Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest To Track Down The Last Remaining Lesbian Bars In America
by Krista Burton
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Description
"Lesbian bars have always been treasured safe spaces for their customers, providing not only a good time but a shelter from societal alienation and outright persecution. In 1987, there were 206 of them in America. Today, only a couple dozen remain. How and why did this happen? What has been lost--or possibly gained--by such a decline? What transpires when marginalized communities become more accepted and mainstream? In Moby Dyke, Krista Burton attempts to answer these questions firsthand, show more venturing on an epic cross-country pilgrimage to the last few remaining dyke bars. Her pilgrimage includes taking in her first drag show since the onset of the pandemic at The Back Door in Bloomington, Indiana; competing in dildo races at Houston's Pearl Bar; and, despite her deep-seated hatred of karaoke, joining a group serenade at Nashville's Lipstick Lounge and enjoying the dreaded pastime for the first time in her life. While Burton sets out on the excursion to assess the current state of lesbian bars, she also winds up examining her own personal journey, from coming out to her Mormon parents to recently marrying her husband, a trans man whose presence on the trip underscores the important conversation about who precisely is welcome in certain queer spaces--and how they and their occupants continue to evolve. Moby Dyke is an insightful and hilarious travelogue that celebrates the kind of community that can only be found in windowless rooms soundtracked by Britney Spears-heavy playlists and illuminated by overhead holiday lights no matter the time of year."-- show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Please take this with a grain of salt. I'm so glad this book was written; I'd heard something like this was coming out (ha ha). I'm glad I got to read it. The Seattle chapter made me smile. My city's in a book about dyke bars! Wow. I went there for my twenty-first birthday and a few times after. I couldn't go as often as I wanted for various reasons. The Seattle chapter was reassuring, too, as it addresses how the city has changed and how gentrification and other factors have hit.
This entire book was a rockin' party that I couldn't go to. I've been in a bad mood since I finished the book. It just pointed out over and over of opportunities I missed, and I am absolutely taking this personally. There's nothing I can do about it now, but show more oh, in this moment it's like salt in a wound of loneliness. show less
This entire book was a rockin' party that I couldn't go to. I've been in a bad mood since I finished the book. It just pointed out over and over of opportunities I missed, and I am absolutely taking this personally. There's nothing I can do about it now, but show more oh, in this moment it's like salt in a wound of loneliness. show less
this one was a letdown for me. i think some of the big questions this book prompted, like "why are lesbian bars closing?" and "how do we feel about lesbian bars turning into 'everyone's welcome' queer bars when bars for gay men don't feel the same?" are great conversations to get into, but we didn't really GET INTO IT at all. "who is precisely welcome in lesbian bars?" basically amounted to: everyone of course! end of conversation. the interviews eventually felt repetitive and not utilized enough, more of an explanation of loving the bar for feeling welcome and etc...which is great, but i was hoping for more depth.
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Author Information
1 Work 128 Members
Awards and Honors
Awards
Notable Lists
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2023
Classifications
- Genres
- Sexuality and Gender Studies, LGBTQ+, Travel, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 306.76 — Society, government, & culture Social sciences, sociology & anthropology Social Behavior - Dating, Marriage, Divorce Sexual relations Sexual orientation, transgender identity, intersexuality
- LCC
- HQ75.5 .B875 — Social sciences The family. Marriage, Women and Sexuality The Family. Marriage. Women Sexual life Homosexuality. Lesbianism
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 128
- Popularity
- 255,615
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.80)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 2























































