Article on Whe Party Palm Sprgs, Calif, part of hundreds of gay 'circu party' events that take place around US and worldwi all year round; list; photos (M)
Contents:
- THE UNSUNG HISTORY OF CIRCU PARTI, WHERE GAY MEN SEEK SEX AND FREEDOM
- KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
- GAY UNSELOR'S FIRG BY INDIANAPOLIS CATHOLIC SCHOOL PERMTED BY FERAL APPEALS URT
- GAY CIRCU PARTI DURG COVID SPARKED A “CIVIL WAR.” CAN ANYONE W?
- GAY PARTY CIRCU R CARNIVAL 2024
- JOURNEYS; ON GAY CIRCU, THE PARTY NEVER ENDS
THE UNSUNG HISTORY OF CIRCU PARTI, WHERE GAY MEN SEEK SEX AND FREEDOM
A large, gay dance party, somethg like a gay versn of a rave, but wh a gay-oriented mic selectn (ually pop, progrsive hoe, and tribal). Events are well-promoted, publicized, advertised and anized, are often attend by thoands, n be big chary fundraisers, and are ually expensive to attend. Sce each circu party occurs on a specific weekend and a specific cy once a year, and there are many parti on "the circu", travel and planng are required. Travellg om party to party be part of a circu boy's liftyle of travel, workg and partyg. Some exampl of circu parti: Whe Party Palm sprgs (April), Black Party New York (March), the Black and Blue Ball Montreal (October), the Blue Ball Philalphia (January). The are often all-night and multi-day events, and party dgs such as ecstasy, GHB, ketame and crystal are equently taken by partygoers." name="Dcriptn" property="og:scriptn * what is a gay circuit party *
A large, gay dance party, somethg like a gay versn of a rave, but wh a gay-oriented mic selectn (ually pop, progrsive hoe, and tribal).
A place for dgs and unprotected sex among barely functnal adult man-children who make sane, well adjted gays look bad.
Any number of a seri of events that n be held around world generally terg to butch lookg young gay men and fag hags that nsists of dancg mdlsly until dawn to dis mic after jtg K, ex and/or methamphetame Ted: Hey. The circu—a loose global work of often weekend-long danceathons, where partygoers (almost all gay men) nvene om around the world to bond spirually, socially, sexually and milly—is one of the most unique phenomena to emerge om queer muni over the past few s.
KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
A circu party is a weekend long seri of events, attractg thoands of gay men, wh a huge fale party on Sunday afternoon. * what is a gay circuit party *
Undoubtedly, many younger gay men prefer smaller venu that "bask the bety and openns of queer culture. " Plenty of olr gay men, too, fd the whole ethos of circu parti — glow sticks, remixed diva anthems, lor them, "body fascism"—to be tired figure out the state of the circu 2017, THUMP spoke wh Mickey Weems, a lecturer at the Universy of Hawai'i Manoa who has extensively studied circu parti (alongsi relig, anthropologil and folklore terts). Weems spoke to their past, prent and potential future, explag what role the circu has played shapg queer and gay culture, and what s evolutn says about the same today.
A gay circu party (Photo via)THUMP: Can you give me a psule history of the circu?
When the Gay Activist Alliance was formed—the first gay rights group, born only six months after Stonewall—they had danc an old firehoe SoHo. And New York, thoands of men began gatherg at Downtown loft spac that began croppg started pourg , wh plac like Flamgo and Twelve Wt, two of the most proment gay male dance spac, full of sweaty men dancg all the same time, Fire Island beme the place for people who uld afford . The term "circu" me om beg the "need to know circu"—not only diss, but "--the-know" plac the gay muny that even clud, 1980, the Sat opened the East Village.
GAY UNSELOR'S FIRG BY INDIANAPOLIS CATHOLIC SCHOOL PERMTED BY FERAL APPEALS URT
A gay man who attends circu parti on a regular basis. It is ually a very expensive enavor, sce tickets to the parti are generally around $100 per event, and circu parti ually take place on three to five nsecutive nights the the same cy. The term often has a negative nnotatn." name="Dcriptn" property="og:scriptn * what is a gay circuit party *
One thg the 2002 documentary When Boys Fly [which followed a group of young gay men attendg the Miami Whe Party] got right was showg someone fallg out [passg out om dg e] was sndalo. Then you started seeg the rise of the ter, which pecially affected the gay datg scene.
A handful of proment gay punds saw the parti as a waste of our energy and rourc. People like Michelangelo Signorile, who wrote about his experience at the Palm Sprgs Whe Party Life Outsi, a book about gay culture at the time, were posg that the parti were crics like Signorile, Larry Kramer and Gabriel Rotello, parti were seen as havens for irrponsible behavr, sex and dgs. Most of the kds of studi look at the areas of gay culture—like the bathhoe scene, club scene, the app scene—bee they're supposed hot spots for HIV fectn and rampant dg the qutn is: do the people dog the studi unrstand our muny at all?
Bee what they're "studyg" is jt what go on regular gay that "regular gay life" has e to mean somethg very different 2017.
GAY CIRCU PARTI DURG COVID SPARKED A “CIVIL WAR.” CAN ANYONE W?
Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach a US men’s profsnal sports league to e out as gay. * what is a gay circuit party *
There's no qutn that for gay men, thgs have gotten better.
This generatnal divi between gay Boomers and lennials has to fluence how they perceive circu parti—or even if there's still a need for, as you said, the circu reached a nadir earlier this century, has that cle been nstant, or have they ma a eback? And if so, what's the motivatn for younger gay men to attend a circu party?
H ave the parti themselv evolved to meet the challenge of a changed landspe for gay/queer culture a post-liberatn world? " We create a gay space on the dance floor of mastream parti. EDC enurag ongog cricism is that the parti reprent only one small segment of gay men.
GAY PARTY CIRCU R CARNIVAL 2024
Gay clubs and circu parti, disver where to go durg R is a very lively nightlife for the gay crowds R. * what is a gay circuit party *
Although there's a looseng up about attus toward gay people, the societi are still very tradnal. Circu parti are a huge part of gay culture.
Circu parti are weekend long seri of events, attractg thoands of gay men, wh a huge fale party on Sunday afternoon. It’s today’s answer for gay men to rave events of the 90’s.
JOURNEYS; ON GAY CIRCU, THE PARTY NEVER ENDS
Circu parti typilly attract middle class gay whe men, 30-55 year old. Circu parti are not all about sex and dgs, but is pretty empowerg to flnt your body among thoands of hot, sweaty gay men. It’s about sharg the entire experience wh other people and celebratg gay culture.