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30 Years of Lesbian Life in Curve Magazine

Leslie Feinberg and Transgender Liberation

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1. A Different Light Bookstore Business Card
2. Leslie Feinberg and Transgender Liberation
5. Feminist Bookstore Network Hothead Ad This ad for the Feminist Bookstore Network accompanied Katie Brown's article "Can Women's Bookstores Survive?" Women's bookstores were decimated by chains like Borders, and argued they deserved the community's support because they were often the only places that promoted lesbian and feminist writers. The ad features a cartoon of a woman and cat with the words ""Your local feminist bookstore needs your support"" and a list of bookstores involved."

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Representing a Diverse Community Curve’s writers and photographers documented their community’s diverse gender presentation and increasingly embraced trans inclusivity over the years. Stevens told Buzzfeed that Curve was radical within lesbian culture for including women who wore makeup, grew long hair, had children, or used wheelchairs all of which seem obvious today. [1] In February 1996, Katie Hern reported on biphobia within the community and the successful campaign for the San Francisco chapter of the Lesbian Avengers to change its mission statement to include bisexuality. [2]

At the same time, Curve rejected the mainstream emphasis on conventionally attractive women by regularly including positive depictions of androgynous and butch lesbians. The publication also embraced the continuum of butch and transgender identity early on, in its groundbreaking interview with Stone Butch Blues author Leslie Feinberg, who told Victoria Brownworth in August of 1993, “I am a woman, I am a butch, I am attracted by high-femme. Does that mean who I am is defined solely by those aspects of me? [We] have such narrow definitions of who we are as a community. I want to see that broadened.” [3]

In September of 2006, Curve published a series of articles by transgender people their lovers, and family members, to start a dialogue within the lesbian community. Editor Diane Anderson Minshall had a personal stake in such conversations after her partner transitioned, and struggled “to maintain my identity as a lesbian (or a lesbian-identified bisexual) without invalidating my partner's identity as a man. [4]” Sonja Elen Kisa taught readers the basics of transgender identity and explained how lesbians could avoid transphobic behaviors like asking questions about surgery and conflating transgender individuals with crossdressers in “How to Respect a Transsexual Person.”

The issue also included an interview with Kate Bornstein, and articles on trans documentaries and trans activists “every dyke should know about.” [5] This issue demonstrated that Curve respected difference and aimed to unite the lesbian and queer community, but the magazine also struggled to represent the racial diversity of the community.

In February 2001, Samiya A. Bashir declared in Curve that anti Black racism was pervasive in the lesbian community. The article “Fear of a Black Lesbian Planet” emphasized the intersecting oppression faced by Black lesbians, who felt excluded from the community because of both race and class. The article quoted Lisa Moore, who expressed:
"It’s so scary for dykes to come out that they cling to their race card. A white dyke comes out in an upper class community, and the separations are profound...White lesbians are fighting for marriage benefits and the right to stay home and have kids. You’ve got to have money to stay home and have kids unless you’re ready to live on welfare.” [6]
Indeed, the lifestyle promoted in Curve, including frequent travel, fashionable clothing, and expensive weddings, is inaccessible to many queer people. Despite these divisions, authors like Victoria A. Brownsworth revealed the reality of working class lesbian life in pieces like “Class Conscience.” Articles like Alison Peters' March 2010 profile of Valerie Rochester’s struggle against racial disparities in breast cancer care emphasized how racism affects women across all spheres of life. [7]

Diane Anderson Minshall’s April 2003 “Without Reservations: Native American Lesbians Struggle to Find Their Way” described the lives of indigenous lesbian activists like Lakota Beverly Little Thunder, who faced homophobia and threats from prominent leaders in her community while struggling to preserve Lakota traditions. The article inspired numerous letters to the editor from indigenous readers, demonstrating the transformative impact of representation. Kristen Alkrie described how rare articles about Indigenous lesbians were, and hoped “your article will reach women both on and off the rez to let them know they are not alone.” [8] Despite these articles, sociologist Margaret E. Gonsoulin found in 2007 issues of Curve, 80% of models were white. [9] The magazine echoed the community’s own internal conflicts and unrealized aspirations of unity and equality.

[1] Bianco, Marcie. “This Is What 25 Years Of Lesbian Culture In Print Looks Like.” BuzzFeed. Accessed December 22, 2020. https://www.buzzfeed.com/marcieb4f1ba695b/25-years-of-lesbian-culture-curve-magazine.
[2] Brownworth, Victoria A. "Leslie Feinberg and Transgender Liberation,” Denueve, August 1993.
[3] Anderson-Minshall, Diane. “Gender 101” Curve, vol. 16, no. 7, Sept. 2006, p. 52.
[4] Eager, Jo. “How to Respect a Transsexual Person,” Curve, vol. 16, no. 7, Sept. 2006, p. 53-55
[5] Tierra, Tatiana de la. "In Living Color at Michigan." Deneuve: The Lesbian Magazine, vol. 4, no. 4, 1994. Archives of Sexuality and Gender, Bashir, Samiya A. "FEAR OF A BLACK LESBIAN PLANET." Curve, vol. 11, no. 1, Feb. 2001, p. 20.
[6] Peters, Alison. “Why it Matters if You're Black or White,” Curve, Vol. 20, no. 2. Mar. 2010.
[7] Anderson Minshall, Diane. "Without Reservations: Native American Lesbians Struggle to Find Their Way." Curve, vol 13, April 2003.
[8] Thunder, Beverly Little. "Homophobia is everywhere." Curve, vol. 13, no. 6, Oct. 2003, p. 9 "Letters." Curve, vol. 13, no. 5, Aug. 2003, p. 9
[9] Gonsoulin, Margaret E. “Liberated and Inclusive? An Analysis of Self-Representation in a Popular Lesbian Magazine.” Journal of Homosexuality 57, no. 9 (September 30, 2010): 116.
Striving for Trans-Inclusion

Curve’s writers and photographers documented their community’s diverse gender presentation and increasingly embraced trans inclusivity over the years. Stevens told Buzzfeed that Curve was radical within lesbian culture for including women who wore makeup, grew long hair, or had children, all of which seem obvious today. [1] At the same time, Curve regularly included positive depictions of androgynous and butch lesbians.

The publication explored the continuum of butch and transgender identity early on, in its groundbreaking interview with Stone Butch Blues author Leslie Feinberg, who told Victoria Brownworth in August of 1993:

“I am a woman, I am a butch, I am attracted by high- femme. Does that mean who I am is defined solely by those aspects of me? [We] have such narrow definitions of who we are as a community. I want to see that broadened.” - Leslie Feinberg [2]
In September of 2006, Curve published a series of articles by transgender people, their lovers, and family members, to start a dialogue within the lesbian community. Editor Diane Anderson Minshall had a personal stake in such conversations after her partner transitioned. Minshall writes about she struggled “to maintain [her] identity as a lesbian (or a lesbian-identified bisexual) without invalidating [her] partner's identity as a man.” [3] Sonja Elen Kisa taught readers the basics of transgender identity and explained how lesbians could avoid transphobic behaviors like asking questions about surgery and conflating transgender individuals with crossdressers in “How to Respect a Transsexual Person.” [4] The issue also included an interview with Kate Bornstein, and articles on trans documentaries and trans activists “every dyke should know about.” This issue demonstrated that Curve respected difference and strived to unite the lesbian and queer community.

[1] Bianco, Marcie. “This Is What 25 Years Of Lesbian Culture In Print Looks Like.” BuzzFeed. Accessed December 22, 2020. https://www.buzzfeed.com/marcieb4f1ba695b/25-years-of-lesbian-culture-curve-magazine.
[2] Brownworth, Victoria A. "Leslie Feinberg and Transgender Liberation,” Denueve, August 1993.
[3] Anderson-Minshall, Diane. “Gender 101” Curve, vol. 16, no. 7, Sept. 2006, p. 52.
[4] Eager, Jo. “How to Respect a Transsexual Person,” Curve, vol. 16, no. 7, Sept. 2006, p. 53-55