It was another Folsom Street Fair for the history books in San Francisco last weekend. Over 400,000 fetishists, kinksters, BDSM aficionados, freaks, and onlookers turned out for the annual event.
Related: PHOTOS: Lost Tourists Wander Into Folsom Street Fair & More From The Wild Weekend
This year’s fair featured over 200 exhibitor booths showcasing fetish gear and toys, a massive live stage with top-name indie, electronic and alternative acts, two huge dance areas spinning underground EDM, public play stations, and an erotic artists’ area with a sick and twisted performance stage.
Scroll down for photos from this year’s festivities…
Geeker
Classy bunch
BriBri
A veritable freak show.
baal61
Bizarre’ but to each his own’ elitist bunch.
baal61
San Francisco’ stinks like a sewer’ elitist gentrified’ no middle class’ boring I’ lived there 14 yrs’ people used to care about each other’ Saint Francis’ would cringe at what it is now!
JPDonahue
The judgmental, snide comments here are exactly what’s wrong with the so-called gay community. They read like trump supporters.
truckproductions
Agreed.. everyone wants acceptance but only for themselves.. whenever someone presents differently than they do, suddenly they’re a “freak show” well guess what entitled fools? not too long ago YOU were considered a freak show just for being openly gay. grow up
Doug
Both of you… if there were a “thumbs up” I would have added it to your postings. I think you forgot to add there’s quite a bit of sour grapes in these responses too. I see nothing in these photos that shows “degradation” any more than what I see regularly on Queerty, and most of the people posting are drooling all over those. I’m sick and tired of listening to unhappy, bitter queens run each other down to feel better about themselves, meanwhile whining about how they’re being discriminated against for being gay. What a mess of low self-esteem our community is. Stop judging and get into therapy, people.
baal61
There was a time’ briefly at the end of the plague yrs where gay men stood up and took responsibility for each other and their community’ during all dying’ acknowledged the stigma’ within gay ranks’ but now San Francisco’ is elitist’ overpriced’ populated mostly by self serving snobs. Any community that exist now’ of special interest. Gentrification has destroyed the fabric of diversity there.
Prax07
So if some of us don’t support the disgusting degradations or perversions on display at places like Folsom then we’re like Trump supporters? I’m ok with that, because it’s displays like Folsom that set us back, that make “straight” lawmakers and John Doe from middle America look at that and say these people are disgusting pigs that don’t deserve equality or rights. And not talking about most of the pics featured here, it’s the ones posted elsewhere that are a lot more graphic of what goes on at events like Folsom.
Charlie in Charge
John Doe from middle America can sit on a traffic cone for all we care. If John Doe thinks people don’t deserve equal rights because some people like to be paddled or dress like a schnauzer then John Doe can take a look at his own life and try to figure out when he got to be so hateful.
The accusations you make are the same ones people made about gay pride parades. I don’t go to Folsom, it’s definitely not my thing but why can’t these folks have a good time in an adults-only space?
Esscourt
Yup. I agree. Why don’t they have it inside a large venue? This does not belong on the street! And I voted for Hilary!
geb1966
John Doe from Podunk and those straight lawmakers are gonna hate you, with or without events like Folsom. Just because you may be so eager to assimilate, doesn’t mean every one should to make it easier for you to kiss straight people’s asses. The LGBT community has always been about expressing yourself however you want without restraints from the straight community. Check your history, dude. The movement has ALWAYS been moved forward by those who DIDN’T comply.
jhon_siders
Too much a fashion show like IML has become and too many drag queens and poofters I went many times years ago it was much more leather/SM centered .
judysdad
Hard to believe I actually used to attend the FSF. Now I find it mostly embarrassing.
Doug
I doubt they’re missing you.
Prax07
Maybe you should learn to read before posting? I said I was referring to pics posted from Folsom street on other sites. Fisting, whipping, walking down the street like a dog on all fours being led on a chain, public sex, etc.
I’m not drooling over these sicko’s, I’m not bitter because I want to be fed dog food with a rubber tail hanging out of my butt. It’s displays of these perverts that’s holding equality back. I want the basic right to walk down the street and hold hands with a guy, not the right to walk down the street on all fours led on a chain, in a g-string, being whipped by a “master” and fisted on the corner. If you can’t see the difference then it’s you that has the problem.
Sam6969
There was public fisting in the street?
Goforit
Let’s see….. You are so disgusted by the fantasy sex lives of others that you go to the trouble of seeking out photos on other sites so that you can complain about them on this site. “Me thinks the lady doth protest to much.”
seaguy
I bet hardly any of your haters calling it elitist and a freak show have never even been. Sad that your so quick to judge and so close minded.
I would have loved to have been there to people watch especially some of the hot men.
scooter12
What a bunch of rude guys! YOU are the one’s who embarrass the gay community! I live in San Francisco, have for 30 years. The Folsom Street Festival, while a very small subset of local culture (which, by the way, is a FETISH FESTIVAL, and straights attend also) is a tradition. Like events where doctors and lawyers let loose and ‘become’ a Harley Davidson biker for a weekend, the same goes with Folsom….for most it’s simply a retreat from their own boring lives for a weekend. You also fail to mention that they raise a TON of money for charities, provide free HIV and STD testing, and are friendly and welcoming to everyone…more than half of those that attend are fully dressed in regular street clothes, and a third are straight. They are certainly less judgmental that the rude people posting here.
baal61
Whack! Scoot along.
Spike
Wow, what a boring set of pics. So typically Queerty sanitized. Clearly you have to go in order to experience the refreshingly fringe side of kink the Fair brings out . . . gay and STRAIGHT and everything in between! The two chicks with dicks were so much fun!
Prax07
You’re comparing doctors letting loose by riding motorcycles to this fetish freakfest? You’re the one that needs mental help if you see both things as the same.
Prax07
I don’t care how much these freaks raise for “charities”, they’re damaging to any progress in showing we aren’t all perverts & deviants. And big whoop about free std or hiv testing, everyone attending Should be tested from the look of things going on there.
Geeker
If it were straight people having sex in public I’d judge them to, do what you want, just don’t do it in public.