Cherry Grove Fire Island: Sixty Years in America's First Gay and Lesbian Town

by Esther Newton

Recounts the history of Cherry Grove, from the 1930s to the present, including interviews with residents who describe the struggles, the partying, and the perseverance. By the author of Mother Female Impersonators in America.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, LGBT, Queer, Anthropology, Ebooks, American History

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Esther Newton is currently Term Professor of Women's Studies at the University of Michigan, and Professor Emerita of Anthropology and Kempner Distinguished Professor at Purchase College, SUNY. She is the author of Margaret Mead Made Me Gay: Personal Essays, Public Ideas, published by Duke University Press, Mother Camp: Female Impersonators in America, coauthor of Womenfriends: A Soap Opera, and coeditor of Amazon Expedition: A Lesbian Feminist Anthology.

Reviews

[Cait · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and frustrating. I would have liked a lot more connection between Cherry Grove and the wider world, but there were only hints and teases. And I really would have liked a more modern gender analysis, but the author was clearly still uncomfortable with non-binary presentations. Still, there's a lot of great history recorded here.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not often that I think of a scholarly book I read for my research as "charming," but that's the first word that comes to mind about this pioneering study of Cherry Grove and it's gay and lesbian inhabitants. Although Newton writes as an affectionate insider, she has clearly sees how issues of racism, anti-Semitism, and social class divided the gay and lesbian community and often times kept members from acting in their own collective interest.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any book on gay history published 32 years ago is going to be behind the times. But the strengths of this book come in the stories of how Cherry Grove on Fire Island developed across the 1930s through 1970s. I had heard Fire Island used as a shorthand for a gay resort in movies and TV shows for years; it's fascinating to learn a bit more about the realities of it.

Cherry Grove was not founded as a gay community - it was generally wealthy people associated with the theater who built cottages there in the early 1930s for summer living. Oh, hey, there were a lot of gay people active in the theater. So more and more of them came there, and especially after a 1938 hurricane devastated much of the original area, Cherry Grove found itself with an ever-increasing gay and lesbian population, both among permanent residents and the large number of summertime renters.

There was a homeowners group, largely straight, which founded an arts group, largely gay, and these two organizations lasted decades in the leadership of the community. There wasn't much police presence, which allowed the men to establish large outdoor areas for cruising and public sex. They did have to worry about occasional youths crossing over from Long Island just to harass gays, but mostly, with the very notable exception of the years 1964-1968, the Meat Rack was a place where casual sex could be found any time.

Meanwhile, there was a hotel and later dance halls and eventually discos where gays could gather without having to hide who they were. The men threw huge elaborate costume parties - the women did not get to participate in these much, though many say they weren't interested. But Cherry Grove became a place where gay men and women could discover their commonality - if more men than women discovered this, there were economic reasons at play.

Newton is excellent at viewing this history with respect to class, gender, race, politics, generational disparity, and other larger issues. When she gets to the 1980s, the story gets less detailed. Much of her research came from stories told by long-time residents - as a result, more contemporary events could not be fit in as much. Of course, AIDS struck Cherry Grove as it did the rest of the world. I think there would be a much larger and probably sadder story to tell of this - Newton focuses mostly on some touching memorials held at the time.

I just glanced at Wikipedia to see what has happened there in the intervening years, and was pleased to find out Wanda Sykes has a home there.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really detailed and well done local gay history. I appreciate how the author pieces together the story with newspaper articles from the time and perspectives from different oral histories. I would have like to have learned more about the 'Meat Rack' aspect of the culture and about the day-trippers, but the author acknowledges why she wasn't really able to learn about those aspects of the town.

[eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love anthropology !! thought the comments on drag and how it’s perception in the queer community have developed over time was super interesting. was going to give it 4 stars but the epilogue made me cry so she got ranked higher - probably skewed because fire island is one of my favourite films.

[ROAM Family Travel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will make you long for summer on Fire Island.

[Mikey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well researched and interesting history, but very academic and dry at points.

[Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was great to get a sense of history of Cherry Grove. Esther Newtown covered a lot of ground. Now, more than ever, I'm eager to return there to locate historical spots, e.g. 'The Bridge of Sighs,' and to feel a connectedness to the distant past.

[Raymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

This history is both thorough, detailed, and highly entertaining.