Stand Up and Be Counted: Women and Social Justice in Michigan (1960-1985)

Title

Lesbian Connection

Description

Established in 1974 by the lesbian-feminist collective Ambitious Amazons based in East Lansing Michigan, Lesbian Connection (LC or Elsie) is the longest-running publication for lesbians in the United States. The founders of LC sought to create the first free, national lesbian newspaper to encourage the growth and interconnectivity of lesbian communities across the country. "It occurred to us that no matter how many artists created lesbian albums, books, or posters, or how many activists organized lesbian groups, centers, or conferences, it all would be basically pointless if other lesbians had no way of knowing these things existed. In an attempt to fill this need for a worldwide lesbian communications network, we decided to start Lesbian Connection, a free worldwide magazine for lesbians" (Margy Lesher, editor of Lesbian Connection, from "The Lesbian Press" in Jan Whitt, Women in American Journalism: A New History p. 163. Interview with the author, Dec. 9, 2003). In an attempt to represent the diversity of lesbians across the nation, all content in Lesbian Connection is submitted by readers. The publication is essentially a readers' forum, as opposed to a more common format that combines content produced by the publishing collective with reader submissions.

Upon establishment, Lesbian Connection was unique from existing publications of its genre for its nation-wide geographical scope, open submission policy, and its now international "Contact Dykes" list that made available the names and telephone numbers of women willing to provide information about lodging, restaurants, and activities to other women travelling in the area. Also uncommon at the time of LC's conception, the publication was (and still is) offered to all lesbians free of charge, with a suggested donation that has generally increased over time. As Lesher explained, "Our point was to help the lesbian movement grow. Accessibility was important. Being free was important. We didn't want a lack of money to stop anyone" (Lesher, unpublished history of Lesbian Connection, 1999, from Women in American Journalism, p. 164).

Issues of Lesbian Connection typically include news of court cases, festivals, cultural events, demonstrations, and lesbian resources (such as publications, organizations, businesses, books, music, and films). It does not publish fiction, personal ads, or requests for pen pals.

References and Further Readings:

Kucharski, E. (2017, June 15). Print Thrives in the Lesbian Community. Between the Lines.

Whitt, J. (2008). Women in American Journalism: A New History. University of Illinois Press.

Format

Newsletter

Dates

August 1974-Present

Publisher

Ambitious Amazons
Elsie Publishing Institute

Location of Publication

East Lansing, Michigan

Number of Issues

(Ongoing)

License

Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial

Web Source

Lesbian Connection on JSTOR