One of D.C.'s 2 Gay Bathho Clos - The Washgton Post

Contents:

• WHY D.C.’S GAY BATHHOE CREW CLUB ENDUR THE AGE OF GRDR
• ONE OF D.C.'S 2 GAY BATHHO CLOS
• THE CREW CLUBWASHGTON DC'S PREMIER GAY SNA & GYM.WASHGTON DCMENULUXURY HOTELSMID-RANGE HOTELSON TODAYBARSDANCE CLUBSSNASGAY MAPSHOPSTHE CREW CLUB
• GAY USA
• NEW YORK CY GAY SNAS AND BATHHO
• GAY BALTIMORE

WHY D.C.’S GAY BATHHOE CREW CLUB ENDUR THE AGE OF GRDR

GLORIOUS HEALTH CLUB AND DUNGEONGYM | STORE | GAY ART GALLERYNO MEMBERSHIP FEES REQUIREDA Bi-GAY SAFE HAVEN​OPEN 24/7Distributg Free Condoms and LubeCOMFORTABLE LARGE LOUNGES, DUNGEON EQUIPMENT, OUTDOOR PATIO FOR SUNBATHINGSHOWERS ON-SITEFREE LOCKERS need lockATM ON-SITEPHOTO ID REQUIRED TO ENTERwe no longer regnize phone id'swe will give you 2 weeks to get a photo id wh a rrect You are buzzed Mt EXPOSE Hoodie and mask to verify your picture on "photo id" rd*Say LAST name lookg at the mera above the si buzzer entrance door. Cozy apartments, private rooms and amazg hom: be weled by the gay muny over 200 untri. On a recent Tuday night, when locker and room pric were half off, the gay men’s health spa teemed wh butts and bears—the hairy, human kd.

Sce 1995, the Crew Club has provid gay men a sanctuary to work out, relax, and nverse, formg new relatnships face-to-face. “‘What happens at the Crew Club stays at the Crew Club’ is a , ” says William, who has also vised gay bathho Florida, California, Seattle, Philalphia, New Orleans, and Chigo. “If you went there enough, you’ll fd someone: someone on cy uncil or ernment, a ngrsman, a state reprentative, a nice Republin who hat gay people on TV but is suckg ck the Crew Club, ” William says, clg to offer nam.

ONE OF D.C.'S 2 GAY BATHHO CLOS

Condoms are available throughout the buildg, and Whman-Walker Health—the nearby clic that built s brand assistg gay men, many of whom lived wh HIV/AIDS or were at the hight risk of ntractg the vis and other sexually-transmted fectns—has a regular table the lounge area, where staff n nnect patrons wh HIV and STI ttg. Yet om s earlit days, the Crew Club has had to bat stigma, both om wh and outsi of the gay muny. A few weeks after opened, The Washgton Post ran a ont-page article unr the headle “Gay Social Club D.

Dpe this, bathho emerged as havens for gay men to be themselv, shield om the discrimatn and opprsn of heterosexual society. The name is at once a pun on gay “cisg” and “crew cuts, ” Allen not, and evok a D.

This week, the 61-year-old owner flew up om his part-time home Wilton Manors, Florida—a longtime gay village—to oversee Pri preparatns.

THE CREW CLUBWASHGTON DC'S PREMIER GAY SNA & GYM.WASHGTON DCMENULUXURY HOTELSMID-RANGE HOTELSON TODAYBARSDANCE CLUBSSNASGAY MAPSHOPSTHE CREW CLUB

He rells talkg wh an olr guy, “a plete stranger, ” who’d participated the Stonewall rts and had bee dismayed by the gay muny’s “stagnatn” polil activism. " Probably no issue has ed more anguish and ntroversy homosexual muni around the untry durg the last four years than whether gay bathho should be closed as a health hazard.

And the fear of ntractg AIDS -- acquired immune ficiency syndrome -- has been sufficient to put many gay bathho out of bs. But gay activists, many of whom have spent years tryg to safeguard their civil liberti, bristle at any suggtn that the ernment should lock the baths. "First of all, would do no good, " said Gee Am, who for the last eight years has n the Club Baths Southeast Washgton near Capol Hill, the District's only remag gay bath.

" Am said the nature of the baths has changed pletely and they now now ter to the least promiscuo segment of the gay populatn, the "highly closeted men, the married men, the ary men, the men who nnot jt stroll to a bar and strike up a nversatn. " He and others ntend that the baths are the only place that many men on the ge of the gay muny n go to get the latt rmatn about AIDS. Although many gay baths have been nverted to more tradnal health clubs, wh exercise equipment and swimmg pools replacg private booths and hot tubs, Am said he has no tentn of gog that road.

GAY USA

"The movement to close the baths jt ph gay sex back where was 25 years ago. Last year, when the public health director San Francis cid to ban sexual activy homosexual bathho, sex clubs and the back rooms of bookstor, many the cy's large gay populatn reacted angrily bee, they said, the ban would drive the cy's baths out of bs.

New York, Miami, Los Angel and other ci wh large gay populatns have grappled wh the issue, but each se cy officials shied away om attemptg to e siar methods to force closgs. "I thk many gays would be happy to see them close due to lack of bs, " said Christe Riddugh, print of the Gert Ste Democratic Club, the District's leadg gay polil anizatn.

" In many ci, a bathhoe, where people n meet easily -- and at tim anonymoly -- is the central social stutn the gay muny.

NEW YORK CY GAY SNAS AND BATHHO

It serv as an oasis for many gays, cludg those wh no tert anonymo or promiscuo sex. Matlovich, a former Air Force sergeant discharged om the service a ago after publicly announcg his homosexualy, proposed a voter iative here aimed at prohibg sexual activi bathho. It ed a sensatn wh the District's gay muny and got virtually no support om polil lears.

"I was greatly alarmed at the move to close the baths, " said Richard Mlsby, executive director of the District's office of ble televisn and a leadg gay spokman. " Many activists the District say that even here, a cy wh a reputatn for tolerance of homosexual life styl and a mayor who has given firm and public support to the gay muny, any vote on closg the baths would turn to a referendum on gay life here.

GAY BALTIMORE

Am said he will do anythg the gay-oriented Whman-Walker health clic suggts. The above map and s acpanyg history tell the story of the bars, bookstor, group hom, clics, and church that have played sential rol DC's gay muny for the past half century. Durg the 60s and 70s, as LGBT activism moved more to the public foreont, the number of gay bars grew throughout the District; also emergg this time were Guild Prs, which published gay travel guis, fictn, and a newspaper lled Gay Fom, as well as the Washgton Free Clic, which provid STD unselg to gay men.