Tearoom Trade Book Summary

Name
Professor`s Name
Course
Date Tearoom Trade
Tearoom trade is a book by Humphrey on a study about the encounters of homosexuals in public places. The goal of Humphrey’s research was to try and understand the reason as to why many men were having sex with other men particularly in restrooms. The book analyses act of homosexuality that takes place in public toilets. The research is done in the 1970s at a time when ‘tearooms’ was a reference for public toilets where men could have sex. At the time of the research, it was illegal and a crime for men to have sex with each other in the United States.
Humphrey thought it would be of value to the society by trying to understand what encouraged men to indulge in this behavior. Humphrey declares that the men that partake in these homosexual activities originate from different backgrounds from all over the world and have different personal motives for seeking other homosexuals. Humphreys study questions the stereotypes connecting with the men having sex with other men in public places. His study showed that majority of those involved in
the homosexual activities lived normal lives as members who were respected in the community and some were family men. He adds that activities of homosexuals do not pose any danger that could anger straight males.
At the time when this book was published, there was no existing ethics board and scientists and psychologists could get away with anything as the researchers are the ones who decided the types of risks they thought to be acceptable.
Tearoom trade is a book that attracts criticism and attracts major controversy from a majority of its readers. He reveals his real identity to only to a few of those he observes. The main reason why he decides to hide his identity during his research was so as to avoid biased responses. He explains that because of the way the society has stigmatized homosexuals activities and the fact that many of interviewees wanted to keep their activities secret, it was important for him to conceal his identity as a researcher if he wanted to have a chance of observing and getting follow up interviews from those
involved.
Humphreys study is unethical because he observes homosexual activities by pretending to be a voyeur, did not have his subjects agree on the research and above all, he recorded the license number of their cars and finds their addresses.one year later he changes his hair, car, and dress and goes to the homes of 50 of these men. He interviews them with a false identity of being a health researcher. He fails to reveal the real intentions of his research. He disguises himself and uses false presences when interviewing and asks his subjects questions on their marital status, race, and occupation. Basically, he gifts the average man with a book informing him on ways on how he can obtain cheap and impersonal sex from men.
Tearoom trade is criticized for its deceitful nature, privacy violations and the follow-up interviews. After publishing the research there was a lot of controversy in Humphrey’s department which led to the departure of half of the staff from the department. The press also held a lively debate on the study; specifically, journalist Hoffman who wrote condemning all social scientists and accused them of being indifferent.
One of the positive outcomes in Humphrey’s research was banishing myths saying that those men he interviewed were social deviants and dangerous. In fact, most of them were married and even had children. Only 14% of the interviewees were homosexuals completely and could identify themselves being gay. The research received a big welcome particularly from the gay communities and in some places; it leads to a decrease in incidences of police arrests and raids on sodomizers.
Despite the book being an enormous source of knowledge and bringing a major social impact. It is very evident that the rights of participants in this book got violated. There were privacy breaching and deceitfulness in more than just one way. With studies like tearoom trade major universities of research introduced review boards and ethics panels in their institutions to deal with future violations of research cases.
In conclusion, Tearoom trade is a highly controversial book as many readers did not agree with the way the researcher misrepresents his intentions and identity to get the information he writes. It informs readers at the same time misinforming them on ethical and moral foundations for researching human subjects. Many readers like the book because of its controversial nature on the social issues that affects the society. The research in the book is highly rated, and precisely, one of the ever known as the readers proclaim. The research made a major contribution to the population he based his study on and only a few types of research can surpass the achievement.