History Lson: Why snas rema important to gay culture | SBS Voic

Contents:

• GAY SNAS SYDNEY
• YOUR GAY & BI VENUE FOR MEN
• HISTORY LSON: WHY SNAS REMA IMPORTANT TO GAY CULTURE
• GAY MELBOURNE
• GAY BATHHOE
• GAY SNA ETIQUETTE

GAY SNAS SYDNEY

Your gay & bi venue for men.

Pulteney 431, often referred to as ‘The Club’ or ‘431’, has been operatg ntuoly Alai for over 45 years, terg to the gay, bi-sexual and bi-cur male muny as a safe and iendly haven to relax and enjoy the club’s facili whilst meetg other likemd men. The Club opened 7 October 1977 and is therefore one of Atralia’s longt servg venu for the gay and bi-sexual muny. Adam* said was dangero to e out as gay his home untry and feared beg forced to an arranged marriage wh a woman.He said he was "so lucky" to wed his soulmate, Ray, Manchter and wish everyone uld marry who they love.

There are more than 60 untri wh laws that crimalise same-sex sexual acts acrdg to the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn, cludg Sdi Arabia.'Authentilly myself'Ray said he had also stggled growg up gay the 1970s and 80s England, which was "tough".He said his relig school "dmmed to you, 'you are gog to hell'".When Adam returned home to Sdi Arabia, spe beg more than 3,000 apart and later rtricted by the Covid-19 panmic, they kept touch daily and the romance blossomed.Three years ago, Ray proposed on a vio ll and after succsfully applyg for a UK fiancé visa, Adam moved to Manchter December 2022. Adam said he had been aaid to even wear lours his home untry so the first thg he did when he moved was start to "grow my mullet, got my ears pierced and booked appotments for tattoos".He relled how, ntrast, one of his gay iends Sdi had been forced to marry a woman, addg: "It has ed not only his life but the life of his wife."Danny Beard on Same Sex Love and MarriageDanny explor same-sex weddgs, fdg out why upl chose to get married, the challeng unrpng this cisn and what mak the wedd relatnships work.The uple said they now wanted to help people who were not as ee and strive for "equaly for everyone"."Now I'm here a safe place I want to fight for others to be able to marry who they want," Adam said."I'm so lucky but I want everyone else Sdi to marry the one they love whout facg discrimatn and persecutn." Image source, Fay photographImage ptn, Peter McGrah and David Cabreza say they are "very proud" to have been the first same-sex uple married EnglandMore than 40,000 same-sex marriag took place between 2014 and 2020, acrdg to the Office for Natnal StatisticsPeter McGrah and David Cabreza, origally om Stland and the US, ma history when they beme the first same-sex uple to marry England on 29 March 2014.The trailblazers married jt after midnight at Islgton Town Hall.

YOUR GAY & BI VENUE FOR MEN

The uple, who live London, said a "really betiful memory" was on the way home when one of their sons shouted out of the black b wdow to Trafalgar Square, "My dads jt got married" and cheered "Yay, gay marriage"."It was so sweet seeg him so happy," Mr Cabreza said. Oklahoma Cy’s drafte om 2022, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, are expected to jo Team USA’s trag mp this story:Oklahoma Cy ThunrTwo young Thunr players are set to jo the Team USA trag mp Holmgren and Jalen Williams, two of Oklahoma Cy’s 2022 drafte, are reported to be jog the trag mp roster and will potentially participate FIBA, per Shams were set to be sophomor the upg season.

A relic of an era past, gay bathho and snas are seen as some to be on their way, vis one any of our big ci, and you will fd that bathho and snas are still monly equented, ntug to have huge importance for many gay men. This is a ntuatn of the history of an important stutn that has been re to gay culture for many first known rerdg of same-sex sexual activi snas, Italy. In 1492, thori engaged a purge agast the “vice of sodomy”, nvictg 44 men for homosexual relatns, who they picked up taverns, baths and si (sheds and ho ed for illic sex).

While smattergs of siar rerdgs exist the followg centuri, wasn't until the late 19th Century that snas beme a standard place for gay sex to late 19th and early 20th centuri when queer people began to gather more regularly public spac, and turn, me to be fed unr the banner of ‘homosexual’. As this occurred, signifint reprsn of gay men and homosexual acts beme predomant across the wtern world as men ught havg gay sex beme subjected to huiatn, imprisonment, and vlence. In a webpage that tails the history of gay snas, “numero urt rerds om the turn of the century nta s of men who were arrted after neighbours, landlords, policemen and YMCA janors looked through keyhol, or broke down doors to disver men havg sex wh each other.

HISTORY LSON: WHY SNAS REMA IMPORTANT TO GAY CULTURE

”To al wh this, gay — public plac such as parks, toilet blocks, and movie theatr, where they uld have sex but wh ls of a threat of beg ught by thori. Digned for the general public to e , relax, and unwd, gay men ed the relative anonymy and privacy of snas as a safe space for sexual enunters.

GAY MELBOURNE

Inially many snas operators reacted strongly agast this, wh some llg the police on gay men, or hirg private guards to protect their facili., ’s reported that New York police nducted a raid agast a sna the Ariston Hotel, arrtg 26 men, wh twelve eventually beg brought to trial on sodomy owners, however, turned a bld eye to the activi,.

In dog so, the snas beme an important venue for gay men. In the spac men had a safe venue to have sex— one that me wh signifintly ls risk of beg ught that other gay muni beme more visible the post-war era, the 1950s saw dited gay snas beg to open.

GAY BATHHOE

Although the venu ntued to face police raids and timidatn, as gay-owned and operated spac, they beme a sexual mec for many gay men. However, as many began to blame the HIV/AIDS crisis on promiscuy wh the gay male muny, snas beme a signifint target.

GAY SNA ETIQUETTE

Cy thori the Uned Stat, closg popular venu big gay ci such as and. Wh the crimalisatn of homosexualy, and the sproutg of gay datg apps such as Grdr, many see that the venu will no longer be need.

In the UK, proment gay activist Jam Wharton ma a splash a few years ago, llg for snas to be closed and “thorns our si that mark our muny as different for the wrong reasons”. In 2012, Sydney’s longt nng gay sna, Ken’s at Kensgton,.

Dpe this, many gay snas rema open—even Atralia. If you vis one, you will still fd many gay men, of all different ag, siz and ethnici, who equent them regularly.