Eugene has had an active, out Queer community for decades. Two businesses in the Skinner Butte neighborhood– Starflower Natural Foods and Peralandra Books–played important roles in the lesbian community in the 1970s-1990s. These community-driven businesses became sites for the women to experiment with new ways of thinking, doing business, and shaping society.

Thank to Outlaws and Outliers Eugene Lesbian Oral History Project for the use of these histories. For more information about these businesses and Queer history in Eugene, please visit Outlaws and Outliers Eugene Lesbian Oral History Project’s website.