San Francis tells gay bathho, "Wele back!" :: Bay Area Reporter

Contents:

• SAN FRANCIS TELLS GAY BATHHO, "WELE BACK!"
• GAY BATHHOE EROS TO OPEN S NEW TENRLO LOTN FOR PRI WEEKEND
• SF GAY SEX CLUB EROS REOPENS NEW LOTN
• A PEEK UNR THE TOWEL: INSI THE 500-YEAR HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO
• A S-OLD BAN ON GAY BATHHO WAS ABOUT TO BE LIFTED. THEN, A PANMIC.
• TWO PANMIC YEARS LATER, GAY BATHHOE ZONG BACK ON THE DOCKET IN SF
• SAN DIEGO'S GAY BATHHO, WILD LIFE OF OUR FOREIGN BBI, BT LIGHT THE CY
• THE HISTORY OF AMERI'S GAY BATHHO AND “BATHHOE BETTY”
• EROSSAN FRANCISMENUHOTELS · LUXURYHOTELS · MID-RANGE + BUDGETBARSDANCE CLUBSCISE CLUBSSNASLBIAN BARS & CLUBSON TODAYTOURSCY GUIGAY WEDDGSGAY MAPEROS
• DOORS TO BAY AREA GAY SEX VENU SWG OPEN
• GAY SEX VENU RETURN

SAN FRANCIS TELLS GAY BATHHO, "WELE BACK!"

For the first time nearly four s operators of tradnal gay bathho n once aga seek perms to open San Francis. Those regulatns, when put to effect, rulted a facto ban on gay bathho San Francis, leavg rints to have to travel to such bs Berkeley and San Jose.

Due to the COVID-19 panmic, the lone gay bathhoe left the Bay Area is Steamworks the East Bay and remas closed bee of the health crisis. While gay sex clubs whout private, locked rooms ntued to operate the cy, most eventually closed their doors. Whether is signifint on the ground pends on if entreprenrs wh the visn and fancial paci and the savvy to open n and operate one of the, " said gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Manlman of the liftg of the old bathhoe l.

GAY BATHHOE EROS TO OPEN S NEW TENRLO LOTN FOR PRI WEEKEND

Many of the cy's gay bathho were loted the South of Market neighborhood on or near Folsom Street. So many gay-related venu, om bathho and sex clubs to bars and stor terg to leather fetishists, were loted the area by the 1970s that was known as the Miracle Mile. Allowg for the reopeng of tradnal gay bathho uld be a boost for lears of the area's Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District as they try to prerve the neighborhood as an LGBTQ enclave.

Wh life not expected to return to a sense of normalcy until late 2021, a gay bathhoe uld be ready to open jt as the health crisis fully subsis. The panmic has certaly affected many of the bs our area, " said Robert Goldfarb, a gay man who is the print of the SOMA LGBTQ cultural district's board.

SF GAY SEX CLUB EROS REOPENS NEW LOTN

He hop a gay bathhoe operator will e forward to open a lotn San Francis. While he believ there are potential lotns to suate a gay bathhoe the Castro, Manlman told the B. To unrstand the eply felt antagonism around bathhoe closur, ’s helpful to unrstand the role the baths played the liv of gay men.

A PEEK UNR THE TOWEL: INSI THE 500-YEAR HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO

In the early 1980s, as AIDS began to cimate the gay muny of San Francis, a battle broke out over the role that gay bathho might play the spread of HIV.

On the other si stood the gay bathhoe proprietors, San Francis AIDS Foundatn, the San Francis Human Rights Commissn, a handful of polis, the gay prs, and most — but certaly not all — of the gay muny. To unrstand the eply felt antagonism to closg the baths, ’s helpful to unrstand gay history and the role the baths played the liv of gay men the world over.

A S-OLD BAN ON GAY BATHHO WAS ABOUT TO BE LIFTED. THEN, A PANMIC.

But the post-Stonewall 1970s, gay life me kickg and screamg out of the closet.

Gay magaz proliferated; gay bs thrived; gay artists and micians began achievg mastream succs.

Acrdgly, as gay men stopped nyg their sexual urg, the bathho thrived. No wonr then that when the Cy wanted to close the bathho, was seen by many as an anti-gay, anti-sex — an attempt to drive all back to the closet.

TWO PANMIC YEARS LATER, GAY BATHHOE ZONG BACK ON THE DOCKET IN SF

Gay civil liberti, of AIDS hysteria vs. A heterosexual judge wh no gay advisory mtee termed what was an acceptable venue for men who have sex wh men. “Ltlejohn’s ballot proposal galvanized the gay muny opposn, ” renowned activist Cleve Jon told me.

SAN DIEGO'S GAY BATHHO, WILD LIFE OF OUR FOREIGN BBI, BT LIGHT THE CY

We all reasonably feared an anti-gay vote, a slippery slope that uld lead to who-knows-where? Now HIV is, at least, ntrollable, allowg more gayns. Maybe they’ve learned to tst that gay men at the baths have enough rmatn, and self-teem, to take re of themselv whout Dianne Feste peerg over their shoulrs.

THE HISTORY OF AMERI'S GAY BATHHO AND “BATHHOE BETTY”

I thk, though, that we n at least celebrate the fact that a time-honored staple of gay culture will be given new life this fair cy. When the 30-year-old bathhoe and sna Eros left ’s old home on Market Street near the Castro December 2021, the cy's only remag gay sex club said they had a new home led up. San Francis's last remag gay sex club is reopeng s doors time for Pri weekend.

After vatg their former space on upper Market Street December, Eros's owners began remolg and movg to their new home, where the gay Bulldog Baths had operated the late 1970s and 1980s.

Eros is not a tradnal gay bathhoe that do not have locked rooms. "We have been able to weather the cris of AIDS and STIs, the dg crisis, and we fd ourselv the only gay mercial sex venue to rema bs post the COVID-imposed closur, " said Rowe, referrg to the closure 2020 of SOMA sex club Blow Buddi. They did so at the urgg of gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Manlman, who had led the earlier ph to allow bathho to aga operate the cy.

EROSSAN FRANCISMENUHOTELS · LUXURYHOTELS · MID-RANGE + BUDGETBARSDANCE CLUBSCISE CLUBSSNASLBIAN BARS & CLUBSON TODAYTOURSCY GUIGAY WEDDGSGAY MAPEROS

It pav the way for gay bathho and other adult sex venu to open the Castro, Tenrlo, and most of South of Market whout the need to receive approval om the planng missn. A dog groomer and kennel g the name of the old gay bathhoe had operated the space followed by an artist llective prr to Eros takg over the lease. 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.

DOORS TO BAY AREA GAY SEX VENU SWG OPEN

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.

GAY SEX VENU RETURN

As stutns, bathho gaed populary the last century, part due to growg gay populatns lackg plac where they uld publicly gather.