In the mid-1980s, ntroversy emerged a number of Amerin ci over the rol gay bathho and sex clubs might play the spread of AIDS, and raisg safe-sex awarens. In 1984, San Francis beme the first cy where polil bat broke out over AIDS-related polici for bathho …
Contents:
- GALLERY: SAN FRANCIS GAY BATHHOE HISTORY, IN FLIERS [NSFW]
- A PEEK UNR THE TOWEL: INSI THE 500-YEAR HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO
- SAN FRANCIS TELLS GAY BATHHO, "WELE BACK!"
- THE HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO. 1984
- A BRIEF POLIL—AND PERSONAL—HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO
- SF GAY HISTORY
- HISTORIC GAY BATHHOE NOW TRANSFORMED TO PUPPY PARADISE
- SAN FRANCIS TO CLOSE GAY BATHHO
GALLERY: SAN FRANCIS GAY BATHHOE HISTORY, IN FLIERS [NSFW]
To unrstand the eply felt antagonism around bathhoe closur, ’s helpful to unrstand the role the baths played the liv of gay men. * history of san francisco gay bathhouses *
The gay muny had achieved a lot of liberatn and a lot of promence San Francis over the seventi and on to the early eighti, and I thought that closg the bathho would really be a polil setback. The Rch Street Baths, we thought we'd take a look back on some of the fliers om the plac, which were a primary sexual outlet for the cy's gay muny long before Grdr was even a possibily.
A PEEK UNR THE TOWEL: INSI THE 500-YEAR HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO
The bars helped shape and harn San Francis's gay inty. * history of san francisco gay bathhouses *
As Bebé argu, bathho preced the gay rights movement by providg men a social settg to assemble that rporated tablished health and safety polici—what some today would label a “safe space” to be gay.
Once the Consentg Adult Sex Bill crimalized sodomy California 1976, the baths creasgly functned as cultural centers “that uld both shape and rpond to the rapid social, sexual, and polil chang that were takg place” by providg gay men an opportuny to specifilly teract wh other gay men.
However, on March 27, at a meetg of the Harvey Milk Democratic Club, Larry Ltlejohn, founr of the homophile anizatn Society for Individual Rights, troduced a municipal ballot iative that aimed to close down the baths as a rponse to the ragg AIDS epimic.
SAN FRANCIS TELLS GAY BATHHO, "WELE BACK!"
Public policy regardg bathho has been cricized as beg based on polil expediency rather than on medil or social science. To affect that shortg, we clu here a brief history of gay bathho. The history of the baths is rarely told, but whenever is told necsarily refle … * history of san francisco gay bathhouses *
The followg morng, a lol gay newspaper published an article tled “Pri Founr Will Circulate Stop Sex Petn for Ballot, ” spreadg panic and forcg cy officials and muny members to formulate a public rponse to the proposed closur.
THE HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO. 1984
Many the muny risted the iative and particularly sgled out Ltlejohn as “Ltle Bra, ” “Judas Ltle John, ” and “the hemorrhoid on the asshole of the gay muny”–wh the fal ment g om the owner of another proment San Francis bathhoe. [xiv] Meanwhile, spe this public promise om Silverman, Mayor Feste surreptly orred San Francis police officers to beg surveillg bathho to report on the sexual activy of gay men. ”[xvii] Shortly thereafter, Silverman orred the closure of the baths and several other tablishments where gay men partook sex and reviewed them by name, statg, “the fourteen tablishments are not fosterg gay liberatn.
A BRIEF POLIL—AND PERSONAL—HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO
Naively believed where we engaged sex was a risk associated wh AIDS, ” then specified that “there is no scientific evince provg bathho, or sex clubs, are more rponsible than hotel rooms or bedrooms for gays ntractg AIDS.
SF GAY HISTORY
They acknowledged that the baths have provid a safer and private place for all gay men to ngregate whout fear of vlence or heteronormative social nsequenc and that, particular, baths provi accs to queer spac to young men between the ag of 18 and 20 who are prohibed om enterg bars and clubs. Dpe survivg 100 years of police harassment, though, the gay bathho of New York Cy uldn’t survive the homophobia of Mayor Ed Koch, who shut most of them down durg the HIV epimic.
HISTORIC GAY BATHHOE NOW TRANSFORMED TO PUPPY PARADISE
An extraordary, glimpse to the pre-AIDS gay sexual culture, "The Fairoaks Baths" is an exhib of Polaroids taken by Frank Melleno durg the sprg and summer of 1978 at the Fairoaks Hotel, a San Francis bathhoe. There is no other llectn of photographs that so clearly visualiz this perd bathhoe imag and more will be on display at the Llie-Lohman Prce Street Project Space (tails below) and also clud are imag om the Fairoaks Pri Para float om that same Fairoaks Baths:Photographs by Frank MellenoPolaroids om a San Francis bathhoe 1978Llie-Lohman Mm of Gay and Lbian Art (Prce Street Project Space)127-B Prce StreetNew York, NY 10012July 12-13, Openg receptn July 11, 6-8 p.
It lerally stood alone, at the tersectn of Oak and Steer streets, perched on a hill overlookg the lower Hay Valley district; an urban patch not yet gentrified by the cy's swellg ti of gay Boomers and some distance om the neighborhoods they typilly Fairoaks' existence was short-lived -- 1977 to 1979 -- but fondly relled by s patrons for a number of thgs. Members of the groups were enuraged by the offer of a ee locker to spend the eveng and this helped foster a more faiar and timate atmosphere than was mon other gay bathho of the era. Many of those men, like a great number of Fairoaks patrons, are no longer alive -- taken by the plague of AIDS that would cimate the cy's gay populatn jt another few a strg of black pearls, San Francis's bathho adorned the cy wh a touch of louche glamour before they were officially closed October 1984.
SAN FRANCIS TO CLOSE GAY BATHHO
Freeman regnized the historil importance, rtored the imag and created the Fairoaks than a pictorial rerd of a bygone scene -- or even of passg strangers wh sticky feet -- the photographs open a door to a secret gay world of sexual enunter and sweet nocence the lik of which will never be seen aga. At the Fairoaks he worked as a DJ, and receptnist, and was a proud member of the Fairoaks "fay crew" om s ArmsTwo guys towels talkg near the snack bar the mon area of the Pri #1The Fairoaks float at the 1978 Gay Pri Para San Francis was a flatbed tck rated wh furnure om the Fairoaks lounge. The hood ornament is wearg a Fairoaks T-shirt and straddlg a prott sign about the Briggs iative, which would have banned gay and "gay-sympathetic" teachers om classrooms California, and did not Pri #8Taken om the ont of the Fairoaks float for the 1978 Gay Pri Para, lookg ahead at the para and by-stanrs.