“Say ‘hi’ from Gaia”: women’s travel guides and lesbian feminist community formation in the pre-internet era (1975-1992)

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article is concerned with the question of how American women, particularly those who identified as lesbian, questioning, or queer found information about where to locate other lesbian, questioning, or queer women in a pre-internet era. The women’s travel guide, Gaia’s Guide, communicated information about “safe” and women friendly spaces during the early to mid years of American women’s and lesbian and gay liberation movements (1975–1992). The creation of lesbian feminist communities was bolstered by the production of these guides and other women’s guidebooks; however, the guides promoted a lesbian feminist community that centered whiteness and middle-class identity. Sandy Horn’s role as editor of Gaia’s Guide influenced the representations of what was “safe,” desirable, and enticing to readers. The guides also reflected prevailing structural inequalities during the period. This article shows that the technology of the travel guides shaped lesbian feminist communities through intentional and unintentional exclusion.