Dark Room

A dark room – also known as backroom or blackroom – is a play room where generally the lights are more dimmed and it is used for sexual encounters between people. The interactions can be anonymous, but at some play parties it is used as a sex positive space where other spaces are more moderate in sexual activity. Dark rooms can be found in nightclubs, sex clubs, gay bars, bathhouses, saunas, and adult stores. Sometimes they are also created at adult fairs or other adult events as a temporary space for visitors. Many dark rooms are oriented towards anonymous encounters and often this includes unprotected sex. Due to this, a lot of them were closed in public places due to the AIDS epidemic in the 80's. ### Origins of the Term Initially it was a common feature in gay bars in the 60's and 70's. It was dark and hidden due to the gray area in the law where these may or may not have been allowed. Due to the low lighting in those venues, it was compared to the "dark room" used for film development and took the same name.