Can someone who has lived here for a while please explain to me what's going on with the public sex scene here and how, in a city this size, it's gotten into such a turmoil? Surely it couldn't have always been this way; was there some sort of concerted "cleansing" effort started by some misguided former politican or something? What gives? You go into the listings and every other one has heads up in it. If I see one more heads up I'm going to *spit* up!

Quite frankly, I find the lack of outrage over this to be a bit disturbing, everyone seems just resigned to it. I know it's not an easy situation and I'm not saying I know what the answer is (a new kind of Stonewall for the 21st century perhaps?) but this is something that's bothered me for some time and I'm interested to know what others think.

I've lived here for about a year; my former midwestern city having long since been sanitized of sex to a sickening extent. I definitely was not prepared for it in LA however. It's just not something I really thought of as happening. I love it here, I consider it my home and I'm very glad I moved here. I'm also very glad we have bath houses and sex clubs, given this situation.

Quote |

Don't know why. But utilize the creek in angeles national forest (see the listing) while we have it!

Quote |

I have lived off and on in Los Angeles for over 20 years, and even lived in your hometown of Minneapolis for an extended period of time. It's true that some of the parks and other cruisy places in LA used to be MUCH, MUCH more active and fun than they are now. For example, the action at Griffith park was rampant and visible at every turn. You couldn't swing a stick without hitting a gay man who was cruising. Now, there are only a few men here and there.

However, while some of the lack of public fun is due to "overactive vice," part of it is due to a change in behavior among gay men, some is due to fear, some is due to increased social conservatism, some is due to men meeting on the internet instead, and undoubtedly there are a myriad of other reasons as well.

It is amazing how much things have changed in LA for gay men. Now, women frquently patronize the gay bars, many of the meat market bars are now closed, most men online feel obligated to describe themselves as "bi", etc. Clearly, the repression is in place now, and I would even guess moreso now (in some ways) than in the 80s and early 90s. Gay visibility is now more obvious in the media, but not on the street. At least not so much in LA...

Quote |

It has always been that way-I have lived here 25 years and know or have spoken to people over the years who have been caught by LAPD or barely escaped getting caught-
The police have had entrapement of gays doing doing nothing more then going into or coming out of a gay bar-Sometimes even raiding the bar-This went on in the 1970's, 1980's and yes the 1990's-
I believe one reason if not the only reason Gay Pride is in West Hollywood is that originally it was in Hollywood and there were police problems so it was moved to West Hollywood where LAPD had no jurisdication

Quote |