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

I've been to Cherry Grove (and Fire Island in general) exactly once. A couple of friends who were vacationing there were having a birthday party, so another friend and 1 took and early train out and left on an 11pm ferry. There was a lot I didn't get to do on that visit, but the experiences I had walking on the boardwalk, swimming in the ocean, and exploring the Meat rack left their mark.

This summer the New York Historical Society had an exhibit on Cherry Grove and I enjoyed it so much I bought one of the major source materials, Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years in America's First Gay and Lesbian Town. Although I was interested in the history of the island, I wasn’t sure if the book would scratch my itch and was very pleasantly surprised. The 2014 edition starts off with a new preface where the author hints at some lesbian drama in her own life. This energy is carried forward into the introduction which, unexpectedly and delightedly, includes lengthy descriptions of the flirtation between the author and the then 80-something "Kay" (undoubtedly Kay Guinness).

I love a gossipy history and while the introduction was probably the high point of that for the book, the fact that it's largely based on interviews means that gossip is infused within the text (and, critically, within the footnotes--don't skip them!) The nature of Cherry Grove, America at the time of the island's transformation to vacation spot, and bias in general means that the book is largely based on interviews with white, middle class, cis gay men and women. The author is at least flags this as a flaw and still dedicates time to discussing race, but it's a massive shame that one of the major texts about Fire Island completely lacks non-white voices. Moreover, while I do think the author was upfront about the structural issues that created a predominantly white, middle/upper class society, I wish she had offered a little more analysis of them and given a little more space to how personal prejudice plays a part.

However, the nature of the author being a lesbian means that she was able to bring in lesbian experiences, both personal and historical, something that I imagine a lot of texts would brush over. She not only is able to bring in lesbian voices, but talk about the complexity of lesbian and gay men’s relationships to each other caused lesbians to both feel deeply connected to Cherry Grove and often positioned as outsiders. She’s also able to discuss how some of the influential straight women of the island who delighted in having gay male friends, were far less welcoming to gay women. Oddly, because of the timing of the original publication the book only skims the surface of Cherry Grove's cultural change to being considered the more lesbian part of Fire Island.

Part of the pleasure of this book was reading a queer history that got to exist both within and outside of homophobia. The early residents of Cherry Grove were criminalized and shunned for their sexuality, but also able to create a space for gay happiness to exist. I appreciate that the book was able to forefront experiences like finally getting to dance together—actions extremely meaningful for early residents—far more than it talked about arrests.

I’ve recommended this text to so many people since reading it. If you’re at all interested in this era of queer history or Fire Island it’s an incredibly fun read.