Womontown

Womontown was a 20th-century neighborhood in Kansas City, formed by a community of lesbians who actively created a space where they could "walk hand in hand, freely down the streets." The spelling of the neighborhood was an expression of their dream to live without any reference to men.

The community began when Andrea Nedelsky and Mary Ann Hopper (then dating, though eventually married) bought a low-priced home in Kansas City's Longfellow neighborhood in the 1990s, and decided to create the reality they dreamed of. Tired of swimming against the hetero-misogynistic current that dominated their lives, Womontown was created in response to frustrations with homophobic discrimination, particularly housing discrimination, and harassment in public. At its peak, the community had 80 people from racially diverse backgrounds and extended 12 blocks in the area. They held events together, such as potlucks and porch gatherings.

The neighborhood peaked in the 1980s and 1990s with the aim of self-sufficiency. However, after several years, the labor required to keep the community running became overwhelming. Despite their efforts to carve out a space for themselves, the group leader still "had full-time jobs. This was a full-time second job,” Documentarian Sandy Woodson says of group leaders.