dykemag

[dykemag]

What article would you recommend to someone just getting into queer history?

It would really depend on the person and what they are looking for in terms of queer history, but how about we do a choose-your-own-adventure type answer!

Are you looking for a look at how we got to where we are today in terms of queer history?

Read: Magnus Hirschfeld or Maryam Khatoon Molkara

Are you looking to find comfort in the fact that queerness has existed throughout history?

Read: Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum or Sir Ewan Forbes 

Are you looking to have some of your preconceived notions about queer history to be challenged?

Read: The Golden Orchid Society or Rotimi Fani-Kayode

Does queer history intimidate you because you are afraid of it being a list of tragedies?

Read: The Ladies of Llangollen or Jackie Shane

Do you want to learn about the intersection of queer and disability history?

Read: Lou Sullivan or Victoria Arellano 

Do you want queerness that resonates with lesser-known/discussed identities?

Read: Kristina King of Sweden or Zinaida Gippius 

Are you looking for more information about names you already recognize?

Read: Sappho or Langston Hughes

Are you looking to be pulled into a rabbit hole of queer history?

Read: Edward Carpenter or Xulhaz Mannan 

Are you looking for someone within your region?

Read: Making Queer History by country

Just searching for an odd little slice of queer history to wet your appetite?

Read: Elmyr de Hory or Salim Halali 

Just want to know something new?

Read: Bajazid Doda or Geoffrey Bawa

Just looking for a story to grip you emotionally?

Read: Emmeline Freda Du Faur or Zdeněk Koubek 

I hope you find something in this list that helps!

[dykemag]

Open Call For Submissions

LESBIAN AND DYKE MAGAZINE

Inspired to reinvent the lesbian zines, magazines, and newsletters of the 80s, Left Hand Studios presents our own magazine for queer femmes, butches, and our brethren who connect to the lesbian community in other ways. One part art and literary magazine, one part community news and content.

Judas Kissed With Tongue is a magazine for dykes, deviants, and general delights. While it is a 'lesbian magazine, we publish works of all kinds from lesbians, bi, pan, ace, and aro women, drag kings and queens, trans women and men, and people identifying as any flavor of genderqueer—basically, anyone who has had a personal experience with femininity and queerness, however enthusiastic or unwilling. As long as it's queer and in some way relates to dyke experiences, lives, or thoughts, you're in the right place.

Submissions for art, writing, articles, advice questions, and more are open here or on our blog under 'submit'! Find our first issue available free/PWYW as a PDF or print on our ko-fi.

We accept submissions of art, poetry, short stories, photographs, and essays, but what else?

Advice questions for our DEAR DYKES column

Community letters

Missed connections

Op eds

Advertisements for wlw owned businesses

Book reviews

Recipes

More!

Subscribe to our tumblr for updates, with a newsletter coming soon containing news and sneak-peaks of our issues.

Submission deadline for our Fall 2023 issue is October 31st. It's coming up fast, so submit now!

Please share our call around for anyone who might want to submit! Questions? Just send us an ask.

[dykemag]

Open Call For Submissions

LESBIAN AND DYKE MAGAZINE

Inspired by the wonderful lesbian zines, magazines, and newsletters of the 80s, Left Hand Studios presents our own magazine for queer femmes, butches, and our brethren who connect to the lesbian community in other ways in the modern era. One part art and literary magazine, one part community news and content.

Judas Kissed With Tongue is a magazine for dykes, deviants, and general delights. We publish works of all kinds from lesbians, bi, pan, ace, and aro women, drag kings and queens, trans women and men, and people identifying as any flavor of genderqueer—basically, anyone who has had a personal experience with femininity and queerness, however enthusiastic or unwilling. As long as it's queer and in some way relates to dyke experiences, lives, or thoughts, you're in the right place.

Submissions for art, writing, articles, advice questions, and more are open. Find our first issue available free/PWYW as a PDF or print on our ko-fi.

We accept submissions of art, poetry, short stories, photographs, and essays, but what else?

Advice questions for our DEAR DYKES column

Community letters

Missed connections

Op eds

Advertisements for wlw owned businesses

Book reviews

Recipes

More!

Subscribe to our tumblr for updates, with a newsletter coming soon containing news and sneak-peaks of our issues.

Submission deadline for our Fall 2023 issue is October 31st.

Please share our call around for anyone who might want to submit! Questions? Just send us an ask.

[dykemag]

hey, everyone! i've been working on curating some new stuff for my gender/queer studies folder! some of the new additions include every digitized issue of ftm international along with some other ftm newsletters that i thought were interesting. if you want to check them out, they're the folders that are colored red in the periodicals/magazines folder!

i am thinking about having a spreadsheet with all of the current books, magazines, zines, and periodicals that are in the folder and also adding a request form that people can fill out for me to add new books/topics. i truly want this to be a resource for everyone so i am definitely open to ideas/requests. until i get the spreadsheet/form set up, feel free to shoot me a dm or ask with any ideas or requests for my resource folder.

[dykemag]

While understandable, I think that the visceral panic and hostility towards “contradictory” identities within the queer community is incredibly frustrating at best and damaging at worst. 

The desperation so many queer people have for an objective rulebook of what labels mean and who can use them is just tragic assimilationist fear of deviancy, and an insult to the magnificence of rulebreaking. Historically queer identity has always been inherently subversive and challenging to the hegemonic ideals of cisheteronormative culture. Abject rigid categorisation of an experience that is to its very core antithetical to the standards of society™ seems like it's kind of missing the point.

I think that many younger queers find being faced with the fact that their labels are nothing more than a constructed performance to be scary and confronting, and understandably so. In a world where deviation from the commonly accepted norm can get you killed, having an easy way to explain who you are that you see as the one objective truth without flaw can be comforting. 

But personal invalidation or discomfort is not a reason for a marginalised person to enact the same bigotry they face onto others in an attempt to deflect it. Language is ever evolving, our feelings of queerness came far before we came up with terms like “gay” “lesbian” and “transgender”. The shifting of how we understand these terms and apply them to ourselves over time is inevitable, and I consider the fluidity of these categories not invalidating, but a beautiful thing. There is no “solving” the question of which identities are acceptable and which aren't, anyone who is attempting to do so is fighting a losing battle. Queerness is not something that will ever be able to be pinned down by a checklist of validity. Queerness is more than just “LGBT”.

it is eternal and ethereal.

[dykemag]

Butch/Femme history and culture introduction (written by a femme lesbian, deeply in love with being so)

💖Ideal for people immersing themselves in lesbian culture for the first time

🤍This post will contain brief summarising information about butch/femme culture and history as well as an introductory resource list for continuing your learning journey.

🧡It is by no means exhaustive and is intended as a very basic and simplified introduction that people can and should easily build on. Please try to keep this intention in mind before telling me i have neglected something!

⚠️ Disclaimer - this post is admittedly very centred on butch/femme history of the US and western culture in the 1900s. If there is a different culture or time that you’d be interested to learn more about, I would be overjoyed to research it so please let me know! Lesbianism has existed everywhere in every time and the cultural variation of this is beautiful and SO important. I do not want to neglect that but cannot fit it all in this brief introduction post.

“Whether reclaiming femininity from the male gaze or rejecting feminine gender norms by embracing butch, the subculture is intrinsically radical: it empowers lesbians to renounce patriarchal standards of beauty.” - Megan Christopher

What is butch/femme?

butch/femme is a lesbian subculture with a deep and rich history and culture. It goes far beyond masculine and feminine aesthetics and informs lesbian identity and dynamics. Butch/femme culture is a crucial part of LGBTQ+ history and culture as a whole.

It has existed for a very long time but it is very important to know that not all lesbians are butch/femme. In fact, most lesbians will not identify with either label and that is completely okay! You will see some lesbians describe themselves as butch4butch or femme4femme.

Traditionally, there is nothing in between butch/femme and to suggest otherwise negates the rich significance of the identities. Some people suggest it is a spectrum with “futch” in the middle. This is however not the case and the significance of this will become clear as we delve further into the importance of butch/femme identities to queer culture and history. Crucially too, straight women cannot be butch/femme

Aren’t butch/femme just replicating traditional heterosexual gender roles?

Absolutely not! In fact, they outwardly challenge them.

Gender and sex are constructs. A lot of lesbians find that butch/femme are gender identities in of themselves (myself included)

Instead, butch/femme are identities that encapsulate a particular “performance” of gender. The attributes of these may seem “masculine” or “feminine” but this is only because of the strict gender binary our society ascribes to gender performance.

Judith Butler, in their book Gender Trouble, notes that a lot of lesbians in general have a complex relationship to gender. This is because our binary perception of womanhood is constructed on the basis that “male” is default and “female” is the only sexed other. Because lesbianism is the only identity that totally de-centres men, a lot of lesbians (regardless of being butch, femme or neither) will not feel like they are conventionally “women”.

A lot of the time, butch/femme roles were and still are a source of safety and solace

Butch

Butch refers to masculinity in any number of ways

Butches typically and historically face high levels of discrimination and harassment for their gender non conformity.

A very important butch text is Stone Butch Blues, written by Leslie Feinberg

In the book, Feinberg discusses the importance of working-class identities to butchness.

Some butches are transmasculine. This doesn’t make them less of a lesbian, as long as they have ties to butchness and lesbianism.

Stone butches are lesbians who do not like to be touched (or “receive”) during sex

Femme

Femmes are lesbians who present more “femininely”.

Femmes do not necessarily conform to society’s perception of womanhood. Many will have complex relationships to gender identity or will present as hyper-feminine.

Hyper-femininity is an exaggerated performance of womanhood where aspects of dress, character and/or mannerisms of femininity may be heightened.

This is why a lot of the time lesbians can still “clock” (or recognise) femmes as being gay. Straight women tend to feel put off by the level of femininity common with hyper-feminine femmes.

History

In western culture, butch/femme culture existed underground or secret up until the mid 20th century. We can assume however that butch/femme dynamics have existed for a long time.

In the early 1900s, butch/femme dynamics were confined to underground gay bars.

In this case, femmes were often considered in a position of privilege as they were “straight passing” and could only be recognisably lesbian when accompanied by a butch.

Femmes will often assert sexuality through their femininity.

In the 1940s, butch/femme dynamics were extremely important and a thriving part of lesbian culture.

Women were allowed to enter bars without men.

In the US, butches would have to dress femininely in order to hold employment and avoid harassment and assault based on their preferred gender non-conformity.

Butches dressed in a way that was accepted by society, while still presenting as more masculine than the norm. Alix Genter writes that "butches wore long, pleated skirts with their man-tailored shirts, sometimes with a vest or coat on top"

In the 1950s, many butches refused to live these double lives. Their full-time masculine presentation made it difficult for them to work so they were often employed in factories or as taxi drivers. (hence the importance of working-class solidarity with butches)

Increased lesbian visibility and a strong anti-gay political stance at the time of McCarthyism led to increased attacks on queer women and resulted in a particularly defiant gay bar culture.

Butches are therefore extremely important in our fight for LGBTQ+ rights. It was butches and trans women who were known for fighting back for our rights and visibility.

In the 1970s, particular sentiments of lesbian separatist feminism declared masculinity and butchness was harmful to women. This led to the popularisation of more androgynous fashion amongst lesbians including boots, jeans and flannels. This movement weakened butch identifiers and is known for alienating lesbians of colour and working class lesbians.

Lesbian separatism is essentially the idea that lesbians should exist separate to men and heterosexual women. That is why some theorists believed performances of masculinity were harmful (while others did not believe this and it is obviously not true)

Introductory reading list (online articles that are short and accessible)

how butch/femme subcultures allow gay women to thrive by Megan Christopher for VICE: https://www.vice.com/en/article/wjwzqx/how-butch-femme-subcultures-allow-gay-women-to-thrive

A good introduction to the radical history and importance of butch/femme identities.

The Lesbians That Founded The Gay Village And The Mafia Alliance They Made For Protection by Diana Robertson: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-lesbians-that-founded-the-gay-village-and-the-mafia_b_5941d7a1e4b0d99b4c921126

Really helpful history!

No Matter What’s Gendertrending, the Butch is Here To Stay by Jack Halberstam

https://web.archive.org/web/20180907141513/https://www.afterellen.com/tv/443117-no-matter-whats-gendertrending-the-butch-is-here-to-stay

I don’t like the suggestion of the title but the article itself has good information. Jack Halberstam is an important queer theorist. I also recommend his writings on queer failure. This article has some generally good direction about butchness, especially in modern media. “Butch is always a misnomer; masculine but not male, female but not feminine, the term serves as a placeholder for the unassimilable, for that which remains indefinable or unspeakable within the many identifications that we make and that we claim.”

Key books for a deeper understanding (and their pros and cons)

The Persistent Desire: A Femme–Butch Reader by Joan Nestle

Gender Trouble by Judith Butler (one of my favourite books of all time. Really difficult to get through but very worthwhile and completely changed the way I understand sex and gender)

Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg (an incredibly important lesbian text. Can be very difficult to get through, especially emotionally. Please make sure to check triggers before reading)

Dagger: On Butch Women by Lily Burana

[dykemag]

Deeply important. When purity-consciousness overwhelms a movement, it often ends up doing its enemies work for it. Direct link to thread below, above images screenshotted for posterity:

[dykemag]

happy pride to all lesbians w/ comphet!!!! u are not less than as a lesbian and ur feelings are incredibly valid. the way u feel is not ever ur fault and shame+imposter syndrome as a lesbian can be very exhausting. allow urself to be celebratory and proud this month❤️❤️❤️

[dykemag]

Please join me in celebrating the release of our first issue of Judas Kissed With Tongue, a lesbian publication by and for our community.

Get your copy here for free!

We are just getting started on our crazy journey to publication, and we are so grateful to the support of the community and our wonderful team.

Special thanks to our very first writers and artists for trusting us with your work while we are still in the infancy of our project:

Chuck Haugh Cedar Ecker Griffin K. Day

And of course to our team members who allowed us to feature their work:

M. Woode, @rose-caravan The Babadyke, @dogbiteyou Bard Rock, @flatbirder

Special special thanks to @flatbirder for the fantastic cover design!

Interested in having your work featured? Submit here before November 1st!

[dykemag]

January 24, 1972

[dykemag]

Open Call For Submissions

LESBIAN AND DYKE MAGAZINE

Inspired by the wonderful lesbian zines, magazines, and newsletters of the 80s, Left Hand Studios presents our own magazine for queer femmes, butches, and our brethren who connect to the lesbian community in other ways in the modern era.

Judas Kissed With Tongue is a magazine for dykes, deviants, and general delights. We publish works of all kinds from lesbians, bi, pan, ace, and aro women, drag kings and queens, trans women and men, and people identifying as any flavor of genderqueer—basically, anyone who has had a personal experience with femininity and queerness, however enthusiastic or unwilling. As long as it's queer and in some way relates to dyke experiences, lives, or thoughts, you're in the right place.

Submissions for art, writing, articles, advice questions, and more are open. Find our first issue available August 31st through PDF or print on our ko-fi. Subscribe to our tumblr for updates, with a newsletter coming soon containing news and sneak-peaks of our issues.

Submission deadline for our Fall 2023 issue is October 31st.

Please share our call around for anyone who might want to submit! Questions? Just send us an ask.

[dykemag]

Happy to announce we will be releasing Judas Kissed With Tongue Issue 0 on Thursday August 31st!

hi, ive just found your zine and im interested to know if theres a planned publication date for the first issue yet, as looking through your blog i couldnt seem to find anything

Hi there!

We had planned for our first release to be the Spring issue, but things slowed down a bit due to work for our team and it's now coming at the end of August instead (because that's when we get printer access back haha). I can say happily that the first issue is fully put together and awaiting a few final edits from our lovely volunteer copy editors, and we are so excited to share it with everyone. We will let folks on here know when we have the exact date!

We are also taking submissions for our Fall issue from now until November.

[dykemag]

waking after the surgery by Leila Chatti

[dykemag]

[the cover of A consensus handbook by Seeds for Change, featuring the title in Orange lettering followed by an color drawing of 11 people working on the maintenance of a house]

I'm going to share this as a separate post for those that missed the ask: A consensus handbook by Seeds for Change https://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/handbookweb.pdf is a free and very handy guide to how to take decisions as a group without leaders or hierarchies. I'm going to drop the chapters here to show off just how much useful stuff it has. If you work with consensus, there's almost certainly a problem in here that you recognize and wish you had some answers to!

1: Making decisions by consensus What’s wrong with the democracy we’ve got? - Why use consensus? How does consensus work? - The consensus process - Key skills and values for consensus 2: Facilitating consensus The role of meetings in group work - What is facilitation? - Facilitating a meeting – Making meetings accessible - Taking minutes 3: Facilitating consensus in large groups Meeting the conditions for consensus in large groups - Processes for large groups 4: Facilitating consensus in virtual meetings Why have virtual meetings? - The tools for the job - Challenges of facilitating virtual meetings - A consensus process for virtual meetings 5: Quick consensus decision making Preparing for quick consensus - How it works 6: Facilitation techniques and activities Starting the meeting - Regulating the flow of the meeting - Encouraging involvement - Techniques for problem solving and tackling difficult issues - Prioritisation techniques - Activities for re-energising - Evaluating meetings 7: Troubleshooting in your meetings Our meetings take a long time - Time pressure - Our meetings lack focus - Our group is large and we don’t enjoy meetings - We’re stuck and can’t reach a decision - Too many ideas - ‘Steamroller’ proposals - How can we deal with disruptive behaviour? - What to do when someone blocks - Our group is biased towards the status quo 8: Bridging the gap between theory and practice Conflict and consensus - The life cycle of a conflict - Ways of dealing with conflict - Techniques for inviting collaboration Power dynamics - Step one: What are our feelings about power dynamics? - Step two: Diagnosis – what is actually going on - in your group? - Step three: Where do your power imbalances come from? - Step four: Work out some ways to change your power dynamics Other common issues - External pressures - Open groups with changing membership - What if you’re the only person who wants the group to change? 9: Consensus in wider society So how might it work? - Challenges, questions and tensions - How do we get there? - A final thought

[dykemag]

these minis are BACK IN STOCK!! full size also restocked

[dykemag]

SMALL CONSOLATIONS FOR LAZY GARDENERS

A little poem about imperfect efforts, from my zine Small Consolations.

(Made with support from The Canada Council for the Arts and my subscribers on Patreon! Thank you!)

[dykemag]

Sammy and Molly, illustrated for the first issue of The Garden People, a collaborative zine about gardens and the people who grow them 🌷 You can find the zine in my shop.