New Books Network S2. S6. Night at the Baths
Sep 16, 2025
Lucas Hilderbrand, a Professor of Film and Media Studies at UC Irvine and author of "The Bars Are Ours," dives into the roots of disco within the 1970s gay club scene. He reveals how venues like the Continental Baths and the Paradise Garage forged iconic DJ careers while shaping LGBTQ culture. The conversation illuminates the intersection of nightclub life and activism, celebrating the vibrant history of gay bars as spaces of refuge and creativity, ultimately highlighting how these venues not only influenced music but also defined identities.
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Inclusion Was Contested In Gay Bars
- "The Bars Are Ours" signals both desire for inclusion and contested exclusions within gay bars.
- Lucas Hilderbrand shows bars often excluded women, trans people, and people of color despite claims of belonging.
Music Defines Who Shows Up
- Music shapes who attends a venue and how community forms on the dance floor.
- Hilderbrand notes DJs and playlists create space-specific social dynamics and change a bar's demographics.
Sex Clubs Policed Masculinity
- Sex clubs enforced strict masculine codes, banning 'disco drag' to police gender performance.
- Hilderbrand links this policing to a 1970s reclaiming of masculinity that also enforced toxic norms.
