First issue | 1988 |
---|---|
Final issue | 2001 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Dykes, Disability & Stuff was a lesbian and disability magazine founded in 1988 in Boston, Massachusetts and published in Madison, Wisconsin. [1] Its publication ended in Fall 2001. [2]
Dykes, Disability & Stuff was first published by Catherine Odette, née Lohr, and Sara Karon. [1] It covered inclusivity and disability rights in lesbian spaces and included artwork, reader submissions, articles, poetry, and queer book reviews. [1] It was published irregularly from summer 1988 to fall 2001, releasing 25 issues in total [2] under an annual budget of $6,000. [3] [4] Issues were not released in 1995, 1999, or 2000. Multiple individual quarterly releases were also missed in other years as a result of delays, which "continued to occur for the usual reasons - a combination of health limitations, coupled with a lack of contribution on [their] readers' end." [5] Notably, the annual budget was partially constituted by sponsorships from the Cambridge Women's Center and the Disabled Womyn's Educational Project. [3] [6] However, after they moved from Boston, Massachusetts to Madison, Wisconsin in 1991, [7] [8] they lost their Boston sponsor and began to struggle financially. [9] All issues were made available in six alternative formats to assist disabled readers, including standard print, cassette recordings, large text size, and Braille versions. [10] [11] In particular, the Braille edition was transcribed by Ruth Lehrer and the cassettes were voiced by Laura Yaros. [9]
Dykes, Disability & Stuff had a focus on representing and including disabled lesbians. To do this, the magazine showcased reader submissions, letters, artwork, and poetry. [1] Other content included articles about various aspects of queer culture, queer book reviews, [3] and news updates on disabled and queer issues such as the Sharon Kowalski case. [3] It also included advertisements for then-upcoming queer events and other queer magazines, businesses, and publications such as "The Project on Women and Disability", [1] "Off Our Backs", [3] [12] and "Blackout" [3]
Dykes, Disability, and Stuff created "a communications network for disabled dykes... to help build a strong lesbian community," [13] in accordance with Odette's beliefs on disability empowerment. [14] It focused on uplifting and empowering [13] [15] the relatively disconnected [15] disabled lesbian community and called attention to the under-discussed ableism present in lesbian communities everywhere. [16] In a larger context, it drew attention to lesbians who existed outside of the commonly accepted narrative. [16]
Dykes, Disability, and Stuff did not limit its assistance to those who were both disabled and lesbians. It also offered advice to disabled heterosexual women [11] out of a commitment to the disabled community as a whole. [1] [3]
First issue | 1988 |
---|---|
Final issue | 2001 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Dykes, Disability & Stuff was a lesbian and disability magazine founded in 1988 in Boston, Massachusetts and published in Madison, Wisconsin. [1] Its publication ended in Fall 2001. [2]
Dykes, Disability & Stuff was first published by Catherine Odette, née Lohr, and Sara Karon. [1] It covered inclusivity and disability rights in lesbian spaces and included artwork, reader submissions, articles, poetry, and queer book reviews. [1] It was published irregularly from summer 1988 to fall 2001, releasing 25 issues in total [2] under an annual budget of $6,000. [3] [4] Issues were not released in 1995, 1999, or 2000. Multiple individual quarterly releases were also missed in other years as a result of delays, which "continued to occur for the usual reasons - a combination of health limitations, coupled with a lack of contribution on [their] readers' end." [5] Notably, the annual budget was partially constituted by sponsorships from the Cambridge Women's Center and the Disabled Womyn's Educational Project. [3] [6] However, after they moved from Boston, Massachusetts to Madison, Wisconsin in 1991, [7] [8] they lost their Boston sponsor and began to struggle financially. [9] All issues were made available in six alternative formats to assist disabled readers, including standard print, cassette recordings, large text size, and Braille versions. [10] [11] In particular, the Braille edition was transcribed by Ruth Lehrer and the cassettes were voiced by Laura Yaros. [9]
Dykes, Disability & Stuff had a focus on representing and including disabled lesbians. To do this, the magazine showcased reader submissions, letters, artwork, and poetry. [1] Other content included articles about various aspects of queer culture, queer book reviews, [3] and news updates on disabled and queer issues such as the Sharon Kowalski case. [3] It also included advertisements for then-upcoming queer events and other queer magazines, businesses, and publications such as "The Project on Women and Disability", [1] "Off Our Backs", [3] [12] and "Blackout" [3]
Dykes, Disability, and Stuff created "a communications network for disabled dykes... to help build a strong lesbian community," [13] in accordance with Odette's beliefs on disability empowerment. [14] It focused on uplifting and empowering [13] [15] the relatively disconnected [15] disabled lesbian community and called attention to the under-discussed ableism present in lesbian communities everywhere. [16] In a larger context, it drew attention to lesbians who existed outside of the commonly accepted narrative. [16]
Dykes, Disability, and Stuff did not limit its assistance to those who were both disabled and lesbians. It also offered advice to disabled heterosexual women [11] out of a commitment to the disabled community as a whole. [1] [3]