Skeggy Dogging: The Final Chapter?

Back in January I blogged about the Skegness dogging controversy.  Well, I'm sure you've been desperately awaiting news on how things panned out.  What's really interesting in the most recent report, is that the Police seem to have stepped away from the issue.  Instead, we have some gentrification measures - the cutting back of shrubbery - and a new Friends group has been set up.  Curiously, it states that it's hoped a Treasurer position will be created, which means they don't seem to have a third member who can be Treasurer.   So, it's two men wandering around sand dunes throughout the year looking out for sex just in case there are men wandering around the dunes all times of the year looking out for sex.  

Dogging as Bad Character

The Philpott case continues to rumble on and without getting into the details at this stage, it does strike me as interesting that dogging has featured throughout the case as a way of establishing 'bad character'. The latest aspect is - as the Sun reports today - that the man (who is accused of killing 6 of his 17 children in a fire) took his wife dogging as a way to cope with the deaths.  I'll explore these themes further when the trial is concluded, but I thought it worth noting the bad character aspect now.  I'm not aware of another case using dogging activity in this way.

'Dogging' in Skegness

I blogged earlier in the week on a public meeting due to be held in the town following com,plaints about dogging.  The Skegness Standard has provided rather detailed follow-up coverage to the meeting.   According to the local paper, over 30 residents gathered at the meeting, and the paper seems to enjoy pushing a (sadly) typical moral panic angle to the story.  In the face of this the local Police issued a statement which I can only praise for the appropriate understanding and application of the law relating to public sex.  The statement should be used as a model for other forces.  According to the Standard, it stated:

“The issue of Public Sex Environments is certainly not a new one.

 “Individuals or groups of individuals from many cultures and genres use public spaces to meet and sometimes to engage in sexual activity.

 “This can sometimes be seen as outraging public decency but on many occasions vast sections of our communities do not even know it is happening.

 “There is a fine line when dealing with such situations, as for some this is an accepted practice with strict codes of conduct. The problems arise when individuals undertake such acts within the sight and hearing of others going about their daily business.

 “To this end the police deal with such locations with sensitivity and also in a staged, partnership approach. When reports of people becoming upset by public displays of sexual activity are received, it is normally the practice that police attendance is at a level that is proportionate to the complaints.

 “We endeavour to engage with ‘Sexual Health Outreach’ who attend such sites and offer advice and encourage such activity to be undertaken responsibly.

 “We would then move to a stage of education where Community policing teams would engage with people who use such sites whether they be individuals attending for sexual activities or those who use the locations for other purposes such as dog walking and provide advice regarding the upset such visible sexual activity is causing or to listen to those who wish to complain.

 “It is only when such activity becomes intolerable with lack of consideration for the wider community that proactive intervention must be considered with the issues of illumination, signage and environmental sculpture being considered.

 “All of the above considered this does not mean that the police will not deal robustly with anyone who causes harassment, alarm or distress or who blatantly commits offences in these locations within the sight and hearing of the public.”

Community Policing Team Inspector, Terry Ball should be praised for his approach to the complaint.  Particularly in light of the earlier report on the meeting which seemed to link 'dogging' (still not defined in the Skegness situation) with paedophilia.

The paper reported that: 'One person present wrote: “A man was chatting to my young son and niece through my hedge inviting them to a ‘party in the woods’.'  Hang on, wrote?  Is this a typo or is this an individual writing a rather odd remark whilst others orally presented their arguments?  How is this in any way linked to dogging or public sex?

Beyond that, we have a report of men being seen in the wood (but no indication of what they are doing, or whether anything which might constitute public indecency occurred (and the fact they make reference to it happening in July suggests they've had a quiet time since).  Someone else apparently noted that it had been going on for forty years, which illustrates both the age of the speaker and the remarkable ability of Skegness to have survived this moral outrage for at least four decades.

Essex Named Gay-Cruising Capital Of The UK

It's the weekend and you might be wondering about possible day trip destinations.  You might be an overseas reader thinking about a potential holiday to the UK and wondering which delightful parts of this green and pleasant land that you should stop by.  Essex may apparently feature prominently if cruising is your thing.

Queerty report that www.thegayuk.com (in what I suspect is a bid to drum up Internet traffic) have stated that the cruising pages for Essex are their most popular pages, and thus they conclude it is the randiest place in the UK.  I'm not sure about that but it does reveal the continued popualarity of cruising listings, and interest in public sex.  The Queerty report also features a quote from Galop - a charity I admire and respect greatly - but their advice is a little misleading, as it doesn't take account of the specific statutory offence of sex in a public toilet.  The presence of the Police in public sex locations (where men may find themselves stopped) may also be in response to pro-active policing in relation to other offences - anti-social behaviour more broadly, car thefts, drug dealing etc.  I'm afraid I am therefore much less reassuring to would-be practitioners of public sex!

Skegness Public Meeting to Examine 'Dogging'

A public meeting will be taking in the English seaside town of Skegness this week (Tuesday 7pm, Gibraltar Point Visitor Centre) with one topic on the agenda:  dogging.  Or at least that's what they are calling it.  I'm unclear whether the behaviour in question is actually cruising or otherwise, but such is the growing usage of dogging to denote any 'public sex', it can be hard to tell precisely what behaviour people are referring to.

The meeting has been called by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust.  Two local media reports cover the rationale for the meeting (see the Skegness Standard here and This is Lincolnshire here).

This particular upset is interesting because the complaint appears to be not based on what 'could' be happening (although there is an element of that), but more on what has happened.  Or, so it seems at first.

A worker for the trust is quoted as saying: “People do bump into people doing unsavoury things. It’s not nice when a young child sees any of this stuff.” “If there’s a lady walking there with a couple of dogs, it’s not very nice.” “In some areas it happens at night-time and out of the way and it’s not a problem but this is happening during the daytime.” “There are people around leaving not very nice litter. It is not nice when a young child sees any of this stuff.”

So, how many people?  Are we talking about an isolated incident, a pattern of behaviour, or an epidemic of beach bonking the like of which Skegness has never seen before?  This is obviously a (quite reasonable) issue the Police have raised as the Trust request the public report incidents (what constitutes this?) so a timelog can be constructed (thus also confirming that the Trust also has no idea how much dogging is going on).

Has a young child seen anything?  Or is that conjecture?

Why the use of 'a lady' walking her dog(s)?  Are men likely to be less shocked?  Should we be less concerned by a teen walking a family pet prior to school?

Detail and facts are so often lost in these reports - but are important in determining an appropriate response.  The final section is really interesting, as the spokesman/worker seems quite happy for some dogging to take place.  The criteria for appropriate dogging seems to be that it takes place at night (when people are unlikely to unexpectantly come upon a scene), and where no litter is left.  Two sensible aspects which I think most doggers would endorse.

The issues are therefore: daytime (i.e 'visible') dogging/cruising, and litter.  I hope the meeting will focus on those issues rather than the approach of the media which in the two reports labels this as action against 'dogging', and as a 'fetish' (and thus perverse/wrong per se).  Let's see what happens next.

Bathhouse Videos

A hat-trick of thanks to the Bathhouse Blog as they are also responsible for this post.  One of the great challenges I face when teaching students about the phenomenon of public sex, is explaining the physical dynamics of these spaces.  Grupo Pases (a Spanish Sauna group) have produced a series of videos for their venues which offer a (albeit glossy) insight into their spaces.  Ignore the 'party' videos but take a look at the others - they are really useful, and are comparable to UK sauna spaces.  They are pretty safe viewing too although expect lots of bare bums on show, and a surprise amount of friendly contact.  The backing music choices are inspired.  Check them out here.

Legal Challenges for Saunas

Still on the subject of bathhouses and saunas, I was also struck on the Bathhouse Blog site by a couple of stories which reveal the contemporary legal issues that bathhouses seem to face in the UK.  The first concerns the rather well known Honeycombe sauna in Blackpool which was refused a license for alcohol beyond 8pm, but was granted extended opening hours.  I was slightly surprised by the 'sex club' fear comments as arguably that's how the club has traditionally been viewed.  However, their own website emphasises how the venue is mixed and for people of 'any sexual persuasion'.

The second story concerns Basement Sauna in Leeds.  It managed to get itself in a spot of bother over not having a music licence.  That must have been a blow for patrons, and not in a good way.

Bette Midler at the Bathhouse

I mentioned Bette Midler and her bathhouse entertaining days in my Sewell post the other day; the excellent Gay Bathhouse Blog links to a story in the Australian (and which first appeared in The Times) where she reflects on those experiences (sadly behind a paywall) and also a piece on the PriceSource website last month in which she talks about her bathhouse days.  Well worth a read.

Bareback Cottaging

I wrote a chapter which was published earlier this year on ‘Dogging Diaries and Cameras in the Cruising Ground’, in I.Rivers and R.Ward, Out of the Ordinary: Representations of LGBT Lives (Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing) (available on Amazon here).  In the chapter, I explored the visual (often in porn) presentation public sex.  Whilst dogging porn has exploded (so to speak) in recent years, there hasn't been the same amount of commercially produced 'cottaging' (or 'tearoom') porn.

I was therefore interested to learn of this new British release, entitled 'Bareback Cottaging'.   The cover images are predictably NSFW but can be viewed here, and you can also purchase the DVD there (I think it's available for download too).  You can follow one of the performers - Dan Jarrett - on Twitter.  Check him out here.

If you go down to the woods today...

Who among us hasn't worried about a precious beauty spot being spoilt by its own popularity?  Crowds flocking to one Lincolnshire beauty spot is causing a particular stir, as its become a popular dogging spot.

Curiously, the reaction to lots of people visiting is to try and stop them, which is a particularly Alice in Wonderland scenario.  We also have the usual press reports of someone suitably outraged: "It's sordid. I used to take my granddaughter there but I wouldn't do that now. You don't know what you will find, or who you might find."

So sordid, this individual has not seen anything, and not seen anyone.  It is the idea that offends, not witnessing an act.  The newspaper also dispatched a plucky journalist to investigate.  They reported that they saw people in 'luxury' cars and wearing smart clothes.  A sure sign of dodgy criminal types if ever I heard it.  We also read that people visiting this popular wood beauty spot ca be seen entering and exiting the said wood.  Which, I'm sure we can all agree, is something of a shock.

Read the full report here.

Birthday Blog: From the Archive Pt3

There have been a lot of moral panics around public sex over the years.  One of my favourite examples of absurdity comes from May 2008 and the rather unfortunate death of a cow after it consumed a condom.  A abject lesson for us all about the dangers of consuming condoms.

Of course, to be serious for a moment (it can happen), the story is actually about litter, and the need for expect our environment.  The loss of a cow is a significant loss to a farmer, and any littering should be condemned.  However, whilst public sex in these spaces is seen as behaviour that must be stopped because of such visible 'harms', other activities - such as concerts, picnics and so on - are encouraged, albeit with a 'take your litter home' campaign.

Cottage Re-opens: Community Announcement

You have to love local newspapers.  The Denbigshire Free Press (oh yes) have kindly provided a public service this last week, announcing to local citizens that after a period of closure their local city-centre cottage has re-opened and is available to gentleman callers.

I don't think that was their intention in this piece but hey ho. They report that the 'Town centre public toilets closed amid claims of lewd behaviour between men cruising for sex, have now re-opened.'

They do manage to talk to one 'source' who is suitably outraged.  Unfortunately, it seems they were outraged that the toilet was closed rather than being upset at any alleged rampant naughtiness.

According to the private-sector toilet managers:  “Due to vandalism we’re getting the toilets refurbished. They needed to be closed but I’m not at liberty to say anything more about why. We were asked by the local authority to close them.” A spokeswoman for Denbighshire County Council said the toilets were the responsibility of GFM but that: “Apparently there has been repeated attacks of unsavoury graffiti and damage to the cubicle partitions.”

So, they've presumably been strengthening the walls to prevent the construction of glory holes, through which a man can observe a man and/or dependent on the size of the hole (and indeed one's appendage) a penis might be placed typically for oral-based encounters and in extremely rare examples of physical flexibility, anal penetration.  The graffiti however seems to have been of less concern to the toilet managers for - as the paper reports - it remains.  Apparently so shocking we'll never know what it looks like unless we go see ourselves.  Road trip anyone?

Dogging Reporting and the Potential Case of the Sports Biscuit

As if Rupert Murdoch didn't have enough problems when he closed down the News of the World, he then discovered some Northern upstart had already taken the name 'Sunday Sun', hence when he finally launched his replacement newspaper, it was to be called The Sun on Sunday.

It is however the Sunday Sun which carries a fascinating piece this weekend about North East 'dogging spots'.  On the face of it, it's the usual "we have no news, quick George, trawl the Internet for some dogging posts we can be suitably outraged about", but it's actually a textured article with a number of aspects worth exploring.

For a start, we have a photograph of a Police notice from the relevant Police force taken 'in the field'.  We also have information from the Police saying they don't think dogging is a 'particular problem' across the region, and reminding the public that if they re concerned about 'this activity', they should report it to the police - a very sensible and measured response.

However, the journalist notes first of all the legal context, commenting (slightly inaccurately) that dogging falls through a legal loophole as it has to be witnessed.  In reality,  there has to be the possibility that it will be witnessed (it needn't actually be witnessed) by two or more people.  I don't think I've yet read a news story which gets the law right in this area.  

The line the paper peddles that 'that “get out of jail” card means police forces and councils trying to crack down on the bawdy behaviour have had little success', is puzzling and I wonder whether it is conjecture by the journalist, or a disgruntled cop sounding off.  Moreover, what does 'little success' mean?  Have there been targeted operations that have failed?  Does the paper have empirical evidence that it has not effected the amount of dogging, the location of dogging?  Is there a causal link between Police actions and any reduction (if evidenced) in the total amount of dogging?

Then we move to the usual listings, which will no doubt trigger snorts of derision by those familiar with those sites as some now have CCTV cameras, others barriers, and most have spatial conflicts (for instance with boys racers) which have long rendered them obsolete for doggers.  Indeed, one site mentioned is currently a new housing estate.  Just because a location might be posted, it does not indicate it is active.

Moreover - and in contrast to cruising and cottaging sites - accurate dogging site information is rarely posted in open forums because of these journalist trawls and the need to protect spaces.

The story about a dogging site 500 yards from a school therefore seems unlikely, and in any case, being 500yards from a school bonking for England at 3am is a rather different proposition to vigorous exploration of your vehicles suspension during mid-morning school break and the handing out of milk and a sports biscuit (there certainly won't be a picture of that leisurely pursuit on their biccy).

The Durham Police spokesman takes a commendably similar approach to Northumbria (in both cases, a thawing in attitudes to traditional quotes)  who notes dogging isn't a particular issue for the Force, and that the sites listed aren't 'hot spots'.

Unusually, the story does make reference to the film Dogging: A Love Story, which did use one historic dogging location, but which has long been avoided due to all this publicity, thus making an important point which the paper could make, but instead the newspaper uses it as an example of a comedic take on dogging (they've obviously not seen it - it's a dreadful film).

So yes, a more textured story but still inaccurate about locations and the law.  Why, one must then ask, do journalists keep returning to these stories in the absence of any clear justification?

Read the full Sunday Sun piece here.

Spaces of Contention: Vapourising Cruising Objections

Twitter followers will have seen in the last few days that I was fascinated by a  story concerning the Occupy movement in London.  Pink News reported that Occupy had responded to criticisms of their site on Hampstead Heath (a well known cruising site) by suggesting that their presence could 'vaporise' gay cruising.  It was a clear example of two sub-cultures fighting over constructions, the queering, of space.

In much the same way that we see conflict between a 'boy-racer', 'chav' culture and the sub-cultural practice of dogging, once again we were apparently seeing a space in conflict.  This was the all the more fascinating for the Occupy movement has sought to position itself as a leftist group, far more in line with radical queer approaches than conservative conceptions of space.  It was - put simply - a bit rich for a group which appears to defecate on a public space to object to ephemeral consensual encounters with typically no lasting trace.

However, the story didn't end there.  Pink News has revised the story, now making clear that the 'Occupy London' comments were from one individual - Timothy Sullivan - and didn't represent the Occupy movement.

Ronan McNern, member of the Occupy London press team and co-founder of the LGBTQI anti-cuts collective Queer Resistance, told PinkNews.co.uk this afternoon: “I was furious when I saw these comments, which are not representative of Occupy London, and against our own Safer Spaces Policy, which is very clear: ‘Racism, as well as ageism, homophobia, sexism, transphobia, ableism or prejudice based on ethnicity, nationality, class, gender, gender presentation, language ability, asylum status or religious affiliation is unacceptable and will be challenged.’ “These comments are not representative of Occupy London. Occupy is made up of individuals and these are the comments of an individual – comments that run contrary to positions decided by Occupy in its very earliest days and remain at the core of how we relate to and show respect for one another."

Although Sullivan now appears to have been side-lined, he spoke an essential truth.  His presence, and that of his fellow Occupy folks transforms the space, and their permanent presence will inevitably disrupt cruising behaviour within that space.

Although the response from Occupy is to highlight their own policies and their opposition to homophobia, it's unclear whether opposition to cruising per se amounts to homophobia.  If that were the case, then some gay men - such as the author Paul Burston - who have condemned contemporary cruising, are themselves homophobic.  Moreover, it pre-supposes that men who engage in cruising are gay - a very non-queer perspective on public sex behaviour from a groups that describes itself as 'Queer'.

I don't however think that his comments were motivated by malice.  Rather, I suspect he was trying to be a little clever and it backfired.  If you assume that the same socially conservative group who object to  cruising also object to Occupy, then his argument can offer something of a moral 'short-circuiting' - would you rather have men splashing their semen about the place or a few people rustling up vegan sausages in a morning? The alternative is that he was just an idiot.  A conclusion which one can not dismiss.

The story also highlights the problems with these social stands.  If you favour x, you must also favour y.  Just as this story suggest (shock horror) that not all lefty anti-capitalists support public sex, public sex advocates do not always support lefty anti-capitalists.  It might seem simple to suggest that these positions are not mutually exclusive and yet, we often do make these very assumptions.

Of course, whether we are discussing public sex or Occupy, we are talking about the 'ownership' of public sex and conflicts of legitimate use.  That debate will continue to run.

Read the full story here.

Leo Maguire to Make Dogging Documentary *Updated*

Leo Maguire is a rather wonderful photographer.  Known for his controversial documentary Gypsy Blood, it is reported that he has now won a  second commission from Channel Four, to produce another documentary for their True Story series, this time addressing dogging.  I am fascinated to see the approach he takes.  Rather than arranging a series of 'talking heads' (my Mum will no doubt sigh in relief that I am unlikely to appear on her television talking about dogging), his style is to observe and record, making the 'representational' aspect of dogging all the more important - will we have an attempt to capture a range of 'types' of dogger, if so, what types are there?  Will it be to show a series of middle aged slightly dumpy characters?  Will there be an attempt to have a whole class angle?

Does the type of person willing to feature as part of an observational documentary, especially on a subject such as dogging, skew the construction of dogging that will be presented? My suspicion is yes btw.  Moreover, what about the other characters - the chav boy racer who disrupts a dogging scene? The local community citizen 'outraged' or stoically responding to dogging (see my recent chapter in Johnson and Dalton, and the wonderful  story of a  woman taking a dildo to the Police station and advising them to put it in lost property).  What about the Police?  What do they really think?  How do they Police and why?  What about the policy aspect?  What of the role of pornography in constructing this phenomenon (as I explore in my Rivers and Ward chapter).  What of the increasingly important role of the Internet and technology in facilitating - and threatening - these encounters, as I and notably Mowlabocus have written about in the context of public sex more generally.

Some photography he produced documenting dogging from last year, can be seen here.   The accompanying text identifies some of themes - darkness, strangers, the Internet, outdoor and exhibitionism:

'Dogging is British slang for people engaging in outdoor sexual acts in secluded public areas. Lay-bys, woods and picnic spots around the UK often double as dogging locations once darkness falls. Carried out under the cover of night, the practice generally involves sexual acts between people who are complete strangers. Increasingly though, participants arrange to meet at a dogging site via the internet or through social-networking media. Dogging has no rules; it may take place between couples or in groups. Some like to watch, some are exhibitionists, others just like to talk, but most are there for the thrill of having sex with strangers.'

Reading it, and looking at the images I can distinguish them from the daylight based images of Chad States in his photography book Cruising, and am reminded in tone, and style of the artist and pornographer Liam Cole.  Cole produced a really quite wonderful scene in Treasure Island Media's Wild Breed called 'Woodland Cruising'.  It was also shown in a differently edited format as part of an art project (I wonder if Maguire has seen it), and this work from Maguire feels very inspired by that narrative of men cruising, and in this small sample of Maguire's work, seems to transpose that on to doggers.  Fascinating stuff.

There's actually a vast and complex story to be told here.  It's a tough job, and I wish Maguire well with the project.

Nice Gays, Bad Gays

Home Secretary Teresa May has 'come out' today via the Out4Marriage campaign site in favour of same-sex marriage.  However, it's still only the 'good' gays that she likes.  Not those nasty gay men who you know, have like gay sex and stuff.  'Cos that's bad.

Wearing her Maidenhead hat (no sniggers at the back), she condemned men show ere having sex in Maidenhead thicket.  This increase in a captivity follows the removal of hedges from a nearby lay-by which had been sued for public sex.  As happens in so many parts of the country, the problem had been moved from one place to another.   May therefore concluded that the behaviour had to be stopped all together.  Quite how this is panning out in reality will be interesting to see.

Although cruising sites do make reference to the story, the general concern of cruiser appears to be about the dominance of 'old' men rather than the forceful words of the Home Secretary.

Check out the full story here.

Dogging Down Under

Pity the poor dog walkers of Australia's Northern Territory for they have been reduced to paranoia that they will be thought of as doggers following the emergence of the dogging phenomenon down under.  Tremendous!  Check out the story here.

Dogging in Kent

Then someone came on the phone (if you pardon the phrase) from Kent saying "but it's sunny here too, we want our local paper to tell us where to go dogging".  Fear not good Kentish folk, for the Kentish gazette has been on the case and provided you with some helpful info.

Dogging in the Midlands

Fear not good people of the Midlands.  if you were thinking "it's sunny, we want our local rag to tell us with faux outrage all the good dogging spots in the area", the Sunday Mercury (for it is they) have published full details.  Check the story out here.

Where will Hospital Parking Charges Lead? Bonking in Cars Of Course!

Whenever a hospital puts up charges for visiting and staff parking, there's usually a local paper story along the line soy 'where will this lead?'  The Telegraph provides us with an answer. According to the paper, locals living in the shadow of Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford, Kent, have reported a string of incidents of 'lewd behaviour' after spotting NHS staff in uniform romping in their cars. Residents of Powell Avenue - just a three minute walk from the 478-bed hospital - say they are 'disgusted' at the antics of some staff.

A number of locals have called police to report nurses, technicians, support workers and cleaners 'going at it like rabbits' in their cars. Staff started parking in the road - which is free to park on - after hospital chiefs slashed the number of parking spaces available in the hospital car park for the 2,400 staff last May. The paper goes on to 'reveal' that  police are now stepping up patrols on the road after taking a number of calls from concerned locals.

I love the idea that Daren't Valley Hospital have modelled themselves on a  Carry on Film.  Oooo what a lovely looking pear!