San Francisco has a long history of liberalism and permissiveness, especially in matters of a sexual nature. Most assume that this reputation stems from the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s, and the subsequent media attention that the city garnered as a result. In Erotic City, Josh Sides sets aside this notion, and begins his history at the very founding of the city as a major metropolis during the Gold Rush of the
1850s. Miners and industrialists brought a market for prostitution and burlesque shows, and by the 1920s the city was looking for ways to clean up its image, mostly through closing or moving such establishments. As Sides argues, however, time and time again, the desire for the erotic returns even stronger, and the city finds new ways of celebrating sex.
After World War II, San Francisco saw a surge of population growth as military men and women decided to stay in San Francisco instead of moving back home. The influx of newcomers reinvigorated the sex industry in San Francisco, and new forms of public sexual expression—strips clubs, pornography, homosexuality—became visible in the city. This set the stage for the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s and the development of gay and lesbian culture in the 1970s with San Francisco leading the way in both areas. As more conservative citizens fled to the suburbs, San Francisco was quickly taking on a new character, and developing a reputation that lasts until the present day.
As had happened before, the backlash to this new attitude of public sexual permissiveness, coupled with the advance of AIDS, put a damper on the culture of the erotic in San Francisco in the 1980s and 1990s. As had happened before, groups of sexual minorities and those in the sex industry were not held back for long, and rebounded by a push to organize and demand political power. The character of the city began to change as well, moving from the idealism of the 60s to the materialism of the 80s and 90s, and this changed the sexual culture of the city, as well by commoditizing it. Sides concludes Erotic City by arguing that sex and sexual desire have not only shaped the history of San Francisco, but all postwar American cities.
Highly recommended for academic and large public library collections, and smaller collections with a focus on 20th Century American history, urban studies, or queer studies.
Reviewed by, Matthew P. Ciszek
Head Librarian, Penn State Shenango