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

这个项目探索了英国海滨度假胜地如何在二十世纪成为同性恋社交的中心。海滨度假胜地作为性自由环境的声誉，加上充足的廉价住宿，使它们与大都市景观相媲美，因为在那里，独特的同性恋文化与性和情感接触的机会并驾齐驱。此外，活跃的商业娱乐活动为男性提供了一种更安全的方式，让男性谈判一个更公开的同性恋世界。在这些娱乐活动中，许多表演者违反了性别规范--这在异性恋游客中也很受欢迎。建立在个人证词和档案来源的基础上，这个项目超越了压倒性的学术关注城市空间和性身份之间的关系。它还挑战了现有的城市性“发现”的地理位置，以理解同性恋身份是如何在另一种文化景观和异性恋同龄人中蓬勃发展的。这个海滨度假村--一个更自由的环境，更少的行为限制--自身的自由主义和保守主义的紧张关系，为重新评估历史上的性感表达提供了一个良好的背景。到20世纪70年代，这个英国海滨度假村的游客数量急剧下降。然而，在此之后，又出现了几个同性恋文化的中心。该项目分析了在1967年《性犯罪法》将同性恋部分合法化所标志的“允许时刻”之前和之后，英国城市同性恋方面的转变。一本丰富的史书将城市描述为二十世纪大部分时间里最重要的同性恋社交场所。该项目利用英国海岸的“边缘”空间作为镜头，询问那些不能或不愿意满足“体面”要求的人是如何找到自我表达的空间的。英国海岸的历史学强调，这些空间对通奸等“不正常”(尽管是异性恋)行为更宽容。提到露营娱乐，微妙地暗示着海滨度假胜地出现了一种奇特的存在，然而，“同性恋场景”的出现可以追溯到度假村衰落之后，而“粉红英镑”是20世纪90年代企业家们利用的一个机会。此外，游客和企业主的“自由主义”与他们主要是保守党的地方议会之间存在着紧张关系。该项目询问了海滨城镇是如何像内陆城镇一样拥有重要的长期同性恋文化的，因为它们后来成为同性恋空间需要更多的实质性解释，而不仅仅是机会。海边度假村的酷儿居民和游客的经历被用来理解异性恋游客身上的自由主义(强调了鼓励入住酒店的商业必要性)是否延伸到同性恋接触。这个项目调查了度假村如何通过利用他们更自由但冲突的过去来适应同性恋文化。这个项目调查了五个海滨度假村：布莱顿，布莱克浦，伯恩茅斯，马盖特和托基。法庭记录是本文的起点，其次是对当地议会和旅游委员会档案、演出节目、海边星历和旅游出版物的分析。著名同性恋活动家的论文和日记为同性恋男性如何看待大城市以外的空间提供了洞察力。当地报纸和行业媒体被用来了解企业如何利用同性恋的存在。对过去游客和度假村居民的口述历史访谈被用来形成后期研究的支柱。由于海滨的独特性质，通过海滨度假村的替代棱镜审查社会、法律和文化变化的影响将推动当前的工作。

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.