“I was so sick of lesbians [being] treated like second class citizens. If I was going to do something I was going to do it so that we were represented as first-class, as having something nice for once.” Franco Stevens

In February 1990, 22-year-old lesbian bookstore clerk Franco Stevens took a leap of faith and developed a groundbreaking national lesbian magazine without financial backers. Franco saw a desperate need for a specifically lesbian magazine, the kind she looked for after she came out a year earlier and heard other women request when she worked at A Different Light bookstore. After she decided to "stop complaining and do it herself,” Stevens diligently studied publishing and miraculously raised the funds she needed for the first issue at the horse races. When she put a flier reading “Writers and photographers wanted for new lesbian magazine” at the bookstore, over 300 people responded. 

In May 1991, the first issue of Deneuve finally launched, with 32 pages full of stories about lesbian politicians, teachers, and musicians, travel, dating, love, and everyday lesbian life. Editor Katie Sanborn posed for the cover sporting sunglasses. Denueve mixed satirical columns like “Lesbo File” and “Dyke Drama” and celebrity cover stories with thoughtful reporting on struggles for civil rights and conflict and change within the community.

The few ads in the 3,000 print first run included one for Stevens’ father’s computer company and one for the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, but it was a hit with readers. The magazine’s subscriber count grew as Stevens partnered with lesbian feminist publisher Barbara Grier to include a subscription form in Naiad Press’ newsletter and conducted numerous cross country tours.  In April 1992 Deneuve moved from an editor’s living room into an office space in San Francisco's South of Market District, and hired their first employee managing editor Zelie Pollon.  By 1995 Denueve was the nation’s best selling lesbian magazine with a print run of 60,000 and mainstream advertisers.