Tearoom Trade

Tearoom Trade: Impersonal Sex in Public Places is a 1970 book by Laud Humphreys. Humphreys' book is based on his 1968 Ph.D. dissertation, which was entitled "Tearoom Trade: A Study of Homosexual Encounters in Public Places." The study is an analysis of male-male sexual behavior in public toilets. Humphreys asserted that the men participating in such activity came from diverse social backgrounds, had differing personal motives for seeking same-sex sexual partners in such venues, and variously self-perceived as "straight," "bisexual," or "gay." Tearoom Trade debunked many of the stereotypes associated with individuals who participate in anonymous male-male sexual activity in public places, demonstrating that many of the participants lived otherwise conventional lives as family men and respected members of their communities; further, their activities posed no threat to non-participants. As Humphreys misrepresented his identity and intent to his subjects, and tracked their identities through license plate numbers, Tearoom Trade has been the subject of continued debate over privacy for research participants, with The New York Times noting that Tearoom Trade is "now taught as a primary example of unethical social research."