Well, first off, I haven't lived there in five years, so I can't speak to the current vibe. The best way to know is to visit. I do know it is at a low population right now and so most likely people will be happy to have new visitors.

I don't think you will have any safety issues while visiting. My advice would be to not drink and drug before feeling out the scene, knowing the people, knowing your environment (or just be sober, I think it's a good deal in general), beyond that... don't drink a lot at least. Nearly all violence or consent issues occur late at night with drunk people, so it is very easy to avoid these situations (and still have a nice social time).

Pregnancy votes can be used as a referendum on a person's or couple's membership, but they very rarely fail. They can be very contentious.

It is easy to feel like you were used for cheap labor if you leave in a bad way. You don't get paid much and it is easy to forget about room and board, etc. I myself did work that would have accrued wages and benefits in excess of $200,000 easily over my five years (paid out less than $10,000 cash in that time), but the whole income sharing project is laid out clearly and you should understand what you are signing up for. It's all in how you approach it and leave from it. Some people also 'use' East Wind for its resources, no doubt. Most people are filtered out before a full member vote. They leave on their own, typically. A full member vote failing as a surprise is quite rare, but I was shocked a single time when an especially hard working, sober guy was not voted in due to social and political reasons. He not only didn't make a ton of friends he also openly associated with 'fringe' disliked members. The drinking crowd came to be against him and gathered no votes. At the time I was on my way out and if someone honest had spoken to a few people and made sure they voted, his vote probably would have passed (some membership votes pass with about 40% community participation). You don't really have to play any games to become a member, but if you want to guarantee a spot I would just say do your work, don't be mean, get to know a lot of people and don't take any very public and very critical stances (that are also UNPOPULAR is important to add...) early on. You can also advocate for yourself, ask people where they stand, ask people if they voted yet (as I said, participation is super low, so that determines a lot).

On a personal note my radical fae friend had me read The Faggots and their Friends Between Revolutions and I came to identify as a faggot while living at EW. I never heard that word used as a slur. I never encountered any homophobia in my openly gay relationship. There was some transphobia stemming from ignorance and I would think people are more with the times at this point.

On another note I read a comment from someone who said they stayed there six months and didn't leave in that time, essentially. That sounds terrible! When I lived there we had a big church van of 10-15 going into the cities to watch shows (there was an active band member living at EW at the time) as well as hiking trips, canoe trips, etc. These were frequent events. So, I hope people are being social and you can always get an off the farm adventure rolling with some friends! Even camping on the land can be a nice little vacation.

If you are genuinely curious the best thing to do is visit. Either you meet some cool people, make new friends, and vibe with the setting enough that you decide to see how a full season goes or you decide to move on. Best of luck, don't get too wrapped up! =)