Dogging (sexual slang)


Dogging is a British English slang term for engaging in sexual acts in a public or semi-public place or watching others doing so. There may be more than two participants; both group sex and gang banging can be included. As observation is encouraged, voyeurism and exhibitionism are closely associated with dogging. The two sets of people involved often meet either randomly or arrange to meet up beforehand over the Internet.
In September 2003 BBC News reported on the "new" dogging craze. They cited the Internet and text messaging as common ways of organising meetings. The original definition of dogging—and which is still a closely related activity—is spying on couples having sex in a car or other public place, and the term had been in use on Britain's railways for many years. It would have been well-known at least as far back as 1951.
There is some evidence on the Internet that the "craze" has begun to spread to other countries, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Sweden.

Legality

In Great Britain, dogging comes under laws related to voyeurism, exhibitionism, or public displays of sexual behaviour. Prosecution is possible for a number of offences such as section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, exposure under section 66 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, or for the common law offence of outraging public decency. Association of Chief Police Officers policy was that arrests are a last resort and a more gradual approach should be taken in such circumstances.

Terminology

The Sunday Herald of Scotland wrote in 2003, "The term dogging originated in the early 1970s to describe men who spied on couples having sex outdoors—these men would '' the couples' every move and watch them." An alternative etymology posits dog walking as the origin of the term; audience members, and indeed participants, could use the ordinary exercise of their pets as cover for their sexual assignations.