Big Gay Frat House Blog: Photography

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Flickr Favorites #5: Aerialist Rope Dancers

[To celebrate achieving 50,000 photos on my Flickr stream since 2006, I'm posting my top 20 favorite photographic themes. Check out Top 20 Flickr Photo Themes and 50,000 Photos for more. To see the best restricted photos on Flickr, you will need to create an account and then turn off SafeSearch in your account settings.]

[Note: like much of my Flickr account, this post is not exactly safe for work.]

Regular fans of my Flickr photos will know that I've built quite a reputation for my photos of go-go boys, certainly the most in Flickr's go-go boy group which I later inherited. And don't worry, that will be coming up in our countdown very soon.

But there's a special type of go-go performers that merit their own blog posting: aerialists, or rope dancers. I've blogged about them twice before, where clubs will suspect a rope or hoop from the ceiling and aerialist performers, usually clad only in underwear, will do an acrobatic performance suspended from the ceiling.

Few clubs in the City have the space to do such a thing. The Supperclub does, and I've been there once to see it. And now Trigger, one of the newer bars in the Castro, also does it on occasion a bit closer to home.

It's hard to describe how amazing these performances are to watch. They combine tremendous strength and athleticism with grace and poetry of motion. Not to mention that they are rock-hard athletes wearing virtually nothing.

The shows tend to be short. After all, unlike a go-go dancer, it's hard to maintain the stamina to do a performance longer than five or ten minutes. And I imagine they charge more than a typical go-go dancer (especially since they can't collect tips while they're performing), so clubs rarely seem to have more than one or two performers. But if you have an opportunity to catch such a show, do it!

Check out more aerialist photos on Flickr or a sampling in the slideshow below:

December 05, 2010 in Nightlife, Performance, Photography, Strippers and Go-Go Boys | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Flickr Favorites #6: Strip Twister and Naked Twister

[Note: like much of my Flickr account, this post is not exactly safe for work.]

One of the earlier Flickr Favorites was about San Francisco's fetish fairs, the Folsom Street Fair and its little sister, the Up Your Alley Fair (formerly known as the Dore Alley Fair). And you'll notice that quite a lot of time was spent at Steamwork's "Twisted Twister" booth, a supersized Twister game in which fairgoers can play alongside paid models and porn stars. But since this is "Twisted Twister," the players are naturally encouraged to wear whatever they want. Some wear their normal street clothes. Some are in whatever fetish gear their wore to the fair. Many strip down to their underwear or jockstraps ... and some get completely naked. The Steamworks' game is just for fun; players sometimes get "handsy" with each other, and players who fall get right back up again and continue playing.

It's actually one of my favorite parts of the fairs. I love seeing cute guys who aren't necessarily into the scene getting dared to do something risque, and naked twister has both a risqueness and a sweet innocence to it, unlike some of the wilder antics at the fairs.

But as much as I love Steamwork's Twisted Twister, it's not the best twister game I've ever had a chance to experience. That record surely goes to a game of Strip Twister played at Starfucker, an event at the Deco Lounge in which players had to remove an item of clothing every time the spinner landed on red. If I was organizing it, I would have had each player choose a different color so that they'd strip at different rates, lending some suspense. But really, the most important thing is getting the players undressed, right? And boy did they -- everyone ended up completely naked by the end of the game.

Although this is number six on my countdown, there is a strip twister photo that remains my favorite photo I've taken.

Check out some slideshows below, or see more Strip Twister and Twisted Twister on Flickr.

Dore Alley Fair

Folsom Street Fair

Starfucker at Deco Lounge

November 20, 2010 in Nudity, Photography | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Flickr Favorites #7: Risque Contests

[Note: like much of my Flickr account, this post is not exactly safe for work.]

The vast majority of my Flickr photos are dedicated to LGBT nightlife in San Francisco, particularly some of the more risque aspects like go-go boys. Many gay clubs and party promoters capitalized on sexuality to bring in a crowd, and what better way than a fun, risque contest?

Of course, it stands to reason that my photos of these risque contests are among the most popular of my Flickr stream. Wet underwear contests are the most obvious example, but are no means the most risque. The photo to the right, for example, actually came from a seemingly more tame bobbing for dildos contest at Wet & Wild, an event held on the third Saturday of every month at Club Eight in San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood. San Francisco has all sorts of other contests, too, not just down to underwear but actually exposing normally-covered body parts, including penises.

There are other sorts of risque competitions that made it higher on my list of Flickr favorites and will be (un)covered later. For now, let's just limit this post to the cattle-call contests where a herd of contestants are brought up on stage to expose and show off their best assets.

Wet Underwear Contests

Wet underwear contests are probably the most famous and typical of the risque contests and among my most favorite. Underwear can get awfully transparent when wet, after all, and sometimes contestants deliberately show a bit more (sometimes yanking them down completely) to outshine their competitors.

San Francisco has a few regular underwear contests, wet and otherwise, like the Powerhouse's weekly wet underwear contest every Thursday at midnight and 440 Castro's monthly Battle of the Bulge on the first Monday of their weekly Monday underwear nights. Most places, I'm not clear on their photography etiquette and so I've been cautious about taking pictures. But I do have some pics from special wet underwear contests held for special events. Once at Money Shot Mondays, a short-lived event at Jet, a club that was remodeled to now be the home for Trigger. Once at The Crib, Gus Presents' 18+ event held every Thursday night which often has different contests (though I don't go to The Crib often because being more than double the average age can be ... uncomfortable). And once at Wet & Wild, which always has some sort of wet and/or wild contest. This one got very wild as several of the finalists went full monty to try for top place.

You can check out my wet underwear contest photos on Flickr as well as a slideshow of some of the best below:

Best Toga Contests

Ah, toga parties. Brings back those memories of college. You can dress up the toga and make it fancy, even senatorial, or can make them skimpy with nary a stitch underneath.

Toga parties aren't exactly a common feature of nightlife in San Francisco. I've been to three that I can think of outside of house parties, including personally wearing a toga to two of them (one of which included a rather embarrassing Monday morning walk home). I've only taken photos at one which was held recently at Wet & Wild. I was hoping more boys would opt to wear nothing underneath, but as far as I know, that didn't happen. Maybe next time....

Check out the best toga contest photos on Flickr or on the slideshow below:

Hunky Jesus Contests

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a philanthropic order of gender-agnostic (e.g., drag) nuns was founded in San Francisco in 1979, dedicated to "community service, ministry and outreach to those on the edges, and to promoting human rights, respect for diversity and spiritual enlightenment." The order believes that "all people have a right to express their unique joy and beauty and we use humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit."

Though founded in San Francisco, there are now dozens of SPI chapters worldwide. The San Francisco chapter alone has raised over $1 million for charity over the years.

Perhaps the best-known annual event for the sisters is their Easter Celebration held every year in Dolores Park (weather permitting). The final event of their day of performances and contests is their annual Hunky Jesus Contest in which guys of all shapes and sizes compete to be crowned that year's Hunky Jesus.

Although I have attended many times, for some reason I can only find photos from the 2009 Hunky Jesus contest. You can see highlights in the slideshow below or the full set of Hunky Jesus photos on Flickr.

Amateur Go-Go Boy Contests

Every wonder where go-go boys come from? How do they get those jobs? Do they just submit a pretty picture of themselves, or do they actually audition? Actually, depending on the venue or promoter, it can happen either way. But occasionally bars will turn it into a public competition where the winners can earn prizes and potentially land a regular paid gig as a go-go dancer.

I was able to attend one such competition in New York City in 2005. Believe me, there were even wilder antics in other bars but I didn't feel that comfortable taking pictures. (It wasn't until June of 2006 that I started to become an unofficial amateur documentarian of nightlife.)

Check out a few more of my amateur go-go boy contest photos on Flickr or in the slideshow below:

Bobbing for Dildos Contests

You wouldn't think that a bobbing for dildos contest would be that risque. I mean, sure, the dildos themselves may be shaped to resemble a part of the male anatomy, but in the end the dildos are just a piece of molded plastic or rubber.

But you also have to remember that the dildos are resting in a basin of water. Contestants have to dunk their heads into the water to pull out the dildos with their mouths. Many of them don't want their clothes wet. Several will strip off their shits to keep them dry. A few will strip down to their skivvies. And in one notable instance at Wet & Wild, a contestant stripped off even more.

You can check out my Flickr photos of two different bobbing for dildos contests held at Club 8's Wet & Wild, or you can see a slideshow of some of them below:

Full Moon Contests

The Krewe de Kinque, a local gay Mardi Gras krewe, often holds a full moon contest on or near the month's full moon. As the name suggests, it's essentially a "best ass" contest where contestants bare their butt and let the audience pick their favorite moon.

I've heard rumors that it's been held recently at the Steamworks Bathhouse, which seems a little besides the point (isn't everyone already down to towels or less anyway?). Over the years, I've attended several of these contests at varying bars, but for some reason I can only find photos from one of those competitions. You can check them out in the slideshow below or on Flickr:

Amateur Strip Contests

Ahhh, the classic amateur strip contest. Truly one of the best opportunities to see some skin from people who normally keep everything covered. If we're going to increasingly more risque contests as we go down the list, you'd expect this to be the ultimate risque contest. But this is San Francisco, which means it's only in third place.

At many venues like Deco Lounge, there are usually a few contestants who really do go all the way and show full frontal. I've never felt like I could take photos of that contest there. But I do have some from elsewhere, including Gus Presents' weekly 18+ club called (rather creepily) The Crib as well as some taken at the Bourbon Pub in New Orleans. You can check out my full set of amateur strip contest photos on Flickr, or see some highlights below:

Flashing for Beads Contests

In New Orleans, many girls will flash their tits for a strand of cheap plastic beads. But down by the gay bars, it's the guys (many gay, some straight) who are flashing something a little lower to get some trinkets.

Several times, Heklina's infamous Trannyshack has trekked cross country to perform in the Big Easy, and to help finance the trip they held local fundraisers here called The Big Sleazy. And at at least two of these fundraisers, they held a "flash for beads" contest. Guests could buy Mardi Gras beads from promoters and then, during the "flashing" contest, would reward their favorite flasher with their beads. The flasher who earned the most beads won the contest. And while some male contestants chose to only show their butts, quite a lot were willing to flash their dicks. And one woman not only flashed her breasts but a whole lot more!

You can check out the flashing for beads contest photos on Flickr or see some highlights below:

Best Dick Contests

Yup, you heard right. Some San Francisco events actually have the occasional Best Dick Contest (sometimes advertised as a Best Cock Contest). And you have to admit that in a gay contest where every contestant is going full frontal, not just a few of the most daring, that has to be the most risque contest out there (short of something like a Porn Idol contest, that is). Oh, sure, sometimes they flash us their butts, too, but they always, always turn around to show us the real deal. How else are the going to win?

I've only been to a few, both at Deco. Haven't seen anything like that advertised lately but I will be sure to check it out again if I hear of more. In the meantime, check out my pics on Flickr or highlights in the slideshow below.

That's all we've got for risque contests -- at least, the kind where contestants get on stage to perform. But fear not, our list of Flickr favorites is only getting better, and higher on the list will be other sorts of risque competitions.

October 28, 2010 in Events, Nightlife, Nudity, Photography | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Flickr Favorites #8: Fetish Street Fairs

[Note: like much of my Flickr account, this post is not exactly safe for work.]

Perhaps nothing else exemplies San Francisco's live-and-let-live attitude better than our two fetish street fairs: the Folsom Street Fair and its smaller, sleazier sister, the Up Your Alley Fair (still better known by its former name, the Dore Alley Street Fair).

Both fairs take place in the heart of what was once known as the Miracle Mile, a stretch of Folsom Street dotted with leather bars. They're dedicated to showcasing every form of consensual kink under the sun -- B&D, S&M, furries, puppies, leather and lace, and even more scatalogical interests. Though not strictly gay events per se, despite what many inordinately obsessive fundamentalists proclaim, there are a fair number of LGBT people who help organize and participate. And the Castro jumps into the act by switching the rainbow flag that normally greets visitors at the corner of Castro and Market to the black, blue, and white fetish flag during the week before the Folsom Street Fair.

In recent years, the Steamworks bathhouse has sponsored my favorite addition to the fairs: the Twisted Twister booth where fairgoers alongside hot models (including some porn stars) can play games of Twister in any state of (un)dress they desire, ranging from buttoned-up to totally nude. Although state law prohibits lewd activities in public, neither state nor local laws ban non-lewd nudity outside of parks. It's perfectly legal to walk down Folsom Street stark naked, even barefoot (though that usually happens playing naked twister but sometimes even walking down the street).

The Folsom Street Fair is the largest annual fetish event in the world, bringing in over 400,000 guests, which makes it the third largest annual outdoor event in California (behind the Rose Bowl Parade and the San Francisco Pride Parade). The Up Your Alley Fair, in contrast, much smaller (about a tenth the size) and less known to the general population, thereby resulting in a higher concentration of actual fetish participants.

My favorite part of both fairs, especially Folsom which is more likely to bring in gawkers, are the innocent young college boys who, on a drunked dare, push their limits and allow themselves to get spanked on their bare ass, strip naked for a game of twister, or in one notable case, have an orgasm solely through electrical stimulation.

My photos from both fairs are most certainly not safe for work. You can see my Up Your Alley and Folsom Street Fair photos on Flickr, or check out samples in the slideshows after the jumps.

Continue reading "Flickr Favorites #8: Fetish Street Fairs" »

October 10, 2010 in Community, Events, Nudity, Photography | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Flickr Favorites #9: Fundraisers at the Big Gay Frat House

[Note: like much of my Flickr account, this post is not exactly safe for work.]

In some ways, the photos I've taken of charity fundraisers at the Big Gay Frat House are some of my absolute favorites. They may be only #9 on my list, but that's because other types of photos are so much more significant in my Flickr stream, especially in terms of fan favorites. The very first fundraiser was held on April 15, 2006, and the very last one held in the house was April 12, 2008. During those two years, we raised a net total of 30,000 for different LGBT charitable causes in our home.

Here are the different fundraisers that have given the Big Gay Frat House a name and quite a lot of traffic to my Flickr stream.

Balls Out Ball
Our very first fundraiser was the Balls Out Ball, a benefit for the SF Fog rugby team. The event came about because a friend of mine on the team took me out for drinks to get my ideas regarding how the team could raise their profile and improve their fundraising efforts. I warned them that a sports team could never compete against AIDS and social services as a cause. Instead, they needed to compete in the world of entertainment, creating an event that someone would want to go to instead of going out to the bars or the movies or the theater. One natural asset, I said, was that they were a team of athletes who already have a culture for getting naked at the drop of a hat. I suggested that they could compete against bars, who cannot show full nudity due to archaic Alcohol Beverage Control regulations, by doing a full monty strip show.

At the same time, Tim discovered that Varla Jean Merman's rates for charitable events were affordable, and he wanted a reason to have her perform in our own home.

One of the members of the Fog worked at a local Castro bar and wass able to arrange for alcohol sponsorship from their liquor distributor -- a sweet guy who ultimately sponsored alcohol for every fundraiser ever held at the BGFH. The VIP area included a top-shelf open bar and a Talisker whiskey tasting lounge. The main bar featured free well drinks. And the show, hosted by Empress Donna Sachet and Greg the Gay Sportscaster, included five bachelor date auctions, performances by Varla Jean Merman and Ethel Merman, and a choreographed full monty strip show from seven of the rugby boys who showed everything.

You can check out more photos on Flickr. Below there are slideshows of the party and the performances:

Party Slideshow

Performance Slideshow

A Midsummer Night's Dream

In August of 2006, we threw our second fundraiser, A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was a benefit for Community United Against Violence.

We negotiated a deal to bring up Chi Chi LaRue to be our celebrity emcee, but when she had a scheduling conflict, we then turned to Brent Corrigan. The event featured an open bar, a chocolate bar sponsored by the San Francisco Chocolate Factory, appetizers from Healthy Spirits, and chair massages provided by Joshua Alexander, CMT.

Brent Corrigan presided over a competition in which three candidates performed and sold raffle tickets in order to be crowned King or Queen of the Fairies. Connie Champagne and Ethel Merman also performed, accompanied by Trauma Flintstone on the keyboard. In the meantime, Julian Marshburn, Mr. SF Leather 2004, wandered through the party with a gang of fairies bribing guests to play pranks on his fairies.

In the end, Katya Smirnoff-Skyy was crowned Queen with runner-up Foxy Cotton as her King. The party was a tremendous success, raising thousands of dollars for CUAV at their typical end-of-summer budget crunch.

You can check out photos on Flickr from batch 1 or batch 2, or see highlights in the slideshows below.

Midsummer Night's Dream slideshow, part 1:

Midsummer Night's Dream slideshow, part 2:

Girl Drink Drunks

In 2007, we partnered with Trauma Flintstone to launch a series of turnkey charity fundraisers called Girl Drink Drunk, named after a Kids in the Hall skit. We provided the basic infrastructure: the space, the staging and decorations, and the sponsors (especially for alcohol). Trauma Flintstone arranged for the entertainment, which generally included a blend of drag lipsynchers, drag live singers, a faux queens -- and, later, male strippers. And the beneficiary provided the staffing for the front door, coat check, clean-up, and, optionally, bartending. (We provided a bartender who worked for tips when the beneficiary chose not to staff that role.)

The approach made it simple for a charity to have a quick-and-easy fundraiser where, aside from finding volunteers for the evening, they didn't need to do anything to plan for the event.

Neighbor complaints and other issues ultimately forced us to abandon Girl Drink Drunk, but not before we held seven fundraisers that benefitted the SF Fog, Project Open Hand, the AIDS Housing Alliance, the SF Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, the Stop AIDS Project, the GoalDiggers gay hockey team, and Community United Against Violence.

Check out Flickr photos from all of our Girl Drink Drunks, or a random sample below:

Frat House for the Holidays

In November of 2007, we partnered with Sigma Epsilon Omega, a new gay fraternity at U.C. Berkeley, to host Frat House for the Holidays.

Kevin and Tim had gone to U.C. Berkeley, where Tim had been in a straight-but-supportive fraternity. Kevin never joined a frat; a gay fraternity was being formed as he was graduating, but it collapsed after less than a year. David had been kicked out of his straight fraternity in Ohio when he came out, and then later joined a different gay fraternity at San Francisco State. So we wanted to make sure that SEO had a fighting chance to survive.

The event featured an open bar, drinking games, a dance floor, go-go boys (one who went all the way, full frontal), and a VIP lounge with top-shelf liquor and gift bags. We never did figure out how to monetize the drinking games, but it was still a lot of fun. Five of the boys were auctioned off for charity bachelor dates, which proved to be an excellent fundraising addition.

Though most if not all of the SEO boys who participated at the fundraiser have now graduated, the fraternity continues to thrive at U.C. Berkeley in a rented house that they hope to be able to buy at some point. Maybe another fundraiser someday?

Check out more photos on Flickr.

Flop House

In April of 2008, we held the last fundraiser at the Big Gay Frat House: Flop House, a benefit for SF Boylesque. This time Boylesque provided all of the entertainment.

SF Boylesque is a mostly-male burlesque troupe in the style of the old Weimar Republic. Or, as they summarize on their Facebook page:

Burlesque meets vaudeville meets circus meets San Francisco fringe, scored with a ragtime beat.

Face painting. Stilt walkers. Jugglers. The strongest man in the world. Choreographed strip tease numbers. Pole dancing. Lap dances. Open bar. Bachelor date auctions. Unfortunately, we had to veto their request to include a fire breather.

The Flop House event was filmed by our friend Sean Chapin for inclusion in his documentary about us, My Big Gay Frat House, which was posted in its entirety (broken into three sections) on Youtube.

In addition to the slideshow below, I have more photos on Flickr, as does our friend Michael:

Another Gay Fundraiser

In June of 2008, we again partnered with Brent Corrigan to throw Another Gay Fundraiser, a play on the name of Another Gay Movie featuring Brent that was being released the same weekend. This was our first big event outside of the house.

Once again, Community United Against Violence was the beneficiary, just as they had been for the Midsummer Night's Dream fundraiser that Brent emceed at the BGFH. And Katya Smirnoff-Skyy, who was proclaimed Queen of the Fairies at the Midsummer fundraiser, came back to perform.

The LookOut, which had recently replaced the Metro City Bar, played house and provided us with Jell-O shots that Brent's boys sold. Brent also auctioned off the first of a limited edition set of prints of an illustration of him as Stan the Merman from Another Gay Movie illustrated by Ismael Alvarez. Brent designed the publicity posters himself. DJ Pornstar provided the music.

Check out more of my photos, as well as others from our friend Georg.

October 04, 2010 in Big Gay Frat House, Drag, Events, Fundraisers, Nudity, Performance, Photography, Strippers and Go-Go Boys | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Flickr Favorites #10: The Epiphany Party

[Note: like much of my Flickr account, this post is not exactly safe for work.]

On January 5, 2006, we threw our first major party at the Big Gay Frat House -- the Epiphany Party. It was the largest non-fundraiser we've ever held there and helped set the tone for our future events.

I had been in a private local Mardi Gras krewe for many years, almost two decades. Our krewe selected a monarch at Mardi Gras who would reign through the party and then throughout the next year. In most years, the monarch was chosen by lottery; candidates would select a piece of king cake. A small plastic baby was baked in the cake; whichever candidate selected the piece with the baby would be chosen monarch for the following year. For a five year stretch, monarchs were elected by the True Krewe, a group of members who helped throw the annual parties. We returned to letting the baby select the monarch, but only True Krewe members were eligible to be candidates.

I had vied to become monarch every year since joinging the krewe in its fourth year, and I was always the bridesmaid, never the bride. I was dubbed the Susan Lucci of our krewe. Finally in 2005, in the krewe's 17th year and my 14th as a member, we held our celebration in Palm Springs and, on my birthday, I was became monarch by acclamation when all of the other potential candidates stepped down to guarantee me the win.

One of the founders of the krewe always believed that finding the baby always "speeded things up" for the monarch, karmicly speaking, for good or bad. That was certainly the case for me. A month after becoming king, I was hired by Gay.com after more than a year of unemployment (granted, I wasn't looking for much of that time). Six months later, we bought the Big Gay Frat House.

(Note: some of the other photos in this post may not be entirely safe for work. More after the jump.)

Continue reading "Flickr Favorites #10: The Epiphany Party" »

September 14, 2010 in Big Gay Frat House, Events, Parties, Photography | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Flickr Favorites #11: Risque for a good cause

Number 11 on my list of my favorite sorts of Flickr photos are those where people strip down for a good cause. Hell, the Big Gay Frat House practically built our reputation on getting boys to strip down -- and our open bar and lack of restrictions on full frontal nudity helped our events compete in the realm of nightlife entertainment.

We won't cover our own events just yet -- that's higher in this countdown, natch. But we are proud of how we helped contribute to the "risque for a cause" culture, starting with our very first fundraiser where we convinced the SF Fog rugby team to strip down completely naked in a choreographed Full Monty routine back at our very first fundraiser, the Balls Out Ball (pictured above).

When folks strip down to their skivvies or completely naked, either to raise money for a cause or just to raise awareness, that's something we have to support and encourage. This particular entry is about my favorites done by other people, starting with my absolute favorite...

BikeR Fundraiser at the Powerhouse

In May of 2007, my friend Jon and his friend Jon (confusing?) held a fundraiser at the Powerhouse called BikeR to help raise funds to participate in the AIDS Lifecycle Ride, an annual bicycle ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise funds for AIDS support. Each rider pledges to raise thousands of dollars in addition to then riding 500 miles by bike. Many get friends to pledge small amounts, but often riders also throw their own mini-fundraisers to make up the difference.

As is typical at these sorts of events, the boys got merchandise donated (mostly porn) which were then raffled off to guests who could buy a ticket for $1, six for $5, or the whole length of their inseam for $10. The event was emceed by one of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Sister Gladys Pantzeroff.

But there was something else special coming up, an idea that I had hoped to use at one of our events and was delighted someone else decided to do. Sister Gladys got the boys to get up on stage and announced that they had each pledged to remove an article of clothing for every $20 that the crowd collectively donated. You could throw in anything -- $1, $10, $20, or more. (I think I ended up spending $40 but some of that may have also gone to raffle tickets.) First their shirts came off. Then their shoes and socks. Shirtless and barefoot in a bar. Then their pants came off. My friend Jon was down to cute orange briefs, while his friend Jon was down to tight, tight leather shorts. My friend stopped at this point, but his friend continued and actually auctioned off his leather shorts. Now he was stripped completely naked in the bar as Sister Gladys gallantly used her own hand to cover his modesty. (Stupid ABC regulations.) He stood that way a bit before donning a jockstrap to then complete drawing winning raffle tickets.

I had hoped they'd stay undressed for the rest of the night, but they put their clothes back on once the raffle was completed.

You can check out more photos on Flickr, or enjoy the slideshow below:

Looking Good, Feeling Fab

And speaking of donating the shirt off your back....

When AIDS first struck in the early 80s, our lesbian sisters stepped in to help provide care and fundraising support even though lesbians are probably the least likely group at risk of HIV infection. Now a lot of LGBT fundraisers also include causes that are specific to women -- like breast cancer.

One such event, at one time held annually by Sister Roma (There's No Place Like Rome) of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, perhaps the most photographed nun on the planet, was Looking Good, Feeling Fab. The event was a marathon of feathers, glitter, and flesh, often taking 10 hours to hold the entire event.

In between performances by drag queens, Sister Roma would also get cute boys (often porn stars) to get up on stage and quite literally auction off all of their clothes. I attended the third one at The Edge and the fourth one at Harvey's. And I came away with my share of loot -- a button down shirt from one porn star, a t-shirt from another, Derrek Hanson's swimsuit (which I took off of his body while the rest of the audience just saw the concealing towel), and even one boy's cockrings (which I also was obliged to remove). Anything for the cause, right?

Here's a slideshow of some of my favorite images. You can find more on Flickr.

Manwash at the Powerhouse

Speaking of Pete Ross (pictured above)...

Several years ago, the Powerhouse hosted a short-lived series of fundraisers for the Stop AIDS Project called Manwash. It was a brilliant idea, in my opinion, because it was a raffle that depending not on getting items donated but rather in getting cute guys to donate their bodies.

At the first one, held in June of 2006, porn star Pete Ross and a few staffers at the Stop AIDS Project sold raffle tickets to members of the audience. A few items were raffled off (probably porn, if I recall). But then one lucky winner got to go onstage with Pete and "dirty" him up with washable body paint. And then the grand prize winner got to take him to a bathtub with a shower to "clean him up."

I was the grand prize winner -- using money that my cab driver had given me to use in the raffle! The cabbie was a gay old-timer nostalgic for the old Miracle Mile days of Folsom Street's heyday.

I blogged extensively at the time about that night and also posted a lot of photos.

The next month I went again. And I once again won the grand prize. You can check out the photos on Flickr or enjoy the slideshows below.

World Naked Bike Ride

Sometimes when people strip down for a good cause, it's to raise awareness rather than money.

Such is the case with the World Naked Bike Ride, an annual global event in which participants strip as bare as they dare (including completely naked in many cities like San Francisco) and ride their bicycles through the city to help raise awareness of global dependence on oil and petroleum products.

The WNBR gets a nice range of participants. Male and female (mostly male). Gay and straight. Young and old. Cute and not-my-type. But whatever, they've got guts. They're willing to go outdoors in broad daylight, strip completely naked, and spend hours riding their bikes with their all-togethers flapping in the breeze, all to raise awareness of a global crisis.

Though I had heard of the event before, this year was the first time I heard about San Francisco's participation in time to be able to go down and report on it. I blogged about it at the time, of course, but you can check out even more photos on Flickr.

You can also check out the global and San Francisco websites to learn more about the cause, and find out how to participate in the next one.

And check out my photos on Flickr, with some of the best in a slideshow below.

Tighty Whitey Car Wash

Remember the fundraisers as a kid, where you raised money for the band or your athletic team by selling candy bars, or doing a bake sale, or holding a car wash?

In the Castro, car washes are now all grown up and are certainly not just for kids anymore.

I'm talking about the Tighty Whitey Car Wash, an annual fundraiser held by the men of the Bare Chest Calendar as a fundraiser for the AIDS Emergency Fund. Cute guys strip down to their white cotton briefs and hold a car wash in the parking lot behind Walgreens in the Castro. Oh, and you know what happens to white briefs when they get wet, don't you?

The two that I've photographed took place on September 12, 2008 and September 13, 2009. Which means the next one should be coming up in a few weeks, right?

Here's a slideshow of some of the best:

Bad Boys by the Bay

Porn star Will Clark has held a series of "Bad Boy" fundraisers across the country -- Bad Boys on the Hudson in New York, the Bad Boys Pool Party in Palm Springs, and twice held Bad Boys by the Bay in San Francisco, which was a benefit for Magnet. Magnet is a men's clinic in the Castro that provides STD testing and counseling.

I went to both San Francisco events in 2004 and 2005, but was too far from the stage at the first to take photos. Thus I have no proof that Michael Brandon ejaculated on stage. (Actually, I think he hit the porn star who dove beneath him rather than the actual stage.) Yup. Even the BGFH has never done an event quite like that.

The events included drag performances, some with scantily-clad backup dancers, as well as porn stars doing all sorts of nudey activities. And yup, I was able to take photos at this one.

Sadly, Will needed a bit of a break and reigned in some of his activities. Although he continues to do events in New York City, I'm not aware of him doing anything recent in San Francisco. But in the meantime, there are photos from this second event on Flickr and a slideshow of a few of the best photos below:

What's next?

Of course, there are so many more examples, including risque fashion shows that I've already written about and the BGFH events coming up soon.

Sadly, most of these events are no more. BikeR was just a one-time only event. Manwash only lasted a few months. Sister Roma did at least four Looking Good, Feeling Fab events, but I'm not aware of any others in recent years. Bad Boys by the Bay only occurred twice. The Tighty Whitey Car Wash might be coming up again in a few weeks, but I haven't heard for sure. The World Naked Bike Ride is the only one I'm absolutely confident will continue.

So what's next? The BGFH has done a lot of fundraisers where boys got near-naked (and completely nude) for charity, but we can't host in our house anymore.

So ... who's taking up the mantle? Who's trying to get cute boys naked for a good cause? Be sure to let us know and we'll promote the hell out of it!

August 31, 2010 in Big Gay Frat House, Fundraisers, Nudity, Photography | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Flickr Favorites #12: Bar Life

While some of my Flickr photos have involved family events, barbecues at home, or wandering around San Francisco, the vast majority have focused on charity fundraisers and nightlife. About half of every photo I've posted was taken in a bar (49.8% as of today, or 26,297 photos of the now 52,994 posted, if you want me to be exact). And sure, quite a lot of them were taken at specific events or performances, but a lot of them are just about hanging out. In a bar. Having fun with my friends at happy hour, playing pool, just goofing off with friends.

Nightlife gets covered pretty extensively in this list of top Flickr favorites, with risque contests and go-go boys dominating my photostream. Here are some of the more casual pics.

Like Cocktails.

Ever order something fancy and feel that you just had to take a photo of that drink?

Or you just loved the way the light struck the glass, or how it contrasted with the table? Or the backdrop of the bar behind it?

Or maybe you just needed a standard shot of your favorite cocktail du jour? You never know when you'll need some sort of image for an article (or blog post) where you don't have to worry about copyrights. (I helped out gay.com many times that way, back in the day.)

In fact, because most of my photos are posted with an Attributions/No Derivatives Creative Commons license, other publications have used my photos from time to time. One gay travel guide used a photo of a cocktail I took at Martuni's for their entry about that bar. (Photos without people eliminate the need for additional model release waivers.)

So yeah, if you ever need a generic photo of a cocktail, just check out my cocktail photos on Flickr.

Playing Pool

Hanging out to play pool is one of those classic happy hour things to do. (That and drinking. And watching boys.)

I don't actually play pool myself. I have terrible hand/eye coordination, especially since I only see out of one eye at a time (cross-eyed) so I don't have true depth perception. But a lot of my friends play. Some have their own pool cues. Some are even on a team, playing on Tuesday nights during season at mostly-gay bars throughout the City. When their team is home (which is at The Cafe), I will come out to be a cheerleader -- and sometimes I'll even travel with the team when they are away if the other bar seems interesting enough to visit.

But most of my photos of friends playing pool aren't during league play. They are just of friends hanging out having fun during happy hour.

Shirtless Bartenders

I have a sixth sense for the risque aspects of nightlife. Not really, but I always have my camera with me and I seize the opportunity when I can. And one of my favorite things is when bartenders work shirtless (or occasionally in their underwear).

Usually the staff are specifically told which events they will need to work shirtless. Sometimes the bar owner or manager might talk them into it for a special occasion (like the evening of the Folsom Street Fair). Occasionally they'll even work in their underwear, or a jockstrap (but I have not yet had the courage or opportunity to take a picture of a bartender in just a jockstrap.)

Here are a few more of my favorite shirtless bartender photos. Of course, there are many more on Flickr.

Hanging Out

A lot of my favorite bar photos are just of me and my friends hanging out.

The vast majority of my photos taken in bars were taken at The Cafe in San Francisco. In fact, 16% of all of my photos and 33% of my bar photos were taken there. The most photos of any specific venue (including my own home) were taken at The Cafe. I used to go to the bar back when it was the Cafe San Marcos in the 80s, a lesbian bar with carpeting and a fireplace. I wasn't going out that much in the early 90s when it was renovated to be a dance bar; it took Gus Presents' Boy Bar on Friday nights to bring me back. And once I returned, it became my Cheers bar where everyone knows my name.

Next most popular is The Stud with 3,489 photos, no doubt due to both Trannyshack and the strip poker games at Lucky Pierre.

Third on my list of most common bar photos is Harvey's, with 2,439 photos, followed by Club Eight (1,728), the LookOut (1,622), and Trigger (1,207).

You can check out all of my bar photos on Flickr, but you'll have to turn off SafeSearch to see the best ones.

August 27, 2010 in Nightlife, Photography | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Flickr Favorites #13: Trannyshack

There are drag shows. And then there is Trannyshack.

My Flickr Favorites #14 highlighted our favorite drag queens and drag shows. But in a town that could very well have more drag queens per capita than any other major city in the U.S., there is one show that deserves special mention.

San Francisco has always nurtured our drag queens. In 1961, Jose Sarria became the first openly gay person to run for public office in the United States, shocking the political establishment by garnering 9,000 votes and finishing 9th in a field of 34 candidates. Three years later, he proclaimed himself The Widow Norton and went on to create the now-international Imperial Court System. Four decades and many openly-gay politicians later, another drag queen, Anna Conda (a.k.a. Glendon Hyde) is once again running for the Board.

In the meantime, the City that has nurtured female impersonators like Asia SF, traditional drag like the Imperial Court, cabaret live singers like the Martuni's crowd, and gender-fuck do-gooders like the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence has also spawned a show so different, so shocking, that it's become more than just a drag show. It's a form of performance art.

Trannyshack.

The show was founded in 1996 by San Francisco drag queen Heklina as an offshoot of the now-defunct Klubstitute as a way to revive The Stud's sagging Tuesday nights. A month later, Trannyshack had exploded onto the scene and for 12 years, Tuesdays would remain one of the Stud's busiest nights.

Each show centers around a theme, whether it's a tribute to an icon like Madonna or Bjork, a genre of music like "The 80s," or other themes like porn or fairy tales. Performances tend to tell a tale, often with a shocking or gross twist. Fake bodily fluids of every sort -- blood, urine, vomit, semen, feces -- have been tossed about. I've witnesses fake births and fake abortions, real fire and real people suspended on hooks, real women disguised as fake women, and more. At one show, a friend of mine literally passed out when Foxy Cotton, dressed as a pig, was covered in barbecue sauce and sodomized on stage by a man dressed as a farmer. Another friend never had a second chance with a first date who fled after witnessing a fake abortion on stage.

The show has been a birthplace to many performers with their annual "Star Search" competition for new talent, many of whom have gone on to become Trannyshack regulars. Some Trannyshack alumni have gone onto greater international fame, including Justin Bond (Kiki & Herb, Shortbus) and Ana Matronic (Scissor Sisters). The annual Miss Trannyshack Pageant would draw in thousands of people to the Regency Ballroom and other huge San Francisco venues.

But in addition to pushing shock value, Trannyshack has also broken ground by promoting inclusiveness. It's not just drag queens performing, sometimes with real boys as part of their performance's story, but also drag kings as well -- women dressed and performing as men. But more importantly, Trannyshack has always supported faux queens as well -- real women dressed as men pretending to be women. Think Victor/Victoria .

In 2003, faux queen Fauxnique won the Miss Trannyshack Pageant, proving that Heklina was not afraid to push envelopes or make waves by allowing a biological female to win a drag competition. After all, it was a performance competition, not a gender illusion contest. And in 2005, faux king (a boy dressed up as a girl pretending to be a boy) RAndy came in third after a very convincing full-frontal reveal.

Heklina ended Trannyshack's weekly shows at The Stud in 2008, but continued with other special out-of-town events like her annual trips to Reno and Los Angeles. About a year later, Heklina revived Trannyshack in San Francisco as a monthly event at the DNA Lounge. She now holds a monthly Trannyshack event in Portland as well.

Trannyshack wasn't the first event to blur the worlds of drag queens and club kids, but it may be the largest remaining example of it. Its legacy will be not from its willingness to be crass or gross or shocking to get a reaction but rather from its lesson of inclusiveness, where anyone has a chance to perform. Amateurs and experienced performers. Lip-synchers and live singers (and some who are more focused on dance or movement than voice). Men and women, as either women or men, whichever they choose, regardless of their biology. Fake tits, fake dicks, fake blood or vomit (we hope it's fake). Make-up, glitter, leather, lace. In the end, Trannyshack is about being an inclusive venue for self-expression.

These are just a tiny few of the photos I've taken at Trannyshack events. Check out Flickr for nearly 2,000 more Trannyshack photos.

August 16, 2010 in Drag, Performance, Photography | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Flickr Favorites #14: Drag Queens & Drag Shows

San Francisco is home to an amazing diversity of drag styles. It was the birthplace of the Widow Norton's Imperial Court, now an international drag fundraising phenomenon. We have gender illusionists such as the sadly missed Finochio's and the still-extant Asia SF and Donna Sachet's Sunday's a Drag at Harry Denton's Starlight Room. On the other end of the spectrum from the gender illusionists are the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, another fundraising phenomenon of drag nuns who often decline to shave. More gender-fuck than gender-illusion.

And our drag performances vary dramatically, too. Many performers in the Imperial Court are traditionalists, lip-synching standards from Judy, Barba, or Patsy. But we also have many drag performers who sing live, like the Martuni's cabaret crowd. And then there are shows that are more like performance art, where the performance often tells a story, sometimes with an unexpected twist, with the primary intent to shock the audience. Trannyshack and The Monster Show, I'm looking at you!

Of course, although I have taken many, many photos of drag queens and drag shows, photos cannot capture the music and performance the way video can. So rather than showing you event-related photos, let me introduce you to some of the queens who've been a big influence on the BGFH. It should be noted that these are just a fraction of the photos I have of these drag queens, as it is very painstaking to tag each person's name in each individual photo, or even "drag queens" for the a chunk of photos within a larger batch. Cruise through my Flickr photos for more.


Trauma Flintstone	Katya Smirnoff-Skyy
Trauma Flintstone, née Anderthal, is a longtime friend whom I've known since the late 80s before she ever performed publicly in drag. She's among our very talented drag friends who sing live, hosting the live drag show Bijou every second Sunday at Martuni's, and has been in numerous drag shows included the revival of Jungle Redthat we helped produce. At the BGFH, she performed at the Epiphany Party, did the music for the Midsummer Night's Dream fundraiser, and was the hostess and Artistic Director of our Girl Drink Drunk series of fundraisers.	It's so hard to pick a favorite photo of Katya, as there are so many -- she's probably my most photographed drag star -- and she's so damn photogenic. And sings like a nightingale. She is the Russian Opera Diva, singing her own brand of popera: pop songs sung in an operatic style. With a Russian accent. I interviewed Katya when she was first getting started (in my office at the BGFH before there was a stick of furniture!) and am so pleased to see how she's triumphed in this city where new queens emerge every week. She's performed at many of our fundraisers, and has come to many others as a boy guest.


Ethel Merman	Janet Fly
Imagine the songs Ethel Merman might have sung had she lived longer. Especially if she had discovered AC/DC and Steppenwolf. That's the shtick of our dear friend Ethel Merman, who belts out rock-and-rolls songs live, sometimes with her backup band, the Ethel Merman Experience. (You can learn about her experiences recruiting the band in the documentary *24 Hours on Craigslist, for which she is the only friend to win a Cosmique Movie Award*.) Ethel has performed at many of our events, as has her drag twin, Janet Fly. She's performed at many, many of our events and fundraisers, and was our second Miss Big Gay Frat House for the Desperate Divas calendar, a fundraiser for the AIDS Housing Alliance.	Janet Fly of Acid Housewives, a longtime friend and Ethel Merman's alter, has also performed at many of our events, including the Epiphany Party and our very first Girl Drink Drunk. We've traveled to New Orleans and Palm Springs together, gotten drunk together (I love drag queens who drink!), and have become great friends. I'm very fond of her Donna Summers medley with the rest of Acid Housewives, but my very favorite song of hers is her rendition of "River Deep, Mountain High." Janet's husband, Richard, has staged-managed every single one of the events at the BGFH.


Artemis Chase	Charisma Glitterati
Tim and I first saw Artemis Chase perform in New York City, albeit under a different name and it was several years after knowing her in San Francisco before we made the connection. I first met her as a boy in San Francisco; my first exposure to her drag persona was when she arrived for a Cosmique Movie Awards party at the BGFH. I first saw her perform in San Francisco at the Monster Show, where she did her classic "99 Red Balloons" number. At her only performance at the BGFH, she did her infamous "Whitney on Crack" number which helped her claim the title as our very first Miss Big Gay Frat House for the Desperate Divas calendar. Sadly, she has subsequently moved to Portland, giving their drag scene quite the kick in the pants!	We first met Charisma through Artemis, and though she never had a chance to perform at the BGFH, I've taken so many photos of her that I couldn't notinclude her. Charisma is like San Francisco's version of a drag Paris Hilton, appearing everywhere with her entourage and posing for the paparazzi. Well, that is if Paris Hilton gets black-out drunk in seedy bars. When Charisma's home burned down, destroying much of her drag couture, we helped sponsor her All Fired Up fundraiser for the Red Cross. She's gone on to become a Miss Gay San Francisco and was one of my favorite guest hostesses of the sadly missed Lucky Pierre at The Stud.


Donna Sachet	Landa Lakes
In a town filled with queens, Donna Sachet is a genuine Empress. Not the only empress, mind you; she was the thirtieth empress in the San Francisco Imperial Court whose current title-holder is the 45th. But she may well be the best known due to her tireless philanthropic work throughout the City. Donna was the co-emcee of our very first fundraiser, the Balls Out Ball, but my favorite performance of hers was at our third Girl Drink Drunk where she composed an original song (to the tune of "Le Jazz Hot") about the BGFH. I cannot express how touched I was, nor how frustrated I am that it was not videotaped.	Landa first performed at the BGFH at our very first Girl Drink Drunk. When Trauma Flintstone couldn't host our sixth Girl Drink Drunk, Landa was Trauma's first choice to step in to be the guest hostess. When Tim and I first met her as a boy, she was across the bar and we didn't recognize her -- but as soon as we heard her laugh, we knew instantly who it was. She was the original strip poker dealer at the lamented Lucky Pierre, a role that Artemis Chase later took over, and is a former Grand Empress of San Francisco.


Garza Peru	BeBe Sweetbriar
Garza, the cover girl of the very first Desperate Divas calendar, performed at three of our seven Girl Drink Drunk fundraisers, including the very first one (as well as the third and the seventh). She's a prodigious fundraiser and a tireless advocate for AIDS prevention, both in and out of drag. You can often see her performing and hosting fundraisers at Cafe Flore.	In addition to performing at our fourth Girl Drink Drunk, BeBe has attended and promoted many of our other fundraisers as a guest. As Miss Gay San Francisco (as well as Miss Desperate Diva, Desperate Diva Cover Girl, and Desperate Diva Ambassador, all the same year), she probably appeared at dozens of events and fundraisers a week. She's a tireless promoter now hosting a different event almost every night of the week. It's hard to know which bar she calls home because she's hosted events at so many: LookOut, Trigger, The Mix, Harvey's, Trigger, all the way down to the Triple Crown -- and even once at The Cafe, a tough venue to crack into!