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100 Awesome Magazine Covers Starring Lesbians

riese

Posted by

on August 19, 2011

So, as a magazine junkie, I'm a sucker for those "50 Most Iconic/Controversial/Well-Designed Magazine Covers" lists that seem to come out near-monthly. I don't know why I click on them every time, as it's always the same magazines, it's not like one day I'll wake up and be like, OH MY GOD JOHN AND YOKO IN ROLLING STONE I DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING.

So I thought I'd make a list of the 50 Most Iconic GLBTQ Magazine Covers.

The problem is, it turns out, that people really don't like to put ladies on magazine covers and finding 50 ICONIC covers was hard! Turns out that by "gay," everyone means "dudes." I know this comes as a giant surprise to you, my friends of all genders and sexual orientations -- but literally every major mainstream-magazine's BIG STORY about gay people had DUDES on the cover with a special emphasis on white dudes. Whether it was published in 1977 or 2011, stories about gay people in genreal are illustrated by dudes.

On top of that, so many of the iconic "celebrity" covers that sprang to mind -- Adam Lambert in Rolling Stone, Clay Aiken/Lance Bass in People, Neil Patrick Harris in New York Magazine -- were gay guys. And the last thing I wanted to do was make an OUT magazine-esque list (read: 80% men) for this fine lesbian publication.

Consequentially, I decided to leave men out of it altogether and just focus on Lesbian-Containing magazine covers from all over the newsstand, whether iconic or just emblematic of the times or just good-looking. This process took me literally ten days.

And I am proud to present:

+

100 Lesbian Magazine Covers

 criteria: all of these magazine covers are from print magazines AND every cover, if it includes recognizable people, contains at least one woman who identifies as gay/bi/queer/lesbian or did so at the time of the magazine's printing. except michelle rodriguez, but we had to include that cover b/c that's the one where everyone thought she came out even though she didn't come out.

Check yourselves out, you crazy diamonds! [Click to enlarge/see the gallery. There are two 50-photo galleries below for your delight.]

 

 

Magazines Featured in this Gallery:
+ GO! Mag
+ DIVA UK
+ Curve
+ The Advocate
+ OUT
+ LOTL
+ She
+ FlawLes
+ Alice
+ g3 mag
+ Dirty Queer
+ Maui Time
+ The Stranger - Seattle
+ qNotes
+ Girls Like Us Magazine
+ Out Northwest
+ Velvet Park
+ Cherrie
+ IKONS
+ Riverfront Times
+ SF Weekly
+ Boston Globe
+ People

Out of Print:
+ Vintage lesbian magazines including The Furies can be found at rainbowhistory.org
+ Outweek
+ Girlfriends
+ Jane and Jane
+ BOUND
+ On Our Backs

For more magazine cover fun, visit Newmanology!

 

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60 responses to “100 Awesome Magazine Covers Starring Lesbians”

  1. Rachel
    Rachel (member)
    August 19, 2011 at 11:45 am

    OH HI JULIE GOLDMAN WHAT’S UP

    Thumb up 1
    1. however
      however (member)
      August 19, 2011 at 12:01 pm Report user

      i vote for Julie Goldman on all the covers of all the magazines.
      Brandy can come too.

      Thumb up 1
  2. B
    B
    August 19, 2011 at 12:19 pm

    another one.. ‘love her like a lesbian’ hahaha straight guys are jealous!

    http://onlinepeoplemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Kim-Kardashian-FHM-Magazine-August-2011-South-Africa.jpg

    Thumb up 1
  3. Anya
    Anya (member)
    August 19, 2011 at 12:25 pm Report user

    Where’s Lesbian Connection in all of this. While I wouldn’t call their covers “iconic” they are definitely classic (and often giggle-worth)! The mag has been going since the 1970s.

    Covers here: http://lconline.org/PastIssueCovers.aspx

    Thumb up 1
    1. riese
      riese (member)
      August 19, 2011 at 8:58 pm

      oh my goddess

      Thumb up 1
    2. Daphne
      Daphne (member)
      August 20, 2011 at 12:39 pm Report user

      My friend brought back the terrifying, surreal pumpkin-head lesbians issue from a lesbian vacation spot! They really employ a lot of different, ah, strategies in choosing artwork . . .

      Thumb up 1
    3. Lora
      Lora (member)
      August 20, 2011 at 7:46 pm Report user

      These look like the covers to a bunch of really shitty undergraduate literary journals.

      Thumb up 1
  4. Nadin
    Nadin
    August 19, 2011 at 12:58 pm

    This collection ist so great! I really love good magazines. My recommendation is Bend Over:
    http://bendovermagazine.com/issues.html

    Thumb up 1
    1. Libby
      Libby (member)
      August 20, 2011 at 8:46 pm Report user

      Agreed.

      Thumb up 1
  5. Lily
    Lily
    August 19, 2011 at 1:10 pm

    Loving all these hot covers.

    Bit surprised Lily Loveless and Kat Prescott’s DIVA cover didn’t make it on the list. That was hot.

    Thumb up 1
    1. riese
      riese (member)
      August 19, 2011 at 2:01 pm

      aren’t lily loveless and kat prescott straight? on all of these covers, if there are celebrities/actors/recognizable people on them, at least one of those people is gay/bi/lesbian/queer or identified as such at the time. straight actresses who play gay roles would be a whole different list

      Thumb up 1
  6. Paper
    Paper (member)
    August 19, 2011 at 1:40 pm Report user

    yesyesyesyesyesthsiissoperfect.
    I love magazines. When I grow up, I want to be a magazine.

    Thumb up 1
    1. riese
      riese (member)
      August 19, 2011 at 2:08 pm

      that’s what i want too!

      Thumb up 1
  7. Natasia
    Natasia (member)
    August 19, 2011 at 1:43 pm Report user

    The Village Voice cover of Rachel Maddow is so awesome! I’m glad I didn’t mention my love of it that time I ran into her (ran after her?) on the subway platform once.

    Thumb up 1
  8. Carmen SanDiego
    Carmen SanDiego (member)
    August 19, 2011 at 2:08 pm Report user

    Nice job Riese!
    Thank you for not going the Out Magazine route. I wish Out Magazine just came out as a gay magazine for men already…

    Thumb up 1
  9. NewTexan
    NewTexan (member)
    August 19, 2011 at 2:33 pm Report user

    My friend, who is an army veteran, and I went to the March on Washington back in ’93(?). Her picture is in the Newsweek issue; taken from the back to show the “Lesbian Vet” jacket we made out of her old Army uniform. It had a giant sparkly pink triangle on it :) I think she was standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial at the time.

    Thumb up 1
    1. riese
      riese (member)
      August 19, 2011 at 8:59 pm

      wow, that’s so cool!

      Thumb up 1
  10. christine
    christine (member)
    August 19, 2011 at 2:57 pm Report user

    obviously just here for the time travel.

    OH WAIT

    Thumb up 1
  11. Diane
    Diane (member)
    August 19, 2011 at 3:02 pm Report user

    Maddow- SWOON.

    Thumb up 1
  12. EmilyLdn
    EmilyLdn (member)
    August 19, 2011 at 3:27 pm Report user

    Hey Riese,

    A British magazine (kind of gossip etc weekly thing) had a Jessie J cover very recently that would have fitted into this :-)

    http://www.jessiejofficial.com/news.php?item=205

    http://www.jessiejheaven.com/2011/08/09/jessie-j-in-more-magazine/

    Thumb up 1
  13. Bhan
    Bhan
    August 19, 2011 at 4:35 pm

    I thought Lady Gaga wasn’t actually queer? Just a super-ally?

    Thumb up 1
    1. Suburban Soulgirl
      Suburban Soulgirl (member)
      August 19, 2011 at 5:08 pm Report user

      Lady Gaga is bi…said so in the Advocate back in June.

      Thumb up 1
      1. riese
        riese (member)
        August 19, 2011 at 9:01 pm

        she says she’s bisexual but the most important part is that she’s wearing a strap-on. i mean, there are plenty of lady gaga covers better than that gaga cover from the last two years — so many, actually — but i wasn’t gonna choose one of them, i didn’t feel she needed to be included. but something about the strap-on combined with the alleged bisexuality but sort of queerish behavior and then just like, the overall hype/ridiculousness about it all makes it just gay

        Thumb up 1
  14. Aquila
    Aquila
    August 19, 2011 at 4:45 pm

    This is the one I remember:

    http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19970414,00.html

    Thumb up 1
  15. Emily
    Emily (member)
    August 19, 2011 at 5:50 pm Report user

    this is soso sweet

    Thumb up 1
  16. Lynne
    Lynne (member)
    August 19, 2011 at 7:51 pm Report user

    I want like all of these framed and on my wall

    Thumb up 1
  17. Vanessa
    Vanessa (member)
    August 19, 2011 at 8:11 pm Report user

    This is my favorite gallery AS has ever done. Ever. And that’s saying a lot, considering how many feelings I have about Kate Moenig/Shane.

    Thumb up 1
    1. riese
      riese (member)
      August 19, 2011 at 9:03 pm

      THANK YOU V. i am really passionate about magazines in general to a degree that i realize possibly nobody else is and therefore i am pleased to hear of your pleasant experience!

      Thumb up 1
  18. Jenn
    Jenn (member)
    August 19, 2011 at 8:38 pm Report user

    Maddow… you and your blue glasses. What will I do if you quite TV?

    Thumb up 1
  19. RachelwasHere
    RachelwasHere (member)
    August 19, 2011 at 8:38 pm Report user

    Jennifer Knapp > Vanessa Carlton

    Also every time Knapp tweets about whiskey I feel a little gayer.

    Thumb up 1
  20. Jenn
    Jenn (member)
    August 19, 2011 at 8:39 pm Report user

    ugh, quit*

    Thumb up 1
  21. magiclovemuffin
    magiclovemuffin (member)
    August 19, 2011 at 9:13 pm Report user

    Oh man, I remember that TIME issue with Ellen on the cover. I was like 13. And by my homophobic and scared reaction, it was pretty clear to myself that I was gay, but I rejected that thought with homophobia. I never read an issue of TIME in all the years my parents were subscribers, but when no one was around, I sneaked away and read that whole feature on Ellen. I remember recognizing myself in her answers, even though I was only 13. She said she kind of realized because she’d say to herself something like, “If I were a guy, I’d date her.” And those were the kinds of things I thought. I just remember being freaked out by how much I had in common with what she said. It was crazy.

    Thumb up 1
  22. Claire
    Claire (member)
    August 19, 2011 at 9:23 pm Report user

    Where did Beth Ditto’s nipples go?

    Thumb up 1
  23. Mandy
    Mandy
    August 19, 2011 at 11:45 pm

    Kate Moennig isn’t out, is she?

    Thumb up 1
    1. ms_anne_thropy
      ms_anne_thropy (member)
      August 20, 2011 at 12:55 am Report user

      Thumb up 1
    2. riese
      riese (member)
      August 20, 2011 at 12:39 pm

      sigh, we always get a “kate moennig isn’t out?” comment every time we talk about her. she’s out, more or less. J-Beals announced it in the advocate, for starters, but there’s a million other places where it’s been said indirectly. she hasn’t announced it in a magazine but it’s known. also we know it personally for an absolute fact that she is gay, the end. it’s interesting though how in this world unless someone announces it on a magazine cover, it’s considered inappropriate to acknowledge that they are in fact gay and not trying to hide it or deny it

      Thumb up 1
      1. Dee
        Dee (member)
        August 20, 2011 at 7:33 pm Report user

        True story. It seems like Kate has done her best to not make a spectacle of her gayness and for that it’s as if she isn’t officially a member of our community. I can respect her decision not to make a grandiose public announcement about her personal life. I’ve always thought of her sexuality as a no-brainer, lol, why overstate the obvious?

        Thumb up 1
  24. Eliza
    Eliza
    August 20, 2011 at 12:44 am

    Is Anita Bryant gay?

    Thumb up 1
  25. jennifer
    jennifer
    August 20, 2011 at 4:07 am

    it was so fun to look at all of these!

    Thumb up 1
  26. Freddie
    Freddie (member)
    August 20, 2011 at 9:38 am Report user

    This is awesome. I did a project in college where I got to look at all kinds of back issues of super vintage lesbian magazines, fun times.

    Thumb up 1
  27. Sebastian
    Sebastian (member)
    August 20, 2011 at 9:47 am Report user

    I’m impressed with yr ability to find these, make it all look nice, etc. very cool riese very cool

    Thumb up 1
  28. Rose
    Rose (member)
    August 20, 2011 at 12:02 pm Report user

    I love how well-represented Baltimore City Paper is!

    I also just bought that New Yorker recently. I love the New Yorker and that cover made me especially happy.

    Thumb up 1
  29. Caitlin
    Caitlin (member)
    August 20, 2011 at 12:05 pm Report user

    I just love the “Women Who Fall for Lesbians” cover. Uh, isn’t it normally women who fall for lesbians?

    Thumb up 1
  30. Jan
    Jan
    August 20, 2011 at 1:30 pm

    I like the concept, but some of those women aren’t actually lesbians. And isn’t having Anne Heche and Sheryl Swoopes up there kind of…um…awkward?

    Thumb up 1
    1. kd15
      kd15 (member)
      August 20, 2011 at 3:58 pm Report user

      Under the criteria it says: “identifies as gay/bi/queer/lesbian or did so at the time of the magazine’s printing”. Swoopes and Heche identified as bi or lesbian at the time of the printing of those covers and that’s why they were included.

      Thumb up 1
      1. riese
        riese (member)
        August 20, 2011 at 7:13 pm

        what kd15 said

        Thumb up 1
      2. A.
        A. (member)
        August 20, 2011 at 11:03 pm Report user

        Wait, what? Sheryl Swoopes isn’t gay any more? Wikipedia would lead me to believe she’s still self-identifying as a lesbian…

        Thumb up 1
        1. magiclovemuffin
          magiclovemuffin (member)
          August 20, 2011 at 11:19 pm

          There’s an article about Swoopes on here. My guess is the article was like a month ago. Stirred some tense debate. But yeah, Sheryl Swoopes ain’t no lesbian. It turns out, she’s marrying a dude. Guess that’s what happens when you tell the world you “chose” to be gay.

          Thumb up 1
        2. kd15
          kd15 (member)
          August 20, 2011 at 11:21 pm

          http://www.autostraddle.com/lesbian-wnba-player-sheryl-swoopes-is-now-engaged-to-a-man-99696/

          Thumb up 1
  31. Melanie
    Melanie (member)
    August 20, 2011 at 2:27 pm Report user

    Barbara Jordan! Her photo’s on my bookshelf next to JFK’s.

    Thumb up 1
  32. Lovely Llama
    Lovely Llama (member)
    August 20, 2011 at 5:20 pm Report user

    Wait. Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page kissed and I am just now hearing about it? :O

    Thumb up 1
  33. wildelyamusing
    wildelyamusing (member)
    August 20, 2011 at 7:43 pm Report user

    A) I would read the FUCK out of “Dykes on the High Seas” (# 5) if it was about swashbuckling lesbians.

    B) Thank you for bringing to my attention that picture of Clea Duvall in #31, I can die happy now.

    Thumb up 1
    1. wildelyamusing
      wildelyamusing (member)
      August 20, 2011 at 7:48 pm Report user

      A) it is about swashbuckling lesbians, HALLELUJAH!
      http://www.rainbowhistory.org/Furies006.pdf

      Thumb up 1
  34. Brandy
    Brandy
    August 20, 2011 at 7:57 pm

    This gallery is epic. Your fondness/obsession for magazines is such an endearing and unique quality.

    LOVE!

    Thumb up 1
  35. Queerie Bradshaw
    Queerie Bradshaw (member)
    August 21, 2011 at 12:07 am Report user

    I love this spread but am kinda sad that 1. So many of them are out of print and 2. There are no covers of Jenny Shimizu (this sadness inspired by the video Autostraddle posted with her in it).

    Guess I’ll just go watch the video again.

    Thumb up 1
  36. MrBrightside
    MrBrightside (member)
    August 21, 2011 at 12:33 am Report user

    Michelle Rodriguez? Don’t you girls know that “Mitchie likes sausage”? lol :D

    Thumb up 1
  37. difficiledame
    difficiledame (member)
    August 21, 2011 at 2:14 am Report user

    YES. Young Maddow!

    Thumb up 1
  38. Kim
    Kim
    August 21, 2011 at 1:09 pm

    Great list!!! What do you think of http://www.cocleiden.nl/nieuws/30-september-gender-free-zone-3 and http://www.zijaanzij.nl/magazineonline/reader/2009_6 and http://www.zijaanzij.nl/magazineonline/reader/2011_6
    It’s a Dutch lesbian magazine (printed)

    Thumb up 1
  39. Kim
    Kim
    August 21, 2011 at 1:10 pm

    First link is incorrect > This is the right one http://www.zijaanzij.nl/magazineonline/reader/2010_8

    Thumb up 1
  40. Christina
    Christina (member)
    August 21, 2011 at 5:15 pm Report user

    yum yum yum

    Thumb up 1

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