Tearoom Trade cover

Tearoom Trade

by Laud Humphreys

From the time of its first publication in 1970, this book engendered controversy. It was also accorded an unusual amount of praise for a first book on a marginal, intentionally self-effacing population by a previously unknown sociologist. The book was quickly recognized as an important, imaginative, and useful contribution to our understanding of "deviant" sexual activity. Describing impersonal, anonymous sexual encounters in public restrooms - "tearooms" in the argot - the book explored the behavior of men whose closet homosexuality was kept from their families and neighbors. By combining participant observation with structured as well as informal interviews, Tearoom Trade still furnishes a controversial example of recent social science methods. This enlarged edition includes the original text, together with a retrospect. The material added includes a perspective on the social scientist at work and the ethical problems to which that work may give rise, along with debate by t.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?