In the Saunas I’m Either Invisible or Camouflaged: Colonial Fantasies and Imaginations in Sydney’s Gay Saunas

I analyze racism in Sydney’s gay sauna scene through decolonial scholarship. In Sydney, there are three gay saunas; each of them caters to specific races and is decorated accordingly. Sauna 1 is popular among Asian men and their admirers and has an Oriental-like style. Sauna 2 is popular among white...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of contemporary ethnography 2023-12, Vol.52 (6), p.824-848
Main Author: Perez Toledo, Rodrigo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cisgender
Colonialism
Decolonization
Homosexuality
Men
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Owners
Patronage
Patrons
Photography
Race
Racism
Sauna baths
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Summary:I analyze racism in Sydney’s gay sauna scene through decolonial scholarship. In Sydney, there are three gay saunas; each of them caters to specific races and is decorated accordingly. Sauna 1 is popular among Asian men and their admirers and has an Oriental-like style. Sauna 2 is popular among white and non-Asian men and has a minimalist style featuring photographs of white, cisgender and muscular men. Sauna 3 is mostly visited by white and Middle Eastern straight-acting men and its décor does not reference race. Both patrons and venue owners are aware of the race dynamics in Sydney’s gay scene and actively reproduce them in the patronage of venues and organization and décor of space. I conclude that Sydney’s gay sauna scene is articulated by a combination of colonial understandings of race and Australian multicultural policies that privilege white and Anglo populations while avoiding explicit references to race.
ISSN:0891-2416
1552-5414
DOI:10.1177/08912416231175866