Lesbian bars have operated for more than a century as community posts, political organizing grounds, and sanctuaries. In the 1980s, an estimated 200 lesbian bars existed across the United States, while the current number is only a few dozen. A grassroots tour chronicles the stories of remaining lesbian bars across the country, using immersive interviews with bar owners, staff, and regulars. Recent claims that lesbian bars are dying are contrasted with findings that many visited places are thriving. These spaces sustain queer communities through decades of change and challenges. The accounts connect queer history and queer lives to lessons about living openly, cultivating connection, and continuing to take up space.
"Lesbian bars are so much more than a place to get a drink. For over a century, they've acted as community posts, political organizing grounds, and sanctuaries. Yet whereas in the 1980s there were an estimated 200 lesbian bars across the US, the current count sits at a few dozen."
"Recent narratives have claimed lesbian bars are dying, but Karp's group finds many of the places they visit to be thriving, their communities sustaining themselves over decades of change and challenges. Weaving together over 100 hours of immersive interviews with bar owners, staff, and regulars, Karp creates a heartfelt reclamation of queer history and queer lives that examines how these beacons for community and inclusion can teach us to live openly, cultivate connection, and continue to take up space."
"In 1999, Nina Alvarez spotted an unusual book on the mantle of an old fireplace in the lobby of her Albany apartment building, where a small free library had emerged. A self-identified bisexual bibliophile, Nina was drawn to the book for two reasons. One, it looked handmade; it was a plain hardcover green book with an off-white cloth label pasted on the front cover."
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