''Common Lives/Lesbian Lives'' (''CL/LL'') was a collectively produced lesbian quarterly which published out of Iowa City,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, from 1981 to 1996. The magazine had a stated commitment to reflect the diversity of lesbians by actively soliciting and printing in each issue the work and ideas of lesbians of color, Jewish lesbians, fat lesbians, lesbians over fifty and under twenty years old, disabled lesbians, poor and working-class lesbians, and lesbians of varying cultural backgrounds. Common Lives/Lesbian Lives was a cultural milestone in the lesbian publishing world, as it was one of the first lesbian journal or magazine published from outside the urban/coastal New York/Los Angeles/Berkeley scene.

History

CL/LL was initiated by eight lesbians who were living in the Los Angeles area in late 1980; Catherine Nicholson and Harriet Desmoines, co-founders of periodical

Sinister Wisdom ''Sinister Wisdom'' is an American lesbian literary, theory, and art journal published quarterly in Berkeley, California. Started in 1976 by Catherine Nicholson and Harriet Ellenberger (Desmoines) in Charlotte, North Carolina, it is the longest ...

encouraged the women by stating that more lesbian journals were needed because Sinister Wisdom received more submissions than it could print.Moore, Tracy. ''A Decade of Common Dyke Publishing'', in ''Common Lives/Lesbian Lives'', Issue 40, Fall 1991 Cindy Cleary, Anne Lee, and Tracy Moore (Moore had been involved in the collective that published Iowa City's feminist newsletter ''Ain't I a Woman?'' from 1971 to 1974) formed the core group of the journal, and all worked on the magazine after their move to Iowa City later that year. The existence of the Iowa City Women's Press and a typesetting firm owned and operated by women made Iowa City an inviting home for the new journal. The first issue of Common Lives/Lesbian Lives was published in 1981, and the journal eventually reached a peak circulation of about 2500 national and international subscribers. When the journal's main distributor, Inland, declared bankruptcy in 1995, CL/LL was no longer able to continue publication.

Content

The publishing collective wanted the magazine to be "inclusive, non-academic, diverse and accessible" Most contributors had never been published before. All work published in CL/LL was produced by self-defined lesbians, and all of the project's volunteers were lesbians. Due to this policy, a complaint was filed with the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

by a heterosexual woman who believed she was discriminated against when not hired to be an intern. A complaint was also lodged with the University of Iowa Human Rights Commission by a bisexual woman whose submission to the magazine was not published. The University of Iowa printing department refused to print Issue 20 (1982) because it contained photographs of lesbians making love, and the magazine sued the university and won. The 1995 fall issue was not published, and eventually Issue 56, which was to be the last, was published as the 1995–1996 issue. Despite efforts to raise money, Common Lives/Lesbian Lives officially closed in 1997.

Contributors

Some of the contributors to the magazine include:

Elana Dykewomon Elana Dykewomon (; October 11, 1949 – August 7, 2022) was an American lesbian activist, author, editor, and teacher. She was a recipient of the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction. Early life and education Dykewomon was born Elana Mich ...

Tee Corinne Tee A. Corinne (November 3, 1943 – August 27, 2006) was an American photographer, author, and editor notable for the portrayal of sexuality in her artwork. According to ''Completely Queer: The Gay and Lesbian Encyclopedia'', "Corinne is one of ...

Sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sa ...

, Hawk Madrone,

Julia Penelope Julia Penelope (June 19, 1941 – January 19, 2013) was an American linguist, author, and philosopher. She was part of an international movement of critical thinkers on lesbian and feminist issues. A self-described "white, working-class, fat but ...

, Candis Graham, Martha Miller, and

Ruth Mountaingrove Ruth Mountaingrove (February 21, 1923 – December 18, 2016) was an American lesbian-feminist photographer, poet and musician, known for her photography documenting the lesbian land movement in Southern Oregon. Early life and education She ...

References

External links

Common Lives/Lesbian Lives Records
Iowa Women's Archives, University of Iowa Libraries {{LGBT , culture=yes 1981 in LGBT history Defunct magazines published in the United States Feminism in the United States Feminist magazines Intersectional feminism Lesbian feminist literature Lesbian history in the United States Lesbian working-class culture LGBT in Iowa LGBT literature in the United States Magazines established in 1981 Magazines disestablished in 1996 Magazines published in Los Angeles Magazines published in Iowa Multicultural feminism Women in Iowa

History

Content

Archives

Contributors

See also

References

External links