nakedemperor said:
What's a bath house?
Are YOU gay?
I am shocked that there are dumb fucks among us.....
Gay bathhouse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_bathhouse
Gay bathhouses, also known as (gay) saunas or steam baths (and sometimes called, in gay slang in some regions, "the baths" or "the tubs"), are places where men can go to have sex with other men (note that not all men who visit gay bathhouses consider themselves 'gay'). Bathhouses for women are much more rare, though some men's bathhouses will occasionally have "lesbian" or "women-only" nights.
Bathhouses vary considerably in size and amenities from small establishments with ten or twenty rooms and a handful of lockers to multi-storey saunas with a variety of room styles or sizes and several steam baths, jacuzzi tubs and sometimes even swimming pools but nearly all have at least one steam room (or wet sauna), as well as lockers and small private rooms. Unlike at brothels, customers pay only for the use of the facilities; sexual activity, if it occurs, is not provided as a service by staff of the establishment, but is between customers, and no money is exchanged. In fact, nearly all gay bathhouses prohibit or discourage prostitution and ban known prostitutes.
Bathhouses are frequently run 24 hours. There is typically a single customer entrance and exit; the customer can either rent a room typically consisting of a locker and a single bed (though doubles are sometimes available) or a locker, for a fixed period, typically from one to twelve hours. After paying, the customer is buzzed through the main door. This system allows establishments to screen potential trouble-makers; many bathhouses refuse entry to those who are visibly intoxicated, or to known prostitutes. In some areas, particularly where homosexuality is illegal, considered immoral, or viewed with hostility, this is a necessary safety precaution. For similar reasons, some bathhouses require the presentation of identification, though the majority do not.
Some bathhouses require customers to purchase yearly memberships and many offer special entry rates to members or to students or other groups. In some countries, bathhouses restrict entrance to men of certain age ranges (apart from the general requirement of being an adult) or physical types, and even perceived nationality or race although in other places this would be considered illegal discrimination. Some bathhouses hold occasional "leather", "underwear" or other theme nights.
Layout and typical amenities
On being buzzed in, the customer receives a (usually white) towel and the key for his room or locker. Many bathhouses also give free condoms and lubricants. Some establishments require a piece of identification or an item of value to be left with the front desk on entry.
Bathhouses are usually dimly lit, and pipe in music via a sound system. They are usually laid out in a circular fashion, or in such a way as to allow or encourage customers to wander throughout the establishment. Rooms are usually grouped together, as are lockers. Bathhouses are frequently decorated with posters of nude or semi-nude men, and sometimes explicit depictions of sex. The heat is kept relatively high.
The customer proceeds to his room or locker where he changes out of his street clothes and wraps a towel around his waist; most bathhouses are clothing optional and some encourage total nudity, but in some bathhouses nudity is forbidden in the common areas of the establishments. While some men may wear underwear or fetish-wear, in most bathhouses it is unusual for customers to remain fully dressed in street clothes. The room or locker key is usually suspended from an elastic band which can be worn around the wrist or ankle. The customer is then free to wander throughout the public areas of the bathhouse, which may include:
group showers
steam rooms (sometimes more than one)
jacuzzi tubs (often located in the steam room)
dry saunas
mazes
dark rooms
"glory holes"
theme rooms or areas
orgy rooms
video areas playing pornography
relaxation areas where non-pornographic movies are shown
café areas where food and/or drinks are served
bars or full restaurants
(these are relatively unusual)
tanning booths
gymnasium facilities
dance areas
swimming or lap pools
According to "The History of Gay Bathhouses", in the 1970s bathhouses began to install "fantasy environments" which recreated erotic situations that were illegal or dangerous:
Orgy rooms . . . encouraged group sex, while glory holes recreated [public] toilets, and mazes took the place of bushes and undergrowth [in public parks]. Steam rooms and gyms were reminiscent of the cruisy YMCAs, while video rooms recreated the balconies and back rows of movie theaters.
A popular NYC bathhouse called Man's Country provided a full-size model of an Everlast truck where visitors could have sex in the cab or in the rear, which served as an orgy room . . . Man's Country also offered a . . . fake prison cell made of rubber bars (1).
Many bathhouses have small shops selling such items as cigarettes, pornography, sex toys, latex gloves, massage oils and lubricants, razors and shaving cream, aftershave and cologne, toothbrushes, hair products, and related items. Some also sell condoms, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner, but these are usually provided free.
