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The Tearoom Trade - Impersonal Sex Essay

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Review: The Tearoom Trade – Impersonal Sex in Public Places
Laud Humphreys

Humphreys, L. (1970). Tearoom Trade: Impersonal Sex in Public Places. Aldine Publishing Company Chicago.

Tearoom Trade: the use of a public restroom as a place where men of all varieties go to engage in homosexual activity. By engaging in such activity they must accept costs and risks of this behaviour, however will receive a significant reward. As explained in Humphreys book, men involved in the tearoom game, use these facilities because of the social process that is structured to allow him to have a sexual encounter without any outside personal involvement with other participants. With the many rules in Tearooms, men find them much more attractive as it provides a certain protection against his social image, as this type of behaviour can be seen as very inappropriate and rather illegal. The Tearoom Trade as a sexual deviant activity.

Laud Humphreys, a sociologist, was dissatisfied with the idea of producing a study so mundane that only focuses on individuals who engage in deviant activity but nothing about how they participate in the deviant world. Humphreys found that the idea of deviant behaviour explored in terms of sociology explains it as organised behaviour that is important to the individuals that engage in the activity, yet not seen as a subculture. Therefore, Humphreys sets out to analyse the personal significance of the Tearoom Trade to the participant. And this is the foundation of

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