Bathhouses are reigniting the AIDS crisis. It's time to shut them dow

[alex8.5]

Bath houses are gross and dirty and filthy. I am Gay and proud of it, but I am clean and have too much respect for myself to ever step foot in one of those places again. But I have no objection to the men to use them. To each his own...

 

[ericbythebay]

Gays will continue to be looked down upon by society as long as they continue to go to bathhouses, parks, bathrooms, and rest areas for sex. There is no need for any of that in this day and age. There's nothing positive about it.

It's not a gay thing, there are a large number of straight identified married men, like Larry Craig, engaging in the activities you list.

But when we hear about public sex in S.F. at that fair, arrests in parks, and increases in STD's and HIV in the gay community, it's kind of frustrating.

Which fair? San Francisco has a lot of events, some of them adult themed. The locals know it and they don't bring their children.

The gay community is not the demographic with the largest increases in STD's and HIV transmission.

What are they fighting so hard for?

It's called freedom.

 

[cklover]

It's sad to still see so many gay men are still risking infection, or are infected and knowingly infect others. The baths and other meeting places aren't the problem. We gay men have always loved hooking up and playing as much with as many others as possible and this annoys heterosexuals to no end and it always will, and I don't give a shit. When it comes to gay man-on gay man transmission of hiv, though, I think that the self-hatred instilled in many of us by the dominant culture is still leading many of us to self and other destructive behavior. We have to understand it and fight it. As far as heterosexual men and women go, hiv mostly transmitted from needle-using drug abusers into your general population. Gay baths, bars, etc. are none of your business.

 

[B_RedDude]

Cruise control: bathhouses are reigniting the AIDS crisis. It's time to shut them down Washington Monthly - Find Articles

HIV infection is caused by a BEHAVIOR, not a location

 

[str82fcuk]

Isn't the Pope reigniting the AIDS crisis by discouraging condoms !? ....

Maybe we should demand the hypocritical closeted self-hating gayrepublican nancy nanny-state shut down the Roman Catholic Church !? ...

aaahh but we live in a free country you say ...

hmmm perhaps ...

tell you what, how about I look after my own pecker, and you all look after yours ...

and Mark Foley and his cohorts try to resist their addiction to being bareback-fucked in those wicked Wahington bath-houses ...

then we could all live in peace without flaming each-other ...

but but butt it seems perhaps they just like being tied down so much that they have to tie other people down too ...

oh dear oh dear oh dear too many glass houses and too many stones

funny thing me being free and all I just don't remember consenting to participation in those sadomasochistic bondage game power trips

 

[MovingForward]

Since you are 1% gay, I welcome you to visit a bathhouse with me.

 

[B_Italian1]

yes, and your STILL AN IDIOT

And you're 27 years old. Other than calling me an idiot, can you contribute something that's positive or negative to this thread?

 

[DC_DEEP]

I am trying to help. How is that homophobic? How is that an agenda? No I haven't heard about STD epidemics in whorehouses, have you? And straight people don't have bathhouses.

You have made that "trying to help" claim in more than one post, but the general tone of your posts seems to say otherwise. You have a lot of very negative things to say about homosexuals, in general, and you say them frequently.

Has it ever crossed your mind that you could do much more to "help" us gay folks by helping to remove social stigman, rather than fostering social stigma? I personally have never been to a bathhouse, nor have I ever had anonymous sex or done pickups in parks or restrooms.

The aberrant behavior that you repeatedly bring up on this site, I think, is more directly related to the degree of repression in our society. If being gay were not something that is so strongly discouraged and villified, far fewer gays would feel the need to find sex in dark corners.

Put your money where your mouth is.

When gays can walk down the sidewalk without fear of being murdered simply for being gay, and when politicians can be openly gay without losing their constituencies, most likely the supply and demand that keeps the bathhouses open will evaporate.

Closing the bathhouses is treating the symptoms, not fixing the problem.

 

[B_Italian1]

I must admit that you do constantly make posts about aspects of gay men's lifestyles and that gives the impression that you are on some sort of mission. I can see how people could come to the conclusion from reading your posts that you are either anti gay or some sort of religious zealot.

Why not just open up right now and say what your issue is?

I've also been circumcised and have no problem with that as I've stated in many of my posts. Yet I am continually told that I most likely do not enjoy sex as much as an intact man. It's not a mission. I am not anti gay or a religious zealot. I am for responsible behavior, and I don't see how going to a place like that and having sex with one of multiple partners is a good thing. Condoms are not used all of the time. That is the biggest lie out there.

I do agree with some issues you have raised Italian but you know it would indeed be too much of a nanny state thing to do. Lets face it Gay people do not have to go to these places but they choose to. It is freedome of choice. Shutting them down - it just won't happen. Why not close all swinging houses for straights, and bisexuals too? the same thing really.

BTW Aids is not a gay disease!

I know AIDS is not a gay disease. I've known about it for over 25 years now. I know shutting them down will never happen, but as I see it they are not a positive place. It's keeping gays further in the closet and allowing them to be looked down upon by society. Those places allow men to lose their inhibitions which is not always healthy. You can do whatever you want in a private room. The only legal places like that for straight people are in Nevada. Other than that there are home swinger parties or illegal private clubs.

Every bathhouse and sex club I have ever been to (Chicago, San Francisco, Paris) has free condoms available and they will kick out patrons engaging in unprotected sex.

lol They will not kick out people. There is a thread on here about bathhouses and a man admitted to going to one the other day and he didn't use one. They do not police bathhouses.

There are plenty of straight people that engage in anonymous sex too. Places like Power Exchange in San Francisco, swinger groups, and Craigslist Casual Encounters.

Bathhouses are not the problem, people making bad choices is the problem.

Just look at Craigslist in the Casual Encounters section for any major metro area and search for PNP. Solving the Meth problem will reduce the spread of STD's far more than closing bathhouses.

There are straight people doing that but it's far less common. Women are different from men. You're not going to have clubs in major cities with women willing to have anonymous sex with men. It just doesn't happen that way. Meth, closing bathhouses, and apathy are all part of it. I know in reality that bathhouses will never close, but the author makes some excellent points.

It's not a gay thing, there are a large number of straight identified married men, like Larry Craig, engaging in the activities you list.

The gay community is not the demographic with the largest increases in STD's and HIV transmission.

Yes there are straight identified men like Larry Craig and I don't make excuses for him. But there are also gay men who are more than willing to "service" people like Larry Craig. Why do they want to "service" men who hate them? And check out my post here. A man says he's straight and wants oral and gets over 400 responses from gay men.

http://www.lpsg.org/944154-post12.html

33% rise in AIDS cases in men under 30

Health Advocates Ponder How to Curb Rising HIV Rates Among Young Gay Men :: EDGE Boston

HIV infection is caused by a BEHAVIOR, not a location

Right and certain locations contribute to it.

Since you are 1% gay, I welcome you to visit a bathhouse with me.

No thanks!:smashfreakB:

 

[B_cigarbabe]

Why is it you never talk about all the promiscuous heterosexuals?
Who are also out and about, fucking in cars,parks, stairways, rooftops
and so and so forth. Why do you continually harp on gay men instead of everyone who has unprotected sex,hmm?
It is so obvious you despise homosexuals,how about you turn yourself towards protecting teenagers from STD's, and aids for a change.
I am so tired of reading your bullshit always geared toward hating people.
cigarbabe:saevilw:

 

[DC_DEEP]

Why is it you never talk about all the promiscuous heterosexuals?
Who are also out and about, fucking in cars,parks, stairways, rooftops
and so and so forth. Why do you continually harp on gay men instead of everyone who has unprotected sex,hmm?
It is so obvious you despise homosexuals,how about you turn yourself towards protecting teenagers from STD's, and aids for a change.
I am so tired of reading your bullshit always geared toward hating people.
cigarbabe:saevilw:

You already know the answers to those questions, don't you CB? He goes specifically looking for these kinds of articles, and he finds what he's looking for. He specifically ignores the fact that there are indeed straight sex clubs, anonymous pickups in straight clubs, and huge hooker populations in every population center of consequence. That stuff just doesn't get the sensationalized attention that the bathhouses do. And groups like Westboro Baptist Church, Christian Coalition, Concerned Women for America, Family Research Council, and countless others assist him in his anti-gay mission.

Italian978, are you going to address my previous post?

 

[frizzle]

GenerationQ.net - News, Entertainment, Lifestyle and Opinion for Gay Australia, USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Asia and South America

If this is happening in Australia, I don't see why it doesn't happen in a majority of Western countries. If STD's on an increase there are only two options in my eyes.

Simply educate the masses more often, free contraception and other various resources whilst closing down this types of places. OR

Legalisation of prostituion/brothels. It works in New Zealand and Holland where STD's seem to have decreased in recent years and you wouldn't have to shink down to a shady "bathhouse" to get your fill.

Obviously this is effecting the gay population more than the straight population as studies prove that STD's are on the increase in young men, but this problem applies to all people of sexuality.

 

[mnrocko]

I love bathhouses. I want to open one in my city! Men are going to meet regardless of it being in a building, at a beach, in the woods or on......a forum such as this or say Craigslist!
I can go on to C/list right now and find a group sex party. Str8 or gay! Or both!
A bath house offers a safer environment because if you pay your $$ and enter you want to be there. Say you invite a str8 guy over for sex and he freaks out? Then you have a nut lose in your home (or his) and have to deal with gettin out.
The bottom line is that people, gay and str8 have become complacent about sex, they aren't going to stop having it, but they can be safer about it. And this has to be the individuals choice. Just as its my choice not to engage in risky behavior with people I meet. Hell I can go to the gym and pick up a guy in the shower right now. How we engage in sex would be up to us.
BTW the last guy I picked up was str8, he didn't freak but he did cum awful fast!!

 

[B_Italian1]

You have made that "trying to help" claim in more than one post, but the general tone of your posts seems to say otherwise. You have a lot of very negative things to say about homosexuals, in general, and you say them frequently. Has it ever crossed your mind that you could do much more to "help" us gay folks by helping to remove social stigman, rather than fostering social stigma?

There are a lot of gay folks on this site. Straight people can only do so much to help. The rest is up to them. Bathhouses, cruising parks, and restrooms for hookups only cause more stereotyping and hate. There were some posts about gay men talking about how they had sex with men when they were little boys and how that was a good thing. I condemned that and I came out as the bad guy. Go figure!

I personally have never been to a bathhouse, nor have I ever had anonymous sex or done pickups in parks or restrooms.

That’s great and I applaud you. But if you try to spread that positive message to young gay men you’ll be laughed at by the gay community.

The aberrant behavior that you repeatedly bring up on this site, I think, is more directly related to the degree of repression in our society. If being gay were not something that is so strongly discouraged and villified, far fewer gays would feel the need to find sex in dark corners.

Put your money where your mouth is.

When gays can walk down the sidewalk without fear of being murdered simply for being gay, and when politicians can be openly gay without losing their constituencies, most likely the supply and demand that keeps the bathhouses open will evaporate.

Sadly there is repression, but sorry, I don’t see many gay men feeling discouraged and vilified. They proudly talk about their bathroom, cruising park, and bathhouse experiences-–a lot. And I doubt very much that gays fear being murdered just walking down the sidewalk. The Matthew Sheppard situation is not happening day in and day out. African American and Hispanics are treated far worse.

He specifically ignores the fact that there are indeed straight sex clubs, anonymous pickups in straight clubs, and huge hooker populations in every population center of consequence. That stuff just doesn't get the sensationalized attention that the bathhouses do. And groups like Westboro Baptist Church, Christian Coalition, Concerned Women for America, Family Research Council, and countless others assist him in his anti-gay mission.

How is trying to help gay men avoid the pitfalls of their predecessors an anti gay mission? And you’re right about straight clubs and hookers. They’re not as sensationalized and that’s because they’re not the minority like gay people. And that does not make it right.

I am so tired of reading your bullshit always geared toward hating people.
cigarbabe

Don’t read my bullshit. I love people.

Say you invite a str8 guy over for sex and he freaks out? Then you have a nut lose in your home (or his) and have to deal with gettin out.

And whose fault would that be? Mom always said don’t talk to strangers.

BTW the last guy I picked up was str8, he didn't freak but he did cum awful fast!!

Of course. It’s always the straight guys you pick up. We hate you so much and beat and murder you all the time. I guess him coming so fast ruined it for ya, didn’t it?

 

[pablovian]

Quote:
Originally Posted by mnrocko [URL]http://www.lpsg.org/images36/buttons/viewpost.gif[/URL]
BTW the last guy I picked up was str8, he didn't freak but he did cum awful fast!!

Quote:
Originally Post by Italian978
Of course. It’s always the straight guys you pick up. We hate you so much and beat and murder you all the time. I guess him coming so fast ruined it for ya, didn’t it?


And now you've just ruined all of the little credibility you had. JACKASS!!

 

[Mattness]

Italian, I don't think you're an idiot, I just think you're IGNORANT and lack knowledge about this and many subjects. Just to educate you, and you could do a little of this yourself by surfing the Internet, here's a worldwide listing of places where HETEROSEXUAL people have anonymous sex, i.e a Bathhouse:

Swingers Club List - The World's Largest Swingers Clubs Directory

 

[DC_DEEP]

There are a lot of gay folks on this site. Straight people can only do so much to help. The rest is up to them. Bathhouses, cruising parks, and restrooms for hookups only cause more stereotyping and hate.
<...>
Sadly there is repression, but sorry, I don’t see many gay men feeling discouraged and vilified. They proudly talk about their bathroom, cruising park, and bathhouse experiences-–a lot. And I doubt very much that gays fear being murdered just walking down the sidewalk. The Matthew Sheppard situation is not happening day in and day out. African American and Hispanics are treated far worse.

Straight people do not need to regulate our behavior to help us. I've told you repeatedly that the main reason for those behaviors is societal. Pressure from society forces far too many gay men to be closeted; living a closeted life leads to more risky behaviors. And if you don't think are are a lot more hate crimes directed at homosexuals than toward ethnic minorities, you are just deluded or living on another planet. You really just do not have a clue. Yes, people do make shitty remarks to Latinos and Blacks, and give them bad service in retail establishments, but they do the same thing to gays. The big difference is that racial hate crimes actually make the national news; orientation hate crimes get a few eyebrows raised locally. Example: the racial hate crimes in Jena, Louisiana recently got TONS of national coverage. The man recently beaten to within an inch of his life in Provincetown, Massachusetts I would not have heard of, if I had not been referred to a tiny little article about it. I get a weekly newspaper in which these sorts of things ARE reported, and there are about 15 or so, every week.

So yeah, there are a few "out & proud" gays, but there are many many closeted gays, too. The closeted ones are at higher risk for high-risk behaviors.

How is trying to help gay men avoid the pitfalls of their predecessors an anti gay mission? And you’re right about straight clubs and hookers. They’re not as sensationalized and that’s because they’re not the minority like gay people. And that does not make it right.

Again, I will repeat for you, since you don't really seem to get the point: when being gay is less stigmatized, there will be less anonymous sex. There will still be some, yes, but much less.

If you really honestly did want to help, your focus would be on education for gays and straights, not just advocating closing down their hangouts. If you really want to help gays avoid the pitfalls of their predecessors, write to your congressmen and senators, and urge them to give us full, equal rights under all the laws.

 

[B_Monster]

im not contibuting to an IDIOT!!!

 

[Shelby]

I love it when people fight over who's the biggest victim and transfer the blame for all of their problems to their purported oppressors rather than acknowledge their own culpability.

It has become pop art.

 

[Dal2AR]

At Helen Keller University, Ital is working on his masters in "Cut and Paste". We're all so proud.