thick mapping—Klyt and Midtowne Spa
These are the locations of my two murders in my story. I have chosen the oldest bathhouses still operating in Los Angeles out of respect for the queer spirits of desire that haunt these spaces. If there were two spaces in L.A. I could apply Foucault's archaeology of history and Perez's decolonial imaginary, they would be these two locations (along with the Hollywood YMCA). The Hollywood YMCA, however, has "reformed" itself and no longer rents its rooms out to wayward men. Bathhouses are an ancient institution threatened with extinction. Gay men are constructing false identities behind online profiles on the popular hookup apps which I categorize as a version of the closet. Men are rarely what they seem behind the falsehoods and doctored pictures. Putting your corporal self out there, not your idealized cyber self, is what I consider to be "out." Klyt and Midtowne Spa represent eras of men that did not have the luxury of sitting behind the glare of a CRT taking multiple selfies in order to post the odd glamour shot. Walking around in a towel, you are bare. You cannot hide your flaws while accentuating your strengths. Cyberspace is another layer of colonization. Klyt and Midtowne Spa contain layers of history of desire that remain hidden. These spaces allow men to express their homoerotic desires in a relatively safe space away from the violence of cops and bashers. Even if gay men inflict violence upon each other in these spaces, they still exert some sense of agency. Klyt and Midtowne Spa may be anachronistic in the light of internet hookup apps but they represent gay men's history that needs to be documented.
These are the locations of my two murders in my story. I have chosen the oldest bathhouses still operating in Los Angeles out of respect for the queer spirits of desire that haunt these spaces. If there were two spaces in L.A. I could apply Foucault's archaeology of history and Perez's decolonial imaginary, they would be these two locations (along with the Hollywood YMCA). The Hollywood YMCA, however, has "reformed" itself and no longer rents its rooms out to wayward men. Bathhouses are an ancient institution threatened with extinction. Gay men are constructing false identities behind online profiles on the popular hookup apps which I categorize as a version of the closet. Men are rarely what they seem behind the falsehoods and doctored pictures. Putting your corporal self out there, not your idealized cyber self, is what I consider to be "out." Klyt and Midtowne Spa represent eras of men that did not have the luxury of sitting behind the glare of a CRT taking multiple selfies in order to post the odd glamour shot. Walking around in a towel, you are bare. You cannot hide your flaws while accentuating your strengths. Cyberspace is another layer of colonization. Klyt and Midtowne Spa contain layers of history of desire that remain hidden. These spaces allow men to express their homoerotic desires in a relatively safe space away from the violence of cops and bashers. Even if gay men inflict violence upon each other in these spaces, they still exert some sense of agency. Klyt and Midtowne Spa may be anachronistic in the light of internet hookup apps but they represent gay men's history that needs to be documented.