In 1950s Melbourne — a city where queerness was criminalised and lived in whispers — Val Eastwood quietly built a sanctuary. Her iconic Val’s Coffee Lounge became one of Australia’s earliest LGBTQ+ hubs, offering a lifeline to queer people who had never before seen themselves reflected in public. Val’s unapologetic style, entrepreneurial spirit, and fearless visibility changed the course of sapphic history.

For decades, bisexual women have been pushed to the margins of lesbian feminist spaces — from separatist ideology in the 1970s to modern dating apps and community discourse. This article traces that history through archives, old LOTL issues, and lived experience, revealing how exclusion was justified, how it persists, and why solidarity between lesbians and bi+ women is vital for our shared liberation.

Meeting Joan Nestle at the Letters From Ger exhibition felt like stepping into living queer history. Everything I’d learned about the 1950s, Stonewall, and the early days of lesbian activism had always come from books or documentaries. Hearing Joan speak — a woman who has been out since the 1950s and founded the Lesbian Herstory Archives — awakened a hunger in me for real, tangible stories from elders in our community. What began as a chance encounter quickly became a friendship that reshaped my understanding of queer lineage, activism, and love.