by Joe Siegel

The Curve Foundation, the force behind Curve Magazine, has launched the first-ever to address underrepresentation of queer women in media. The Curve Foundation notes it is the only national nonprofit championing LGBTQ women, trans and nonbinary people’s culture and stories through an intergenerational lens.

The concept originated from Curve’s founder, Franco Stevens, and her idea to unite the publications that serve the lesbian community. Stevens ran the idea past Florence Gagnon, founder and creative director at Lez Spread The Word (lstw) magazine, during an in-person coffee meeting in Oakland, Calif. Stevens, Gagnon, and Lisa Cecchini, co-editor of lstw magazine, made the announcement.

“This coalition serves as a pivotal force to amplify the voices and stories of queer women, fostering visibility and dismantling stereotypes,” explained Stevens. “By consolidating resources and uniting diverse perspectives, the coalition can advocate for change, challenge societal norms, and empower the queer women community. It will provide a platform for collaboration, community building, and mutual support, ensuring a more accurate portrayal of queer women’s experiences.”

“Additionally, the coalition can spearhead initiatives to educate the public, promote media literacy, and contribute to cultural shifts by shaping positive narratives. In launching this coalition, the Curve Foundation takes a crucial step towards creating a more inclusive and representative media landscape, fostering understanding and catalyzing societal change,” Stevens added.

Members of the coalition include Curve Magazine, SkirtSoFlo (South Florida’s arts & lifestyle magazine for LGBTQ women), Lesbian Connection (a worldwide forum of news and ideas for, by and about lesbians), Sinister Wisdom (a multicultural lesbian literary and art journal), DIVA Magazine (for LGBTQIA women and non-binary people), Nonchalant Magazine (a U.K.-based zine platforming lesbian and nonbinary creatives), Tagg Magazine (San Diego-based, for LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary people) Autostraddle (news and lesbian culture for queer women and trans people of all genders) lstw magazine (bilingual print magazine for lesbian and queer communities), and GO Magazine (for queer women).

According to Stevens, the biggest challenges facing queer women’s media today are growing circulation, funding, increasing reach, the changing media landscape, advertising, attracting and/or retaining writers, changing terminology, postal issues, cybersecurity, and changing identities.

Some potential benefits discussed by the coalition include, “Knowledge sharing, sharing expenses and space to attend events we couldn’t otherwise afford, joint advertising sales, mentorships for new magazine publishers, combined direct mailings, increasing audience engagement, growing and diversifying our audience, and making a difference in the world,” according to the group.

Stevens said queer women “are often underrepresented in mainstream media.”

“A coalition dedicated to queer women’s media increases visibility and representation, ensuring that our stories, experiences, and perspectives are accurately portrayed,” said Stevens. “We are greater than the sum of our parts. Together, we can shape the queer women’s narrative to spark real cultural shifts within our communities and beyond. We are stronger together.”

IN THE NEWS
Volume 27
Issue 5