Coding Desire

Abstract

Dropsy is a puff. It is not the first time he has done it. I can bring a witness who will swear that he got ten bob from a black fellow that stuffed him. I knew what he wanted when he went up the stairs so I followed him … there are plenty of others in Brisbane who do it besides us mob, so I am not the first.— Conversation between Albert McNamara and Police Constable Lipp, Brisbane, 1905

Queensland Exceptionalism and the Construction of “Southern Folk Devils” in Twentieth Century Public Rhetoric

“…First was the prevalence of "situational homosexuality", in which men who do not identify as homosexual nevertheless engage in opportunistic same sex trysts under certain conditions. 65 The other key factor was that overcrowding encouraged the use of public spaces for sexual encounters, known in Australia as "gay beats". The use of parks, quarries, public bathrooms, and other such areas for sexual practise made Queensland's gay men more vulnerable to prosecution and, in turn, provides documentary evidence of the long history of the LGBTQI+ community in the state.…”

Fish in a Barrel: Police Targeting of Brisbane’s Ephemeral Gay Spaces in the Pre-Decriminalization Era

“…Smaal notes the dichotomous state of colonial Queensland, in which a pronounced gender imbalance skewed towards men simultaneously facilitated a casual homosexual subculture whilst also reinforcing the 'heteronormative and patriarchal order' of a hypermasculine socio-cultural system (2007, p. 15). Smaal (2007) argues that the idea of the gay beat evolved out of the need for men to reconcile their sexuality and their masculinity under these repressive conditions. While Smaal refers to the creation of gay beats as 'a uniquely Australian concept ' (2007, p. 18), there are many examples of similar behaviours being practiced in venues around the world.…”