The San Francisco Bathhouse Battles of 1984

Civil Liberties, Aids Risk, and Shifts in Health Policy

Bibliographic Data

ID3629658
AuthorsChristopher Disman (corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume44
Issue3-4
Pages71-129
Publication date2003-08-04
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Homosexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0091-8369 • E-ISSN: 1540-3602
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1300/j082v44n03_05
PMID12962179
OpenAlexW1604568974
LanguageEN
Citations received19

In the mid-1980s, controversy emerged in a number of American cities over the roles gay bathhouses and sex clubs might play in the spread of AIDS, and in raising safe-sex awareness. In 1984, San Francisco became the first city where political debates broke out over AIDS-related policies for bathhouses and sex clubs. These debates were dominated by questions of public health and gay civil liberties. A variety of proposals were put forward during 1984 to try to reconcile these two concerns, or to give one a higher priority than the other. Certain officials in San Francisco's government, and members of its gay/lesbian/bisexual community, strongly disagreed over whether the businesses should be closed, should make their own AIDS-prevention efforts, or should continue operating under new regulations. Policies implemented for the city's baths were disconnected from the known AIDS risk of different sexual behaviors, and from research findings on AIDS and the local baths. Political and judicial decisions concerning San Francisco's bathhouses and sex clubs that were made in 1984 had continuing influences on these businesses through the later 1980s and the 1990s

Civil liberties · Government (linguistics · Homosexuality · Lesbian · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Variety (cybernetics · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Gender Studies · Law · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Sex work and related issues

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub