Out of the closet and into the Rockies: how lesbian feminists fostered women's community in twentieth century Colorado

Abstract

An examination of Colorado-based publications Big Mama Rag and Double Standard revealed an active lesbian feminist community centered around physical health and recreation. Colorado women reading these newspapers were exposed to ecofeminist ideology, and the papers' monthly calendars offered women ample opportunity for community-building events. Lesbian feminists fostered Colorado's women's community as staff on these publications, or as community mobilizers and feminist business owners. This thesis aims to tell the story of Colorado lesbian feminists in the decade of 1974 to 1984. Colorado's feminist community was experiencing immense change during this decade. In the early 1970s many lesbian feminists rejected bar culture in Colorado, and instead worked to create communities in bookstores, women's centers, or other feminist businesses. Colorado lesbians had been influenced by nationwide cultural feminism and began to shift away from the gay community in favor of women's liberation. Throughout the 1980s, Colorado lesbian feminists were still dedicated to forming community, but began to move away from bookstores and basements in search of woman-identified women. Ecofeminism was a major factor of Colorado lesbians' growing focus on the outdoors and a nature-based community in the 1980s. The latter half of the decade brought an increased concern on physical health, self-defense, and outdoor leisure. Colorado lesbian feminists continually prioritized women's community in their political and social lives in the twentieth century.