Sex on premises venue (SOPV) is the term used primarily in British and Australian medical literature for the various commercial venues expressly for engaging in public sex, as opposed to spaces such as parks which may be used for sexual behavior but are intended for general public use.
A similar term, "on-premises club", is used by heterosexual swingers to describe a sex club in which non-commercial sexual activity takes place between clients or members.
While the term is primarily used with respect to men who have sex with men (MSM), at least one piece of legislation (the Sex Work Act in Victoria, Australia) uses "sex on premises venue" to mean "any venue where a person is required to pay an admission fee or charge to enter the venue for the purpose of engaging in sexual activities with another person who has also entered the venue on the same terms and who did not receive any form of payment or reward, whether directly or indirectly, for engaging in sexual activities". [1] This wording excludes brothels.
Men who have sex with men (MSM) SOPVs include gay bathhouses, "backrooms", and "club" style venues that have no spa or sauna. [2] Most gay bathhouses, bookstores, and bars in the United States do not openly advertise their actual sex-on-premises purpose or activity, as SOPVs elsewhere can.[ citation needed ]
"Backrooms" consisting of small cubicles with expensive-to-view video machines are usually attached to an adult bookstore. Sometimes there are glory holes between the cubicles. The cubicles are also referred to as private viewing rooms or cruise lounges. "Backrooms" of pubs or bars are usually darkened rooms with or without continuous (and free) pornographic films, but without any dividers or privacy, encouraging group sex.
Club style SOPVs are an entire venue [ citation needed ] and often consist of small cubicles, sometimes with no bed or mattress, unlike gay bathhouses which usually have some kind of comfort amenities in individual rooms.
Some bathhouses sell alcohol;[ citation needed ] pubs and bars sell alcohol but are prohibited from marketing themselves as SOPVs. Sometimes special events are held at pubs or bars that include sexual activity without causing the venue to be classified as an SOPV.
SOPVs are recognized by some city planners as part of the management strategy for sexually transmitted disease education and part of catering for a city's cultural diversity and tourist industry. [3] [4] [5]
Group sex is sexual activity involving more than two people. Participants in group sex can be of any sexual orientation or gender. Any form of sexual activity can be adopted to involve more than two participants, but some forms have their own names.
A bar, also known as a saloon, a tavern or tippling house, or sometimes as a pub or club, is a retail business establishment that serves alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, liquor, cocktails, and other beverages such as mineral water and soft drinks. Bars often also sell snack foods, such as crisps or peanuts, for consumption on their premises. Some types of bars, such as pubs, may also serve food from a restaurant menu. The term "bar" refers to the countertop where drinks are prepared and served, and by extension to the overall premises.
Cottaging is a gay slang term, originating from the United Kingdom, referring to anonymous sex between men in a public lavatory, or cruising for sexual partners with the intention of having sex elsewhere. The term has its roots in self-contained English toilet blocks resembling small cottages in their appearance; in the English cant language of Polari this became a double entendre by gay men referring to sexual encounters. See also gay beat in Australian English.
Down-low is an African-American slang term specifically used within the African-American community that typically refers to a sexual subculture of Black men who usually identify as heterosexual but actively seek sexual encounters and relations with other men, practice gay cruising, and frequently don a specific hip-hop attire during these activities. They generally avoid disclosing their same-sex sexual activities, even if they have female sexual partner(s), they are married to a woman, or they are single. The term is also used to refer to a related sexual identity. Down-low has been viewed as "a type of impression management that some of the informants use to present themselves in a manner that is consistent with perceived norms about masculine attribute, attitudes, and behavior".
Cruising for sex, or cruising, is walking or driving about a locality, called a cruising ground, in search of a sex partner, usually of the anonymous, casual, one-time variety. The term is also used when technology is used to find casual sex, such as using an Internet site or a telephone service.
A gay bathhouse, also known as a gay sauna or a gay steambath, is a public bath targeted towards gay and bisexual men. In gay slang, a bathhouse may be called just "the baths", "the sauna", or "the tubs". Historically, they have been used for sexual activity.
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBTQ+ communities.
Men who have sex with men (MSM) refers to all men who engage in sexual activity with other men, regardless of sexual identity. The term was created by epidemiologists in the 1990s, to better study and communicate the spread of sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS between all sexually active males, not strictly those identifying as gay or bisexual, but also for example male prostitutes. The term is often used in medical literature and social research to describe such men as a group. It does not describe any specific kind of sexual activity, and which activities are covered by the term depends on context. An alternative term, males who have sex with males is sometimes considered more accurate in cases where those described may not be legal adults.
Sex clubs, also known as swinger clubs or lifestyle clubs, are formal or informal groups that organize sex-related activities, or establishments where patrons can engage in sex acts with other patrons. A sex club or swinger club differs from a brothel in that while sex club patrons pay an entrance fee and may pay an annual membership fee, they only have an opportunity to have sex with other patrons, not with sex workers.
Public sex is sexual activity that takes place in a public context. It refers to one or more persons performing a sex act in a public place, or in a private place that can be viewed from a public place.
Bareback sex is physical sexual activity, especially sexual penetration, without the use of a condom. The topic primarily concerns anal sex between men without the use of a condom, and may be distinguished from unprotected sex because bareback sex denotes the deliberate act of forgoing condom use.
Plato's Retreat was a swingers' club catering to heterosexual couples and bisexual women. From 1977 until 1985 it operated in two locations in Manhattan, New York City, United States. The first was the former location of the Continental Baths, a gay sex club that also showcased artists who went on to great success including Bette Midler, Barry Manilow, and Melissa Manchester.
Male prostitution is the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. It is a form of sex work. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. Male prostitutes have been far less studied than female prostitutes by researchers. Even so, male prostitution has an extensive history including regulation through homosexuality, conceptual developments on sexuality, and the HIV/AIDS, monkeypox, and COVID-19 epidemic impact. In the last century, male sex work has seen various advancements such as popularizing new sexual acts, methods of exchange, and carving out a spot in cinema.
Anonymous sex is a form of one-night stand or casual sex between people who have very little or no history with each other, often engaging in sexual activity on the same day of their meeting and usually never seeing each other again afterwards. The term cruising for sex is used to refer to a person searching for sexual activity with another person, usually anonymously. The internet is also a primary vehicle for people setting up anonymous sex. Anonymous sex is sometimes considered to be a form of prostitution when it involves an exchange of money or drugs for sex.
In Australia, the term beat is used to refer to an area frequented by gay men, where sexual acts occur. This use of the word parodies the beat walked by a police officer or a prostitute. Most commonly, public toilets, parks, and nightclubs are used as beats, though sometimes suburban car parks become beats after nightfall. Sex researchers have found that a considerable proportion of men who use "beats" are men who have sex with men (MSMs) rather than gay-identifying. This is possibly because, while gay men have a plethora of venues for meeting legitimately, MSMs – who are often closeted – may not wish to risk being observed in gay venues.
A dark room or darkroom – also known as a backroom,blackroom, or playroom – is a room, typically at a nightclub, sex club, bathhouse, or adult bookstore, where patrons of the business can engage in relatively discreet sexual activity. Dark rooms usually have little or no lighting, possibly incorporating blacklights or dim, colored lighting to establish an atmosphere of twilight and secrecy.
Party and play (PnP), also called chemsex or wired play, is the consumption of drugs to facilitate or enhance sexual activity. Sociologically, it refers to a subculture of recreational drug users who engage in high-risk sexual activities under the influence of drugs within sub-groups. This can include unprotected sex during sessions with multiple sexual partners that may continue for days.
Gay bathhouses in the United Kingdom are referred to as "gay saunas", as opposed to gay bathhouses, the term more commonly used in North America. There are gay saunas throughout the UK in most major cities, including eight in London.
Since reports of emergence and spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States between the 1970s and 1980s, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has frequently been linked to gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) by epidemiologists and medical professionals. It was first noticed after doctors discovered clusters of Kaposi's sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia in homosexual men in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco in 1981. The first official report on the virus was published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) on June 5, 1981, and detailed the cases of five young gay men who were hospitalized with serious infections. A month later, The New York Times reported that 41 homosexuals had been diagnosed with Kaposi's sarcoma, and eight had died less than 24 months after the diagnosis was made.
Squirt.org, launched by Pink Triangle Press in 1999, is a Canadian website which describes itself as a place "where men meet other men for sex, cruising, hookups, dating, fun and friendship". The website, based in Toronto, is available worldwide. It includes user-generated listings of parks, saunas, public toilets and popular sexual locations for men who have sex with men (MSM). It was called "unique and ideal for cruising world-wide" by the 2006 Spartacus International Gay Guide.
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