Leather nights in the woods: homosexual encounters in a Dutch highway rest area

This article describes a small-scale research on homosexual encounters in a Dutch highway rest area called "the Mollebos." Research was carried out on Monday evenings and nights, the so-called "leather nights," which attracted a specific group of patrons: men into leathersexuality and sadomasochism (S&M). Participant observation, informal conversations, and in-depth interviews made it possible to analyze spatial strategy as used by cruising men and the individual meanings patrons attach to outdoor leather cruising. It was found that in the Netherlands cruisers are no longer members of "a silent community." The leather nights in the woods proved to be an important supplement for the Dutch gay leather and S&M scene. For many visitors they served as an erotic space to realize sexual fantasies.