What Are Women's Lands?

What Are Women's Lands?

Reposted from The Women's Land Blog

Women's lands are privately-owned land that center women. The ethos of women's land can be simply summed up as women primarily focusing their energy towards each other. 

In general, men are not allowed on women's land. 

However, women's lands aren't about the absence of men. Rather, women's lands are about the presence of women, and what women can do to lift each other up when we choose to intentionally live together in community. 

History Of Women's Lands

The first women's land was started in the United States in the late 1960s. 

Over the next several decades, more and more women's lands were founded as intentional communities. Over the years, many disbanded, mainly due to internal conflict, lack of funding or the death of a key organizer. 

However, a small handful of the original women's lands are still in existence and currently operating, with women living on them. 

Where Are Women's Lands Located?

Most women's lands are located in rural areas in the United States. Many women's lands are set up so women who live there are surrounded by nature.  

In 2023, there are about 50 women's lands located around the United States. The sizes of these women's communities range from 2-20 women, depending on the particular women's land. Ages of women who live on the land range from 25-80 years old.  

There are also several women's lands located internationally, including in South America and Europe. 

How Do Women's Lands Make Money?

Some women's lands make money through a cottage-industry system, where women on the land specialize in producing some specific kind of craft or produce that they can reliably sell to support the costs of living on the land. 

Other women's lands support themselves by charging rent, usually at a lower-than-market-rate, to women who live on the land. 

Traditionally, most women who live on women's land have worked some kind of day job in nearby local towns. 

Today, with remote work widely available, there are lots of options for women who want to live on women's land to support themselves. It's become a lot easier to explore the possibility of renting for lower-than-market rate at a women's land near you. 

Women's Lands & Lesbians

Historically, women's land are lesbian-majority spaces. Most of the women who come to women's land to visit or live there are lesbians. 

Many of the women who live on women's lands are lesbians. Many of those lesbians are artists or writers, or both.   

However, most women's lands are not lesbian-exclusive. Most women's lands welcome straight and bisexual women as residents or visitors. 

What Is Living On Women's Land Like?

Living on a women's land typically means a lot of contact with nature, and a lot of community with other women.  You'll have your own space, but you won't be alone.  

You may find yourself skill-trading with other women: teaching them something you know, and learning something they know in return.

You may also find yourself bartering items, or giving and receiving gifts from other women on the land. 

It's common to have some sort of shared chore system to make sure all the work to upkeep the land gets done. Back in the '70s, this sometimes meant working 8-hour shifts nearly every day just to finish all the many chores of the land: chopping wood, carrying water, cooking meals and washing dishes. 

But these days, most women's lands no longer have regular communal meals, instead opting to host communal dinners only on holidays or a regular day of the week/month. Also, more infrastructure has led to significantly less chores. 

Rents on women's lands are usually significantly below-market-rate for two reasons: to enable women to come live on the land, and in exchange for help with the land chores. Today, most individual women who live on women's land spend less than 10 hours per week on land chores. 

If a woman is upkeeping a woman's land on her own, she's probably spending significantly more time than 10 hours per week doing land chores, and could probably use some help.   

Many women's lands also host regular or semi-regular events on the land for the women who live there. Other women in the local neighborhood may also be invited.    

A World Without Men

Most women's lands do not allow men, even as visitors.

Some women's lands allow a male service provider to visit the land on case of need, and often when a woman can't be found to do the same job. 

Some women's lands allow male relatives of women who live on the land to visit.  

Some women's lands allow the sons of women who live there to temporarily live on the land, often (but not always) until age 18.  

There are several women's lands that allow trans women and AFAB non-binary people to visit or live there. 

However, most women's lands are exclusive to biological women. 

Average Age Range On Women's Land

On any given women's land, ages of the women who live there tend to range between 25-80 years old. 

It's very common to go to women's land and meet older women who would be happy to teach you new skills, mentor you, give you advice, lend their wisdom or even just a listening ear. 

If you're a younger woman, you'll find no shortage of elders to learn from. You'll also find your skills very much appreciated, whether you are able to help lift heavy items or assist the older generation with your computer skills. 

If you are an older woman, you'll find many other older women living on women's lands, all helping each other out to the best of their ability in various stages of retirement. Common shared activities are doing puzzles, making art, writing workshops, drum circles, playing scrabble, playing cards, building bonfires, howling at the moon and taking care of animals on the land. 

How To Visit Women's Land

The first step to visiting a women's land is finding out whether or not you have a local women's land in your area. Some states, like Oregon and California, have more women's lands than others. 

The next step is getting vetted. Once you've figured out where the closest women's land is to you, you need to reach out to that women's land directly to indicate that you want to visit. If you don't have their contact info, or can't find it on the internet, you can email the author of this blog post to request information about women's lands near you. 

Each women's land has their own vetting process for new visitors. After all, this women's land isn't just a tourist spot. It's also the home of the women who live there. You will need to build trust with the women of the land before you can get an invite to their home. 

Getting vetted could be as simple as a phone call, or as in-depth as sitting down for a coffee in a nearby town. The woman vetting you may even reach out to a few women she knows to see if someone has heard of you and can vouch for your good intentions. 

If you have dreams of living on a women's land, it's a good idea to start off as a visitor. You'll need to get to know the women on the land and build some trust with the community before the woman who owns the land is ready to rent to you.  Focus on ways you can give back, like bringing a small gift (of food, vegan to be safe) or asking if there are any small chores you can help out with while you're visiting.  

Renting On Women's Land

Women's lands often have a series of rustic cabins or cottages that you can rent at below-market-rate. But what's living on a women's land like?

1. WI-FI: Many women's lands have limited or slow wifi. Some have no wifi, either because no one needed it or because not having wifi was an intentional lifestyle choice. If you want high-speed wifi, prepare  to step up and help your local women's land figure out how to install or upgrade their wifi.   

2. Water: While many women's lands have hot water, not all do. However, all women's lands have running water. At some women's lands, you may need to carry water to your dwelling. 

3. Plumbing: Almost all women's lands have plumbing or at least outhouses. Some have regular plumbing, while others have various eco-friendly solutions, like composting toilets.  

4. Kitchen: Each women's land is different. A women's land may have a communal kitchen, or kitchen facilities may be located inside each individual dwelling. 

5. Laundry: Some women's lands have shared washer/dryers. Others handwash and line-dry their clothing. 

6. Firepit: Many women's lands have shared firepits where women can sit around and talk. 

7. Electricity: Most women's lands have electricity. Some women's lands may have limited electricity, so you'll need to be mindful of how much power you're drawing. 

If there's one takeaway, know that most women's lands, to one extent or another, have limited amenities. 

If you move to a women's land, you'll be living rough and close to the land. 

But while you'll have your own space, you'll never be lacking in the company of other women, whether for a neighborly chat or a listening ear. 

Find Women's Land Near You

The location of women's lands are typically secret or underground. If you're a young person, or a young lesbian who wants to visit women's land, you may have trouble finding women's land near you. 

Because women's lands are so deep underground, finding them can entail some serious legwork. You may need to know the right woman to find out where your local women's land is, or even what the women's lands name is!  

To find women's land near you, visit the women's land map. Reach out directly to the women's land in your area, or in an area you'll be travelling to, for more info about how you can visit. Expect to undergo a vetting process that can be as quick as a phone call or as extensive as an in-person meetup.  

If you are a lesbian in the United States, or a woman of any sexual orientation who wants to learn more about women's lands near you, email findwomensland at gmail dot com to get information about women's lands in your local area.