Queer Beside the Sea: Male Homosexuality in British Coastal Resorts, 1918-1990

这个项目探讨了英国海滨度假胜地如何在20世纪成为酷儿社交的中心。海滨度假胜地以性自由的环境而闻名，再加上丰富的廉价住宿，使它们与大都市景观相媲美，成为独特的酷儿文化建立的地方，同时也是性和情感接触的机会。此外，充满活力的商业娱乐活动中，许多表演者违反了性别规范——在异性恋游客中也很受欢迎——为男性提供了一种更安全的方式，让他们在一个更公开的酷儿世界里谈判。该项目以个人见证和档案资料为基础，超越了对城市空间与性别身份之间关系的压倒性学术关注。它还挑战了现有的城市性“发现”地理，以了解酷儿身份如何在另类文化景观和异性恋同龄人中蓬勃发展。“阈限”海滨度假胜地——一个更无忧无虑的环境，行为限制更少——有自己的自由和保守的紧张关系，为重新评估历史上的性表达提供了一个良好的背景。到20世纪70年代，这个英国海滨度假胜地的游客急剧减少。然而，在此之后，一些城市重新成为酷儿文化的中心。这个项目分析了1967年《性犯罪法》对同性恋的部分非刑事化所标志的“宽容时刻”前后英国城市中与同性恋相关的转变。丰富的史学将城市呈现为20世纪大部分时间里酷儿社交最重要的场所。该项目利用英国海岸的“阈限”空间作为一个镜头，询问那些无法或不愿意满足“体面”要求的人如何找到自我表达的空间。英国海岸的史学强调，这些空间对“越轨”行为（尽管是异性恋）更为宽容，比如通奸。提到“露营”娱乐，巧妙地暗示了沿海度假胜地的酷儿存在，然而“同性恋场景”的出现是在度假胜地衰落之后，“粉红英镑”是20世纪90年代企业家利用的一个机会。此外，游客和企业主的“自由主义”与他们大多保守的地方议会之间也存在紧张关系。该项目探讨了海滨城镇如何像内陆城镇一样拥有重要的长期酷儿文化，因为它们后来成为酷儿空间需要更充分的解释，而不仅仅是机会。同性恋居民和海滨度假胜地的游客的经历被用来理解异性恋游客身上看到的自由主义（被鼓励入住酒店的商业必要性所强调）是否延伸到同性恋相遇。这个项目考察了度假村是如何通过借鉴他们更自由但又充满冲突的过去来适应酷儿文化的。该项目考察了五个沿海度假胜地：布莱顿、布莱克浦、伯恩茅斯、马盖特和托基。首先是法庭记录，其次是对地方议会和旅游委员会档案、表演节目、海滨蜉蝣和旅游出版物的分析。著名酷儿活动人士的论文和日记提供了关于同性恋男性如何感知大城市以外空间的见解。当地报纸和行业出版社被用来了解企业是如何利用酷儿存在的。对过去的游客和度假村居民的口述历史访谈构成了后期研究的支柱。由于海滨的独特性，通过沿海度假胜地的另一个棱镜检查社会，法律和文化变化的影响将推进当前的工作。

This project explores how British coastal resorts became central to queer sociability during the twentieth-century. The reputation of seaside resorts as sexually liberal environments, coupled with abundant cheap accommodation, saw them rival the metropolitan landscape as sites where a distinctive queer culture was established alongside opportunities for sexual and affective encounters. Further, vibrant commercial entertainments in which many performers transgressed gender norms - also popular among heterosexual visitors - provided a safer way for men to negotiate a more public queer world. Building on personal testimonies as well as archival sources, this project moves beyond the overwhelming scholarly focus on the relationship between city spaces and sexual identities. It also challenges existing geographies of urban sexual 'discovery' to understand how queer identities flourished both in an alternative cultural landscape and among heterosexual peers. The 'liminal' seaside resort - a more carefree environment with fewer behavioural restrictions - with its own liberal and conservative tensions, provides a sound context for reassessing historic expressions of sexuality.By the 1970s the British seaside resort saw a sharp decline in visitors. Following this, however, several re-emerged as centres of queer culture. This project analyses the transition in relation to homosexuality in British cities both before and after the 'permissive moment' signalled by the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality under the Sexual Offenses Act of 1967. A rich historiography presents cities as the most significant location of queer sociability for much of the twentieth-century. The project uses the 'liminal' space of the British coast as a lens for enquiring how those unable or unwilling to fulfil the requirements of 'respectability' found a space for self-expression. The British coast's historiography highlights the spaces as more tolerant of 'deviant' (although heterosexual) practices such as adultery. References to 'camp' entertainment subtly suggest a queer presence in coastal resorts, however the emergence of a 'gay scene' is dated as after the resorts' decline, with 'the pink pound' being an opportunity capitalised on by entrepreneurs in the 1990s. Further, tensions existed between the 'liberalism' of tourists and business owners, and their mostly Conservative local councils. The project interrogates how seaside towns had significant longstanding queer cultures - just like inland towns - as their later emergence as queer spaces requires a more substantial explanation than merely opportunity. The experiences of queer residents and tourists of seaside resorts are used to understand whether the liberalism seen in heterosexual visitors (underscored by the commercial imperative of encouraging hotel stays) was extended to homosexual encounters. This project examines how resorts were resourceful in accommodating queer culture by drawing upon their more liberal yet conflicted pasts.This project examines five coastal resorts: Brighton, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Margate, and Torquay. Court records form the starting point, followed by analysis of local council and tourism committee archives, show programmes, seaside ephemera, and tourism publications. The papers and diaries of prominent queer activists provide insights into how homosexual men perceived spaces beyond larger cities. Local newspapers and trade press are drawn upon to understand how businesses utilised queer presence. Oral History interviews with past visitors and residents of the resorts are used to form the backbone of the later period of research. Examining the impact of social, legal and cultural change through the alternative prism of the coastal resort will advance on current work, owing to the unique character of the seaside.