A Gay Man Looks at a Lesbian Magazine

I just attended another PrideFest celebration in early June along the lakefront here in Milwaukee. I must admit that I have finally gotten the volunteer spirit in my old age. During the past few years I’ve been donating some of my time to help out by sitting at the SAGE (Senior Action in a Gay Environment) booth and then working the rest of the afternoon on Saturday and Sunday at the ticket gates. This year I handled the whole booth for three days, including lining up volunteers to staff it and to help sell our new SAGE/Milwaukee polo shirts, designed by yours truly.

I used to write a column called The Casual Observer. That was my excuse for being a "Nosey Parker," as some people called me, but it works for starting a conversation. Friends still walk up to me and ask if I'm "observing," and I say, "Well yeah, that's what I do." Last year I noticed that Curve Magazine was at the next booth and among the women of all ages who were stopping by to get subscriptions, were a lot of baby dikes.

I started chatting with one of the gals at the table who introduced herself as Gretchen Lee, the magazine's Managing Editor. Gretchen gave me a few copies of the magazine to look at while I waited for "old folks" to ask me for information at my booth.

As I sat there reading Curve, my mind wasn't exactly on what I should be doing. All of a sudden two old women came up, asked a dumb question and then snickered a lot. I looked up and there was--of all people--my aunt Ursy, with her partner Zöe. They were both wearing T-shirts that said I'm An OUTrageous Old Woman. They just stood there shrieking with laughter and said "Surprise!"

We all started to talk at once and the other person at the booth graciously suggested that I take a break. We went to listen to some of the lesbian entertainment, but the music was so loud that it was hard to talk. We walked over to the shore of Lake Michigan, found a table and had a good chat while we watched the sailboats glide around.

Later, Ursy and Zöe after had gone off to look at everything concerning PrideFest, and to get involved with gay life (she recently came out at age 64), I went back to the booth and mentioned to Gretchen that I had reviews on the Epinions site. She said she had heard of it and would take a look. She also said she'd be interested in hearing what a gay man thought of the magazine if I cared to do something. I said I'd take the magazines she gave me home, read them through and write something.

Now I'll do one better, I'll give her an opinion from an OLD gay man. I must add here that this is a review of only one magazine, but that’s all I had to look at at that time. I have since seen a few more copies at our LGBT C enter and I can say that overall the writing, pictures and information is of a high level. Curve is a wonderful glossy magazine that "anyone" can pick up and enjoy. The articles and humor cross age and gender boundaries and I found the writing to be first rate.

I really enjoyed reading about the films and books. I review lesbian writing for Wisconsin IN Step, a Milwaukee LGBT lifestyle publication, when I can find stuff that interests me in the piles of books we get. After my reviews are published in the paper, I post them to Epinions.com and used to make a few extra pennies. Actually, what I like best about writing for Epinions are all the nice folks give me those HR ratings.

The June 2000 issue of Curve included five pages of color and black and white photos. These were the Photo Contest winners, and the pictures ranged from magical to humorous. Speaking of humor, Fairy Butch's column is, as that say, a hoot. It's a very funny for an advice column. Near the end of the magazine I found a funny, short bio on Jewish lesbian folk singer Phrank, who extols the virtues of selling Tupperware.

On the serious side Chicana lesbian writer Cherrie Moraga did an interview about the play she has written that is loosely based on the murder of Tejano singer Selena. It was good for me as a gay man to get a woman's viewpoint on this tragedy. Diane Goldberg wonders about being an Orthodox Jewish lesbian and Laurie K. Schenden writes about Sharon Stone, who happened to be the cover girl.

Other topics covered in the two issues I read are travel, web tips, lots of shopping, lesbian youth, a funny quote page, "Rumors from the Lesbian Nation," and sports. The ads are attractive and eye-catching.

Gretchen told me to look at a few web sites, which were featuring information on Sinéad O'Connor, the Irish Rock star who caused such a ruckus by tearing up a picture of the Pope! It seems that she is coming out and Curve Magazine has the exclusive in their next issue.

Look for stuff on O'Connor on Yahoo.com and on the People Magazine web site. You can also find information about her on Curve's own web site at http://www.curvemag.com, where you can also order your subscription for the relatively reasonable price of $29.95 for two years. This is a magazine I would recommend for any woman who is out or even questioning her sexuality. Pick up a copy at your local newsstand, or better yet, support you local LGBT bookstore.

As far as my other volunteer job went, I ended up hand-stamping thousands of joyous revelers as they left the grounds so they could re-entry later in the evening. Ursy and Zöe showed up with their arms outstretched and we walked back to my place for dinner. We came back on a very warm night to watch the fireworks explode over Lake Michigan. All in all, it was a very enjoyable day. The girls took the magazines with them when they left; and now I know what to get them for Christmas.