dyke to watch out for

I just got all three issues of Butch Is Not A Dirty Word and I’m overwhelmed.

I made a zine! It’s about butch lesbians, with 6 illustrations, and folds out into a collage of old photos & drawings. Seeing the lack of visibility and representation butches have is really sad and lately I’ve been focusing my art on creating something warm and positive for us ❤️

Happy LDOV my loves!!

roller-blade dancing lesbians 🌈 💖

Christina Schlesinger, Lesbian Artist, 1994, Monoprint, 12x16″

Carl Van Vechten, portrait of Romaine Brooks, 1935

Suzanne Stroh: Lesbian Artist is a strong piece. Tell me about it.

Christina Schlesinger: It was based on a photograph I saw of Romaine Brooks. There she is in her smoking jacket wearing a bow tie with a kind of wild expression on her face. There’s so much spirit in her. In her gesture. It’s like my idea of the tomboy—defiant, intrepid, brave.

SS: The photograph was black and white. Romaine’s own palette was famously subdued. Here, yours is bold.

CS: I wanted her to stand out. Primary colors—red, yellow and Navy blue. The lesbian artist who’s out for a night on the town, ready to party, looking hot and jaunty. Making the scene.

SS: Iconic really.

CS: It’s a statement about being a lesbian artist. Romaine is the ultimate lesbian icon. She identified as a lesbian, she painted as a lesbian and she painted lesbians. I wanted to get across the idea of her as the model, the emblem, the forerunner.

(2019) by Ana Flávia