Laud Humphreys Tearoom Trade

Humphreys asserted that the men participating in such activity came from diverse social backgrounds.

Laud humphreys tearoom trade. Laud humphreys died in from lung cancer. An exchange in norman k. In sociologist and ordained episcopalian minister laud humphreys published his book the tearoom trade. In the s phd student in sociology laud.

Humphreys argued his deception was justified as the acts were so stigmatised he would not have got the information otherwise. He was a charter member of the tearkom academy of sex research. The tearoom trade study from 1965 to 1968 laud humphreys an ordained episcopalian minister conducted dissertation research on men who have impersonal sex with men humphreys 1970. Without disclosing his role as a sociology researcher humphreys played the role of watchqueen that is he looked out for intruders while men performed.

Case studies debates about the ethics of the tearoom trade study methodology. He is noted for his research into sexual encounters between men in public bathrooms published as tearoom trade 1970 and for the questions that emerged from what many believe to be unethical research methods. Dissertation tearoom trade 1970 an ethnographic study of anonymous male male sexual encounters in public toilets a practice known as tea rooming in u s. By pretending to be a simple voyeur humphreys explains that he systematically observed these activities and even recorded the license plate numbers of a sample of tearoom.

Impersonal sex in public. In the 1960s in los angeles supposed homosexual behavior was a felony charge under the law. The men involved in this tearoom trade as it is called came from all walks of life and many were married and living otherwise straight lives. Dissertation which was entitled tearoom trade.

In tearoom trade 1970 1975 laud humphreys writes about the homosexual relations that took place in various tearooms i e public bathrooms in an unidentified american city during the mid to late 1960s. Impersonal sex in public places. In 1970 laud humphreys then a washington university phd student wrote his infamous thesis tearoom trade which was a study of homosexual behaviour between men in public toilets in a u s. Gay slang and cottaging in british english.

Perhaps not surprisingly given the topic the research was highly controversial however this was not just due to its sensitive subject matter. Without telling people that he was studying them laud humphreys 1975 observed hundreds of homosexual acts among men in st. Robert allan laud humphreys october 16 1930 in chickasha oklahoma august 23 1988 was an american sociologist and author. Laud humphreys and the tearoom sex study.

Humphreys s study produced very important results. He influenced generations of scholars who research. Impersonal sex in public places is a 1970 book by laud humphreys humphreys book is based on his 1968 ph d.