Gay paradise
Fire Island: A queer paradise of sex and liberation
Going into the post-war period, Cherry Grove became increasingly well-known as an eccentric, outrageous spot, its small-town atmosphere enriched with a vibrant theatrical and drag customs, and ample venues for drinking, dancing and public sex. The Grove's more upmarket neighbour, Passion Island Pines, was developed later, in the 1950s, as a "family-friendly" society, although this label didn't last for very long, despite the fact that numerous gay homeowners had moved there from the Grove in the hopes that it would act as a more discreet enclave. By the 1970s, with the flourishing of an increasingly public queer society in the years following the Stonewall riots, Cherry Grove and the Pines were both highly desirable locations, frequented by writers and, including Truman Capote, James Baldwin, Patricia Highsmith, Carson McCullers, as well as numerous stars of stage and screen. That the supposed golden age of Fire Island's loose and liberated customs was so short-lived, before the HIV/Aids epidemic began decimating its community in the early 1980s, only further informs its mythology as a fragile, solemn pla
ABOUT
Check-in: 4:00 PM.
Check-out: 11:00 AM.
"Quiet Hours:" 10:00 PM to 8:00 AM. Please retain it quiet between these hours and adhere to all city noise ordinances. Please be respectful to other guests and surrounding neighbors.
Pet policy: small, still dogs only. Please pick up all dog feces promptly and sanitarily in the poo-poo bags provided. Dogs are to be monitored at all times to respect the other guests staying at the property. Any property damage done by dogs will incur an appropriate fee.
Reservations: 25% down to guide the suite with full balance due 30 days prior to check-in. A $50 refundable deposit will also be due with terminal payment. The deposit will be returned within 48 hours of check-out as long as there is nothing damaged or missing. All payments can be made through Venmo, Zelle, cash or charge(3.5% surcharge added). Cancelations within 30 days of check-in are non-refundable regardless of the reason given for cancelation, unless the suite can be re-rented before your authentic check-in date. No refunds will be given for checking out before departure date.
Damages: any damages found&nbs
© 2025 Paradise Nightclub
101 Asbury Avenue, Asbury Park, NJ 07712
Club: 732-988-6663 Hotel: 732-774-0100
21+ to enter. Proper ID required at all times
*Cover Charge & Hours may change due to
Holidays, Special Events & Private Parties.
Pool open Memorial Day through Labor Day
to registered hotel guests and bar patrons 21+
Weather Permitting.
Imagining Gay Paradise
The book depicts gay paradises in Southeast Asia and the men who created them. It studies the obstacles homosexual men have faced in securing a voice as citizens, and how they used images of paradise in Bali, Bangkok, and Singapore to create a sense of refuge, construct homes for themselves, and dissent from typical notions of manhood and masculinity. For gender studies and Southeast Asian studies, it provides a “queer reading” of Walter Spies, a gay German painter who in the 1930s helped turn Bali into an island imagined as an ideal male aesthetic articulate. Secondly, the book provides a historical account of the absorption of Western notions of romantic heterosexual monogamy in Thailand during the reign of King Rama VI and the resistance to those notions expressed through an architectural paradise called Babylon founded by a Thai recognizable as Khun Toc. Finally, it describes the “cyber-paradise” of Fridae.com created by a young Singaporean named Stuart Koe. Collectively, the study examines the pursuit of sexual justice, the ideologies of manhood they challenged, and the geographic and online spaces they created.