A Brief Polil—and Personal—History of Gay Bathho ‹ Lerary Hub

Contents:

• CATEGORY:GAY BATHHO THE UNED STAT
• A PEEK UNR THE TOWEL: INSI THE 500-YEAR HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO
• A BRIEF POLIL—AND PERSONAL—HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO
• WH THE WALLS OF GAY BATHHOE LI A WORLD OF THEIR OWN
• GAY BATHHOE
• THE HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO. 1984
• GAY BATHHOE
• I SPENT A NIGHT ONE OF PORTLAND’S LAST GAY BATHHO
• ENTOURAGE GAY VEGAS BATHHOE
• GAY USA

CATEGORY:GAY BATHHO THE UNED STAT

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

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. 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. I met a handsome Black man wh dreadlocks a gay bar lled The Fireplace on the edge of Dupont Circle, and after a few rounds of drks, we left to go have sex only to disver that neher of uld take the actn back to where we lived.

A BRIEF POLIL—AND PERSONAL—HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO

The vibe uld be ls aggrsive there than at gay dance clubs like Badlands or Chaos, and the entry fee was ually cheaper than a night of drks at gay bars such as Mr. But, lookg back over the past half century, sex has been the fixatn of vol nservativ, who never knew the genue value of gay bathho, sex clubs, or porn theaters. So, by the late 1970s, you uld roll your ey at the opponents of gay sexual liberatn as you walked to the Roman Holiday Spa Los Angel; or the Nob Hill Theater San Francis; or Man’s Country Chigo; or the Olympic Baths Washgton, D.

WH THE WALLS OF GAY BATHHOE LI A WORLD OF THEIR OWN

Here’s how the distorted story go: gay bathho, sex clubs, and porn theaters had no reemg social value and were purely an outgrowth of the immoral, dg-fueled, hedonistic liftyle of queer men, and closg the lewd dwellgs durg the AIDS crisis the 1980s was the pnt cisn. San Francis’s Nob Hill Theater opened s doors for Gay Rights activists to hold strategy meetgs durg the theater’s off hours on Sunday morngs. At first, most polil lears seemed que willg to stand back and silently watch the unchecked spread of a adly vis layg waste primarily to the homosexual populatn.

Then when spurred to actn, a host of elected officials ed the public health crisis as a pretense to enact measur that had long been on their polil wish list—for stance, closg the gay bathho, sex clubs, and porn theaters, which was amed as a public health measure. I’ve raised this topic wh dozens of queer people across generatns, and a staggerg number nsir a matter of mon knowledge that shuttg down the gay bathho, sex clubs, and porn theaters was a necsary and effective policy unr the circumstanc.

As public health workers argued at the time 1980s, keepg the gay bathhoe, sex clubs, and porn theaters open would provi them wh plac to te people about HIV and AIDS, to tt people for HIV and AIDS, and to offer people greater accs to medil treatment for HIV and AIDS.

GAY BATHHOE

My purpose unrsrg the value of gay bathho, sex clubs, and porn theaters and retracg the polil motivatns for closg so many of them down durg the AIDS crisis this say and my novel, My Government Means to Kill Me, isn’t simply an exercise explorg history. In 1984, San Francis effectively shut down gay bathho a sperate attempt to curb HIV transmissn, assumg that the venu create what is prently referred to as “super sprear events.

Followg this troductn, I will tail the history of bathho wh San Francis and the broar gay muny, then exame the arguments that were ially ma favor of the closur. [iii] Gay bathho, ntrast, distguished themselv om the venu by permtg sex among members and by offerg food, entertament, and private rooms.

THE HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO. 1984

The first Amerin gay bathho parable to what we see today opened the 1950s and ‘60s and exclively centered the social and erotic needs of gay men. 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.

GAY BATHHOE

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.

I SPENT A NIGHT ONE OF PORTLAND’S LAST GAY BATHHO

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. 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.

ENTOURAGE GAY VEGAS BATHHOE

” The prottors highlighted a legimate fear of gay crimalizatn and ernment tsn to their private nduct, pecially given the years of police mistreatment many had endured. [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. Unfortunately, and as Feste’s spy tactic mak clear, many s this simply meant articulatg fear at the lol level by targetg spac associated wh gay sexualy.

GAY USA

[xvi] The baths were a hub for outreach and tn, pecially for unrserved muni, cludg closeted men who were otherwise disnnected om gay culture. ”[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. 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.