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Welcome! THE LAVENDER ROUNDUP is a newspaper dedicated to documenting queer country dance life as it unfolds, highlighting events, sharing stories, archiving style & trends, and preserving oral histories in the written word. It is a tangible object that we can all hold in our calloused hands - a living, breathing record that reflects both the tradition of country dance and the expansiveness that we, as queer beings, embody. This newspaper is a love letter in motion, woven together from our collective boot steps. Just as country dance gathers us, hand in glove, to express ourselves through brazen stomps and elegant twirls, The Roundup gathers us together on the page, to be an echo of the network that extends through the clubs, barns, gyms, and fields that serve as our sanctuaries during challenging times.
Many of us are relatively new to the cattle call of country dance. While line dancing has recently exploded in popularity among a new generation of queer folks, it’s important for us to remember that queer presence in country culture is nothing new. We have always been here, stomping in the dirt, cheek to cheek, hip to hip. Part of our mission is to chronicle how we got to this moment by honoring and sharing the stories of the elders who paved the way. For decades, queer folks have been building safer spaces in country dance alongside a culture that has not always embraced us. Amidst the ongoing climate of anti-queer and trans legislation and sentiment, joyful public gathering becomes an act of resistance. Queer country dance is not just a party. It is a space where our bodies move together in community, pride and rapture so that we can channel our rage towards fighting the long fight for liberation on all fronts.
A bit about your editors: we are just two enthusiastic line lovers whose friendship blossomed on the dancefloor, and who also happen to be passionate about the archive, about preserving and highlighting a collective past in order to nurture the motivation to continue dancing into a collectively-envisioned future. We are not experts (and strongly believe that the concept of the expert is antithetical to country dance, the people’s dance, which has never been about being good, but about being together) but we are lovers of the craft, of physical media, and gathering around the watering hole.
We acknowledge that this first issue is weighted heavily towards southern California (‘tis where we currently live). We are aiming for a more balanced contributor list as we continue to build The Roundup network. And so, the floor is open! This newspaper is built by its contributors, so if you have something to say, send it in and spread the word far and wide. Use these pages to air your lungs - we welcome feedback so that this paper can be truly by y'all for y'all. What are the joys, the struggles, the song swaps, the dances you can’t stop practicing, the ways you show up for your local communities, the mutual aid networks popping up around your dance clubs - The Roundup wants to hear about it! Write in and let us know!
With love and much more than a lick and a promise,
Diane & Veronica (D&V)
Editors-in-Boots, The Lavender Roundup
June 2025, Issue #1
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