Millett stories Inspired by the TIDE COVER

It's Ang talking here: Okay so I thought the retro GIANT glasses of today came out of nowhere! Who knew Kate Millett started the trend. She was a trend setter in many more important ways, almost too many to count. One thing you might not know about her is that she was one of the first women to make a film using an all women crew. She did it back in 1971 (Three Lives). But a more personal story sticks in my mind whenever I hear her name.
I was a 16 year old lesbian convinced I was "the only one" on earth. I went to the Anaheim, CA public library every day after school and scoured the shelves for anything resembling me. Nothing in all the thousands of books... until one day, I found Sita by Kate Millett. Kate wrote about her affair with an older woman. I couldn't get enough. How many any other personal Kate Millett stories are out there?
I'd love to hear them.

Bird Watching at the Dinah Shore - a sociopolitical field trip

I used to go to the Dinah Shore lez-forget-about-the-golf weekend in Palm Springs way back in the 80s, before it became the largest lesbian hang in California. I thought I’d seen it all. But a new young friend told me, “It’s waaaay different now, ya gotta stay relevant. Check it out!”
So I dragged me and my blog-mate, Lily B. Wit, out to Palm Springs to see what the gen X, eGen, queer, lipstick forever, whatev, young lezbianas (that’s the Latina plural for lesbians) are doing these days.

The sun was shining but the wind-chill at Club Skirts on Sunday was bold enough to make a thousand nipples stand out. That didn’t bother the huge crowd hanging at the pool, half naked and bouncing, listening to “Betty” sing their theme song from The L Word. The trio – Alison, Amy & Elizabeth -- also has a new song, “Did You Tell Her?” with lyrics about things you don’t want to tell your lover.

But me, I was checking out the dozens of hairdo’s the young lesbians were sporting. For butches, futches and bois wearing shirts that hung to their knees, I could see that their pride was their HAIR. And for the ladies, femmes, and the feminine – HAIR has always been god.
And no-one wanted to mess up their hair by jumping into the pool.

So I went. I saw. I took photos.

And here’s a look at ........... HAIR AT THE DINAH

Photography by Lynn H. Ballen

Next week's post… tune in for “What’s in a name?” – I’ll explain all the new L-words that different generations are using to describe ourselves.

from our Archives

The Lesbian Tide had very colorful covers even when they were in monochrome. Doesn't this cover make you want to read what's inside - even today ... and be one of the 2,000 women who showed up on the campus of UCLA, April 17, 1973?
Posted by ANG

from our Archives

If you ask the average feminist of 2008 if the world has changed much in the past 30 years she will likely say, "No." When it comes to violence against women, not much has changed as all.
These women could be marching just like this today and they are.

Violence against women and girls continues unabated in every continent, country and culture. It takes a devastating toll on women’s lives, on their families, and on society as a whole. Most societies prohibit such violence — yet the reality is that too often, it is covered up or tacitly condoned. — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, 8 March 2007

Posted by ANG

Jeanne at the Gay Woman's West Coast Conference, L.A. 1971

Margie Adam Said ...

"The first invitation I ever received to perform in public was made by Jeanne Córdova of The Lesbian Tide magazine in Los Angeles after she heard me sing at an open mike at Kate Millet's Sacramento Women's Music Festival. I told her I wasn't a performer. I told her I wasn't political. She said just come and sing your songs at our benefit. Come and sing your woman's life for us. I went to LA. I sang songs about my life at a benefit for this lesbian feminist magazine." Margie Adam

Jeanne Córdova and The Lesbian Tide

The Lesbian Tide

Jeanne Cordova, lesbian feminist activist and organizer, was the founder of The Lesbian Tide magazine in 1971. Cordova was one of twelve children born in Germany to a culturally conservative Catholic family. After coming to the US with her family, she attended Catholic High School, where she was involved in sports and the student body organization. After graduating, she entered the convent, fulfilling the desire she had from the age of seven to be a nun. Her exposure to poverty, homosexuality, drugs and the peace movement during her work in the convent led her to seek a career in social work. After leaving the convent and getting her BA in social work in 1970, Cordova became involved in the gay rights movement. She was active in the Gay Liberation Front, Lesbian Feminists, Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), and the Crenshaw Women's Center and was one of the organizers of the first Gay Women's West Coast Conference.

Source: http://salticid.nmc.csulb.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/OralAural.woa/wa/interview?pt=109&bi=1&col=a1000&ser=a1004&prj=lafn101