Gay Sna Etiquette - what to do a gay sna - Travel Gay

Contents:

• THE MIL LEGACY OF GAY BATHHO
• GAY SNA ETIQUETTE
• LAS VEGAS GAY SNAS
• ATLANTA GAY SNAS

THE MIL LEGACY OF GAY BATHHO

Grg Moror - Knights In Whe Sat - Photography: Ron Slenzak Sex ually wh s own soundtrack, natural or synthized, but the mic of gay bathho, snas and sex clubs the 1970s has had an unmon pull on ntemporary dance mic. Droppg s ltle terrycloth towel at the tersectn of classic dis, extend funk jams, smooth vol R&B, spacey jazz and early electronic experimentatn, and now streaked wh the nostalgic gleam of outlaw sexual liberatn, the cisg culture of the post-Stonewall, pre-AIDS gay era has bee a ee-floatg metaphor of sorts for unfettered physil munn, subcultural eedom and wild, wild nights.

When gay men steamed up, society’s shackl slid off. The ee-spired transcennce and sexually charged imagery of retro homo sex clubs and dancefloors have perated the world of straight dance mic producers, poppg up recently DJ Hell’s mcle-bulgg “I Want U” vio, a llaboratn wh the Tom of Fland Foundatn, and director Pete Fowler’s ecstacy-engulfed clip for Joe Goddard’s “Home.

GAY SNA ETIQUETTE

And gay bathhoe-themed parti like DJ B Statn John’s The Tubteak Connectn party San Francis and the trepid mil archeology of gay DJ llectiv like Honey Soundsystem have helped keep origal bathhoe mic om slippg to obscury. Bette Midler at the Contental Baths - Marahuana In their 1970s heyday, bathho were spots for gay men to hook up, dally around munal hot tubs or snas and rent small rooms if they felt like some privacy.

Almost every major cy Ameri and Europe had them, meang gay men uld rely on meetg others durg their travels.

“A lot of sex happened there, ” said Fab, “But the were rare plac where gay men uld e together eely, so a lot of relatnships started there, too. ” Then me AIDS and the bathho began to shut down, wh owners disappearg as fast as patrons: Bathho were among the first bs openly owned by gay people, and formed a val part of the lol gay enomi now beg shredd by the disease.

LAS VEGAS GAY SNAS

The mic at the remag gay baths, sex clubs and nightclubs started to bee more tribal, faster and lour, takg s cu om the roamg gay circu party scene (and perhaps s harr dgs) that was startg to domate the ’90s.

” (The last stand of classic sleaze mic was durg morngs hours at the huge, gay ’80s NYC club The Sat. To young gay men g of age, the thought of disverg diverse or surprisg new mic at the sna was all but unthkable. In 2004, DJ B Statn John began ratg ty, grty dive bar Aunt Charlie’s wh old bathhoe signs and pictur om vtage gay porn magaz for his weekly party, The Tubteak Connectn.

He limed his mic to the bathhoe era heyday, maly 1974-1983, much of his vyl hered or sourced om gay men who had died om AIDS.

ATLANTA GAY SNAS

Along wh gay London DJ quartet Horse Meat Dis, whose popular exvatns of the dis sound brought a wave of old school charm to larger dancefloors, the bathhoe dis movement enuraged a wave of fledglg gay crews ci across the US to embrace the pre-AIDS past.

While many of the “new queer unrground” crews forego a purely bathhoe dis sound favor of cuttg-edge techno, classic and acid hoe, they utilize vtage imagery and throw parti historil gay spac and current sex clubs, like Honcho’s Hot Mass parti beneath the Club Ptsburgh sex club, Honey Soundsystem’s parti at gay strip club Tea Room Theater and former Febe’s leather bar SF, and Men’s Room’s farewell party to gay porn movie hoe Bijou Theatre durg Chigo’s Internatnal Mr. - Ingno Meanwhile, Steamworks Chigo hired DJ Harry Cross directly om the new queer unrground 2013 – as part of the Men’s Room monthly party crew, he’s been stmental expandg the mil range of gay clubs there, and his lengthy sets (another longtime hallmark of bathho) on Friday nights mix ntemporary techno, trippy electronics, plenty of acid and early hoe, New Wave stmentals and even some throwback Hi-NRG. The first time you step to a gay sna n be an unnervg experience.

Alternatively, you may be so faiar wh a particular gay sna you’re wrten to the fire snas are sex-posive plac. No one hands you stctns when you walk to a gay sna.