This Doc About Gay Bathhouses is as Eye-Opening as It is Horny

If you’ve ever longed to hear a man with a British accent croon “come on mate, suck me off,” boy oh boy have I got the documentary for you.

Released a few weeks ago, the We Are Pride mini-doc “What Really Happens in a Gay Sauna?” is a classic UK production: it has silly, cute music, random shots of men in towels, and a female narrator curiously asking “what do those gay boys really get up to?”

Run by two long-term gay lovers, an unnamed Nottingham establishment is the focal point of this titillating look into the culture of gay bathhouses.

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“His knickers were off before he came in the door!” a man explains of a patron, and trust me, that’s not even close to the cutest thing you’ll hear. That said, this doc is far from all the way charming. For one thing, it’s quite white, and one of the white patrons describes an encounter in the 70s in a way that’s not exactly the most racially-sensitive.

So yes, there are a few “yikes white people” moments. There are also more than a few fascinating moments where you get to really look into the minds of regular patrons seeking casual, and often anonymous, sex.

During the COVID years, bathhouses have understandably gotten a bad rep. First of all, they’re maybe among the germier places you could hang out (“there’s cum everywhere!” one employee shouts while cleaning the jacuzzi) and when it comes to stale air and surfaces that would never in a million years pass the “Room Raiders” blacklight test, you can’t really get much gnarlier than a bathhouse. That said, they’ve always been an important feature of gay life, and gay sex.

There’s a certain sweetness to bathhouse culture, too, that’s rarely capitalized on: going to the gay sauna might be, for a lot of folks, about getting off. But it’s also about making connections, feeling less lonely, and trying to get rid of stress in a place that feels safe.

“What Really Happens in a Gay Sauna?” is far from a perfect piece of filmmaking, but it’s an interesting look into a culture that’s rarely discussed or viewed in a cozy, somewhat non-salacious light.