White Masculinity in the Recent South

Where the Action Is: Interstate Rest Areas, the Creation of Gay Space, and the Recovery of a Lost Narrative

Where the Action Is Interstate Rest Areas, the Creation of Gay Space, and the Recovery of a Lost Narrative brock thompson Public restrooms are chosen by those who want homoerotic activity . . . for a number of reasons. They are accessible, easily recognized by the initiate, and provide little public visibility. Tearooms thus offer the advantage of both public and private settings. —laud humphreys I grew up in Conway, Arkansas, and the rest area where the trouble began was only twenty miles down Interstate 40 toward Little Rock. Though I was only thirteen years old at the time, I do remember the arrests that commanded headlines across the state. The battle they began was over not only the use and misuse of a public place but also the creation and facilitation of a gay identity and space in the thick of the American South. The interstate highway system, the great victory of the automotive lobby, began in the 1950s and soon symbolized the postwar economic boom, connecting far-flung cities and the citizens therein. It also represented the American love affair with the automobile and leisure.1 The highway rest area, established for travelers and their families, offered services to aid them in their journey, including toilets, picnic facilities, and tourist information. The Morgan Rest Area was opened in October of 1973, at the cost of almost a half a million dollars. It sat at mile marker 146, meaning it was that many miles from the Oklahoma border to the east. From that point, it was 138 miles west to Memphis on Interstate 40, which runs coast to coast. When it opened, it was one of thirty-six rest areas in the state, offering not only public toilets but also two dozen private picnic areas and parking for recreational vehicles.2 On February 1, 1991, Robert Howard began his regular commute from Little Rock to Conway. He ran Self Image, Inc., a licensed massage and beauty business that offered clients in-home service. His house calls often brought him to various homes in Conway from where he lived in Little Rock, thirty or so miles away. He usually worked late, as he often accommodated clients after they finished their workdays. By the time he left his last client and began the drive to Little Rock, it was almost 11:30 p.m. Howard stopped off to use the public toilets at the Morgan rest area, sitting roughly halfway between Conway and Little Rock. The rest area had a reputation. The fact that a great many men used the space for anonymous sexual encounters was not lost on Howard, nor was it lost on local law enforcement officers. Howard parked his car and entered the men’s toilets. He had noticed a few men loitering around the building and in the woods that surrounded the rest area on one side. He paid little attention to this, though he knew of the men’s intentions. Robert Howard is a gay man, but he did differ from the loitering individuals in that his intention was to use the toilet for their intended purpose. After he used the facilities, he was walking back to his automobile when an attractive young man in his late twenties stopped him. Howard was intrigued, though not enough to entertain the man beyond polite conversation. He felt sympathy for the young cruiser.3 As the young man tried to make small talk, Howard told him that “cruising an interstate rest stop for sex was no way for a gay man to meet people.”4 At that point, the young cruiser’s conversation turned lewd. He asked Howard to join him in his car and said that they would continue the conversation there. Howard refused and began to walk away. At this point, the young man produced a badge from under his shirt and identified himself as a Pulaski county sheriff’s deputy. Robert Howard was under arrest for loitering to solicit deviant sexual activity, a misdemeanor.5 Howard was not the only man arrested during the two-hour sheriff’s office sting that night. A total of eight men were arrested on various charges, including two for violation of the Arkansas sodomy statute. For many, especially those arrested on sodomy charges, the raid came to, seem peculiarly well timed. According to the Arkansas Gazette, on Thursday, January 17, 1991, Arkansas state senator Vic Snyder introduced a bill into the legislature that quickly sparked 47 Where the Action Is...