Softball, Separatism, and the Shescape Seven, 1970s
Softball, Separatism, and the Shescape Seven, 1970s  
Podcast: Our Dyke Histories
Published On: Mon Jan 05 2026
Description: Episode 7 of Our Dyke Histories breaks open the messy, brilliant contradictions of 1970s lesbian life. Join host Jack Jen Gieseking in conversation with lifelong activist Maxine Wolfe, historian and podcaster June Thomas, and literary scholar and historian SaraEllen Strongman. Together, they trace a decade shaped by separatism, softball leagues, racist bar door policies, the rise of the Christian Right, and the fierce groundwork of lesbian feminism. From Anita Bryant’s Save Our Children crusade to the Shescape Seven’s battle against racial discrimination, the episode reveals how queers built dyke infrastructures—publishers, collectives, consciousness-raising groups, bookstores, and bars—while fighting right-wing fearmongering that still echoes today. This is the decade where lesbian potentiality explodes.**Join Our CommunityWant to be part of our community? We'd love to have you. 😏 Come comment, connect, and get your gayme on!Newsletter to your inbox: Jack's Queer Geographies newsletter with detailed takes on each episode, & more about lezbiqueertrans spaces across timeInstagram for more dyke visuals and stories @ourdykehistoriesRead and follow our co-producer and collaborator, Sinister WisdomEmail us questions and comments at ourdykehistories@gmail.com**CreditsProducer, Editor, Host, & Creative Director: Jack GiesekingCo-Producer: Julie Enszer & Sinister WisdomCo-Producer & Co-Editor: Cade WaldoAssistant Editor: Mel WhitesellSocial Media: Audrey WilkinsonInterns: Michaela Hayes and Sophie McClainConsulting Producer: Rachel FagenMusic: Our theme song: "Like Honey" by Kit Orion https://www.kitorion.com/CC-BY-NC-ND 2025. Write to us at ourdykehistories@gmail.com for permission to use any of our content.