What to know
- Sex clubs, bathhouses, and other such venues are sex-positive spaces where people gather for sexual expression, but also for connection, identity affirmation, community-building, and exploration beyond just sex.
- In Toronto, these spaces are deeply tied to Queer history, including surveillance and resistance, shaped by events like the Bathhouse Raids, which became catalysts for activism and organizing.
- Managers of venues like Oasis Aqualounge and Steamworks Toronto say their spaces focus on consent, harm reduction, sexual health, and inclusive community spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ people.
- Despite lingering misconceptions about being unsafe or purely sexual spaces, operators and experts emphasize they are often structured, consent-focused environments that also support belonging, learning, and community connection.
From sex-positive parties to sapphic-only spaces — and, of course, the Toronto Bathhouse Raids — sex clubs and bathhouses have long played an important role in Queer culture. But why?
To unpack that question, we spoke with a range of voices in Toronto’s nightlife and sexual health communities, including club owners who run consent-forward spaces and a local sexologist who studies intimacy, desire, and community care. They point to these venues as more than just places for sexual connection: they function as sites of belonging, experimentation, and mutual support, particularly for people who have historically been excluded from traditional social or romantic spaces. While 2SLGBTQIA+ communities continue to have to navigate stigma, these spaces offer a place to gather openly, build trust, and explore identity without apology.
So what is a sex club? And are they different from bathhouses?
Sex and relationship expert Dr. Jess O’Reilly told Queer & Now that a sex club is a venue or organized event where folks gather with the understanding that “sexual expression and interaction may occur on-site.” Meanwhile, bathhouses, play parties, fetish events, swinger clubs, dungeons and other spaces may fall under the umbrella of sex clubs, with some exceptions.
“While outsiders may reduce them to places where you go to hook up, many attendees and community members consider them social spaces that facilitate connection, exploration, belonging, identity affirmation and pleasure within and beyond the erotic,” O’Reilly explained.
Sex clubs as a space for Queer community
The expert says that historically, Queer clubs and bathhouses emerged in response to a lack of safe places to meet, but they’ve also been the targets of harassment and police raids.
“The story of Toronto bathhouses isn’t simply about sex. It’s also about surveillance, community resistance and the ongoing struggle for Queer folks to gather safely in public and even private spaces,” she explained.
These dynamics came into sharp focus during a series of bathhouse raids that took place from the 1980s through the early 2000s.
“The 1981 Operation Soap raids and the 2000 Pussy Palace raids remind us that sexual freedom and Queer belonging are not guaranteed,” the expert shared, adding that the galvanizing and organizing in response to these raids make it clear that these spaces have served as sites of resistance and activism.
But now, things have changed. O’Reilly says that instead of a site of protest, today’s sex clubs, bathhouses, and other sex-positive venues are more often geared towards creating a space that is intentional about harm reduction, sexual health promotion, gender affirmation, community building and inclusion.
“While dating apps have, of course, changed how we connect, physical spaces remain particularly relevant for folks who are forced to the margins, as they create space to build community,” the expert shared.
O’Reilly says that these sex-positive spaces are important as they offer 2SLGBTQIA+ communities opportunities to be seen, understood and celebrated, without having to justify who we are.
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“There can be a profound sense of relief in finding folks and spaces where our identities, relationships, desires and forms of expression aren’t othered or devalued,” she explained, adding that gathering spaces such as these also create opportunities for connection and learning across generations and communities.
“While no community space is perfect, Queer sex-positive spaces can offer a rare environment in which authenticity, pleasure and self-determination are valued,” O’Reilly said. “Because feeling at ease in your body, expressing desires and connecting with others with warmth and safety are essential to flourishing, these spaces can play a role in supporting individual and collective well-being.”
While these venues have historically held great value for our community, they do seem to be becoming less popular. But O’Reilly says they are still important, as for some, sex clubs are places of sexual exploration, pleasure and play, while for others, they’re a source of belonging, a place to make friends, and even somewhere to share resources.
“In some cases, they’re huge for sexual health information and organizing,” the sexologist explained. “They’re also a reminder that sexuality and community need not be separate because connection, care, pleasure and belonging are usually intertwined.”
Toronto sex club and bathhouse managers sound off
Located near The Village at Church and Wellesley, self-described sexy social club Oasis Aqualounge is well-known throughout the GTA for hosting Queer-focused events.
Fatima Mechtab is the lead event producer and a co-owner of Oasis. While she has since passed on the baton to other organizers, Mechtab is the founder of the club’s iconic Sapphic Aquatica and Swordplay nights.
Sapphic Aquatica is an exclusive bathhouse event for women, Trans folks, Non-Binary, and Two-Spirit folks that excludes cisgender men. Meanwhile, Swordplay welcomes bisexual and bi-curious men, as well as their lovers. But the second event is open to people of all genders.
“I felt, back when [Swordplay] was being developed, there was a lot of biphobia in different communities,” she explained. “As a bisexual woman, I know that to be true, but particularly in sex clubs that do welcome heterosexual couples, there has been a lot of biphobia towards men, and so we felt that this event was important.”
Meanwhile, having spaces that are dedicated to sapphic and gender diverse communities creates a safe environment that is monitored by club staff and security, away from the male gaze.
“In particular with Sapphic Aquatica, the exclusion of cismen, I think, for many Queer folks, allows for a little bit of a sigh of relief where they can be their full authentic selves without the sort of judgment or the gaze that can come from the cis male contingent,” Mechtab explained.
Echoing O’Reilly, the Oasis co-owner explained that spaces like Oasis are important because they welcome 2SLGBTQIA+ communities to meet, mingle, and experiment.
“We don’t get to see Queer bodies enjoying the type of sex or kink or conversations that mainstream heteronormative society shows, and so Oasis kind of helps open that door,” she shared.
In addition, she says that the venue itself has a long history of being entangled with 2SLGBTQIA+ history and culture.
“Oasis has been the site of supporting the LGBT community forever, even before Oasis itself was created,” she explained, adding that the building her club currently inhabits used to be Club Toronto, a venue with a rich history of hosting bathhouses, being the site of raids, and subsequent Pride protests.
Nestled in the heart of The Village, Steamworks is one of Canada’s largest bathhouses, and is dedicated to men 19 and older. General manager Joe Wilkins agrees with Mechtab, saying that in addition to their historic value, venues like his continue to play an important role in Queer communities.
“We offer a safe, neutral environment where men can meet without the pressures or challenges of hosting in a private space,” Wilkins explained to Queer & Now.
The Steamworks manager said that one of the most interesting things about Steamworks’ clientele is how diverse it is.
“Rather than reflecting only our immediate neighbourhood, our guests come from across Toronto and represent the city as a whole,” he explained. “The fact that so many people return regularly speaks to the important role we play within the community.”
“[Bathhouses] provide a space for sexual expression, foster community connections, and often serve as places where people discover more about themselves and their identities,” he shared.
Sex club misconceptions
Despite venue owners and event organizers striving to create dedicated safe spaces, sex clubs often get a bad reputation. Wilkins explained that a huge misconception about sex clubs and bathhouses is that they are inherently dirty or lack the resources to support safer sex practices.
“Research has shown that many people who hold negative views about bathhouses have never actually visited one,” he explained, adding that Steamworks was designed with cleanliness and hygiene in mind, using durable, non-porous materials such as concrete and stainless steel that are easy to sanitize.
“Combined with our rigorous cleaning standards, this makes the perception of bathhouses as unclean largely inaccurate,” the manager continued, explaining that while standards can vary between facilities around the world, cleanliness and safety are core priorities at Steamworks Toronto, as well as providing access to sexual healthcare.
Mechtab added that another misconception is that everything operates in pandemonium.
“I feel like most people… assume that there’s just wild activity going on, willy nilly, without conversations, without conversations about consent and boundaries,” she explained.
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“I think they may assume that sex clubs are just places where people can be completely like unhinged and wild, like lots of drinking, maybe drug use, things like that, and Oasis Aqua Lounge is none of those things,” Mechtab continued. “We’re probably one of the strictest venues when it comes to consent and etiquette and boundaries, we’re also very conscious of alcohol consumption in our venue.”
She says that another misconception is that everyone who visits one of these adult venues is only going there for sex.
“Not everybody, but some people choose to be in the space because they love the conversations that they can have with like-minded individuals, that they can just express themselves freely in that environment without the risk of being judged,” she explained, adding that while sex can and often does occur, it’s never an expectation.
“I don’t think people should be coming into that space with that expectation, especially people who are attending solo. It is such a social space, as much as it is a sexual space, and it really is a place that engages so many different facets of the sex-positive hub in Toronto and beyond.”
