People whose sexualities have been pushed to the margins have often had to find creative ways to express their desires outside of accepted norms. When private or socially approved spaces are not available, desire moves elsewhere. In many cultures, this has given rise to practices of cruising: the search for connection and intimacy in public spaces, guided by shared codes, glances and moments of recognition.
In this panel, Madonna Lenaert brings together Wim Cuyvers and Bram Van Oostveldt to talk about the places where these hidden or discouraged encounters take place. Together, they explore parks, streets, bathhouses and other public spaces that have quietly become meeting points for people whose desires are not always welcomed in the open.
The conversation looks at how these spaces are shaped by social rules, architecture and power, but also by imagination, care and risk. Rather than focusing only on sex, the panel considers cruising as a way of navigating the world—of finding belonging, connection and possibility in places not designed for it. By paying attention to these often-overlooked locations, the speakers invite us to reflect on how public space is shared, controlled and reinvented and what these practices can tell us about freedom, visibility and living together differently.
