Kate Millett may be best known for her groundbreaking 1970 book Sexual Politics, but she was also the auteur of the first-ever intentionally feminist music festival in 1973. Celebrating women singers, songwriters and entertainers, the CSUS Feminist Music Festival was held at California State University at Sacramento during Millett’s tenure there in 1973. An under-recognized gathering that sought to uplift and celebrate women performers who were being siloed or ignored by the industry, Millett’s festival was part of the impetus for what became women’s music culture, informing both local and regional women’s festivals as well as the feminism of mainstream artists. 

Utilizing artifacts from Millett’s archives and memories from those in attendance, this presentation by Trish Bendix will highlight the hidden history of feminist music festivals, inspired by and born out of the musicians Millett enjoyed friendships with (like Yoko Ono) as well as those who played lesbian feminist conferences of the early 1970s.

About the Presenter

Trish Bendix is a GLAAD-nominated, NLGJA award-winning writer and editor based in Los Angeles, California. She is currently a regular contributor to the New York Times and Best of Late Night columnist. Bendix previously served as Editor in Chief of AfterEllen.com and Managing Editor of the GLAAD and NLGJA Award-winning digital magazine INTO. She is the winner of the 2015 Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for the LGBT Journalist of the Year from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalist Association and was nominated for Outstanding Digital Journalism Article at the 2019 GLAAD Media Awards.

This program is organized by Trish Bendix as part of the 2023 Circa: Queer Histories Festival, presented by One Institute.