Voyeuristic images of Athens’ ‘gay porn booths’

Amid the dry heat and frenetic activity of Athens – a city dominated by monuments to antiquity – illicit, private ‘gay porn booths’ which pre-date the advent of the internet still exist, themselves like shrines to another era. These endangered spaces – which used to be more common in cities all over the world but have now become mostly redundant or condemned – still provide a private enclave for sexual encounters in the midst of the very public arena of the city street. According to photographer Helias Doulis, “Their existence thrilled those who wanted to experience the freedom of being themselves among strangers.”

Doulis’ photo project A Faggot’s Destiny explores his fascination with these clandestine, sequestered spaces which still offer chance IRL experiences with unknown individuals. In a conversation over email, the Greek-born photographer describes the allure of Athens’ downtown porn booths and tells us about how he recreated scenes of intimacy within them for his photo shoot. Having gathered together a group of willing strangers, Doulis allowed them to explore the porn booths and shot them using a torch as a searchlight, which he says “felt like hunting for sex fantasies”. 

He also explains the title, A Faggot’s Destiny, which originates from a poem he wrote in 2016. Using the word “faggot” is an act of reclamation and healing for the photographer, whose reappropriation of this term of abuse – hurled at him so frequently during his youth – feels to him like a way of overcoming his oppressors. 

Take a look through the gallery above for a selection of images from A Faggot’s Destiny. Below, we talk with Helias Doulis about the beauty of anonymity, the evolution of gay culture, and the romance, adventure, and adrenaline of Athens’ inner-city gay porn booths with “the smell of pee, the manly cologne, the fear of being recognised”.

Please could you introduce us to the gay porn booths and private cabins depicted in your images? 

Helias Doulis: Sex cinemas have been part of this town [Athens] since the 1980s when erotic movies were not as easy to gain access to. Their existence thrilled those who wanted to experience the freedom of being themselves among strangers; to just observe the shameless lives of others or have an excuse for a quicky under the dim light of a cinema screen. 

I started visiting some of them in London, Paris, and, finally, Athens before I ever thought of shooting in them. Most of them in all countries have now closed down, due to health and safety reasons. What we nowadays call the ‘gay porn booths’ were never really built to secure a safe space of community or acceptance for us, but an opportunity to meet with mostly closeted middle-aged married men who were pretending to be watching straight porn, but occasionally had sex with gay men. 

I strongly believe that they’re still taboo to many. Unfortunately, Greeks were most sexually liberated during antiquity whereas now, sex work is, for most professionals, considered illicit. 

“From the cruising parks to the porn booths, gay culture has entered the gay dating app era, where we no longer have to risk our safety in the woods or the cinemas, but create digital sex memories with strangers who we might never meet in person” – Helias Doulis

Who might you encounter at the booths? Or is it difficult to characterise the people who frequent them?

Helias Doulis: Today’s porn booths are mostly used by middle-aged men, immigrants and some younger gay boys who are curious about an era that might have now faded. In A Faggot’s Destiny, hustlers, athletes, teenagers and businessmen become one raw sexual unit. Their core practice of love, when not seen or judged by others, is documented from a keyhole perspective that observes, yet never interferes or disturbs.

What does the title A Faggot’s Destiny mean to you? How did you come up with the name? Can you tell us about your decision to use a derogatory term? 

Helias Doulis: The title A Faggot’s Destiny comes from a poem of mine written back in 2016 called η μοίρα του πούστη. It‘s about a short love affair between two young men who meet at an outdoor movie theatre in central Athens and then lustfully fuck behind a truck at midnight. 

I thought for once I could call myself the name they used to call me at school when I had no idea what ‘faggot’ really meant. Gay men do use the term often when they refer to other gay men, but it’s the history that differs; it’s the angle and tone of voice that differs. It does feel hypocritical at times, but we’ve come to the other side of the very same bullying spectrum and overcome our oppressors by putting an end to what they once made us feel like by using it. I had to embrace my past and respectfully walk away from it to reach my own destiny.

Can you tell us how you managed to take these photos and gain intimate access to this world?

Helias Doulis: I gathered a group of strangers from lots of work backgrounds. I briefly explained the project to them in order that all participants act themselves and be as real as they wanted to be. I created an environment where the subjects could perform under surveillance. Using a torch to light the private cabins felt like hunting for sex fantasies. I could finally recreate scenes from a cop’s angle when being caught at a cruising park. 

“The poetic loneliness I feel when I enter a booth can’t compare to a random Grindr date” – Helias Doulis

Why did you feel drawn to document the gay porn booths and this world? 

Helias Doulis: I was very little when I watched The Piano Teacher [2001] by Michael Haneke and obsessed over Isabelle Huppert visiting the Parisian private cabins, starring into the camera while sniffing used tissues. I felt drawn to document a scene that I wanted to live myself first. So I did – around 20 years later, in a private cabin in Pigalle, all by myself. I’ll never forget the way a young man looked at me and touched my shoulder while I was looking for a cabin to hide in. I’m a pervert at heart but it’s my eyes that are hungry… my body can wait. 

How do you think technology and other innovations have threatened the existence of the booths? What other threats do they face?

Helias Doulis: The internet has dramatically changed the way people view porn and experience sex nowadays. From the cruising parks to the porn booths, gay culture has entered the gay dating app era, where we no longer have to risk our safety in the woods or the cinemas, but create digital sex memories with strangers who we might never meet in person. Although I refuse to think that they might disappear forever, the poetic loneliness I feel when I enter a booth can’t compare to a random Grindr date. What’s actually threatened, in this case, is the intimacy shared by strangers unafraid to unapologetically live their truth.

What do these spaces represent to you?

Helias Doulis: There is a strange sense of comfort blending with abomination and adrenaline every time I walk into them... the smell of pee, the manly cologne, the fear of being recognised. But this very sense of closeness you get at a place where you somehow find belonging, too.

Why is now the time to take these pictures?

Helias Doulis: I’ve always felt the need to recreate scenes of lost intimacy in my works, to preserve history whether that be at a volcanic island or a downtown porn booth. Celebrating the importance of our bodies rooted to love is a theme I tend to revisit, so I can be part of Stanley Stellar’s gay piers, Bob Mizer’s physique pictorials, or Tom Bianchi’s coastal affairs. These are some of the men who have inspired my work by showcasing the values of a community that is still fighting for human rights in both our streets and bedrooms.

What would you most like to convey about these spaces and their importance?

Helias Doulis: I shot A Faggot’s Destiny almost three years ago, just before the pandemic. I am proud to have photographed men who are proud to be themselves. I am thankful to those who did not fear to pose. Our love is timeless and so are the gay porn booths.