With one periodical title on display for every letter of the
alphabet, each drawn from the over 5,000 titles preserved in the archives of
the GLBT Historical Society, this exhibition highlighted the history and
diversity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer periodicals produced
in Northern California from the 1940s through the 2000s. These periodicals
reflect how LGBTQ communities and individuals used periodicals to form social
networks, create culture, express desire and inspire activism. From sober to
sleek, from coy to explicit, from apolitical to militant, the publications
demonstrate some of the myriad ways LGBTQ people have found empowerment in
print.
Anything That Moves; No. 19 (spring 1999); San Francisco: Bay Area
Bisexual Network
The bisexual publication Anything That Moves, produced in San Francisco from 1991 to 2001, proudly announced “We will write or print or say Anything That Moves us beyond the limiting stereotypes,” adding that the publication “is about Anything That Moves: that moves us to think; that moves us to fuck (or not); that moves us to feel; that moves us to believe in ourselves.”
BEAR; No. 21 (1992); San Francisco: Brush Creek Media
BEAR magazine played a major role in shaping the nascent Bear consciousness and aesthetic in the 1980s-90s particularly with respect to the idealization and eroticization of the Bear body. As stated in Issue #1 in 1987, BEAR was created because, "[y]oung, clean shaven body builders with precision trimmed pubic hair and Naired buttholes don't do it for [a lot] of guys.” The magazine featured short articles, fiction, classified personal ads, and lots of photographs of naked Bears, content BEAR described as “hairy faces and furry bodies, slender cowboys and pot-bellied laborers, sensual imagery and down-and-out dirt." BEAR is currently published as an online magazine.
CTN Magazine; Vol. 2, no. 1 (spring 1995); Berkeley: CTN
CTN (formally Coming Together Newsletter) was a nonprofit community publication that "strives to bring together our much scattered Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing-signing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities through information, education and networking." In response to the reading this publication, a subscriber in Utah wrote to the editor, "I actually had tears in my eyes...tears of joy because for the first time I feel 'in touch' with my Deaf Gay community!I live in a small town and I am the only Deaf Gay that lives here. thank you from the bottom of my heart for bringing my community to me!" Another letter from a reader in Dallas, TX, added, "I've never seen so many Deaf Queers of color anywhere in print!! Bravo to you! Please continue to show the diversity that exists in our small, but wonderful Deaf Queer community!"
Diseased Pariah News (DPN); No 9 (1994); Oakland: Men’s Support Center
Diseased Pariah News, or DPN, was a “patently offensive publication of, by, and for people with HIV disease (and their friends and loved ones).” The purpose of this publication was to be a “forum for infected people to share their thoughts, feelings, art, writing, and brownie recipes in an atmosphere free of teddy bears, magic rocks, and seronegative guilt.” [would probably just say “free of…seronegative guilt.”]
The GLBT Historical Society holds issues #1-11 (1990-1999) of DPN, as well as the Beowulf Thorne papers (#2003-10), one of the founders of DPN.
East Bay OutNOW!; Vol. 1, no. 2 (August 22–September 4, 1995);
Fremont: East Bay Out Now
Covering the East Bay counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano, East Bay OutNOW! focused on stories and people both from places like Oakland and Berkeley, who affiliated themselves with the San Francisco gay scene, and places like Vallejo and Vacaville who saw “the ‘gay Mecca’ as a curiosity that had little to do with your own lives.” This publication focused on the 22,000+ residence who had their cultures, concerns, and communities in the East Bay.
Fat Girl; No. 3
(1995); San Francisco: Fat Girl
Fat Girl, a “Zine for Fat Dykes and the Women Who Want Them,” encouraged dialogue based on the lived experiences of fat women and created a “broad-based dialogue which both challenges and informs our notion of Fat-Dyke identity.” Produced by an eclectic collective of Fat Dykes of all shapes and sizes, and from diverse ethnic cultures and different class backgrounds, Fat Girl is a political act.
GBM (Gay Black Men); Is. 11 (October 1999); San Francisco: Brush
Creek Media, Inc.
GBM, short for Gay Black Men, was a “serious, sexual magazine for gay African-American men and their fans.” The lives (and bodies) of gay black men are exposed, explored and celebrated in the photographs, fiction, and features of these quarterly issues. Editor Graylin Thornton points out in the premier issue that the focus of GBM “is not only to appeal to the erotic mind of the reader but also to showcase the work of some of the most talented artists the African-American community has to offer.”
The GLBT Historical Society holds the full 12-issue run (1997-2000) of GBM.
Hermaphrodites with Attitude (Summer 1995); San Francisco: Intersex
Society of North America
The Intersex Society of North America, founded in 1993, advocates ending shame, secrecy, and unwanted genital surgeries of intersex peoples. The word hermaphrodite was chosen for their quarterly publication to counter physicians’ assertions that life as a hermaphrodite would be worthless. It was a “way to break the vicious cycle in which shame produces silence, silence condones surgery, and surgery produces more shame. The trail work in the other direction as well: surgery perpetuates shame, shame perpetuates silence, and silence condemns us (and intersexual infants yet to be born) to hell.”
Icon (September 1995); San Francisco: Dykespeak/Icon
Icon, “the thinking lesbian’s newspaper”, was originally entitled “Dykespeak.” As the title changed, many wrote letters to the editor—femail—expressing their “disappointment” for a former name that “showed pride and boldness in retaking the work ‘dyke’ and infusing it with power and voice.” Beyond the title, this publication consisted of art, poetry, photographs, news, cartoon strips, ads and services, editorials, and personals.
Join Hands, No. 13 (January– March 1978); San Francisco: Join Hands
Join Hands was a San Francisco-based collective that advocated for the rights of gay men in California's State prisons. Articles were written by prisoners, ex-prisoners, and advocates around a variety of issues concerning gay men in prisons.
Kalendar, Vol. 5, no. 16 (August 19, 1997); San Francisco: Kalendar Publications
At a point when San Francisco had several periodicals covering gay nightlife and news, Kalendar managed to hold its own against the competition for six years. Produced from 1972 to 1978, it focused on the emerging scene frequented by young gay men in the city — with ads from gay bars, bathhouses, restaurants and shops complementing the coverage ... and covering the publishing costs.The GLBT Historical Society archives hold a near-complete run of Kalendar.
Lavender Reader; Vol. 6, no. 3 (spring 1992) (1992) by Lavender ReaderGLBT Historical Society
Lavender Reader
Vol. 6, no. 3 (spring 1992)
Santa Cruz: Lavender Reader
Mach; Vol. 2, no. 6 (1983) (1983) by Brush Creek MediaGLBT Historical Society
Mach
Vol. 2, no. 6 (1983)
San Francisco: Brush Creek Media
Noodle; No. 1 (2002) (2002) by ML Productions Inc.GLBT Historical Society
Noodle
No. 1 (2002)
San Francisco: ML Productions Inc.
Our Stories; Vol. 14, no. 1 (winter–spring 1999) (1999) by Gay & Lesbian Historical Society of Northern CaliforniaGLBT Historical Society
Our Stories
Vol. 14, no. 1 (winter–spring 1999)
San Francisco: Gay & Lesbian Historical Society of Northern California
Que Pasa? Newsmagazine; December 1977 (1977) by Que Pasa NewsGLBT Historical Society
Que Pasa? Newsmagazine
December 1977
San Francisco: Que Pasa New
Rubyfruit Readher: A Lesbian Communique; No. 11 (June 1977) (1977-06) by Rubyfruit ReaderGLBT Historical Society
Rubyfruit Readher: A Lesbian Communique
No. 11 (June 1977)
Santa Cruz: Rubyfruit Reader
SEASONS; (summer 1991) (1991) by The National Native American AIDS Prevention CenterGLBT Historical Society
SEASONS
Summer 1991
Oakland: The National Native American AIDS Prevention Center
TNT: Transsexual News Telegraph; Summer 1993 (1993) by Anne OgbornGLBT Historical Society
TNT: Transsexual News Telegraph
Summer 1993
San Francisco: Anne Ogborn
Ultra Violet; Vol. 5, no. 2 (September 1994) (1994-09) by Lesbians & Gays Against InterventionGLBT Historical Society
Ultra Violet
Vol. 5, no. 2 (September 1994)
San Francisco: Lesbians & Gays Against Intervention
Vanguard; Vol. 1, no. 4 (February 1967) (1967-02) by VanguardGLBT Historical Society
Vanguard
Vol. 1, no. 4 (February 1967)
San Francisco: Vanguard
Whorezine; No. 13 (June 1992) (1992-06) by WhorezineGLBT Historical Society
Whorezine
No. 13 (June 1992)
San Francisco: Whorezine
XY Magazine; No. 12 (April–May 1998) (1998) by XY MagazineGLBT Historical Society
XY Magazine
No. 12 (April–May 1998)
San Francisco: XY Magazine
Yellow Silk: Journal of Erotic Arts; No. 8 (summer 1983) (1983) by VerygraphicsGLBT Historical Society
Yellow Silk: Journal of Erotic Arts
No. 8 (summer 1983)
Albany: Verygraphics
Zoömorph; No. 2 (circa 1999) (1999) by ZoömorphGLBT Historical Society
Zoömorph
No. 2 (circa 1999)
Union City: Zoömorph
Curated by Joanna Black, Director of Archives & Special Collections, and Jeremy Prince, Director of Exhibitions & Museum Operations.
On view at the GLBT Historical Society Museum, March-September 2018.
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