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

这个项目探讨了英国沿海度假胜地如何在二十世纪成为酷儿社交的中心。海滨度假胜地以性自由环境而闻名，加上大量廉价的住宿，使它们成为建立独特的同性恋文化以及性和情感接触机会的地方，可以与大都市景观相媲美。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来谈判一个更公开的同性恋世界。基于个人证词和档案资料，这个项目超越了对城市空间和性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”的地理位置，以了解酷儿身份如何在另一种文化景观和异性恋同龄人中蓬勃发展。这个“阈”海滨度假胜地--一个更加无忧无虑的环境，行为限制更少--其自身的自由主义和保守主义紧张局势，为重新评估历史上的性表达提供了良好的背景。到20世纪70年代，这个英国海滨度假胜地的游客数量急剧下降。然而，在此之后，有几个重新成为酷儿文化的中心。该项目分析了在英国城市同性恋的过渡之前和之后的“宽容的时刻”，根据1967年的《性犯罪法》，同性恋的部分合法化。大量的历史著作将城市描述为20世纪大部分时间里最重要的奇怪社交场所。该项目利用英国海岸的“极限”空间作为一个透镜，探究那些无法或不愿满足“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，这些空间对通奸等“越轨”行为（尽管是异性恋）更为宽容。提到“营地”娱乐微妙地暗示了沿海度假胜地的同性恋存在，然而“同性恋场景”的出现是在度假胜地衰落之后，“粉红磅”是20世纪90年代企业家利用的机会。此外，游客和企业主的“自由主义”与他们大多数保守的地方议会之间存在紧张关系。该项目质疑海滨城镇如何拥有重要的长期酷儿文化-就像内陆城镇一样-因为它们后来作为酷儿空间的出现需要一个更实质性的解释，而不仅仅是机会。同性恋居民和海滨度假胜地游客的经历被用来理解异性恋游客中看到的自由主义（通过鼓励酒店住宿的商业必要性来强调）是否扩展到同性恋接触。这个项目考察了五个海滨度假胜地：布莱顿、布莱克浦、伯恩茅斯、马尔盖特和托基。法院记录形成的起点，其次是地方理事会和旅游委员会的档案，显示程序，海滨蜉蝣，和旅游出版物的分析。著名的酷儿活动家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。当地报纸和行业媒体被用来了解企业如何利用酷儿的存在。对过去游客和度假区居民的口述历史访谈是后期研究的骨干。由于海滨的独特性，通过沿海度假胜地的替代棱镜来审查社会、法律的和文化变化的影响将推动目前的工作。

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.