It seems like every time we read the news LGBTQ+ rights are under attack someplace. Yet, we always hear wonderful stories from queer people about how amazing the country, state, city, town, neighborhood, or cabin in the woods where they live really is.
This year’s IHS reading challenge will focus on books set in different parts of the world. We think it’s vital to show that sapphic people not only exist but are everywhere.
We also want to hear from authors and readers about where they live. If you’d like to share your experiences, click here for the interview form.
Today, Linda Rosewood is here to tell us about Santa Cruz, California.
Where in the world will you be taking us today?
Santa Cruz, California
Tell us in one sentence what’s so special about living in this place.
Beautiful and Free
How long have you lived there? Or, if you no longer live in this place, how long were you there and when did you leave?
I moved to Santa Cruz for College in 1981 and lived there until 2017.
What is/was it like being a sapphic (or LGBTQ+) person living in this place?
I moved to Santa Cruz from Fresno in 1981 because I heard there might be lesbians there. I was right about the lesbians of Santa Cruz, and had a great time after coming out. I had lots of girlfriends and flings and deep friendships with women, which I had always craved, and never felt the shame that many women do. I was a writer and poet and journalist. As the decades went on, it was no longer news when a lesbian was a local leader or an author. Being lesbian was no big deal. I would have wanted more for us, but that’s what we got.
What about living in this place gives you hope?
When women who love women are a normal part of public life, then loving women becomes normalized and possible for everyone.
Are there any challenges to living in this place, either as a queer person or more generally?
Once the political goals of the lesbian feminist movement were reached, it was hard to know what to do next. Most of us ceased focusing on ourselves and helped others. This has been a challenge as well as good for the world. But I wish we had built more lesbian institutions that survived so that later generations of lesbians could have what we had.
For someone who has never been there, what’s the one thing that they must see or do if visiting your area?
Go into a redwood forest by yourself and sit in a redwood circle for at least an hour, doing nothing at all. You’ll be amazed at what happens.
What’s the one type of regional food and/or drink they absolutely must try?
Irish nachos at Rosie McCann’s.
Do you have a favorite local restaurant? What makes it special?
The Saturn Cafe on Mission used to have what the owner called “lesbian soup” because so many lesbians ordered the tomato soup with rice on the bottom. (It’s closed now.)
Meet Linda Rosewood
I lived most of my life in Santa Cruz, and thought after I retired I’d spend my time doing all the things I never had time to do: more hikes, more days at the beach, more walks, more time with friends, more live music, more art shows. All the culture that Santa Cruz offers. But I moved to Ireland sort of by accident and love it so much. I can do all that same cultural stuff here. The only thing I miss are my friends.
