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It’s the innocuous doorway under the arches in Vauxhall that you wander past on your weekend jaunts. To most of gay London, it’s one of the scene’s most famous fetish venues, often used in casual reference to illicit sexual misadventures, even by those who have never visited. To its customers, The Hoist is a bastion of sexual proclivity, steadfastly defiant in the face of encroaching gentrification. An oft-overlooked champion of queer sexual liberation, the venue celebrates its 18th birthday next weekend, and is the subject of a new documentary, ‘Age of Consent’, at this year’s BFI Flare London LGBT Film Festival.

 


It’s easy to dismiss The Hoist as ‘just a sex club’ where sleazy guys go to get their rocks off, or indulge in whatever rubber, leather, sports or nude fetish they have. And, yes, in many ways, it is all that – and unashamedly so. You see The Hoist has never apologised for not being ashamed of gay sex. Whilst right wing Conservatives and middle-ground liberals jump on gay marriage and demand equality, they are still quick to shun other aspects of gay men’s lives that provide a less ‘wholesome’ image.

But here’s a badly kept secret: gay men have sex, and often a lot of it. (Generally more than their heterosexual counterparts, at least.) That means cocks go up bums, and in mouths. Other things go up bums and in mouths, too: tongues, dildos, fingers, fists. Not all the time (if at all) mind you, because the sex of gay men comes in the form of all manner of different preferences. It is sometimes loving, sometimes rough, sometimes aggressive, sometimes anonymous, sometimes monogamous, sometimes polyamorous. I could go on. The sexual identity of gay men is as diverse as each and every gay man. No different to heterosexuals, really. Only gay men are often more ‘public’ or honest about it.

But the sexual freedom we enjoy today was once, not so long ago, illegal. Male homosexual activity was only fully decriminalized as recently as 2003. Up until then, you could be arrested for engaging in the perfectly natural activity that is fucking. Running a sex or cruise club was a constant battle with local authorities and the police.

“The law around public sexual encounters was at best vague, at worst discriminatory,” says one of The Hoist’s co-founders, Guy Patrick Irwin, in the documentary ‘Age of Consent’.

“Some things will never change. Like big dicks. Or well dressed Top guys that know what they want and how to get it!”

His business partner, Unkut Kurt, concurs: “It was a very brave move to open The Hoist. In many ways you could say it was a defiant protest against the way in which the police and the courts were criminalizing same sex behaviour. The Hoist got away with it, because at the time the LGBT community was highly politicised and highly mobilised… The police stepped back with when and how they intervened. And that’s the context in which The Hoist got away with having public sex on the premises.”

Speaking in Age of Consent, human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell believes that The Hoist is underrated in its position as one of the few reminders of gay sexual independence, a place to escape from the expectations and dictats of heteronormative life. “The Hoist was this glorious, irreverent, sacrilegious queer space for perverts, deviants, faggots, dissidents. The people that didn’t fit in to the nice squeaky clean image that so many gay people wanted to cultivate,” Tatchell says with a wry smile and rebellious glint in his eye. “It was the place for the sexual outlaw.”

“I hope that we made a little contribution to make Britain a fairer and better place for gay men who are into BDSM and fetish,” reflects Unkut Kurt.

It’s remarkable to see the changes that have swept through London in the past eighteen years. The Hoist opened in 1996. A year later New Labour came into power. In the years that followed we saw the abolishment of Section 28, the full decriminalisation of gay sex, the introduction of Civil Partnerships and just last year, the Coalition government introduced gay marriage.

As the gay scene evolved, the traditional ‘Tom of Finland’ fetish image evolved too, giving way to sportswear and the massively successful naked theme parties. “The fetish scene has grown and grown since The Hoist first opened 18 years ago,” Unkut Kurt tells me. “There are loads of new fetishes around. Hot stuff like neoprene, nasty pig, pup play, sneakers – hot shit like that! And the boys are more daring and more creative and playful than ever. Last week in the club, we had a group of hot rubber guys all in their twenties. They combined rubber chaps, rubber jocks and boots with sneakers. That looked hot! What is also fun to see is how much, erm, in demand old style leather daddies still are in the club. A lot of guys are looking for someone to take charge. And The Hoist is the only club to find that.”

The venue has stood defiant in the face of all this change, be it political, social, cultural or sexual.

It’s still standing after the UK’s worst recession of recent times. And it’s even still here in the face of easy-sex access apps and websites. “I prefer to come out and socialize than stay at home staring at an app that might tell me my nearest homosexual is 100 yards away,” states customer David Regan, aka Mr Eagle 2013. “My nearest homosexuals are right here, I don’t need an app to tell me that!”

Vauxhall continues to evolve, and luxury flats, supermarkets and coffee shops emerge. London may be changing all the time, but one thing remains certain: men will always want to meet other men, in person, for sex. And The Hoist will continue to deliver just that.

 

• The Hoist 18th Birthday Weekend is at The Hoist (South Lambeth Road, Vauxhall, SW8) from Friday 28th-Sunday 30th March.
• ‘Age of Consent’ is being screened at the BFI Flare – London LGBT Film Festival, www.bfi.org.uk/flare

 

Photo: Franc-off Godevi

 

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