''Velvetpark: Dyke Culture in Bloom'' is a

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

arts and culture American

website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...

that regularly features music, literature, theater, fine arts, film, television, and social activism as it impacts

queer culture Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures are subcultures and communities composed of people who have shared experiences, backgrounds, or interests due to common sexual or gender identities. Among the first to argue that members of sexual m ...

. ''Velvetpark'' also hosts a social network and dating community for lesbians and queer-identified women.

Publication history

Headquartered in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, ''Velvetpark'' was launched nationally in 2002 as a print magazine by Grace Moon. In 2005, Moon hired former ''

On Our Backs ''On Our Backs'' was the first women-run erotica magazine and the first magazine to feature lesbian erotica for a lesbian audience in the United States. It ran from 1984 to 2006. Origin The magazine was first published in 1984 by Debi Sunda ...

'' editor Diana Cage. By 2006, ''Velvetpark'' was read in nine countries, on five continents. In 2004, ''Velvetpark'' applied for the

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

including the by-line "dyke culture in bloom". The

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency in the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark ...

rejected the mark on the grounds that the word "dyke" was "immoral and scandalous". In 2005, ''Velvetpark'' amended its application, to have the USPTO recognize the word "dyke" as an accepted and welcomed signifier by the lesbian community. "Velvetpark, Dyke Culture in Bloom" trademark passed in April 2006. In June 2007, ''Velvetpark'' produced its final print edition and became an online magazine, hosting text base and media rich content. In 2009, ''Velvetpark'' launched "Velvetpark Mate", an interactive online dating site that marries social networking and custom-built dating features. In 2010 ''Velvetpark'' found itself in the national spotlight when it became the home of the anonymous pieces of then-

closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for LGBTQ people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior. This metaphor is associated and sometime ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

student Katie Miller, who became an LGBT leader in her own right and was featured on ''

The Rachel Maddow Show ''The Rachel Maddow Show'' (also abbreviated ''TRMS'') is an American news television program that airs on MSNBC, running in the 9:00 pm ET time slot Monday evenings. It is hosted by Rachel Maddow, who gained a public profile via her freq ...

''. In September 2011, Grace Moon transitioned to the role of publisher and handed the editorial reins to queer scholar Marcie Bianco. The two currently oversee the site's operations, with a collection of editorial and content contributors. The site's annual "Top 25 Queer Women" list is renowned for highlighting overlooked LGBT women.

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Velvetpark'''s official website
Internet properties established in 2007 Magazines established in 2002 Magazines disestablished in 2007 Online magazines published in the United States Defunct lesbian-related magazines published in the United States Defunct feminist magazines published in the United States Feminist websites Lesbian feminist mass media Lesbian-related websites Online magazines with defunct print editions Defunct magazines published in New York City Feminism in the United States Lesbian culture in New York (state) Lesbian-related mass media in the United States Queer women's culture 2002 in LGBTQ history 2002 establishments in New York City