Leading article

by María Jesús Méndez

Last morning I received a letter that made me feel different and made a great change in my mind. It was from an eleven-year old girl’s father. In order to keep their privacy we’ll name them as John and Helen. John got divorced three years ago. Now he just enjoys Helen two weekends a month and a couple of evenings every week since his ex-wife is the one who was given custody of their only daughter.
Since Helen was a little kid, John realized she was different from the rest of his friend’s children. As he writes on his letter: “She never enjoied dolls or little girls’ games; she plays football much better than her male cousins do; she likes wearing short hair, braids or pony tails; she feels very embarrassed wearing those dresses her mother buys to her. Even her grandparents on her mother side are frequently calling butch to her “”.
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On Knowing the Donor

By Gloria Fortún / Hester Prynne

Lesbians who are not crazy murderers or tormented writers finally made it to Hollywood. The Kids are All Right, directed by lesbian director Lisa Cholodenko and starring the popular actresses Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as a couple with two kids, has been a smash hit this winter. However, not all lesbians are happy with the movie. … Contiuar leyendo

FATHER, I’M A SINNER. I’M A LESBIAN!

By María Jesús Méndez

After having been a deeply religious little girl, I’m coming back to Catholic Church as a lesbian woman. I’m planning to confess six different priests my sin: I fell in love for another woman and as I’m loving her so much, we’ve just started a relationship.
While I enter the first parish, I’m wondering: Which way will priests receive me after hearing my confession? Will they take me in as I am? Will they be understanding and indulgent towards me and my happiness? Will they treat me as if I were a lascivious woman or a madwoman? Will they despise me?
Let’s find it out! I’m about to get to my first confessional box. Hail Purerst Mary…

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Get out!

By Gloria Fortún / Hester Prynne

Kate Brown, Oregon Secretary of State. Kate Clinton, stand-up comedienne. Ellen DeGeneres, actress and television host. Melissa Etheridge, rock singer. Rosie Jones, golfer. Martina Navratilova, tennis player. Cynthia Nixon, actress. Rosie O’Donnell, television host. Suze Orman, financial advisor and motivational speaker. Guinevere Turner, producer. Cat Cora, chef. Annie Leibowitz, photographer. Denise Simmons, former mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sheryil Swoopes, basketball player. Linda Villarosa, journalist. Alice Walker, writer. These are just a few names of lesbians who are out and proud in the USA and other parts of the world. … Contiuar leyendo

What They Won’t Do

By Gloria Fortún / Hester Prynne

Us lesbians, we are used to watching movies or TV shows, or to reading books and magazines which feature only straight people, with the random gay man appearing from time to time. We have been doing so forever, and our enthusiasm when some woman loving is suggested is so great that we immediately become the biggest fans of the film or novel in question. Years of experience have trained us well to read between the lines, finding Sapphic clues everywhere. Sometimes we are right, like when many of us fell in love with Idgie, the tomboy on Fried Green Tomatoes, brilliantly played by Mary Stuart Masterson, and then the book (which we all bought and gave to our girlfriends on their birthdays) confirmed that what is only an insinuation in the film, is a beautiful love story between two women in the novel by Fannie Flagg. Sometimes we are wrong, like when we were convinced that Ani DiFranco was into girls and then she got married to that guy from her band and had a baby with him. Ah, why didn’t we stick to the reliable Indigo Girls? … Contiuar leyendo

Books for Babies

By Gloria Fortún / Hester Prynne

My baby girl is six months old and she already loves books. She sits on my lap every night and she looks at the illustrations of the book I am reading to her with all the concentration she can muster. She already feels it is our bonding moment, the time before going to bed when playing is over and she has to relax and listen to a wonderful story that will provide her with materials for her dreams. … Contiuar leyendo

Leading

by Maria Jesús Méndez

What being alive is? Are inhaling and exhaling enough as to say we are alive? Breathing is basically, an action to make a difference between those who are stepping on the ground and the ones who are resting under it. Some of these, even when they’re supposed not to be able to do it, seem to be alive more than most of us. And it may be because of their achivements, or because they left unforgottable traces or even because they hurted a lot and left countless wounds and scars.
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Polyamory: Shared girlfriends

By María Jesús Méndez

Is it posible to love two or more women at the same time and maintain a relationship with each of them? Polyamory refers to the ability to simultaneously keep loving relationships without lies and with the knowledge and agreement of the parties involved. Below, Silvia and Susana tell us their experience of living love beyond the limits of monogamy. … Contiuar leyendo

Japanese anime? Hot, hot.

By Neko To Tachi

In this month, when summer sadly leaves our lives, I’ve decided to keep temperatures high with two Japanese animated works that have been released this summer. … Contiuar leyendo

In Desperate Need of Books

By Gloria Fortún

New York City, early nineties. I am a lonely fifteen-year old roaming the streets while my immigrant brother, whom I am visiting for the summer, works at the downtown hotel where I meet him every day for a quick lunch and a trip back to his house in the suburbs. It doesn’t take long before I fall in love with the chaos, the coffee to go –impossible to find in Spain back then-, the colorful crowd and the immense bookstores.

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