Cottaging
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- This article is on the sexual behavior. For other uses, see Cottage (disambiguation)
Cottaging is a gay slang term for having non-committed casual sex in a public lavatory (a cottage) or for cruising for sex or picking up sexual partners in public lavatories with the intention of having sex elsewhere. Cottaging in the United Kingdom has been noted as early as 1729.[citation needed] The term may have its roots in the English cant language of polari, or in the fact that many self-contained English toilet blocks have in the past resembled small cottages in their appearance.
The term 'cottage' used in this sense is predominantly British (a cottage in the general sense being a small, cosy, countryside home), though the term is occasionally used with the same meaning in other parts of the world. In America lavatories used for this purpose are sometimes called tea rooms; in Australia lavatories and other public areas used for this purpose are called beats.
Cottaging is more common among gay and bisexual men than among lesbians or heterosexuals, but the term can apply to the actions of people of both sexes, and all sexual orientations.
The term cottaging is rarely used outside gay communities, and usage and awareness of the term may be in decline, as attitudes to homosexuality become more tolerant and fewer individuals find themselves limited to such covert and illicit ways of meeting others.
However, in Canada, cottaging is a relatively common term that refers to the act of visiting a cottage or cabin, typically on a lake, on weekends. Owning and visiting a cottage, or cabin, is a widespread pursuit in Canada, and the noun "cottage" has been turned into a verb "cottaging" to express the act of these visits. There is no sexual implication, gay or otherwise, when using this term in this way.
A common part of cottaging (in its British sense) in a lavatory cubicle is "putting the curtains up" - putting toilet paper in the lock to prevent authorities or others from looking through it.
[edit] Legal status
Sexual acts in public lavatories are outlawed by many jurisdictions. (However, it is likely that the element of risk involved in cottaging makes it an attractive activity to some.)
Historically in the UK, homosexual acts occurring whilst cottaging often resulted in a charge and conviction of gross indecency, an offence only pertaining to acts committed by males and particularly applied to homosexual activity. Resulting in stiffer penalties than equivalent offences committed by women or heterosexuals, the law was felt to be unfair and much lobbying took place, especially by gay groups, to get these acts of indecency removed from the statute books. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 eventually removed this contentious offence in favour of "indecent exposure" and specifically "engaging in sexual activity in a public lavatory", an offence which for the first time specifically encapsulated and outlawed cottaging.
In US law, there is no such equivalent and individuals tend to be convicted under "lewd behaviour" laws.
In many of the cases where people are brought to court for cottaging, the issue of entrapment arises, since law-enforcement officers generally are not supposed to encourage people to engage in criminal activity. Another reason for the decline in cottaging is the closure of public toilets or their replacement by units designed to accommodate only one person at a time. Pop star George Michael was famously arrested and found guilty for cottaging in America.
prime spots include stoke newington cemetary. fear zone.
[edit] See also
advice: if in band do not conduct interviews in this area
