I conducted research with people who litter pick in a well-known cruising area in London. My initial interest was sparked after coming across their organisation's exhaustive website, which details dates of litter picks, pictures of each outing and some resources for gay men interested in public sex in London. The language and layout of the site is specific and non-conspicuous; a conscious decision as the right to cruising and activities associated with it are constantly contested, less-so now in terms of morality and more with relation to the litter produced by the activity.
I attended one of the litter picks during which I conducted informal interviews, and followed up interviews later via email. Covid19 thwarted my plans to attend further litter picks, but luckily my interviewees were hugely forthcoming and eager to help during my first fieldwork stint, so I had quite a wealth of information to work through. They describe themselves as “an initiative which works at the woods […] to remove litter in order to make the place pleasant for all users of this ancient woodland.”. Further on, they explain: “We feel that it is up to all of us to try to keep the area as clean and inoffensive as possible. It’s for our own good – the less mess there is left lying around the fewer complaints there will be. And consequently the less likelihood that others who use the area will call for ‘enforcement’. Many who have enjoyed their time there (and haven’t some of us had some fun!) feel that it’s good to put something back.”
The attendees of the litter pick were all white, male, in their 50s and 60s, and similarly middle-class-situated. They had all been cruising in the area since youth. My main questions were how they used the internet, and their website, as a tool for communication and leverage with the authorities, and how the internet has changed the cruising landscape given the average age of the group. They mentioned gay newspapers in the 80s as being a vital resource pre-internet, and how despite the digital resources available, one of the main appeals of cruising is the unknown; the lack of communication between parties; and the gamble of each encounter. They mentioned that while cruising is still popular in the area, most younger gay men rely on apps like Grindr for random hookups. If younger men go cruising, they are more likely to do so after having visited an online forum or site like squirt.org.
The forest as a site for sexual interaction now extends virtually online via websites like squirt. Here, people advertise themselves, what they're looking for, and their location using a set of names for 'hot-spots'. These hot-spots are mostly indistinguishable from other areas of the forest to the public eye, but specific tree stumps, clearings, and groups of trees are all known and named by the cruisers. These are the same hot-spots targeted by the litter pickers.
They use their website to promote tidy behaviour and maintain a good relationship with the park authorities, who police the area. On the day that we were working, a park ranger pulled up, who was known to the litter pickers by name. Their interests intersect at wanting to preserve the beauty of the forest, and as a result of this there was a mutual respect. Their digital presence is used to legitimise their physical presence in the area. Complaints about sexual litter are undermined by the work of the litter pickers. Furthermore, as one of my interviewees explained and as detailed on their website, since beginning the litter picks six years ago, the culture of littering has changed. The litter pickers have their own system of providing durable refuse sacks in known 'hot-spots' and over time, cruisers have come to use these DIY bins more than they litter. The refuse sacks are disposed of and replaced every month by the litter pickers.
As I helped with the litter pick, the items of rubbish took on a kind of archaeological significance. Items deemed noteworthy or interesting would be announced to the rest of the group, photos were taken to be uploaded to the website, and a story and context was imagined for each. Aside from obviously trodden paths, the litter is the only visible signifier of sexual activity. It is vital that it is tidied away in order to continue to use the area for cruising purposes, but at the same time, there is a kind of pride taken in the amount of litter as a physical manifestation of the community. The litter is 'out', the litter is reminiscent of life and of gay sex practices, the litter is alive. Much of it is both an eyesore and a biohazard, but there's a sense of ownership emulated by the stamp it makes on the area.
The culture of cruising is changing all the time. The forest as a cruising site exists as much digitally as it does in the soil.
⇟
"There is no law specifically prohibiting the seeking of potential sexual partners in public places. Sexual activity in public toilets and 'flashing' (public exposure of genitals with the intention to cause alarm or distress) is a crime, but under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, sex in public places is legal, unless it is witnessed or there is a reasonable chance that at least two members of the public might see what's happening." Management Issues and Future Proposals for Epping Forest
Guidance on Policing Public Sex Environments.
Taken from the document above: "Section 5.6.1: ...the presence of an individual within a PSE does not constitute a criminal offence. It is essential that police officers and police staff working in PSE’s recognise this during their interactions with others. The fact that a person is in a known PSE does not, in itself, give grounds for a police officer to stop that person and ask them to account for themselves. Nor does it give the police authority to ask a person to leave. The grounds for any such police action should be lawful, proportionate, intelligence led and accountable.
5.6.3 The fact that a user may have any items that may be used during sexual activity in their possession is not to be seen as empowering a police officer to question them further about their presence within a PSE. This situation, described here, does not constitute a criminal offence.
5.6.4 The possession of such items does not constitute a criminal offence and the Right to Privacy means that any action by the police which may follow needs to be necessary, legitimate and proportionate and intelligence led."