Soft City

Sex is among the rawest human experiences, and in a city as varied as New York it takes many forms. Before the Giuliani era, temptation was advertised on Times Square's theater marquees and neon signs, while behind unmarked doors downtown, more adventurous experiences awaited those who knew where to look. In The Soft City, the ethnographer Terry Williams goes deep into this underground world with the help of accomplices and informants.

The book explores what it calls the perverse space of porn theaters, sex shops, peep shows, restroom cruising, sadomasochism clubs, swingers' events and more. Drawing on field notes taken from 1975 to the present, it documents how New Yorkers on the social margins have thought about and pursued sex, whether for recreation or for a living.

It also offers an unconventional account of the city's many transformations, showing how the soft city, meaning its people and their distinctive character, changed in response to official and social pressures. Alongside Williams's portraits of the demimonde, the book includes accounts by other ethnographers who took on the challenge of exploring the city's hidden corners.