I Could Spend All Day Looking at the Covers of These LGBTQ Publications
July 14, 2019 4:34 PM Subscribe
A treasure trove of queer publications from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s are now available through Reveal Digital’s open access collection “Independent Voices.” Check out this JSTOR article for some starting points."Fifty years ago, when a popular New York gay bar called the Stonewall Inn was raided by police, patrons fought back. The moment came to represent the beginning of the modern LGBTQ movement, but as Jules Gleeson explains, the fight for LGBTQ civil rights had actually been building for decades. Evidence of the emotional richness of this movement, from joy to righteous anger, can be found in the many LGBTQ publications, both pre- and post-Stonewall uprising, digitized by Reveal Digital in their Independent Voices collection. The LGBTQ series—which is open access and freely available to all—is a tremendous resource for scholars of LGBTQ history and the curious casual reader alike."
This post was deleted for the following reason: Poster's Request -- frimble
It is a shame this list of publications doesn't include RFD, a publication which has been around since the 70s and which has been a great resource for rural living gay men for decades. Perhaps my mentioning it here will bring it into daylight where it deserves to be.
posted by hippybear at 5:14 PM on July 14, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 5:14 PM on July 14, 2019 [3 favorites]
these are delightful thank you
posted by French Fry at 6:02 PM on July 14, 2019
posted by French Fry at 6:02 PM on July 14, 2019
Also this reminds me a vivid childhood memory of thinking Lesbian was some type of vegetarian because these magazines were only displayed at the natural food co-op by my house.
posted by French Fry at 6:04 PM on July 14, 2019 [14 favorites]
posted by French Fry at 6:04 PM on July 14, 2019 [14 favorites]
Once again I can't help wondering why we ever left the early 70s.
(I know the answer is at least in part COINTELPro, but darn it.)
posted by allthinky at 5:55 AM on July 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
(I know the answer is at least in part COINTELPro, but darn it.)
posted by allthinky at 5:55 AM on July 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
Where's The Ladder?
"The Ladder was the first nationally distributed lesbian publication in the United States. It was published monthly from 1956 to 1970, and once every other month in 1971 and 1972. It was the primary publication and method of communication for the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian organization in the US. It was supported by ONE, Inc. and the Mattachine Society, with whom the DOB retained friendly relations. The name of the magazine was derived from the artwork on its first cover, simple line drawings showing figures moving towards a ladder that disappeared into the clouds."
posted by Carol Anne at 6:23 AM on July 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
"The Ladder was the first nationally distributed lesbian publication in the United States. It was published monthly from 1956 to 1970, and once every other month in 1971 and 1972. It was the primary publication and method of communication for the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian organization in the US. It was supported by ONE, Inc. and the Mattachine Society, with whom the DOB retained friendly relations. The name of the magazine was derived from the artwork on its first cover, simple line drawings showing figures moving towards a ladder that disappeared into the clouds."
posted by Carol Anne at 6:23 AM on July 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
I just spent the last few hours going through the back issues of the Philadelphia Gay News. My god, have things changed!
I'm glad it stopped before the Horrors struck. A simpler time when all we had to worry about was getting the shit kicked out of you by closeted cops, politicians trying to ban gays from public meetings, and {sigh} Rizzo.
Thanks so much for posting this.
posted by james33 at 7:01 AM on July 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
I'm glad it stopped before the Horrors struck. A simpler time when all we had to worry about was getting the shit kicked out of you by closeted cops, politicians trying to ban gays from public meetings, and {sigh} Rizzo.
Thanks so much for posting this.
posted by james33 at 7:01 AM on July 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
I stumbled across this yesterday and had so much fun poking around it for a few minutes; I'm looking forward to setting aside some time to dig into it more soon. Thanks for bringing it to Metafilter!
posted by Stacey at 7:02 AM on July 15, 2019
posted by Stacey at 7:02 AM on July 15, 2019
I encourage everyone to read Tara Robertson's post about Reveal's digitization of On Our Backs, which lays out the ethical issues around digitizing publications (in this case, porn) in which subjects were unable to consent to the future widespread availability of their image.
posted by avocet at 10:21 AM on July 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by avocet at 10:21 AM on July 15, 2019 [2 favorites]
The Detroit Gay Liberator is worth checking out.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:34 AM on July 15, 2019
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:34 AM on July 15, 2019
Oh, this is just fabulous. I am such a huge fan of archives being put online. It's so wonderful that these publications aren't just moldering away in a university library basement - they're now available for any of us to read, any time.
Thank you for posting this, stoneweaver!
posted by kristi at 9:59 AM on July 16, 2019
Thank you for posting this, stoneweaver!
posted by kristi at 9:59 AM on July 16, 2019
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