Veronica Vera Writes . . .

1980s-90s Journalism Archives

8 MIN READ

My first visit to Plato’s Retreat was in 1978 when the new swing club attracted throngs. Plato’s moved to a huge new location across from a MacDonald’s on W.34th street. Folks joked Plato’s could also boast that it served millions. Some couples claimed it saved marriages.By 1985 founder Larry Levenson was in jail, and A.I.D.S. struck fear in the population. Plato’s “Night of the Unusual” was a last hurrah.…Read More

14 MIN READ

Show World Emporium was the beating heart or really, the throbbing clit of New York’s commercial sex center. I often interviewed the performers who worked there. On this day, I decided to join the labor force and be a booth baby.…Read More

11 MIN READ

My in-depth look at Manhattan’s large and lively scene once known in 1986 as ‘she-male’ subculture, including a meeting with Angie Extravaganza and members of the Harlem ball families…Read More

17 MIN READ

October, 1982. At a wild birthday party for a muscleman in the dungeon of a dominatrix I met Jared Rutter, a shy fellow who loved my stories.He asked to interview me for Adam the sex magazine he edited.Thus began a lifelong friendship and a dozen years of my column “Veronica Vera’s New York.” Here’s that interview.
…Read More

11 MIN READ

I re-examine the wild side of the city under the searching guidance of my friend Italian pornologist Michele Capozzi… “Don’t call me a journalist,” said my friend Michele Capozzi. “I am an ‘urban explorer’.”  Actually his business card listed about thirty occupations including author, go-go boy, gigolo, producer…. But urban explorer was the most appropriate.…Read More

9 MIN READ

Along with Seka “the platinum princess”, Al Goldstein,and other experts, I accepted our government’s invitation to enlighten a Senate Judiciary Committee on the true status of women in pornography. This testimony became part of the infamous Meese Commission Report of 1985 and added my erotica to the Congressional record.…Read More

5 MIN READ

Sometimes you don’t know a part of the city until a tourist comes to visit. I’m sure I would have eventually found my way to Belle De Jour’s S/M fantasy theatre but a horny Frenchman hastened my arrival. I returned on other occasions, once with a foot fetishist in tow.…Read More