LC reminds me a lot of the op-ed section in local Vermont newspapers, as well as the Black and Pink newsletter that's mostly letters from incarcerated queer people introducing themselves and talking about their lives before, after, and during incarceration. like a lot of retrograde art forms/technologoies, the op-ed lives on in certain niches.
anyways, this was so much for to read. keep fighting the good fight, Clover!
We recently came upon a Pine Barrens local newspaper where the main story was a long rambling semi-bad faith investigation into a state rep who was allegedly like pumping raw sewage into the street but it was buried in the article that really he just had a cracked sewer pipe and was trying to dispose of sewage best he could in accordance with guidance from local authorities, and just had a neighbor who hated him and watched his every move.
Yessss so true. would love to get more into the graphic design another time, would love to have a convo about it with someone who knows more about design than me!
This was such a good read! Thank you very much to Clover for offering her perspective, too. Part of me is very intrigued and wants to subscribe, but as an agender person who uses bisexual and queer as labels because some non-binary people would be uncomfortable if I expressed interest as a lesbian…idk.
This made me grapple with my own issues around these topics, which means it was a great piece for me to read, so thank you!
One question: in the bisexual (and likely trans woman) exclusionary rules put forth by their sister org in the 70s for events, what is “rip off” behavior? It seems like it’s a time-specific term, and I’m curious as to what it means specifically versus what I could guess at generally.
You should just subscribe if you're emotionally or intellectually curious about it, there's plenty of crossover and room for a multiplicity of affiliations in gay identity/personhood. Go crazy!
Thank you for the kind words!! Re: “rip off,” we were literally wondering the same thing! My guess is that it basically means like appropriating lesbian space/resources, but if anybody else knows for sure what it would have meant in context please correct me.
And if you’re curious about lesbian connection…I say subscribe! you can always cancel if you decide it’s not for you.
“Rip off” reminded me of the anxieties expressed in Dykes To Watch Out For by Mo when bisexual women would go to her gay bookstore; one scene in particular lamented how this bi woman with a new male partner could “soak up the lesbian culture” and then “go home to her culturally accepted boyfriend.” It’s probably something like that? 😅 Bi women: damned if they seem straight, damned if they seem lesbian!
Wanted to update this: There's a 70s lesbian feminist SATIRE newsletter called Albatross (presumably stemming from the idea of a burden one must carry, a weird literary joke abt the lesbian feminist's sense of immense guilt and duty), and the crew that makes it named themselves "Rip-Off Productions". So it was definitely a term being thrown around at the time. I assume you could use it anytime someone did something you disagreed with, like a Marxist calling someone a bourgeois reactionary or someone on the internet calling you a textbook narcissist.
Julia, you prompted me to sign up for LC! Currently reading 2 editions of LC and your post at my living room table with my girlfriend and our cats- thanks for the great article and for introducing me to some important lesbian history
The Passings are always the most beautiful sections. I actually just learned Mary Wings, who wrote the first big lesbian comics during the gay comix boom of the 70s, died because her passing was in the most recent LC. it really can feel like a community
I love this genre of lesbian graphic design <3
LC reminds me a lot of the op-ed section in local Vermont newspapers, as well as the Black and Pink newsletter that's mostly letters from incarcerated queer people introducing themselves and talking about their lives before, after, and during incarceration. like a lot of retrograde art forms/technologoies, the op-ed lives on in certain niches.
anyways, this was so much for to read. keep fighting the good fight, Clover!
Black and pink is the best!!
and by "op ed," I meant letter to the editor!!
We recently came upon a Pine Barrens local newspaper where the main story was a long rambling semi-bad faith investigation into a state rep who was allegedly like pumping raw sewage into the street but it was buried in the article that really he just had a cracked sewer pipe and was trying to dispose of sewage best he could in accordance with guidance from local authorities, and just had a neighbor who hated him and watched his every move.
This is to say I love little local papers so much
Yessss so true. would love to get more into the graphic design another time, would love to have a convo about it with someone who knows more about design than me!
This was such a good read! Thank you very much to Clover for offering her perspective, too. Part of me is very intrigued and wants to subscribe, but as an agender person who uses bisexual and queer as labels because some non-binary people would be uncomfortable if I expressed interest as a lesbian…idk.
This made me grapple with my own issues around these topics, which means it was a great piece for me to read, so thank you!
One question: in the bisexual (and likely trans woman) exclusionary rules put forth by their sister org in the 70s for events, what is “rip off” behavior? It seems like it’s a time-specific term, and I’m curious as to what it means specifically versus what I could guess at generally.
You should just subscribe if you're emotionally or intellectually curious about it, there's plenty of crossover and room for a multiplicity of affiliations in gay identity/personhood. Go crazy!
Thank you for the kind words!! Re: “rip off,” we were literally wondering the same thing! My guess is that it basically means like appropriating lesbian space/resources, but if anybody else knows for sure what it would have meant in context please correct me.
And if you’re curious about lesbian connection…I say subscribe! you can always cancel if you decide it’s not for you.
“Rip off” reminded me of the anxieties expressed in Dykes To Watch Out For by Mo when bisexual women would go to her gay bookstore; one scene in particular lamented how this bi woman with a new male partner could “soak up the lesbian culture” and then “go home to her culturally accepted boyfriend.” It’s probably something like that? 😅 Bi women: damned if they seem straight, damned if they seem lesbian!
Wanted to update this: There's a 70s lesbian feminist SATIRE newsletter called Albatross (presumably stemming from the idea of a burden one must carry, a weird literary joke abt the lesbian feminist's sense of immense guilt and duty), and the crew that makes it named themselves "Rip-Off Productions". So it was definitely a term being thrown around at the time. I assume you could use it anytime someone did something you disagreed with, like a Marxist calling someone a bourgeois reactionary or someone on the internet calling you a textbook narcissist.
Yupppo totally! I remember that strip!
Julia, you prompted me to sign up for LC! Currently reading 2 editions of LC and your post at my living room table with my girlfriend and our cats- thanks for the great article and for introducing me to some important lesbian history
This is MUSIC TO MY EARS. lesbian connection is far and away best enjoyed read out loud to/with one’s girlfriend
I freaking love LC - I learned about it from you and clover a while back! thanks so much for this <3
Wahh I love that!!!
Loved this so much!! Thank you both for putting your thoughts, feelings, and analysis here for us to enjoy. Those obituaries! 😪🧡
The Passings are always the most beautiful sections. I actually just learned Mary Wings, who wrote the first big lesbian comics during the gay comix boom of the 70s, died because her passing was in the most recent LC. it really can feel like a community
Yess the obits :’) sooo sweet
Loved this so much!!
Ty!!
This was a great text, thank you ❤️
Thank you!