Women creating their own spaces.

I was very intrigued when reading Finding the Movement by Anne Enke to discover that there were women working to either claim current spaces or make spaces of their own. It made me aware of an issue within the LGBTQ community that I've never noticed before. Even though our society still doesn't fully accept homosexuality, it still caters towards the males. When going into a big city, it is easy to find where the "gay district" is, and when going there you can find many clubs and bars usually tailored towards gay man, but not many towards women. I found interesting how at the time, there were many gay bars and none for women and that it even became a legal struggle for women a space they could call their own. Another issue that caught my eye was the fact that race also came into play within these clubs and sexist, and that these issues came from the LGBT community. Gay men would not allow women into their bars and at times the whites and blacks would be separate. I find it intriguing how even in a non-heteronormative setting, white males still had privilege over others.

Women combated not having their own space through the "creation of quasi-commercial alternatives such as dollar parties and warehouse parties" (Enke 28). They even began to own bars of their own and become visible to the public. Dollar parties and warehouse parties were hosted and attended mainly by black women seeing as they "used dollar parties...to build an alternative economy and elaborate a visible, black, queer community" (Enke 29). Gender restrictions placed on bars "pushed white women to illegal occupy warehouses for gender liberating gatherings" (Enke 29). Having their own spaces allowed these women to freely discuss other venues that would cater to their needs and wants. Also, by having their own space they could dance with each other and not have to worry about being kicked out. This allowed them to be free within a safe, confined space and allowed them to express their gender and sexuality in any way they desired. These venues later progressed into other things such as apartments that further provided space for lesbian women or expanded in their mission. For example, dollar parties started as a place for lesbian women to gather and socialize and later "Dollar parties provided food, drink, and shelter for large numbers of people" (Enke 35). Ultimately, the progression of women having their own space transformed into having spaces for feminist or lesbian feminist such as coffeehouses, bookstores, and clubs. It paved the way for women of either straight or lesbian to have their own space where they could gather and socialize their ideals and any other information they found significant.