ABSTRACT
In 1992 the National Enquirer trained its tabloid lens on the small city of Northampton, Massachusetts, branding it “the strange town where men aren’t wanted.” According to the magazine, Northampton had become the home of “10,000 cuddling, kissing lesbians.”1 A fl urry of mainstream media attention-rarely as colorful-followed the Enquirer’s article on the transformation of this former mill town into a lesbian haven. While some reporting followed the sensationalistic approach of the Enquirer, the liberal press portrayed the city and its lesbian population as models of tolerance in a period of heated culture wars. With such titles as “A Town Like No Other,” (Newsweek), “Women Who Love Women” (20/20) and “Village People” (London Independent), both U.S. and overseas media expressed fascination with the visibility of these “out” lesbians.2 Even in sympathetic coverage, their sheer numbers remained a focus of attention; 20/20 reported with awe, “Th ere are enough of them to make up the majority of 16 teams in a women’s soft ball league.”3
