Jo Nesbitt

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Jo Nesbitt is a British illustrator, translator, and cartoonist. Most of her work focuses on queer women's issues and experiences.

Contents

Personal life

Nesbitt was born in Tyneside, England in the 1950s. Through her childhood years, she attended a Christian school for girls run by nuns, and religious themes and imagery appear in her work often. [1] [2] In subsequent years, she got a degree in English from the University of London. Nesbitt moved to Amsterdam in 1982.

Career

Comics

Nesbitt's comics and illustrations have been featured in feminist and queer works such as Dyke Strippers, Gay Left Issue, and HERizons. Nesbitt also worked with the Sisterwrite bookshop on multiple occasions, helping them set up the shop [2] and creating cartoons for their catalogue. [3] Nesbitt's The Desperate Woman's Guide to Diet and Exercise is a comedic commentary on women's dietary practices as influenced by Western culture. [4]

Translation

Nesbit translated I Have Heard about You: Foreign Women’s Writing Crossing the Dutch Border by Suzanna van Dijk from Dutch to English. [5]

Other work

Nesbitt worked on book 1 of Sourcream with Liz Mackie, Christine Roche, and Lesley Ruda. [6] [7]

Nesbitt's The Modern Ladies' Compendium was published by Virago in 1986; it is a comedy aimed at women that pokes fun at gender norms. [8] [9] The Great Escape of Doreen Potts is one of Nesbitt's works for younger readers published in 1981. [10]

She also contributed to Menstrual Taboos by the Matriarchy Study Group along with Pauline Long, Monica Sjöö, Marie Lecko, Mary Ooghill, Pat Whiting, and Mary Coghill. [11] Carol Lee described Nesbitt's writing in it as having "anger" and "illuminating power." [12]

Nesbitt illustrated the article "A Feminist Sexual Politics" by Beatrix Campbell in Feminist Review 5. A critic of the article wrote: "It is gloriously illustrated by Jo Nesbitt, who manages to keep you laughing rather than crying as you struggle through this piece." [13] She also illustrated Sheila Kitzinger's book Birth Over 35. [14] She co-illustrated Second Class Disabled by Irene Loach and Ruth Lister, with Sam Smith. [15]

Nesbitt was part of the London Cartoon Museum's The Inking Woman exhibition in 2017. [16]

References

  1. ↑ Nesbitt, Jo (1998). The Desperate Woman's Guide to Diet and Exercise. Penguin Books. p. 27. ISBN   0-140-27603-3.
  2. 1 2 Wild, Angela C. (2016-12-08). "Sisterwrite bookshop – Lynn Alderson". Lesbian History Group. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
  3. ↑ "D". The Women's Liberation Music Archive. 2010-09-06. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
  4. ↑ Nesbitt, Jo (1998). The Desperate Woman's Guide to Diet and Exercise. Penguin Books. ISBN   0-140-27603-3.
  5. ↑ "I have heard about you'. Foreign women's writing crossing the Dutch border". SIEFAR. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  6. ↑ Nesbitt, Jo; Ruda, Lesley; Mackie, Liz; Roche, Christine (1980). Sourcream. Sheba Feminist Publishers. ISBN   0950676004.
  7. ↑ Streeten, N. (2020). The 1980s: An Alternative Direction for the Anger. In: UK Feminist Cartoons and Comics. Palgrave Studies in Comics and Graphic Novels. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. doi : 10.1007/978-3-030-36300-0_4
  8. ↑ "Make it a Virago Christmas" (PDF). Broadsheet . No. 144. November 1986. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-01-27.
  9. ↑ "Humour" (PDF), Mushroom Bookshop Christmas catalogue, p. 19
  10. ↑ "On the Shelf" (PDF). Broadsheet. November 1985. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-01-27.
  11. ↑ Nesbitt, Jo (1978). "Religious Blood". Menstrual Taboos. Matriarchy Study Group. pp. 10–11.
  12. ↑ Lee, Carol (1979). "Matriarchy Study Group Papers". Feminist Review (2): 80. doi:10.2307/1395001. JSTOR   1395001 . Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  13. ↑ Lee, Carol (October 10, 1981). ""More Hard Words"" (PDF). Revolutionary & Radical Feminist Newsletter. p. 20. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  14. ↑ Kitzinger, Sheila (2011). Birth over 35. Illustrated by Jo Nesbitt (2nd ed.). Sheldon Press. ISBN   9781847091444.
  15. ↑ Loach, Irene; Lister, Ruth (1978). Second Class Disabled (PDF). Equal Rights for Disabled Women Campaign. pp. [3].
  16. ↑ Johnston, Rich (2017-05-04). "The British Women Cartoonist And Comic Artists Exhibition In London Kicks Off". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
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