The bathhouse is one of those places that almost all men are aware of, with a curiosity that tends to remain more subliminal than anything else. Describing it as a male only sauna provides a certain cover to what really goes on, as a female only sauna is not a place for uninhibited sex. Calling a bathhouse a gay sauna seems imprecise, though.
For most bathhouses I have visited, gay sauna does not fit well as a description. This is not to say that rampant sex between men does not occur at such saunas. Nor deny that the reason such places are visited by so many is the opportunity to get off surrounded by other horny men. A bathhouse provides a place for men to get naked with other like minded men, without any concern that anyone inside is uninterested in male only sex.
A willing mouth sliding down a stiff shaft always feels entrancingly fantastic, and whether a man's or woman's is a trivial distinction. A distinction that becomes meaningless as soon as the cock sucking starts. At the baths, one learns how this is often equally meaningless when repeatedly giving in to those heavenly sensations, whether to the first or third cock sucker during a single encounter or over an entire visit as it becomes impossible to keep track of how many mouths have gone down on you. One of the more satisfying discoveries to be made at the baths is how wonderfully often an erect cock will be skillfully sucked.
A jutting cock is its own signal to those that see - or feel - its hardness. If a cock is hard, it is unlikely to resist a soft wet mouth sliding down its length or being guided into a lubed waiting hole. Men at a bathhouse have no need for doubts when it comes to playing with other men, just a certain sense of something like tact, with an easy acceptance of rejection. The reason to learn about rejection is that there will be times you will be the one rejecting a stranger's interest.
That all men know what being hard means is one of the primary factors explaining how the bathhouse becomes a place where everyone is free to enjoy a thoroughly shared sexual atmosphere. Being naked allows more directness, with plenty of ways to approach partners that do not involve anyone needing to be already erect. Getting hard with someone is also exquisite, much like having a group grow, losing track of how many people you are involved with.
The steam room is particularly suited for this to occur after wandering inside. You may pass a man whose hand starts to slide along your uncovered thigh, making you pause long enough to know he is interested in playing with your exposed cock. As his touch makes your cock swell, he easily draws you closer. Only slowly realizing he is guiding your shaft towards a kneeling man's lips after it starts to occur, already in a threesome, stroking the now available cock of the man beside you, slippery with the spit of the man going down on you.
Depending on circumstances, possibly a fourth man approaches as the kneeling man is sucking two strangers together. He may decide to kneel too, or have his cock approach the cock sucker's mouth, or start running a hand over and under your ass, fondling your balls as you feel his body press against yours. Whatever happens will be heavenly, and if a fifth or sixth man approaches, having them add to the pleasure is part of the thrill of getting off like this. Numbers are not precise when it happens, and unimportant when surrendering to the opportunity to have mouth after mouth on your willing cock, beyond thinking as it occurs. Aware only of blissfully floating in a sea of group sex, something only possible when in a group.
The straightforward ability of men to actively indulge in sex with multiple strangers is something that women do not understand, apart from fantasy. Fantasies normally involving a certain aspect of submission, not a reality of sexual freedom among equals. I have no personal experience of a sex club, but from talking with women who do, it is rare to find single women, and those who arrive with a man generally expect the man to be in charge of what happens.
This is not talking about roles or preferences, but of an underlying difference. Such as the fact that women are rarely as quickly turned on as men, and generally much less motivated by seeing sex around them. A first time baths visitor is already aware of what happens inside, a fact that will be confirmed by the person at the counter before being admitted to a new bathhouse. An awareness that is the underlying reason for taking that initial step into an unknown yet intriguing sexual world.
The first time is much like the first time entering a sex shop after turning old enough, desire overriding apprehension about being seen entering a place where sex is the overt reason to be there. Being hesitant when looking around, trying to not show that you are getting turned on looking at hard core magazine covers. Covers depicting a wide variety of sexual activity, explicitly exciting. Then working up the courage to buy one in a turned on haze, cock erect as you pay, beyond caring if anyone knows how horny you are.
Later, both simply by reflecting and by visiting a couple of different sex shops when opportunity arises as you get older, you recognize that most men have gone to sex shops, for exactly the same reasons as yourself. Unsurprisingly, single women or couples in such sex shops were an exceedingly rare occurrence, especially since the main focus in decades past was on magazines and video booths, porn intended for a male clientele.
A clientele that was often furtive, in part because of a certain embarrassment being in a seedy place, one that is essentially exclusively male. Where explicit porn is openly displayed, with the clear appeal of jacking off while looking at it, either at home with a new magazine, or in a video booth. An appeal equally obvious to all the customers, that being the attraction in the first place. Yet something also generally not acknowledged, the most likely reason being that most of the men inside are not gay, but they are all horny. And the hornier you get, the more ideas that start to flow through your imagination.
This furtive atmosphere does not exist once inside a bathhouse. Someone might be initially nervous about going into the unknown, but for anyone already familiar with what happens after leaving the locker room, entering various areas is something straightforward, not secretive. Watching is completely accepted in public spaces. Nothing is hidden, though in various dim areas, sounds may be more reliable than sight as to what is happening within. Booths do offer privacy if desired, but over the years, I have had threesomes inside larger or smaller ones, or left the door open, leading to having sex with different men over an hour.
