Sometimes we have to take the good and the bad with any group, clique, or family. And with my gay people, I've realized I just have to take it. So bare with me, because I know I'm in the minority with my opinion.
Recently, this phenomenon known as the Black Party swept through New York City. What is a Black Party? Basically it's a S&M gay circuit party in a huge arena-like spot. This party promotes sexual freedom and unapologetic, testosterone-infused hedonism. And guess what? You can be a part of it for only $125.
But honestly, would you want to? This party is just an lame excuse to be irresponsible and overly horny. There's nothing special happening at this event, no guest speaker, no activism, nothing that moves gay people to make a change. What's there is a DJ, alcohol, abundance of lube and condoms, a bunch of sex-drenched men, and leather. So I have to ask, what are you paying for?
The company?
The sex?
The darkness?
Someone help me understand this. $125 dollars? You can do all of the same things in Black Party almost free in any major city with a Gayborhood. And why is this a major gay event? Out of all things, this is a major gay event?
To me, to make this a major gay event, is like making Pimps up, Hoes down a major black event. I wish we could leave the party notion behind, and prepare for our future. We should be pushing social change and equal rights for our people. Gays need to remember, we ain't truly free let alone cherished. Carrying on like over-sexed 16 year-olds isn't going to get us anywhere, but hungover, paranoid, sweaty, and still alone at the end of the day.
So my people, keep the $125 bucks and put it towards an earlier X-Men comic book, or a Fendi bag.
3 comments:
Hey, great post (I just found your blog),
I feel you about the partying, I was recently exiled from my main social circle for trying to incite conversations that didn't include the words 'price' or 'poppers'.
Anyhow, keep up the good work, I'll be a regular reader from now on.
- Mikey.
The whole circuit thing is a bit of a mystery to me, too. Sure it might sound fun, but it doesn't do us any good...and frankly, the account I read of the thing didn't make it sound like all that, either. And the price...don't get me started.
Yeah, I TOTALLY understand where you're coming from and this is a very intelligently written post. I'm not even saying I disagree entirely. But, the key to understanding the Black Party (and other sleaze-events like it) is looking back at NY gay heritage...waaaay back, during the somewhat golden age between Stonewall and the start of the AIDS scare. Things were very different then and a subset of gay America (mostly in NY and SF) was taking it upon itself to spearhead a new kind of sexual revolution. As a young man in that period it made for outrageous and occasionally irresponsible living. The themes of the Black Party can be traced all the way back to the motifs in orgiastic parties from those days.
Now, not as many people see it as such but my friends and I go to the Black Party yearly more to pay our respects than anything else. Furthermore I get in for nothing (yeah, so I should talk, right?) so it doesn't hurt me to go in, have a few drinks and look around. I've been more interested lately in the party as a showcase for ballsy brands -- like Bulldog gin, who I was surprised to find sponsoring the event (pleasantly, of course...a good cocktail can bring me to my knees). You can kind of see it as a barometer of up-and-up gay taste if nothing else. Sure enough I've been to around 5 different bars that starting pouring Bulldog right after the Black Party.
I'm not excusing the attitudes behind it entirely, I just thought I'd try to add another perspective. I'm not totally into the "horny" side of it either but in some small social area there is room for friends to just meet, enjoy the party, and enjoy being gay outside the privacy of their own homes, for once. So I appreciate that, if nothing else. The wild and crazy stuff I can't always defend.
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