1917
Cleopatra, starring the silent era’s original sex siren, Theda Bara, is filmed in Dominguez Slough. The film is a sensation but, by the 1930s, is banned because of its overt sexuality. It will eventually spawn other films that challenge sexual mores, groundbreaking films such as Porky’s, Porky’s 2 and Porky’s 16: Mystery on Gonorrhea Ridge.

1950ish to 1960ish
A concrete block of apartments at Magnolia and Ocean is a frequent stop for Navy personnel looking for love—negotiated at a mutually agreed upon price. The apartments, known to locals as “The Jungle,” forever puts to rest the idea that women and seamen don’t mix.

1973
Iconic gay nightclub Club Ripples opens, eventually spawning other great gay and lesbian hotspots such as the Silver Fox and Executive Suite. It will also provide a comforting punch line for straight men—confused and anxious about their strong feelings toward the movies of Jeff Chandler—to taunt each other.

1984
The Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride Parade & Festival debuts offering a wonderful opportunity to celebrate diversity and community, the values we share and the values that make us unique . . . OK, have the squares all gone? Good—PAAAARRRTEEEE!

1992
The Rubber Tree opens on Second Street. The sex emporium’s appearance in the upscale shopping district signals a shift in middle class sexual attitudes. It also reminds me we’re all out of papaya-flavored body lube.

2000
A feral cat colony procreated and thrived in the Boeing facility west of Lakewood Boulevard to the point that when the land was scheduled for redevelopment Boeing announced it would deal with the felines, which now numbered in the hundreds, and destroy them at an animal shelter. That mobilized the strongest force known to men—women in sweatshirts with puffy paint kitties—who protested from across the country, eventually forcing Boeing to relent and opt for a more expensive program of neutering . . . AT WHAT PRICE VICTORY?!

2006
The Long Beach City Council unanimously approves a resolution supporting gay marriage. Why this is in here? Marriage and sex have nothing to do with each other.

Tags: cleopatra, gay marriage, history, Long Beach, ripples, sex, the rubber tree