Gay Beach at Dolores Park

When the sun shines bright in San Francisco, a whole lot of gays living close to the Mission District congregate to "Gay Beach" located at the Southwest corner of Dolores Park. I always knew that homosexuals worshiped the sun at the top of the hill. Still, to put myself in the middle of that hot mess, that was an experience I put off until only recently. 

Let's begin with what I was wearing: a V-neck white t-shirt, light blue shorts, Ray Ban sunglasses, tan messenger bag and light blue Haviana flip-flops.

What was everybody else wearing? Nothing. Well, at least as close as you can get to wearing nothing and being socially acceptable in the public eye. Seeing as we're talking about San Francisco's gay community, "socially acceptable" in the public eye has various interpretations.

The only reason I went to "Gay Beach" was because I was meeting a friend of mine from high school who was in town for the weekend. Immediately upon arriving I discovered I was horribly over dressed -- that means I wasn't wearing a Speedo or briefs. As I lay down my blanket on the grass, I was so flustered that I spilled my water bottle. After all, the guy sitting right next to me was in a Speedo with a waxed chest and inner thigh. (Inner thigh! That's like, well, really, really, really, really gay...)

While I could write an entire blog post about gay men and waxing, what intrigued me more was the kind of people that chose to come to this sacred place on a sunny Sunday afternoon. 

Like most people in San Francisco, everyone at the exclusively gay section of Dolores was friendly -- perhaps a little too friendly. First their was the group of guys in front of me (with a full bar in their coolers) drinking and pouring water on their bodies to reveal the outline of their penis. Then there was the skinny Asian, daring to wear a tight number, refusing to sit down so that everyone could observe his sexually suggestive state. (Remember, I'm fully dressed taking in the whole experience like I'm at some gay themed Disneyland.) 

Nevertheless, I'm intrigued at how a section of a public park is used as yet another cruising territory for gay men in San Francisco. It's almost as if the same people who go clubbing at night come to Dolores Park during the day to worship the sun -- while still trying to get laid. But if you're like me and looking to relax in the California sunshine, so long as you remember that the eye candy is simply that, there's a lot to experience on the Southwest corner of Dolores Park.