Park Cruising
with Marcus McCann
Hosted by Mark Schaan
In Person Non-Fict
Using the 2016 Toronto police sting operation “Project Marie,” which targeted men seeking sex with other men, as a point of departure, poet, lawyer, and activist Marcus McCann considers the taboo of sex in public. What does cruising tell us about community, about gay culture, even about empathy?
Join host Mark Schaan and award-winning author Marcus McCann for an intimate look at one of culture’s most enduring taboos: public sex.
Presented in partnership with Qu’ART.
Park Cruising: What Happens When We Wander Off the Path
takes a long look at the men who cruise for sex in urban parks. Human rights lawyer Marcus McCann uses park cruising as a point of departure for discussions of consent, empathy, public health, municipal planning, and our relationship to strangers. Prompted by his work opposing a police sting in a suburban park, McCann’s ruminations go beyond targeted enforcement and police indifference to violence to examine cruising as a type of world-building.
The result is a series of insightful and poetic walks through history, law, literature, and popular representations of cruising in search of the social value of sex. What McCann ultimately reveals is a world of connection, care, and unexpected lessons about the value of pleasure.
PLEASE NOTE: For the safety and comfort of all patrons, masks are strongly encouraged for those attending in person this Spring. Livestream tickets are available upon request for those who prefer to attend remotely.
Books are available from our friends at Perfect Books.
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