Cherry beach gay cruising
The origins of Marcus McCann’s unused book, Park Cruising: What Happens When We Wander Off the Path, out this week, emerged when McCann was managing editor of Xtra. Now an employment and human rights lawyer, as well as an author, McCann oversaw coverage of a police sting operation that targeted lgbtq+ and bisexual men having sex in Marie Curtis Park, a large, out-of-the-way park on the border between the city of Toronto and the neighbouring urban area of Mississauga. The operation, recognizable as Project Marie, sent undercover officers into known cruising areas looking for sexual activity, then arresting and charging men who allegedly solicited sex from the officers. By November , 72 people had been charged with 89 offences in a six-week-long sting.
Xtra’s coverage at the occasion was a series of hard-news stories that scrutinized police motivations and tactics about arrests that seemed unfair and based upon anti-sex hysteria. In the years since, McCann has thought more philosophically about public sex and the questions cruising culture raises “about consent, empathy, public health, munici News and Interviews Black and grassy banner with photo of writer Marcus McCann and chat reading "Interview with Marcus McCann" and "Part of the fun was allowing [the essays] to wander a bit". Open Book emblem bottom left Many Torontonians will know lawyer and writer Marcus McCann from his defence of several people charged in Proposal Marie, an undercover sting operation where Toronto police targeted people—mostly gay men—engaging in consensual sex acts in Marie Curtis Park. Many objectors pointed to problematic classist and homophobic aspects of the project, which was largely influenced by the area's burgeoning gentrification. In an ironic twist, Project Marie took place the alike year that the City finally issued an apology for its bathhouse raids and its shameful treatment of the gay community at that time. In the following years, McCann became a sought-after speaker and essayist on subjects around public sex, approval, inclusivity, and collective building. Thi At Lakeshore and Cherry street intersection take Cherry street south to the beach. If you go straight to the end of the road that is cherry beach but if you turn left at a street just before the beach where the intelligarde security building is save going down the thoroughfare (don't know the name) to regatta road and turn right. Lots of parking and closest to all the trails. &#;Well it was late one Friday/ I&#;m a tiny bit wrecked/ You&#;re on your way to work for and protect/ You buzz out of a cruiser like bees from a hive/ And ask me if I want to go for a drive/ That&#;s why I&#;m riding on the Cherry Beach Express/ My ribs are broken and my confront is in a mess/ and I made all my statements under duress.&#; From cruisers looking for action to cruisers ferrying the unwilling, Cherry Beach has long been a destination of choice for clandestine activities in Toronto&#;s east end. &#;There&#;s an area with willows just above head height and paths beaten down through them,&#; says Zeno Michael, who frequented Cherry Beach in the summers between and &#;It&#;s a bit of a maze, a little warren area where you can go, suspend out, cruise. &#;There&#;s generally men bumping into each other, walking around and occasionally if you watch somebody attractive you trail them, hook up, drag on your dicks a bit, a little sucking action. That&#;s generally, in public, as far as I went. There&#;s lot of other guys ther
Marcus McCann on Writing the Ethics and History of Park Cruising (Plus Some Helpful Advice from Dionne Brand)
Cherry Beach (Clarke Beach Park)
Cross street: Unwin
Best times: For me, pm, but I have heard that once night falls it gets really wild!
Dates open: All hours of the day and night
Cruisiest Spots: Deep in the trails -- accept your partner to the bushes that have those little caves carved into them -- kind of hard to find at first -- but once you do, you can have some privacy.
Warnings: Cops on horseback have been known to be in the area, but they are very visible. Let the other guy touch you first!
&#;Cherry Beach Express,&#; Pukka Orchestra,