• Log in
    NewsVoicesExpertsEat & DrinkTravelogueExclusivesTravel TipsPrint IssueVideoOut 100
    ADVOCATEOUTPridePLUSADVOCATE CHANNELThe Pride Store
    SubscribeSubscriber ServicesEmail Newsletter Signup
    CONTACTCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
    © 2023 Pride Publishing Inc.
    All Rights reserved
    OutTravelerOutTraveler

    Tom Bianchi's Vintage Polaroids Capture Fire Island's Historic Queer Haven

    Out.Com Editors
    07/03/17
    Scroll To Top

    By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.

    Accept

    Tom Bianchi's Fire Island

    Tom Bianchi's Fire Island

    New York’s Fire Island today has become a superficial summer escape from city life, but for generations of queers before us, the 36 mile-long paradise off the coast of Long Island was a more serious refuge from everyday homophobia. This forgotten history has been chronicled in Fire Island Pines, Throckmorton Fine Art’s new exhibit featuring photography by Tom Bianchi, who documented the free-spirited community in its “golden” age. 

    “The world we were living in disregarded us and called us perverts,” Bianchi told VICE. “So the brilliance of Fire Island was that it was built by those people who imagined a different world and set out to create it. We carved out the tiniest little place just for ourselves, where we could be safe and laugh and play with one another on the beach, and not have any negative judgement surrounding us.”

    In the heat of the AIDS epidemic, as many as 10,000 queers would flee 60 miles east of Manhattan to openly celebrate their sexuality at afternoon "Tea Dances" and bacchanals. For many visitors, Fire Island was the only place they could be emotionally and physically intimate with same-sex lovers—something as simple as holding hands was socially taboo back in the city, and could result in blackmail, lost jobs or fully destroyed reputations. 
     
    Bianchi's lens highlights not only a warm liberation of gay romance, but a widespread rise in traditional male sex appeal, which the photographer argues was a response to years of queers being socially ostracized and called "pansies" by the straight community. "Suddenly this really beautiful community of men emerged, and they all boarded planes, trains, or buses to Fire Island every weekend," he said, pointing his polaroid camera at sculpted men in speedos. 
     
    Keep clicking to see a preview of Throckmorton's exhibit—on display through September 16—and click here to purchase Bianchi's official book, Fire Island Pines: Polaroids 1975-1983.
    close button
    New YorkFire Island
    Replay Gallery

    More Galleries

    Out Traveler's Guide to Essential Gear for Winter
    Travel Gear
    Badge
    gallery

    Winter Wanderlust: Essential Gear for Cozy and Stylish Out Travelers

    November 28 2023 7:40 AM
    Photo Gallery IMsLBB 2023 International Ms Leather Boot Black Competition Weekend Event
    New Jersey
    Badge
    gallery

    55+ Pics From the 2023 International Ms. Leather Bootblack Competition Weekend Event

    November 06 2023 5:25 PM
    Photo Gallery HRC Chefs for Equality
    Non-topics
    Badge
    gallery

    ​17 Mouthwatering Pics of LGBTQ+ Solidarity at HRC's Chefs for Equality Event

    November 06 2023 8:30 AM
    Look Inside Elton John Peachtree Condo Atlanta Sold Sothebys
    Non-topics
    Badge
    gallery

    Elton John's Atlanta Condo Sells For $7.2M: 4 Bedrooms, Sweeping Views, Massive Closet

    November 02 2023 5:50 PM
    Michael and Matt’s LGBTQ+ Guide to Osaka
    Japan
    Badge
    gallery

    Michael and Matt’s LGBTQ+ Guide to Osaka

    November 01 2023 5:27 PM
    Paymon's Lounge
    Las Vegas
    Badge
    gallery

    Check Out These Unbelievable Drinks At Paymon's Lounge

    October 26 2023 5:00 AM