Tea Dance: A Benefit for A Woman’s Place

Athol, New York: Retreat for Women, Inc., [1981]. Offset on purple stock. 8 ½ x 11 in. Very good; small closed tear at right edge, not obstructing image or text, bumping, and light discoloration at bottom right. Item #10387

Flyer promoting a tea dance in June 1981 to fundraise for A Woman’s Place, following the 1981 Pride March. The commune disbanded the following year.

Tea dances were a fixture of pre-Stonewall gay culture; as it was illegal to serve alcohol to gay people in New York, tea was served at these Sunday afternoon parties. Tea dances are still organized and have had enjoyed a resurgence in recent years, particularly at gay vacation hot spots Fire Island and Provincetown.

Operating from 1974 to 1982 in Athol, New York, the commune was founded by eight women and their children. The commune was a popular spot for women visitors and weekenders from New York and Boston, who came for workshops and retreats. Topics of programs included music, crafts, sexuality, lesbian women and children, massage, and women and madness.

Despite raising money from visitors and funders such as the Family and Women’s Advocacy Service of Schenectady, the commune was unable to remain financially viable and closed in 1982.

Sold