Nothing lasts forever, and it seems that every week comes news that a bathhouse somewhere in the world is shutting its doors. This time it is the historic Ken’s at Kensington in Sydney Australia that is calling it quits.

After more than 40 years of serving the gay community in Sydney, steam will be shut off for good on May 20. The reason for its closing is not financial. But the selling of the building that houses Ken’s at Kensington.

Ken’s at Kensington

With the closing of this national treasure in Sydney’s LGBT community, the mantel now falls to King Steam. They will be Sydney’s longest-operating steam bath, having opened its doors in 1974.

To read more click to Icon at Kensington and Ken’s at Kensington to close

As mentioned here, Sunil Gupta is an Indian born Canadian photographer. He has a traveling exhibition of some of his photos titled Sun City and Other Stories: Paris-San Francisco-Delh taken from his book Queer. Some of the photos feature Indian men in a bathhouse.

Francophone festival at the Alliance Française displayed his work to positive reviews on March 23, 2012. However following an anonymous complaint, Indian police arrived on the scene to investigate. The very next day, Gupta’s entire exhibition was removed.

Sun City Images

As to why an official at Alliance Française said: “The decision to shut down the exhibition was taken by the director [of Alliance Française] unanimously with the artist. The opening of the exhibition, held on Friday, was a private affair and during the opening only it was decided that we will not continue with the exhibition.”

To read more about this go to Indian police censor gay photo exhibit by Canadian artist and Police force closure of photo exhibition on Paris gay life

Queer is now available in most bookstores. Click Sun City for more bathhouse images from the Sun City Photo Exhibition.

Alex Guerrero (aka Alex Garcia) is back! He previously filmed a short video inside his room at Club Dallas. Now he is back to do the same thing. But this time he is inside a room at Midtowne Spa Dallas.

Video is kind of dark. Don’t they have light-switches inside the rooms at Midtowne Spa Dallas?

Regardless enjoy the second video. Again if you like Alex and his commentary, go and subscribe to his YouTube Videos at iHeartAlexMore.

The Tacoma Art Museum is displaying the controversial ‘Hide/Seek’ exhibition that covers almost 150 years of GLBT works of art. First displayed at The Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery, this series looks at how gay and straight communities intertwined much more freely.

One print called Shower Bath by George Bellows truly stands out. Created in 1917, it spotlights the activity that takes place in a men’s public bathhouse. You can see two men are checking each other out. Which leads some to confirm that man on man encounters were a regular part of some men’s worlds.

Shower Bath by George Bellows

To read more about this exhibit and the lithograph go to Controversial ‘Hide/Seek’ appears at Tacoma Art Museum and Was a homosexual life as public before WW2 as now?

Some dude named Alex Guerrero (aka Alex Garcia) filmed a fifty-one second video inside his single room at Club Dallas. So for those who don’t dare to go into a bathhouse, Alex is your guide for this very short video.

Two things I must correct Alex in his commentary. One, he says you must get naked and wear a towel. Incorrect. There are no rules like that. It is up to the individual whether they get dressed in a towel or if they decided to stay in their clothes. That is completely up to the customer. Being dressed gives the signal to other customers ‘Hands off’. So you can observe what goes on, and not worry about someone making a pass at you.

Second, all bathhouses prohibit any video from being filmed on the premises. This is to protect the customer’s privacy. However management cannot control what goes on in someone’s room. There are many videos uploaded on xtube that show guys liaisons with other hot guys at the baths. So while filming inside your room is okay, it is a no-no to film outside your room.

So enjoy the video. If you like Alex and his commentary, go and subscribe to his YouTube Videos at iHeartAlexMore.

Second-year medical student from the University of Missouri-Columbia has won the Mizzou Inclusive Excellence Award for his contributions to the LGBTQ community.

John Steven Cummins won the award for founding MizzouMed Pride, a group which promotes and raises awareness LGBTQ health issues.

John Steven Cummins

Cummins says his goal in becoming a doctor is to service the missing holes regarding LGBTQ health.

To read more about his bathhouse outreach work go to Med student shines light on LGBTQ health with new group

I was thinking about just using the headline ‘Republican Senator Murdered In Gay Bathhouse’ but I thought better of it. Because it might trigger some hysteria out in cyberspace, so I added ‘New LA Play’ before the headline.

Anyways a new play has opened up at the Meta Theatre on Melrose in LA. Bathhouse Tuesday is a whodunit set at the gay tubs. When a right-wing Republican Senator (who consistently votes for anti gay legislation) is found murdered at the gay baths, there is no shortage of suspects.

Bathhouse Tuesday

However a moral dilemma pops up. Should these bathhouse patrons reveal what they know? Or should they suppress what they know, thereby protect a man’s privacy who did nothing for the LGBT community?

Bathhouse Tuesday runs from March 16th to April 7th at the Meta Theatre.

Gay magazine from Winnipeg has decided to no longer run any advertisements that feature sex. The magazine in question, OutWords, wants to appeal to a much wider audience within the gay community. By removing sex ads, they hope to attract a much more upscale cache of advertisers that appeals to the LGBT market.

But ads for the Adonis Spa bathhouse in Winnipeg seem to be acceptable. Well almost. It seems the magazine feels the photo below is too risqué. And wants the shirtless image replaced. What do you think?

Adonis Spa Advertisement

To read more go to Bathhouse owner responds to OutWords’ “selling sex” ban

The Link, Concordia University‘s student newspaper in Montreal, has written an article about the baths.

The author of the article, Julian Ward, follows one gay college couple who hits the Sauna Oasis bathhouse every month or so.

Sauna Oasis Website

To read the article for yourself go to Rub-a-Dub-Dub We Studs in a Tub

A new year always seems to bring a new production of Terrence McNally’s The Ritz.

This version is being mounted by the Circle Theatre in Chicago. It runs February 15 – April 1, 2012.

Terrence McNally’s The Ritz @ Circle Theatre

To read more go to Circle puts on McNally’s ‘Ritz’