Can you get an STI at a gay bathhouse?
One of the questions that people ask about going to a bathhouse is, “Is it safe?” Auntie usually reads that as a question about physical safety (what the neighborhood is like, where to park the car, etc.). A lot of times, though, the question is also about health: “What is the likelihood I’ll pick up an STI or some other infection?”
And that question deserves a good answer.
To answer it quickly: The likelihood is higher than it is for most everyday activities, but there are important ways that you can protect yourself:
- First and foremost, have an honest conversation with your healthcare provider
- Make sure your vaccinations are current, especially for hepatitis, HPV, and mpox if your healthcare provider recommends them
- Most bathhouses provide free condoms and lube, along with testing information or referrals to local clinics
- Practice the same hygiene you would at home
- Wash your hands regularly
- Clean up after/between encounters (including taking a shower)
- Rinse your mouth (some bathhouses provide mouthwash) after oral encounters
- If you’re concerned about respiratory viruses — including COVID, flu, or whatever is making the rounds — there’s nothing wrong with wearing a face mask in crowded common areas
A bit of history
When Auntie was old enough to go to the baths, we were in the early days of the AIDS pandemic. Back then, some people were blaming the bathhouses for being what today we would call “super-spreader sites:” They figured gay men were having too much unprotected sex, and that was the cause of the rapid spread of the virus.
Was that true? While some people certainly contracted the virus through a bathhouse encounter, they obviously weren’t the only places where people were having sex with each other. And sexual contact wasn’t the only way HIV was spreading in those years.
But that fear, added to the public stigma of slut shaming and some strong reactions to the recognition and granting of LGBTQ+ rights, led to an outcry against the bathhouses. And many of them couldn’t survive the backlash. In some cities — most famously in San Francisco — public-health officials ordered bathhouses closed or heavily restricted during the early AIDS crisis, leading to years of legal and cultural battles over sex, public health, and queer freedom.
Fear of the spread of disease in a bathhouse is nothing new.
But bathhouses were never the sole cause of the crisis — and many quickly became part of the community’s response. As a matter of fact, they have instead worked to protect their patrons’ health and safety.
Bathhouses and health
In the midst of the “bathhouse panic” that came with the AIDS pandemic, many bathhouse owners began to adopt various safer sex practices:
- They partnered with local health clinics to learn the latest information about the disease and its prevention
- That partnership often included having those clinics and other health professionals come to the club to provide safer sex education to patrons
- That’s when most bathhouses started to provide free condoms throughout the facility
- Many bathhouses adopted “safer-sex-only” rules and provided plenty of opportunities to try the techniques
- When HIV tests became available, they provided space to the clinics to test patrons regularly
Years later, these are all “typical” activities in many bathhouses. They came from a commitment to maintaining the health of their patrons during a pandemic.
The bathhouses also adapted quickly as they reopened after the COVID pandemic shutdown:
- Temperature checks before entry
- Strict face mask requirements and checks
- Hand sanitizer available and hand washing encouraged
Through two different health crises for the LGBTQ+ community and world at large, bathhouses worked hard not to be the “super-spreader sites” that some would have us believe. Instead, they have quickly adapted and adopted the practices that help to keep their patrons healthy.
Auntie says…
Were bathhouses responsible for the spread of HIV/AIDS in the 1970s and 1980s? Not single-handedly, of course not. They certainly weren’t the primary driver of the epidemic.
Our bathhouses have worked hard over the years to provide safe, clean, and healthy environments for us to get naked and have sexually charged fun. They bring in healthcare professionals and advocates to help us learn more:
- About our current statuses by providing regular STI/HIV testing
- About other health concerns in the LGBTQ+ community, including
- How to overcome drug use/abuse
- Information about PrEP and DoxyPEP
Auntie spends most working days thinking about and managing risk. I apply the same thoughts about risk and mitigation to each visit to the bathhouse: If we make the sensible, health-conscious decisions, we can be pretty sure that each visit will be both safe and healthy — and that we’ll be back soon, ready for some more naked, sexy (and usually sweaty) fun!