Type of site | LGBT, arts, culture |
---|---|
Available in | English |
URL | https://velvetparkmedia.com/ |
Commercial | Commercial |
Registration | Optional |
Launched | 2007 |
Current status | Online |
Velvetpark: Dyke Culture in Bloom is a lesbian and feminist arts and culture American website that regularly features music, literature, theater, fine arts, film, television, and social activism as it impacts queer culture. Velvetpark also hosts a social network and dating community for lesbians and queer-identified women.
Headquartered in New York City, Velvetpark was launched nationally in 2002 as a print magazine by Grace Moon. [1] In 2005, Moon hired former On Our Backs editor Diana Cage. By 2006, Velvetpark was read in nine countries, on five continents. In 2004, Velvetpark applied for the trademark including the by-line "dyke culture in bloom". The United States Patent and Trademark Office 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. [2] [3]
In June 2007, Velvetpark produced its final print edition and became an online magazine, hosting text base and media rich content. [4]
In 2009, Velvetpark launched "Velvetpark Mate", an interactive online dating site that marries social networking and custom-built dating features. [5]
In 2010 Velvetpark found itself in the national spotlight when it became the home of the anonymous pieces of then-closeted West Point student Katie Miller, [6] who became an LGBT leader in her own right and was featured on The Rachel Maddow Show . [7] [8]
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. [9]
A fag hag is, in gay slang, a woman who associates either mostly or exclusively with gay and bisexual men. The phrase originated in gay male culture in the United States and was historically an insult. Some women who associate with gay men object to being called fag hags while others embrace the term. The male counterpart, for heterosexual men who have similar interpersonal relationships with gay and bisexual men, is fag stag.
Curve is a global lesbian media project. It covers news, politics, social issues, and includes celebrity interviews and stories on entertainment, pop culture, style, and travel.
The Advocate is an American LGBT magazine, printed bi-monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a website. Both magazine and website have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) people. The magazine, established in 1967, is the oldest and largest LGBT publication in the United States and the only surviving one of its kind that was founded before the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan, an uprising that was a major milestone in the LGBT rights movement. On June 9, 2022, Pride Media was acquired by Equal Entertainment LLC.
LGBTQ culture is a culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. It is sometimes referred to as queer culture, while the term gay culture may be used to mean either "LGBT culture" or homosexual culture specifically.
The Body Politic was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987. It was one of Canada's first significant gay publications, and played a prominent role in the development of the LGBT community in Canada.
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Siegessäule is Berlin's most widely distributed queer magazine and has been published monthly, except for two brief hiatuses, since April 1984. Originally only available in West Berlin, it ran with the subtitle "Berlin's monthly page for Gays". In 1996, it was broadened to include lesbian content, and in 2005 it was expanded to reach a wider queer target base, becoming the only magazine of its scale in Europe to represent the full spectrum of the LGBT community. The magazine is available for free at around 700 locations in Berlin, printing 53.688 copies per month. Since March-issue 2013, it has been overseen by chief editor Jan Noll.
Dyke is a slang term, used as a noun meaning lesbian. It originated as a homophobic slur for masculine, butch, or androgynous girls or women. Pejorative use of the word still exists, but the term dyke has been reappropriated by many lesbians to imply assertiveness and toughness.
LGBT linguistics is the study of language as used by members of LGBTQ communities. Related or synonymous terms include lavender linguistics, advanced by William Leap in the 1990s, which "encompass[es] a wide range of everyday language practices" in LGBT communities, and queer linguistics, which refers to the linguistic analysis concerning the effect of heteronormativity on expressing sexual identity through language. The former term derives from the longtime association of the color lavender with LGBT communities. "Language", in this context, may refer to any aspect of spoken or written linguistic practices, including speech patterns and pronunciation, use of certain vocabulary, and, in a few cases, an elaborate alternative lexicon such as Polari.
AfterEllen is an American culture website founded in 2002, with a focus on entertainment, interviews, reviews, and news of interest to the lesbian and bisexual women's community. The site covers pop culture and lifestyle issues from a feminist perspective; and the political climate as it pertains to the community. AfterEllen is not affiliated with entertainer Ellen DeGeneres, although its name refers to her coming out, specifically when her character came out in "The Puppy Episode" (1997) on her eponymous sitcom.
Diana Cage is an American feminist author, editor, cultural critic and radio personality. Her work examines sexuality, feminism, and LGBT culture.
Racism is a concern for many in the Western lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) communities, with members of racial, ethnic, and national minorities reporting having faced discrimination from other LGBT people.
Jeanne Córdova was an American writer and supporter of the lesbian and gay rights movement, founder of The Lesbian Tide, and a founder of the West Coast LGBT movement. A former Catholic nun, Córdova was a second-wave feminist lesbian activist and self-described butch.
Despite the history of colonisation and the resulting process of Westernisation since 1842, Hong Kong still embodies many aspects of Chinese traditional values towards sexuality. It is traditionally believed that heterosexuality is the nature, coherent, and privileged sexuality. Popular media marginalises and discriminates against LGBT members of Hong Kong in an attempt to maintain "traditional lifestyles".
A lesbian bar is a drinking establishment that caters exclusively or predominantly to lesbian women. While often conflated, the lesbian bar has a history distinct from that of the gay bar.
L-MAG is a magazine that is aimed at a lesbian target audience. The German print magazine for lesbians appears bi-monthly and is available in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxemburg. Approximately 15.000 copies are printed with each edition. L-MAG is available at over 2.000 outlets and can also be purchased on subscription and as an e-publication.
Lesbian erasure is a form of lesbophobia that involves the tendency to ignore, remove, falsify, or reexplain evidence of lesbian women or relationships in history, academia, the news media, and other primary sources. Lesbian erasure also refers to instances wherein lesbian issues, activism, and identity is deemphasized or ignored within feminist groups or the LGBT community.