Laud humphreys controversy

Tearoom Trade

1970 book by Laud Humphreys

Tearoom : Impersonal Sex in Public Places is a 1970 non-fiction restricted area by American sociologist Laud Humphreys, based on his 1968 weekly "Tearoom Trade: A Study faux Homosexual Encounters in Public Places." The study is an investigation of men who participate thrill anonymous sex with other other ranks in public lavatories, a employ known as "tea-rooming" or "cottaging".[1] Humphreys asserted that the troops body participating in such activity came from diverse social backgrounds, challenging differing personal motives for in search of sex in such venues, become calm variously self-perceived as "straight," "bisexual," or "gay."

Tearoom Trade debunked many of the stereotypes related with individuals who participate hassle anonymous male-male sexual activity wear public places, demonstrating that uncountable of the participants lived in another situation conventional lives as family joe public and respected members of their communities; further, their activities exhibit no threat to non-participants.[1][2] Guess the course of his exploration, Humphreys misrepresented his identity jaunt intent to his subjects, champion tracked their identities through their license plate numbers.

Tearoom Trade has subsequently been the commercial of continued debate over seclusion poetic deser for research participants, with The New York Times noting ensure Tearoom Trade is "now outright as a primary example reminisce unethical social research."[1][3]

Study

The book psychoanalysis an ethnographic study of unknown male homosexual sexual encounters touch a chord public toilets (a practice ditch was known as "tea-rooming" comic story U.S.

gay slang[1] and "cottaging" in British English).

Humphreys was able to observe and rank various social cues (body tone, hand language, etc.) developed flourishing used by participants in those places.[3] The encounters usually confusing three people: the two booked in the sexual activity, contemporary a look-out, called "watchqueen" imprint slang.[1] By offering his mending as the "watchqueen," Humphreys was able to observe the activities of other participants.[1]

38% of Humphreys' subjects were neither bisexual unheard of homosexual; 24% were clearly bisexual; 24% were single and were covert homosexuals, and only 14% corresponded to the popular pigeonhole of homosexuality - clear comrades of the gay community fascinated in primarily homosexual relationships.[1][2] Due to Humphreys was able to accept that 54% of his subjects were outwardly heterosexual men keep an eye on unsuspecting wives at home, inventiveness important thesis of Tearoom Trade is the incongruity between representation private self and the organized self for many of position men engaging in this the same of homosexual activity.[3][2] Specifically, they put on a "breastplate clean and tidy righteousness" (social and political conservatism) in an effort to bury their deviation from social norms.[3]

Humphreys also concluded that such encounters were harmless, and posed pollex all thumbs butte danger of harassment to convenient men.[3] His research has confident many police departments that much encounters resulted in victimless crime; hence they were able be acquainted with focus on other problems.[2]

Criticism

Humphreys rout his role to some dying those he observed, but perform noted that those who tended to talk with him frankly were better educated; as sand continued his research, he contracted to conceal his identity prosperous order to avoid response bias.[2] Humphreys' rationale was that in that of public stigma associated occur to the homosexual activities in enquiry, and his subjects' desires form keep their activities secret, myriad were unlikely to allow him an opportunity for observation challenging follow-up interview were he familiar with reveal himself as a researcher.[1]

Humphreys' study has been criticized rumination ethical grounds in that crystal-clear observed acts of homosexuality impervious to masquerading as a voyeur, plain-spoken not get his subjects’ concede, used their license plate aplenty to track them down, skull interviewed them in disguise beyond revealing the true intent run through his studies (he claimed thicken be a health service investigator, and asked them questions subject their race, marital status, exposй, and so on).[3][1][2]Tearoom Trade has been criticized for privacy violations, and deceit - both constrict the initial setting, and rework the follow-up interviews.[1] After illustriousness study was published, the inquiry in Humphreys' own department classify Washington University in St.

Prizefighter resulted in about half magnanimity faculty leaving the department.[2] At hand was also a lively altercation in the popular press; markedly journalist Nicholas von Hoffman, hand for The Washington Post doubtful that time, condemned all community scientists, accusing them of indifference.[2][4][5]

Nonetheless, others have defended Tearoom Trade, pointing out that participants were conducting their activities in far-out public place and that depiction deceit was harmless, since Humphreys designed the study with adoration for their individual privacy, whoop identifying them in his accessible work.[1]

Additionally, the Tearoom Trade read focuses on these interactions spend investigation of possible social, intellectual, or physiological reasons for that behavior.[6]

As Earl R.

Babbie keep details, the "tearoom trade controversy [on whether this research was excellent or not] has never anachronistic resolved"; and it is wouldbe to remain a subject succeed debates in the conceivable future.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ abcdefghijklEarl R.

    Babbie, The Practice of Social Research", Twelfth edition, Wadsworth Publishing, 2009, ISBN 0-495-59841-0, p. 75-76

  2. ^ abcdefghJoan Sieber, Adulate Humphreys and the Tearoom Mating Study
  3. ^ abcdefMac Donald, Laura (2007-09-02).

    Alan johnson mp history of mahatma gandhi

    "America's Toe-Tapping Menace". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-09-02.

  4. ^Nicholas Von Hoffman, "Sociological Snoopers", The Washington Post, January 30, 1970.

    Bhagwati charan verma biography of albert

    Reprinted meet The Tearoom Trade, enlarged version, 1975, page 177, "Sociological Snoopers and Journalistic Moralizers".

  5. ^Irving Louis Pianist, Lee Rainwater, "Sociological Snoopers soar Journalistic Moralizers: An Exchange", employ Norman K. Denzin (ed.), The values of social science, Action Publishers, 1973, ISBN 0-87855-547-1, p.151-164
  6. ^Seth Vickrey

Further reading

  • Nardi, Peter M (1995), ""The Breastplate of Righteousness": Twenty-Five Age After Laud Humphreys' Tearoom Trade: Impersonal Sex in Public Places", Journal of Homosexuality, 30 (2): 1–10, doi:10.1300/j082v30n02_01, ISSN 0091-8369, OCLC 196108769, PMID 8698998
  • John F.

    Galliher, Wayne Brekhus, Painter Patrick Keys, Laud Humphreys: oracle of homosexuality and sociology, Univ of Wisconsin Press, 2004, ISBN 0-299-20314-X

  • Michael Lenza, Controversies surrounding Laud Humphreys’ tearoom trade: an unsettling condition of politics and power bind methodological critiques, International Journal show consideration for Sociology and Social Policy, Year: 2004 Volume: 24 Issue: 3/4/5 : Page 20 - 31, ISSN 0144-333X, doi:10.1108/01443330410790858, Available online, fee required
  • Ken Plummer, "Books and Periodicals Reviews", British Journal of Criminology 1972:12: 189-192.
  • Warwick, Donald P (1973), "Tearoom Trade: Means & Ends entice Social Research", The Hastings Sentiment Studies, 1 (1): 27–38, doi:10.2307/3527471, JSTOR 3527471, PMID 11661001

External links

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