That bathhouse was the ‘Continental Baths’ in the basement pool & gymnasium area of the Ansonia Hotel (between 73rd & 74th and Broadway)... It is, or it was, only a block and a half away from me now and is one of the reasons I chose my apartment so many years back. Did you also know that Bette was one of the original daughters in ‘Fiddler on the Roof.’ She was quite a different performer in each of the two venues.
When the baths closed it became ‘Plato’s Retreat.’ Though it had a gender mix, it possessed its own particular charm and was a great deal of fun. If you haven’t seen the play or movie, “The Ritz” by Terrence McNally, you should. It was based upon the baths. The set on Broadway was a carbon copy of the original. I can’t even think about it without cracking up.
Darrell, I too agree completely with what you wrote in response to my reply. What you just posted to me here was clear. Simply write that, the point you are getting at. The trouble I was having with the blog is it was flippant, having an air of ‘dishing the dirt.’ I see now that it was not your intent at all. Write about the different generations and what they have been through and their battles with self worth to only now have the courage they, so much later in life, are mustering in their process of ‘coming out.’ We would think that people in the arts should have no problem with self reflection, yet you see that for their own individual reasons they might. I don’t want to make fun of that courage. I want to honor it. This is a good case for those who don’t make six figure incomes. Do they have as much to lose as the few well-to-do artists or are they simply believing the lie that they are ‘not normal’ and thus must hide?
It is almost clear, though not clear enough for me, that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of equal rights & recognition for interstate and international Gay marriage, if not the right to get married in every state (the two basic issues). It will not be all nine judges to rule this way, but it should be a majority. The big change will happen when enough people are out and not buying from stores, taking jobs, or moving into living quarters, or states that discriminate while at the same time not feel the need to say why… Let-em-fail and then they can realize why later. No, it is not revenge really. It is just sticking to a belief in good social practice.
Keep writing… I do read what you say. Rarely do I feel a need to comment negatively. Hell, I’m a member of the choir.
I knew that he was gay before he knew! And he really did mean "Randy." Randy was the name of his dog- seriously. Next thing you'll be trying to convince me that Ru Paul is gay. Sheesh!
Hey Toole. That's the whole point. Being gay *shouldn't* be a secret. So in the past year or so we've had a number of 70-plus stars come out long after everyone else already knew or assumed they were gay. I know those guys are from a different generation, but the fact that they are just now, so after the fact, publicly owning their sexual orientation just emphasizes how bad things used to be, or more likely, how terrified gay celebrities were 30-40-50 years ago.
I read this blog today and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. This follows the ‘announcement‘ that Joel Gray was gay. We also have younger heart throbs like Ricky Martin, also gay, and then there is Neil Patrick Harris, Rupert Everett, Alan Cumming, Anderson Cooper, Pete Townshend, Victor Garber, Ian McKellen, need I go on?. But, that’s ‘show business.’ There is nothing surprising about artist- performing or otherwise coming out as gay… What’s new there? very little.
I would be interested in the doctors, lawyers, accountants, financiers, politicians and even more the plumbers, electricians, construction workers, bus drivers, and on, and on declaring themselves as gay… all the rainbow colored LGBT community wearing white and blue collars as ‘collars‘ not ‘chokers.’ Too many, even here @DD are ‘not out‘… Well, It is not ‘out’ anymore. It’s just not being ‘in.’... And that ‘in’ ain’t the ‘in-croud.’ Understandably, some here have families, loving families who don’t know about their fathers and husbands. It takes longer for them, but they will find out eventually. It’s inevitable unless someone involved is terminal- in which case digression rules.
Nothing is truly black or white either. There are bi-guys @DD too who are faithful to their partners… IE: their companion/spouse/partner is in agreement with the open relationship. Cheating is only when the ‘significant other’ is not included in the decision making. We humans can not be formulated, because humans are not equal to each other either… (From each individual person’s perspective one sees the value of the another differently… sometimes better or sometimes worse) However, under the law we must all be equal… One equal citizen... one equal vote.
Let’s not make fun of the revelations of ‘dirty secrets.’ Especially in our cases being LGBT is neither dirty nor should it be a secret. It is ‘our unequal equality’ and it is only one of the elements of which each of us are made. I think furball said it best. Let’s just greet those who see themselves ‘coming out‘ with open arms and say, “Mazel tov.”
When the baths closed it became ‘Plato’s Retreat.’ Though it had a gender mix, it possessed its own particular charm and was a great deal of fun. If you haven’t seen the play or movie, “The Ritz” by Terrence McNally, you should. It was based upon the baths. The set on Broadway was a carbon copy of the original. I can’t even think about it without cracking up.
It is almost clear, though not clear enough for me, that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of equal rights & recognition for interstate and international Gay marriage, if not the right to get married in every state (the two basic issues). It will not be all nine judges to rule this way, but it should be a majority. The big change will happen when enough people are out and not buying from stores, taking jobs, or moving into living quarters, or states that discriminate while at the same time not feel the need to say why… Let-em-fail and then they can realize why later. No, it is not revenge really. It is just sticking to a belief in good social practice.
Keep writing… I do read what you say. Rarely do I feel a need to comment negatively. Hell, I’m a member of the choir.
I would be interested in the doctors, lawyers, accountants, financiers, politicians and even more the plumbers, electricians, construction workers, bus drivers, and on, and on declaring themselves as gay… all the rainbow colored LGBT community wearing white and blue collars as ‘collars‘ not ‘chokers.’ Too many, even here @DD are ‘not out‘… Well, It is not ‘out’ anymore. It’s just not being ‘in.’... And that ‘in’ ain’t the ‘in-croud.’ Understandably, some here have families, loving families who don’t know about their fathers and husbands. It takes longer for them, but they will find out eventually. It’s inevitable unless someone involved is terminal- in which case digression rules.
Nothing is truly black or white either. There are bi-guys @DD too who are faithful to their partners… IE: their companion/spouse/partner is in agreement with the open relationship. Cheating is only when the ‘significant other’ is not included in the decision making. We humans can not be formulated, because humans are not equal to each other either… (From each individual person’s perspective one sees the value of the another differently… sometimes better or sometimes worse) However, under the law we must all be equal… One equal citizen... one equal vote.
Let’s not make fun of the revelations of ‘dirty secrets.’ Especially in our cases being LGBT is neither dirty nor should it be a secret. It is ‘our unequal equality’ and it is only one of the elements of which each of us are made. I think furball said it best. Let’s just greet those who see themselves ‘coming out‘ with open arms and say, “Mazel tov.”