Sodomite’s Walk
ASS-LOVING ACTIVISTS STORM LONDON CRUISING SPOT
Hampstead Heath is one of the sluttiest parks in Europe, a cock-sucking destination since the days of Oscar Wilde. So when flyers appeared around the park urging dog-walkers to “take back” the Heath from cruisers and telling gays to “get a room”, queers from ACT UP London and This is My Culture showed up to remind them who was there first. Thank the gay gods for spring weather! It was a perfect pickup place for politically engaged fags, dykes and friends, from the disco tunes playing on a speaker to a rousing game of Who’s bum is this? As for the dog-walkers, there was nothing to “take back” – just one very horny pup taking it from behind.
This is My Culture named themselves after George Michael’s reply when he got booked for solicitation at a public john, and their annual summer party in Hampstead in honor of the late pop diva is always a banger. Until then, here are a few Heath hotties on what brought them out to the forest…
Ian & Ian
What the BUTT are you doing here?
Ian: I’m with ACT UP London. When we saw on Reddit the original anti-cruising posters, we thought, ‘Well, fuck that. It’s our cruising ground.’ So we decided to have a Sodomite’s Walk.
Ian: It’s about presence, isn’t it? Presence in the place where we are and where we’ve always been.
Are you with ACT UP as well?
Ian: No, I just borrowed the t-shirt from my husband. (laughs)
How long have you two been together?
Ian: 41 years.
Wow. Did you meet on the Heath?
Ian: No. (laughs) You’d like that, wouldn’t you?
Viv & Lola Pony
What the BUTT are you doing here?
Viv: OMG! We are celebrating Hampstead Heath’s history of cruising. We are opposing signs that were put up by an anon anti-cruiser. This guy apparently knows about Grindr and Sniffles, but–
Lola Pony: –Sniffies.
Viv: Do I look like I’m using these apps? (laughs) Anyways, he knows about the apps but doesn’t like cruising. We’re also celebrating George Michael and queer family and we’re part of ACT UP London.
Lola Pony: We’re also celebrating anything that creates otherness, because the signs specifically singled out gay men. In these times, it’s important to come together. We don’t want divisions.
Dan
What the BUTT are you doing here?
I’m here to show solidarity with our culture’s heritage and identity – we’ve been cruising in this area for the past two centuries.
Period. Do you come here often?
Depends if you do.
Hurricane
What the BUTT are you doing here?
I’m involved with Queer Spirit. We’re fairies and we do a drum circle here every full moon.
Have you come to the Heath to cruise?
I used to live up here, in the 90s – back when I was young. It’s gorgeous. This is the first place I experimented with nudity, walking around naked. I’ve always felt completely safe here.
Joseph
What the BUTT are you doing here?
I’m filming today for This is My Culture and ACT UP and showing my support. Having cruised and used dating apps, I think these spaces are really important. Cruising used to be a way to meet other men when gay sex was a criminal offence, but now that we’re more accepted, places like this can be safe for other reasons. I think there are a lot of problems with the apps, chemsex and drug misuse. Coming here when it’s so nice and sunny and there’s so much joy and laughter.
You think it’s safer than seeking sex on the apps?
Definitely. It can be. You’re in nature. You’re free to leave, you’re not in someone’s house. So many people use the apps to not feel lonely when they’re high and horny, but it’s so isolating. Here you can find more of a community and a diverse one, too. It’s a commitment to get here, but it’s worth it.