Los angeles gay hustler bars

Gay America in the 60s was a culture that was still criminalised and stigmatised and its underground status was, of course, fertile ground for those wishing to exploit or brutalise gay men and for those earning a living through sex working. But it was also a culture in transition and Rechy captures some of this and his writing about the Los Angeles Donut Riot is a piece of history I knew nothing about.

Vinyl Fetish

This riot took place the best part of a decade before Stonewall and could be considered the origins of the LGBT rights movement. LA law at the time dictated that if your gender presentation did not match the gender on your ID you would be taken to jail and LGBT people were subject to campaigns of entrapment, intimidation and violence.

Cooper donuts however was well known for welcoming trans and gender diverse customers alongside drag queens, sex workers and others who were not welcomed in other venues and partly due to this visibility was subject to regular police raids, where numerous attendees had previously been arrested. There were rules that you must wear at least three items of clothing that match your legal gender.

Terry Potter June