Finding each other
Finding each other
The way that lesbians and gay men have met each other has changed over time. Contributors gave many examples of how and where they met both long term and more casual partners.
They range from public places (men) through cottaging and cruising, through to the various bars and clubs, house parties pre-legislation, then the burgeoning gay scene and gay village with a variety of bars and clubs. Personal adverts in both gay and straight press (such as the Guardian) have also played their part and continue to do so, to a lesser extent since the advent of technology has provided means such as Gaydar, and other web-based networking sites.
However, there are many other routes including shared political activities, groups and campaigning, trade unions, workplace, community groups and organisations, and of course, meeting through mutual friends remains high on the list.
For lesbians, in earlier times, there were probably fewer opportunities both because women seem less inclined to look for casual sex in public places, but also because it was a lot harder for women to go out to bars or clubs on their own. And if they did venture out, women's access to bars was on the whole restricted into the mostly male preserve of the gay men's clubs, unless signed in by a member. No wonder women resorted to establishing their own meeting places and women's venues from the 70s onwards. It's really only in the past ten years that there has been equality of access to gay bars and clubs on the gay scene.
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