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In 1997, Mandelman shared, the Department of Public Health adopted minimum standards governing the operation of sex clubs and parties. For many gay men, this marked the end to an era of sexual freedom and further devastated an already reeling community. Bill Lipsky later wrote: “The Helquist/Osmon investigation was so noteworthy that their work was published-again-nearly two decades later, in the peer-reviewed Journal of Homosexuality (Volume 44, 2003, Issue 3–4).”Īlthough technically the bathhouses could have remained open under the court-mandated conditions, all of them closed. Memorably, journalists Michael Helquist and Rick Osmon were asked to research San Francisco’s baths, adult bookstores, theaters, and sex clubs for men at the height of public debate about these establishments. Much of this period was chronicled in the pages of the San Francisco Bay Times. The court concluded that these businesses did present a public health risk, and issued an order allowing the businesses to remain open only if they employed monitors to prevent unsafe sex from occurring and removed most doors to individual video cubicles, booth, or rooms. In 1984, in an attempt to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS, the City of San Francisco filed a lawsuit against the operators of bathhouses, citing them as a public health nuisance. In many ways, bathhouses symbolized the newfound freedom to live out, proud, and happy that gay men from previous generations had never experienced.”
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Performers like Bette Midler and Barry Manilow famously got their starts in the baths. They were a place to cruise but were also an important community meeting place where friends would gather to share stories, dance to the latest disco hits, or watch a live show.
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Mandelman wrote: “During the 1970s and early 80s, bathhouses were a focal point of gay social life.
#Sf gay sex clubs update#
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman on February 11 introduced an ordinance requiring the Department of Public Health to update their minimum health and safety standards for commercial adult sex venues and to remove current regulations requiring the monitoring of patrons’ sexual activities and prohibiting the presence of private rooms and closed doors. Supervisor Mandelman Introduces Ordinance That Could Bring Gay Bathhouse Culture Back to SF