first night at the bath house
When I came out as a gay man there were a few lines I thought I'd never cross. I was young then (25), still fairly entrenched in fundy, evangelical Xian morality and I didn't know more than 2 or 3 gay people. The 
gay lifestyle
was mysterious to me and my perception of it was still colored by ridiculous right-wing Xian groups. When I came out, I don't think I even knew what a bath house was but it would have certainly been on the other side of the line I thought I'd never cross.
Last night, thirteen years later, I entered a bath house for the first time.
I met my contact for the agency I'm volunteering w/ earlier in the week and we arranged a time we'd meet Sat night. Our goal was to put condoms in the hands of men and encourage them to be tested for HIV. He asked if I had questions and I told him I didn't, that I was good to go. But I did have questions. A couple at least:
Would there be rivers or at least ponds of semen I'd have to wade through?
What do I do if gangs of rapey men try to put their dong in my butt/mouth/ear/eyehole?
Should I wear rubber boots? Flip flops? Hazmat suit?
I was told I'd be in only a towel so that I fit in. That terrified me a bit. Despite my penchant for being slutty, I'm pretty shy when it comes to a lot of my body. Well, mainly from my neck to my navel and that was primarily what I'd have on display.
I arrived at the bath house but the person I was training with was running late so I had to enter alone. I wasn't feeling fearful but, after opening the door, my senses were overloaded. It was so dark and the music was so loud. I told the guy at the counter who I was with and he buzzed me in, gave me a locker key and a towel and pointed me up a long staircase toward the locker room.
As I made my way up the staircase my eyes were still getting adjusted to the dark but I did notice a guy sitting at a computer to my right in a little enclave. As I passed the room I looked in and saw another guy behind him jerking off to whatever the dude at the computer was looking at. Other than, "OMG THERE'S A BONER!", I didn't think much about it. Now I wonder why someone would pay to come jerk off at a bath house when you could just do it for free at home.
At the top of the stairs were several different hallways. To my right was a path leading to a dark room where I saw a couple legs hanging off a couch. In front of me was a better lighted path with a couple guys sitting in chairs. To my left was another hallway w/ a bunch of doors. I took the hallway w/ the doors and ended up in some dark maze with bars and mirrors on the wall. I backtracked out of the maze and finally found the lockers.
The locker I had been assigned was in the last row near the corner. As I was undressing I noticed there was another enclave a few feet from me. Inside I could see a couple feet sticking out of the darkness and some dude feverishly jerking off. I put my clothes back on, grabbed my bag and went back downstairs.
Once downstairs I considered just leaving. There was no sign of my contact and the whole thing was kind of freaking me out. I waited a few minutes, talked myself down a bit and made my way back up the stairs to the locker area and changed into my towel.
As I wandered around, my sight got more acclimated to the darkness but there were still areas that were pitch black. The entire place is one large circle with couches, slings, glory holes, etc scattered through out. A few guys were sitting on a couch watching porn together. Another guy was getting blown in the hallway. A few other random guys were jerking off in the shower area together. I still wasn't feeling very comfortable but I was beginning to at least enjoy what I was seeing rather than wanting to run away.
After a bit I ran into my contact and we set up our stuff near the shower area. As guys walked by we offered them condoms and lube and told them there was testing for HIV happening in one of the rooms near us. At first it seemed like it was the same 10 - 12 people walking by us. Most people just walk the circuit seeing who is out and about. A few guys have rooms w/ their doors open to invite people in to fool around.
With all the walking and leering going on, I am still not sure why guys are even in towels. There's no secret why everyone is there so why not just show the goods? Odd.
A few guys took the condoms and lube we were offering. About half the guys ignored us. A couple sat down and just talked about life and what they'd been up to. My contact from the organization was recognized by several of the regular guys and he made conversation with them.
A short, furry guy walked past us a few times. Earlier he had taken a packet of lube and condoms from me. He and I made eye contact and smiled at one another each time he passed. After a while he would open his towel discretely each time he passed and I really, Really, REALLY wished I wasn't there working. One of the organizational rules is we can't hook up with guys there at the bath house on the night we're working. We can exchange information or meet after but just not there. I was scheming as to how I could meet this guy. Sadly, before my shift was done, I notice him leave in his street clothes. Bummer. Not that I would have had the courage to meet him anyway.
In the area where we were seated we had full view of the showers. There were always guys in there showering and quite a bit of fooling around going on. That was interesting.
As the night wore on more people showed up and there was a lot more activity going on around the club. I did a walk through a few times to hand out packets to guys who avoided walking through our area. A lot of people were just hanging out and watching each other pass. Some people were getting blown on the couches. Another guy was in a sling with a circle of guys taking turns eating his butt.
Even though I've known guys over the years who attend bath houses, I was still surprised by the variety of people there. Guys of all shapes and sizes from their early 20s to men in their 60s or 70s. Despite it being dark, the place seemed clean. I'd wanted to get some flip flops before going but couldn't find any so I was bare footed. I didn't feel like I stepped in anything questionable until I went to the urinal and put my foot in a whole bunch of something that might have been a combination of water, piss and semen. That was kind of gross.
There are two other bath houses in Seattle and I'll volunteer at them soon and decide where I'd primarily like to do outreach. In one of them I can wear my street clothes - the other two I have to be in a towel. By the end of my shift last night I was definitely ready to get it on w/ somebody but came home anyway. I'm still not sure going to a bath house for fun is my thing. The darkness really makes it hard to see who and what you're getting into and I like being able to see people. The bath house experience is purely carnal as well. There isn't much talking and, if you're as sensitive and shy as I am to exposing your body to a bunch of strangers, it can be really intimidating.
It was interesting. :)
gay lifestyle
was mysterious to me and my perception of it was still colored by ridiculous right-wing Xian groups. When I came out, I don't think I even knew what a bath house was but it would have certainly been on the other side of the line I thought I'd never cross.
Last night, thirteen years later, I entered a bath house for the first time.
I met my contact for the agency I'm volunteering w/ earlier in the week and we arranged a time we'd meet Sat night. Our goal was to put condoms in the hands of men and encourage them to be tested for HIV. He asked if I had questions and I told him I didn't, that I was good to go. But I did have questions. A couple at least:
Would there be rivers or at least ponds of semen I'd have to wade through?
What do I do if gangs of rapey men try to put their dong in my butt/mouth/ear/eyehole?
Should I wear rubber boots? Flip flops? Hazmat suit?
I was told I'd be in only a towel so that I fit in. That terrified me a bit. Despite my penchant for being slutty, I'm pretty shy when it comes to a lot of my body. Well, mainly from my neck to my navel and that was primarily what I'd have on display.
I arrived at the bath house but the person I was training with was running late so I had to enter alone. I wasn't feeling fearful but, after opening the door, my senses were overloaded. It was so dark and the music was so loud. I told the guy at the counter who I was with and he buzzed me in, gave me a locker key and a towel and pointed me up a long staircase toward the locker room.
As I made my way up the staircase my eyes were still getting adjusted to the dark but I did notice a guy sitting at a computer to my right in a little enclave. As I passed the room I looked in and saw another guy behind him jerking off to whatever the dude at the computer was looking at. Other than, "OMG THERE'S A BONER!", I didn't think much about it. Now I wonder why someone would pay to come jerk off at a bath house when you could just do it for free at home.
At the top of the stairs were several different hallways. To my right was a path leading to a dark room where I saw a couple legs hanging off a couch. In front of me was a better lighted path with a couple guys sitting in chairs. To my left was another hallway w/ a bunch of doors. I took the hallway w/ the doors and ended up in some dark maze with bars and mirrors on the wall. I backtracked out of the maze and finally found the lockers.
The locker I had been assigned was in the last row near the corner. As I was undressing I noticed there was another enclave a few feet from me. Inside I could see a couple feet sticking out of the darkness and some dude feverishly jerking off. I put my clothes back on, grabbed my bag and went back downstairs.
Once downstairs I considered just leaving. There was no sign of my contact and the whole thing was kind of freaking me out. I waited a few minutes, talked myself down a bit and made my way back up the stairs to the locker area and changed into my towel.
As I wandered around, my sight got more acclimated to the darkness but there were still areas that were pitch black. The entire place is one large circle with couches, slings, glory holes, etc scattered through out. A few guys were sitting on a couch watching porn together. Another guy was getting blown in the hallway. A few other random guys were jerking off in the shower area together. I still wasn't feeling very comfortable but I was beginning to at least enjoy what I was seeing rather than wanting to run away.
After a bit I ran into my contact and we set up our stuff near the shower area. As guys walked by we offered them condoms and lube and told them there was testing for HIV happening in one of the rooms near us. At first it seemed like it was the same 10 - 12 people walking by us. Most people just walk the circuit seeing who is out and about. A few guys have rooms w/ their doors open to invite people in to fool around.
With all the walking and leering going on, I am still not sure why guys are even in towels. There's no secret why everyone is there so why not just show the goods? Odd.
A few guys took the condoms and lube we were offering. About half the guys ignored us. A couple sat down and just talked about life and what they'd been up to. My contact from the organization was recognized by several of the regular guys and he made conversation with them.
A short, furry guy walked past us a few times. Earlier he had taken a packet of lube and condoms from me. He and I made eye contact and smiled at one another each time he passed. After a while he would open his towel discretely each time he passed and I really, Really, REALLY wished I wasn't there working. One of the organizational rules is we can't hook up with guys there at the bath house on the night we're working. We can exchange information or meet after but just not there. I was scheming as to how I could meet this guy. Sadly, before my shift was done, I notice him leave in his street clothes. Bummer. Not that I would have had the courage to meet him anyway.
In the area where we were seated we had full view of the showers. There were always guys in there showering and quite a bit of fooling around going on. That was interesting.
As the night wore on more people showed up and there was a lot more activity going on around the club. I did a walk through a few times to hand out packets to guys who avoided walking through our area. A lot of people were just hanging out and watching each other pass. Some people were getting blown on the couches. Another guy was in a sling with a circle of guys taking turns eating his butt.
Even though I've known guys over the years who attend bath houses, I was still surprised by the variety of people there. Guys of all shapes and sizes from their early 20s to men in their 60s or 70s. Despite it being dark, the place seemed clean. I'd wanted to get some flip flops before going but couldn't find any so I was bare footed. I didn't feel like I stepped in anything questionable until I went to the urinal and put my foot in a whole bunch of something that might have been a combination of water, piss and semen. That was kind of gross.
There are two other bath houses in Seattle and I'll volunteer at them soon and decide where I'd primarily like to do outreach. In one of them I can wear my street clothes - the other two I have to be in a towel. By the end of my shift last night I was definitely ready to get it on w/ somebody but came home anyway. I'm still not sure going to a bath house for fun is my thing. The darkness really makes it hard to see who and what you're getting into and I like being able to see people. The bath house experience is purely carnal as well. There isn't much talking and, if you're as sensitive and shy as I am to exposing your body to a bunch of strangers, it can be really intimidating.
It was interesting. :)