THERE’S A LESBIAN UTOPIA IN OREGON?

Some of the lesbians who came to Eugene stopped first at one of the eight “lesbian lands” clustered in Southern Oregon and active from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s. The separatist lesbians who lived in these communities sought to create utopian feminist spaces where women could thrive beyond the confines and violence of patriarchy, homophobia, and capitalism. These “land-dykes” built their own houses, planted and harvested their vegetables, invented women-centered spiritual practices, celebrated their bodies and sexuality, pursued artistic projects, and shared money and resources. Giving themselves new names, they explored deep connections between nature and their own bodies, fashioning a local feminist ecology. The communes were named WomanShare, Cabbage Lane, OWL Farm, Fly Away Home, Rainbow’s End, Fishpond, Rootworks, and Golden Women’s Land. Another lesbian commune near Portland was called We’Moon. The summers brought thousands of lesbians visitors from across the country and around the world who came for a taste of the freedom and affirmation these communities represented. In the winter this rustic life without electricity, heating, or flush toilets was less appealing and the year-round residents continued the hard work of making their ideals a living reality. Beyond the physical labor and discomfort, the interpersonal experiments of making decisions collectively, redistributing resources, and sharing romantic and sexual partners eventually took its toll on some of the residents. The women who moved to Eugene from the lesbian lands brought everything they had learned about building structures and communities and they joined the “city” women who were creating new businesses, neighborhoods, and cultural spaces. The University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives houses various large collections related to the Southern Oregon Lesbian Lands that include correspondence, creative writings, autobiographical writings, financial records, publications, photographs, graphic materials, and ephemera.