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A former Rookie contributor and creator of the popular blog Effing Dykes investigates the disappearance of America’s lesbian bars by visiting the last few in existence.
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, 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.
Author: Krista Burton
Paperback Published 4 June 2024 320 pages
Originally published in hardback 6 June 2023
"Moby Dyke is a hilarious adventure story, a full-throated love letter to lesbian bars, and an open-hearted memoir all wrapped up in one glorious package. Come for the bars and stay for the people inside them." —Emma Straub, bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow and All Adults Here
"Krista Burton’s voice is one of a kind and this is the exact book I’ve wanted from her. Moby Dyke is hilarious and perceptive, expertly weaving cultural and personal history with observations that made me laugh in public. I hope to copy down a drunk thought as eloquently as Krista does, and to read many more books that are this in love with their subjects." —Tavi Gevinson, actor, writer and founder/editor of Rookie