For s, gay men gathered anonymoly at the Everard Baths, seekg sexual liaisons and mararie alike
Contents:
- A PEEK UNR THE TOWEL: INSI THE 500-YEAR HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO
- BEFORE IT BURNED DOWN, THIS BATHHOE SERVED AS A HAVEN FOR NEW YORK CY’S GAY COMMUNY
A PEEK UNR THE TOWEL: INSI THE 500-YEAR HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO
It was a ld Febary morng, 118 years ago this month, when New York Cy police nducted their first rerd raid on a gay bathhoe. This marked the first rerd time that police raid a gay bathhoe Ameri, but certaly wasn’t the last. The tradn of gay male bathg spac dat back to the 15th century — and more genr-ntral bathg is rerd as early as 6 BC.
In the late 1400s, police Florence, Italy, monored homosexual activy and “spect boys” at bathho. As stutns, bathho gaed populary the last century, part due to growg gay populatns lackg plac where they uld publicly gather. The risks of police raids terred some men om steppg to a gay bathhoe, but ultimately the need for timate pannship outweighed the danger posed by police.
RELATED | 10 Thgs I Learned From Workg a Gay Bathhoe.
BEFORE IT BURNED DOWN, THIS BATHHOE SERVED AS A HAVEN FOR NEW YORK CY’S GAY COMMUNY
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. Followg World War II, a more robt unrground gay culture began to emerge, spurred part by the pannship that queer soldiers found the ary.
Gay bathho weren’t jt plac to have sex.