as do the grainy erotic videos made by filmmaker Peter De Rome. Similarly, Fire Island became a relatively safe space (away from prejudice). New York’s piers and waterfronts were cemented as a cruising hub, and have been depicted as a site of both extreme danger and community.
In the 1970s, the Gay Liberation movement emboldened some men to cruise more freely, even if still persecuted. The law made it illegal to “frequent or loiter about any public place soliciting men for the purpose of committing a crime against nature or other lewdness.” Thousands of men were arrested for having sex in public bathrooms across the city in the 1920s, when–he adds–cruising was more of an open secret among Americans than we might think. Hugh Ryan writes in his book When Brooklyn Was Queer of the Shackno Bill, under which cruising was first criminalized in New York. Cities like San Francisco and New York were big meeting sites because as ports, at the turn of the 20th Century, they attracted a lot of queer people-sailors, sex workers, and people looking for industrial job opportunities away from home. Its history is first documented through police records and documents of raids on queer spaces date back to as far as 1810 in England. We have no real way of knowing when cruising started. Below is a quick rundown of how that’s evolved through time.
#GIF GAY MEN CRUISING CODE#
The term itself originated as a code word that shielded activities coined by gay males-thus creating an entire history and culture around it. While not gender-specific in definition, historically a lot of the writing and records on cruising centers around men. For bi or gay men who were not able to be out, cruising was about stealing a moment to be true to your sexuality, and for many, this remains the case–although it’s not without its risks. Back in the days when homosexuality was criminalized in America, this way of doing things was particularly necessary-coming up with innovative places to have sex, while identifying their next partner through as little as a moment’s eye contact. Long before apps like Grindr existed, cruising–the search for speedy sex with a stranger–was a creative and skilled pursuit. A 200-year history of gay culture’s hook-up scene.