A Cultural History of Gay Motorcycle Clubs in the US

The Satyrs Motorcycle Club is the oldest continuous operating gay motorcycle club in the United States. Established in 1954 in Los Angeles and still going strong, they have become one of the best known gay MCs in the country. When we look at such an MC, we are looking at more than just the history of the time and the club. We are also looking at such themes and issues as camp, bricolage, and identity politics on the one hand, and questions of sexual orientation, real or imagined, overt or covert, latent or manifest, on the other. We are looking at how the nexus of two identities – gay and motorcyclist – self-imposed as well as imposed by society at large, plays out in public and private… read more >