Thus far in my project I have explored darkrooms via the context of aesthetics and psychology, and while I have touched on the clear themes of sexuality present within the subject, particularly in my last module, I have not done so in a way that involves the existing public discourse surrounding darkrooms into my project. Being part of the community that makes use of darkrooms, having visited many clubs where they exist, and even having worked in such venues, I am always aware of the matters and developments surrounding Gay mens fetish and sexual culture.
A recent situation arose over the past year centred on a regular men's fetish event that is held in Manchester on a regular basis. "Alert!" is a men only fetish night that has been held in multiple venues on the Manchester gay scene, most recently it has found a home at Eagle Manchester. The event is men only, you must be a member, and there is a strict dress code of only fetish wear, and it has always had a darkroom or dark area for men to play and explore. The situation arose when Manchester council had begun to increase their visits by licensing to eagle, and began to investigate complaints about the nature of these events.
The owners of Eagle and the events organisers began to fight back against what they believed to be an attempt to "Gentrify" the gay village, "From the top down there is a plan to drive out the seedier side of things and make the Village a Disneyland pastiche of what it was" (Robson, 2020). The owners of Eagle also made the point that there were several similar venues also running in Manchester aimed at heterosexuals, who had not been investigated in the same way Eagle and Alert! had.
The council released a statement stating that their priority was safety and and preventing misconduct while stating they also did not believe the actions were in any way homophobic and similar sentiments were echoed by the police (Robson, 2020). The matter came to a close this year, with the event being given the green light to continue as it always has done.
During the matter, the organisers made several points about the event that I find very interesting, they pointed out the darkrooms are part of LGBT culture, and that they offer a safe space for men to explore their sexuality away from the streets, car parks and woods (Spaces where cruising has been prevalent for many years). It also keeps men who want to explore there sexuality away from dangerous situations, such as walking into the houses of strangers, and engaging in the rise of chemsex parties. In addition to these points, these spaces give an opportunity to promote safe sex practices, and indeed in my own experience of these spaces, I have often found condoms and information on safe sex abundant, in my previous post about my visit to a men's sauna there was ample information provided in the venue.
But while Eagle Manchester have fought hard to keep their darkroom, Eagle London (same name, but otherwise unconnected) got rid of their darkroom without even being asked. Despite having been awarded a sex license by the local council, the Vauxhal based lgbt club/pub decided to remove its darkroom four years ago, and re-brand itself as totally inclusive to all, while still remaining "Sexy". The changes came about after owner Mark Oakley began to realise that the way men were "Hooking" up was changing. In an interview with "Timeout" he stated that he felt that people didn't need to use darkrooms because of apps such as Grindr. He also felt that he was seeing a rise in drug use amongst gay men, and the darkroom could potentially be used as a space to engage in drug use without being reprimanded, this would not be good for the club at all and could lead to it being shut down.
In addition to this, he wanted Eagle to be a place that moved with the times and changing attitudes of the LGBT scene, which itself has been making strides to become more inclusive in recent years, particularly in regards to trans rights.
Without applying my own narrative of psychology and aesthetics, Darkrooms are clearly already a complex subject. To some they are clearly a very important part of gay history and culture, but they are also somewhat problematic. Besides the obvious taboo of casual sex that hetero-normative society tends to take, these spaces do have a history as hotbeds of STI transmission, and they also sit on the wrong side of gender politics being that they exclude women. Having said that, they also offer men an alternative to exploring their sexuality in a manner that makes them vulnerable, be that outside, on the streets or in a strangers house. It is an opportunity to encourage safe sex, and to educate, particularly in the case of saunas and bath houses, and to explore sexuality in a controlled and safe environment, not to mention the ability live out fantasies and have fun. There is clearly a very human centred side to the spaces, despite my previous interests in the way they can hinder and obscure identity.
Moving forward, it seems my next step is to begin research into the people using these spaces. I am in a good position for this as I already know plenty of people who use these spaces, and they in turn know plenty more. The difficulty is that not everyone wants to be so open about their use of Darkrooms. The fact of the matter is that I myself have worried about using this as my subject matter for my degree due to the potential effects it could have on my own life. As I already mentioned there is taboo surrounding fetish and casual sex, I may be firm in my belief that as a society we need to move beyond these taboos, many others are not, and they may include some who are very close to me. Will completing this project mean that they learn about a part of my life I have kept away from them? and what will they think of me afterwards? These same questions may be asked by anyone I ask to be involved in the project, and so I take my cue from Antony Luvera, who it seems to me put the trust and truth of his subjects first in his work.
Robson, S., 2020.Fetish Night Crackdown 'Is Part Of Plan To Gentrify Gay Village'. [online] men. Available at: <https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/crackdown-gay-village-darkroom-sex-17720899> [Accessed 15 June 2020].
Robson, S., 2020.Fetish Nights In Gay Village Get Green Light After Row Over Sex In 'Darkrooms'. [online] men. Available at: <https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/fetish-nights-gay-village-green-17846136> [Accessed 15 June 2020].
Levine, N., 2016.No Sex Please, We're Londoners. [online] Time Out London. Available at: <https://www.timeout.com/london/nightlife/no-sex-please-were-londoners> [Accessed 15 June 2020].
Alert!. 2020.Editorial. [online] Available at: <https://club-alert.com/editorial/> [Accessed 15 June 2020].
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