"Bathhouses are spaces for queer care, community, intimacy, and body positivity," says Portland-based filmmaker, poet, and sauna enthusiast Liam Whitworth. He sees bathing as a "divine" way to recenter and connect with himself and the people around him. "In different eras of queer history, they've offered safety and connection. I love the leisure and pleasure of a bathhouse."
The transformation of eons-old, traditional bathhouses into more male-centric enclaves began in the US in the early twentieth century. They weren't exactly advertised as gay-friendly spaces, but those who knew knew.
Since the suburban baths of Pompeii-if not even earlier-bathhouses have been more than a place to soak and steam. In the United States and around the world, the bathhouse was a clandestine (and, eventually, well-known) haven for gay men to meet and, in many cases, hook up.
As a new generation of Portland social saunas rise in popularity, the gay bathhouse seems to remain on the margins. Sex-possible spaces for men are rarely talked about in so-called "polite" (read: straight) society. But they were, and remain, a crucial place for queer people to commune and relax outside the straight gaze.
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