4 TILDEN, WILLIAM T.

Weissmuller. He was the first American a legitimate aspect of answering the call to win at Wimbleton and during the 1920s of nature [or can be made to appear so], so he remained undefeated in any major that it is not surprising that sexual activi- match for seven years. He revolutionized ties might occur there. A common pattern the game of tennis and some of his writing is for one man to stand for a time at a on the subject (The Art of Tennis) is still and show his erect penis; anotherwill then considered to be authoritative. Tilden was touch it, an implicit contract is accepted- known as a theatrical tennis player and usually wordlessly-and the sexual act is was very popular with spectators. expeditiously completed. Others prefer He had a great interest in the arts the somewhat more private stalls, and wrote a novel, Glory's Net, many though here it may be somewhat harder short stories, a silent film, Hands of to lure others to join in the action. Some Hope, and an autobiography, My Story. of the more commonly used places have He had an intense interest in the theatre the institution of the "watch ," who and made frequent unsuccessful attempts through a cough or some other clear signal at acting, often producing his own shows, will indicate the approaching presence of starring himself. outsiders who may be offended. He was well known for living a The notion, found in some popu- lavish life, driving expensive cars, staying lar books on sex, that men are inveter- in elegant hotels and socializing with the ate cruisers of is an overstatement; rich and the famous-he was a good friend many homosexuals report a pronounced of Charlie Chaplin. He often traveled with distaste for undertaking any sexual activ- an entourage of handsome teenaged male ity in such places. In fact, ~aid~urn~hre~s' tennis protCgks. When his homosexuality classic monograph showed that the over- became better known, he was ostracized whelming majority of the sexual custom- from the tennis world and was banned ers of the Illinois toilet he studied were from the most prestigious tennis courts. bisexuals leading outwardly "normal" Eventually, hewas convictedof contribut- heterosexual lives. Such men may be re- ing to the delinquency of a minor and sent luctant to frequent gay bars or saunas, but to jail in 1947. Although it was clear that do not regard public toilets as gay-identi- the young man with whom he was caught fied social space. No equivalent having sex had no objection to the sexual practice is known. relations, the court decided to make an Toilets that are known for their example of the famous tennis player. He sexual activities are described colloquially served six months of a one-year sentence. as "tea rooms." In England the practice of Tilden died of a heart attack, impover- visiting these establishments is termed ished, in relative obscurity six years later. "cottaging." Some are found on university campuses, in train and bus stations, and at BIBLIOGRAPHY. Frank Deford, Big Bill highway rest stops. Appropriate graffiti Tilden: The Triumphs and the Tragedy, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1975; may signal the possibility of sexual activ- Arthur Voss, Tilden and Tennis in the ity, so that someone visiting during an off Twenties, Troy, NY: Whitson, 1985. hour may be alerted to return. Such graf- Brian Pronger fiti may also alert isolated homosexuals to the existence of others, previously un- TOILETSEX suspected. Occasionally, overcrowding Most men who patronize public may cause legitimate complaints on the toilets view them as repellent places that part of straight patrons, but often a single are to be utilized and left as quickly as scandalized visitor will demand police possible. Yet urinationrequires the taking action. Regrettably, many toilet visitors, out of the penis and lingering is sometimes some caught by enticement methods initi- 4 ated by members of the police force, have heterosexual or bisexual, an attitudewhich had their careers ruined through being also perpetuates archaic concepts under detected in the process of "tea-room trade." which only the receiver or pathic was Insignificant as the offense may have been, considered to be departing from gender the publicity attending the arrest and norms of appropriate sexual behavior. The eventual trial, and the inclusion of the modem slang usage probably derives from offender's name in centralized files of the association with young male prosti- "known sex deviates," were enough to tutes, engaged in "the sex trade," who are stigmatize the individual for life. Some- only available in the penetrator role. times the authorities attempt to discour- Trade is generally a term which is not self- age sex in toilets by removing the stall applied, but only used by the receptive doors or modifying the structures archi- partner or by uninvolved homosexuals. tecturally so that privacy will be reduced. The prevalence of trade behavior A special adaptation of toilets for is usually underestimated since its adher- sexual purposes is often found in the form ents seldom write books, join organiza- of "glory holes," openings surreptitiously tions, or fill out survey questionnaires. drilled or carved into the partitions sepa- Nevertheless, it may well be that, from a rating the stalls. These serve for the inser- global perspective that includes Med- tion of the erect penis which is then fel- iterranean, shamanistic, pederastic, and lated by the occupant of the other booth. Asian patterns, there are more "trade" This practice combines anonymity, a sense men than reciprocating homosexuals, and of concentration on the affected organ, even in advanced western societies this and an element of danger that goes even may be the case for members of the work- beyond the usual one of employing the ing class, where the sense that only the public john for sexual purposes. The prob- passive partner is homosexual is best pre- lem of being unpleasantly surprised was served. Certainly there are extensive areas obviated in the glory-hole clubs, commer- of sexual encounter outside prostitution cial establishments that enjoyed some in which trade behavior is not only com- popularity in the late 1970s. With the mon in westem industrial societies, but rising awareness of the need for safe sex, expected by the receptive partner: cruising these clubs have largely faded away. Not military men, seafarers, truck drivers, so, however, the do-it-yourselfglory holes hitchhikers, teenagers, patrons of toilets in public toilets: despite an often relent- frequented by thegeneral public, frequent- less campaign by custodians to close these ers of interstate highway rest areas, those apertures, they mysteriously keep reap- involved in interracial sex, and men in jail pearing. or prison. The trade pattern seems to serve BIBLIOGRAPHY. Edward W. Delph, The as an intermediate stage of coming out Silent Community: Public Homosexual Encounters, Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, often enough to have engendered the 1978; , Tearoom Trade: widespread homosexual saying "Today's Impersonal Sex in Public Places, trade is tomorrow's competition," but it Chicago: Aldine, 1970. would be a mistake to draw too broad a Ward Houser conclusion from this saying, which may also reflect the tendency which causes TRADE some homosexuals to label anyone and As a term of gay slang, this word everyone a queen. It is not a saying with is the modem parallel of ancient Greek, much currency among those homosexuals Latin, and Old Norse terms for a male who who prefer trade for various reasons and remains strictly in the active role of pene- who are perhaps more knowledgeable about trator, and who usually considers himself their patterns. Those who are familiarwith