Unassumingly on the ritzy Providence, RI east side, random men are rumored to meet to have sex. Gay Bay, as its known, is a small wooded area and park next to the Seekonk River (which feeds into the Narragansett Bay). The wooded area is littered with cherry-flavored condoms alluding to the clandestine activity occurring only after dusk. However, Gay Bay may be a misnomer.

As studies suggest, ‘dogging’—“a predominantly British activity that involves outdoor exhibitionism in parked cars, wooded areas and the like”—attracts a sexually diverse crowd; heterosexuals, homosexuals, bisexuals, and the transgendered all participate in the popular activity. Dogging is expanding beyond its original conceptions, and social and sexual boundaries. Sixty percent of UK parks report dogging activity and now its practice has crossed the channel into Germany, France and Ireland and is increasing in notoriety in the U.S. and Canada.

Dogging first originated in Britain to describe male voyeurs spying on couples’ outdoor sexual activity. “These men would 'dog' the couples' every move in an effort to watch them.” Eventually, couples began to perform specifically for these men in parks and abandoned parking lots and even invited them to join in the fun. However, the derivation of the term itself is unknown, leaving some to postulate its meaning. One explanation references these peeping Toms’ alibis when caught in the bushes by claiming to walk an invisible dog. Another explanation claims the term was used to describe couples having sex in public, mimicking the sexual practices of canines.

“Poodling” is a tongue-in-cheek allusion to the chicer offshoot of dogging, reserved for couples swinging in expensive vehicles. The creation of this humorous definition alludes to the grand expansion of participants which spans the socio-economic spectrum. Even celebrities, such as British soccer star Stan Collymore, have admitted to partaking in the excitement. But most of the doggers are doggers, not poodlers, who tend to be middle class (e.g. skilled blue- and white-collar workers) white males. Predominantly, they range from 30 to 50 years of age. For the most part, trends and patterns of doggers are hard to make out as dogging in its anonymity often encourages a more diverse and equalized base. “Generally [people] needn't worry about assessments of their physical attractiveness or social class, judgments often made in formal dating situations.”

Similarly, dogging itself is a muddle of exhibitionists, mainly couples in or on top of their cars, who either perform for their many admirers (mainly men) or invite them to join. “It is difficult to readily classify the users as many assume different roles at varying times within the PSE [Public Sex Environments],” explains Richard Byrne at a Planning Resource Conference in Oxford. Individuals transcend their roles in sexual acts by abiding by strict etiquette described in the many websites devoted to dogging. Primarily interior and exterior lights (although directional signals are also employed) are used to call attention to the doggers inside and invite others to come take a closer look. Often, the window is rolled down to encourage fondling which may lead to swinging or gangbangs. All in all, dogging is “a cocktail of voyeurism and outdoor sex, typified by multiple partners and a high-thrill threshold derived from the location and the act itself.” And, the parks are only getting more crowded.

With over 20,000 people catalogued in one UK dogging site, enthused fans of dogging are swelling in number. The internet itself has played an immense role in spurring growth and interest in the craze, as well as providing helpful tips on safety and etiquette. There are a plethora of dogging websites uniting fellow doggers with lists of secluded parks and lovers’ lanes, ideal for the activity, as well as forums to contact doggers ahead of time. Some argue that coupling dogging with the Internet has only made the activity safer.

URockers, a “loose collective of sexual anarchists born of the Internet and brought up on the freedom of communication,” pay tribute to dogging with their first single of the same name. “I think mobiles and the Web have made a massive difference. Women I know feel much safer," one of the band’s anonymous members, GRocker elucidates. "[Technology makes] it easy to find out where to go and what other folks are looking for. It's much easier to hook up with the right people and check out if they are cool or not." However, the Internet’s mass publicity for the sport has only heightened people’s interest and obsession with dogging, making some feel a little claustrophobic.

Soft swapping is a more muted alternative that many couples have adopted to avoid the overabundance of men drooling outside their passenger-side window. But not everyone is retreating into the comfort and safety of their own homes as the soft-swingers have. Health risks are a daunting caveat, with many admitting that condom use is not prevalent among doggers. Twinned with the sheer number of anonymous lovers, doggers stand at great risk for STDs. Some claim that “the craze may be partially responsible for rises in chlamydia, HIV, syphilis and hepatitis.”

In fact men, who participate in ‘male’ dogging, usually at separate sites from their heterosexual counterparts, rarely identify with a homosexual identity. Many are hiding their sexual curiosity from heterosexual partners or are simply discouraged to act on their sexual impulses in an incompatible social environment. There has been a great deal of study on the public distress at male sexual activity in other public spaces, such as public bathrooms and truck stops or highway rest areas. Known as “tearooms” in the U.S. (or “cottages” in the U.K.), these bathrooms often lack an exhibitionist purpose. They tend to be chosen for their seclusion and ability to easily spot witnesses. Further, “in contrast to gay bars or sex clubs, public restrooms are neutral places, and one's presence there does not automatically indicate a homosexual identity.”

Thus, a heterosexual dogger’s intentions and desires diverge starkly from those of a homosexual. Although the heterosexual’s practice of public sex has not been the focus of media and public attention and scorn, typically the heterosexual dogger expressly desires attention. The act is viewed as liberating and doggers proudly display their bodies and actions in the aggrandized sexual encounter. Disparately, homosexual dogging is more often spawned from secrecy and shame. “A community's condemnation of homosexuality may drive the behavior to remote, although public, locations, particularly among those exploring their sexuality and not yet connected to the gay community.” The homosexual practice of dogging, therefore, appears more a reactionary act to a society which classifies homosexual behavior as deviant.

Perhaps it is necessary in order to fully understand and appreciate the dogging phenomenon by examining the heterosexual and same-sex exploits separately. What should stand as a concern in the heterosexual context is not the potential degradation of park areas (easily mitigated with glow-in-the-dark trash cans), but the greater concern of physical safety and health concerns. However, in the homosexual context, although similar concerns must be addressed, the dangers of the situation delve beyond health and safety concerns. Homosexual dogging is more complex than sexual gratification as it becomes a disturbing reflection of the inconstancy of our society in regards to the homosexual community and sexual curiosity.

Either way, “If you covet thy neighbor’s wife (or husband) practice safe sex and decrease mainstream attention (and scorn),” should be the billboard for dogging.