First published as Women’s Community Journal in 1986, WomanSpace was the longest continuously published women’s community newsletter in San Antonio (1986-2007).Īlternatives appeared briefly on the shelves at queer establishments in the late 1980s through the early ’90s. While Bar Talk targeted a predominantly male readership, WomanSpace provided a communication conduit for San Antonio’s lesbians. Gracie’s gossip column kept readers abreast of the latest goings-on in the River City’s queer quarters. Published from 1985 through 2000, provocative photos and illustrations of scantily clad (often nude) males dominated the pages of the publication and content clearly catered to the interests of gay men. The Calendar ceased publication in 1987 after AIDS decimated SAGA’s board, taking the lives of eight board members including the serial’s creator, Michael Stevens.īar Talk enjoyed one of the longest runs of any of San Antonio’s queer periodicals. Those seeking out San Antonio’s queer social scene need only flip to the Calendar’s “Community Directory” to point them in the direction of the city’s thriving nightlife.
The Calendar, produced by the San Antonio Gay Alliance (SAGA) between 19, started off as a diminutive biweekly serial that fit easily into a pants pocket. Queer publications proliferated in San Antonio during the 1980s. The lifespan of Together Gay is unknown as few copies survive. Fairies Fiasco artistically challenged military harassment of gays and proposed that fairies should be able to gather and frolic wherever they please. Gene Elder, owner of the San Antonio Country (an iconic gay bar known as the largest gay disco in the US during the 1970s) crafted a play spoofing military incursions into queer space and sending out a call for tolerance and solidarity.
This 1974 issue of Together Gay, a publication of the San Antonio Gay Community Center, provides an interesting example of how some queer San Antonians creatively responded to the challenges they faced. San Antonio has had many queer publications over the decades, some lasting only a few months, others having remarkably long runs.