About this episode

Brooke Webster discusses her experiences creating iconic lesbian bars and her involvement in LGBTQ activism.

Some of the most beloved lesbian bars of the past few decades have been the creations of our guest, Brooke Webster. This week, Brooke shares the stories behind Meow Mix (1996-2004) and Cattyshack (2005-2009). Her bars quickly became cultural phenomenons - from shoutouts on Ellen's coming out episode to features in Kevin Smith's cult classic lesbian film, Chasing Amy (1997). We also get to know Brooke herself, her rich history of activism, and her decades-long love story (lovers to enemies to wives). -Learn more about Meow Mix! -Follow the Instagram page for Meow Mix's 30th anniversary! Thank you for listening to Cruising Podcast! -Reviews help other listeners find Cruising! If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave us a 5-star review! -For more Cruising adventures, follow us @cruisingpod on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -Check out ⁠⁠⁠Cruising's Substack⁠⁠⁠ for deep dives and companion pieces to our episodes! -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Cruising here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Cruising is an independent podcast. That means we're entirely funded by sponsors and listeners like you! -Cruising is reported and produced by a small…

People in this episode

Hosts: Sarah Gabrielli, Rachel Karp, Jennifer McGinity

Guest: Brooke Webster

Topics covered

• lesbian bars
• cultural phenomena
• activism
• LGBTQ history
• personal stories

Keywords

• lesbian bars
• Meow Mix
• Cattyshack
• Chasing Amy
• LGBTQ activism
• Ellen
• cultural phenomena

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Meow Mix, Cattyshack

Books & works: Chasing Amy, Go Fish

More episodes of Cruising | Queer History and Culture

• Franco Stevens on the history of Curve Magazine, lesbian visibility, and extremely creative fundraising · April 14, 2026 · 58 min
• Angeli Luz on creating the Lesbian Masterdoc and the backlash · March 31, 2026 · 38 min
• Bernie Stark on women's softball, Title IX, and trans inclusion in sports · March 17, 2026 · 53 min
• Activists Heather Booth and Martha Scott on their historic underground abortion network · March 3, 2026 · 1h 4m
• Margaret Cho on her parents’ gay bookstore, BDSM during HIV/AIDS, and why Ellen hates her · February 17, 2026 · 49 min
• Diane on coming out at 77, going viral, and life as a nun · February 3, 2026 · 60 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Cruising | Queer History and Culture podcast page.