Sex and saunas is a very British association. Certainly, there are businesses which describe themselves as saunas but are actually a cover for the sex trade, but frankly, it’s not usually all that hard to tell the difference between these businesses and genuine saunas, where the term “getting steamy with someone” means literally.
For the record, yes people can find partners at genuine saunas and yes sometimes people do have sex there, but the same could be said of many places, including (and perhaps especially) popular nightclubs. The truth is that saunas in general and gay saunas, in particular, are great places to take care of both your physical and mental health. Here are 5 fast facts you need to know about them.
Gay saunas are about socializing as much as taking in the heat
Saunas are one of the few places left in the modern world, where you have to leave your gadgets outside, so not can you rest assured that nobody will be using their mobile to take sneaky photos of you, but you can also be assured that people will be happy to talk to you. For sure, some may try to find out if you’re available and interested, but, that’s going to happen anywhere and if you’re not available and/or not interested, you can expect that to be treated with respect. Gay saunas are definitely a great place to catch up on local gossip, but they’re more than that, they’re a place where you can talk openly about anything that’s on your mind and expect to have people listen and make helpful and/or sympathetic comments.
Gay saunas are for all identifying men
You’ll probably find your fair share of tasty hunks in your local sauna for the simple reason that anyone who knows anything about fitness knows just how useful saunas are from a health and wellness perspective, especially for keeping athletes’ muscles in good condition. You will, however, also find men of all shapes, sizes and degrees of fitness as well as sexual persuasions (gay, bi, queer), so you needn’t be worried that you’ll be the only average-shaped human baring your all amongst a crowd of muscle men or that you’ll struggle to fit in socially.
Gay saunas are places you can safely visit alone
If you want to take one or more of your friends with you to the sauna because you all enjoy it, then you’ll all be welcome, alternatively, you’ll be quite safe and just as welcome going by yourself. As previously mentioned, there are always people happy to chat in a gay sauna, but if you just want some peace and quiet that will be respected too. One of the great advantages of saunas, as compared to full-on steam rooms, is that you can actually read in them. Just remember that whatever you read needs to be on old-fashioned paper, your Kindle or other electronic reading device has zero chance of surviving a trip to a sauna. Many saunas provide newspapers, some provide actual books and, of course, you can always bring your own. You can also try some meditation in the quiet and peaceful atmosphere or just sit and think (or daydream).
Gay saunas are very safe spaces where sex does, sometimes, happen
Contrary to what you may well see on film or TV, it is in the highest degree unlikely that you are going to run into Russian spies (or any other sort of spies), Mafiosi, drug dealers or indeed anyone else of that sort using the dark and steamy atmosphere of a sauna as a cover for their dodgy dealings. You will occasionally find people hooking up in saunas because that is the sort of thing which can happen when a group of adults get together anywhere and, very occasionally, people will have sex in the sauna itself although even when they do it tends to be very discrete and it’s far more common for people to partner up in the actual sauna and then go somewhere more private when they want to have sex, partly out of respect and partly out of practicality when it comes to practicing safe sex, on the subject of which, most gay saunas will, at least, have a condom machine, some will have lube, private rooms etc.
Gay saunas are some of the most relaxing places around
Leaving aside the well-known therapeutic benefits of steam and the fact that many saunas will offer a range of other health and wellness services, such as massage, gay saunas are hugely relaxing places to be for the simple reason that they are places where you can just be who you are and know that you will be accepted for who you are. In a world where there is just so much going on and, frankly, so many challenges and day-to-day stresses for people to deal with, they are offline, gadget-free safe spaces, where you can, if you wish, interact with people the old-fashioned way or just have some peaceful “me time”.
