The Cocktail Lounge: A Study of Heterosexual Relations in a Public Organization

This paper covers a body of data in a relatively neglected area of research, namely, the social life found in a high-status public organization. Using a variety of methods (participant observation, interviews, having the employees of the organization systematically gather data on the clientele), it was found that the cocktail lounge was frequented by regular patrons who engaged in organized activities around which stable expectations for "proper" behavior had developed. The major function of the cocktail lounge was the facilitation of casual sexual affairs between high-status married men and young, unattached women. The organization of the cocktail lounge is described, and the relationship between activities in the lounge and outside social ties is discussed.