Photos courtesy of Lynn Ballen/Lesbians to Watch Out For
Picture it, dear reader: you’re on Jeopardy!, ready to conquer your opening round, staring down those blank blue screens with fire in your eyes. And then bam, there it is, first category on the board:
“Lesbian and Queer Activism in 1990s Los Angeles.”
How would you fare? If you’re like me and a) the answer is “not well enough” and b) you live in the LA area, I have great news: the new history and art exhibit Lesbians to Watch Out For: ’90s Queer LA Activism has you covered. It’s what you wish you’d learned in school, but were too afraid (or young, or closeted) to ask.
You love ’90s queer ephemera, I love ’90s queer ephemera, let’s go to this exhibit
“The exhibit goes beyond the histories usually told,” explains organizer Lynn Harris Ballen. “It focuses on protest, street activism, and grassroots community groups, and we gathered material from personal collections and oral histories to tell these stories.” That material includes zines; protest signs and stickers; and recountings of queer performances, censorship, and the spaces where activists fought for change around LA and West Hollywood. The diverse multimedia collection highlights organizations like ACT UP LA, Queer Nation LA, the LA Dyke March, United Lesbians of African Heritage (ULOAH), Los Angeles Asian Pacific Islander Sisters (LAAPIS), Lesbianas Unidas (LU), Bi-Net, Transgender Menace (the exhibit is “without question inclusive of trans women”), and the Lesbian Avengers.
Judy Sisneros, another lead organizer, notes that “from the AB101 protests to Hollywood Homophobia actions to organizing for the ’93 LGBT March on Washington, ’90s lesbian and queer women’s activism in LA reflected the energy of the decade: dyke visibility marches, public kiss-ins and declarations of ‘we recruit!'” That’s the kind of cultural history you’ll revisit (or see for the first time) at Lesbians to Watch Out For. I don’t know about you, but I’ll take all the queer resistance inspiration I can get right now, thanks.
The exhibit opens TONIGHT (Friday, June 2) at 7:00 pm at Long Hall in West Hollywood’s Plummer Park, with music, protest sign and button making, vintage stickers and zines, video, and the documentary Lesbian Avengers Eat Fire Too (more info at the opening night Facebook event). It will be open on weekends through June 30 (Fridays 6:00-9:30 pm, Saturdays and Sundays 1:00-6:00 pm), with the exception of June 9-11 because of Pride logistics.
And! As if that wasn’t enough, Lesbians to Watch Out For is also hosting a Grassroots Organizers Tell All panel at Plummer Park’s Community Center at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, June 14. Panelists include Liz Friedman (Queer Nation), Alice Y. Hom (AAPIP Queer Justice Fund), Lisa Powell (ULOAH and Black Lesbians United), Helene Schpak (ACT UP), and Anne-Christine d’Adesky (Lesbian Avengers), moderated by San Diego State University professor and former Lesbian Avenger Yetta Howard. They’ll be looking back at what worked and what didn’t in 1990s organizing, giving advice to today’s young queer activists, and discussing what they’re learning from current resistance movements.
On board yet? Cool, me too, see you there!
Coool! I just went on an LGBT history tour of DC and it was awesome!
Is that pic in silhouette of Katherine Hepburn? Only now am I realizing how many hints my mom was dropping when she referred to KH as a BAMF during my youth
Yeah! I’m pretty sure from her movie Sylvia Scarlett when she’s in a suit for most of the movie <3
LGBT tour of DC?? Whaaaaat! What was that through? That sounds awesome!
rainbowhistory.org runs tours, this time in collaboration with Pride Outside, an outdoor org for LGBT. you can find them on facebook. :)
Thank you for this didn’t know this existed or that a teacher at SDSU(I’m an alum) is a lesbian avenger! Just need to find a weekend I can go to it.
I’m setting a meet up for this
Will it be posted here? Are you also going tonight to this event? What about sunday to gay donuts or posting and event for pride?
No I set up a meet up for my book club. I am not going to this event tonight, I am going to Venice pride block party.
I am not aware of any gay donuts but I have to tell you that donuts being gay makes a lot of sense
wow I really need to be at a venice pride block party tonight. hang on i’ll fly down real quick
You can stay at my place, if you don’t mind sleeping in the sofa Bed and being a Yorkie jungle gym
Ah it’s a queer donuts and coffee event that the new queer coffee hosts monthly. This months event is at the Everybody gym that Autostraddle wrote about last month. It’s also a queer bazaar too!
Thanks for the info. Coffee and Donuts event sounds like a good place to meet a cop…
I think you mean queer trans cop, cause I think there was a queer trans firefighter when I went to one of their events.
ephemera ❤️
I am not yet ready to go an exhibit where the events happened when I was a teenager. Maybe I should go with a young person so I can explain everything and not feel so old.
Me too, friend. I get depressed listening to Nirvana and Oasis on the oldies rock radio station
Wish I lived in LA to go!
I WENT AND IT WAS GREAT YOU SHOULD ALL GO
I’m going to go there today!!!! Thanks so much for writing about this Carrie!!
It was very informative. Now I want to join the lesbian avengers
It was so fun!! Loved it ?