Chiseled Orchids

Chiseled Orchids is a book about the heroes of the sexual and cultural undergrounds in San Francisco during the 1990's. AIDS is in full swing and the streets of San Francisco are empty of gay men above a certain age, an entire generation wiped out by a virus that spread through intimacy. It was a terrifying time. In response young gay men threw ourselves at life intensely despite everything that was arrayed against us. Here are snapshots of the formation of a defiant queer culture manifested through moments of glamour, savagery, sexual grace, and humor, with the specter of AIDS the subtext of every intimate encounter. These are moments captured in amber from the fringes of queer life during that pivotal period. It is brutally honest, raw, and explicit. Consider yourselves warned.