Vice Versa (magazine)

Subtitled "America's Gayest Magazine", "Vice Versa", was the earliest known U.S. periodical published especially for lesbians,Katz, Jonathan Ned. Gay/Lesbian Almanac, Harper & Row, 1983 ISBN 006014968X p.618-20.] as well as the earliest extant example of the lesbian and gay press in that country.Streitmatter, Rodger. "Unspeakable: The rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America, Fabe & Faber, 1995 ISBN 0571198732, p15]

The magazine was the project of Lisa Ben (an anagram of 'lesbian'), a secretary in a Los Angeles Movie Studio. [Potter, Claire. Lesbian Periodical Index. Naiad Press, 1986, ISBN 978-0930044749, p.xii.] Lo, Malinda. " [http://www.afterellen.com/archive/ellen/column/2005/11/backintheday.html Back in the Day: The Ladder, America's First National Lesbian Magazine] " 2005. Retrieved on 2008 March 10.] By her own account, Ben had "a lot of time to herself" at work [Interview with Leyland Moss, Gaysweek (New York), Jan. 23 1978, pp15-16] and, starting in June of 1947, "twice each month typed out five carbons and one original of "Vice Versa". She recalled being told by her boss that he didn't care what she was typing, but he wanted her to 'look busy' so people at the studio would think he was important. [Ben telephone interview with Streitmatter, 12 May 1993, Burbank, Ca. "Unspeakable: The rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America, Fabe & Faber, 1995 ISBN 0571198732, p4]

She described the intention of the magazine being to create "a medium through which we may express our thoughts, our emotions, our opinions- as long as material was 'within the bounds of good taste'".

The nine issues of Vice Versa created by Lisa Ben "combined a unique editorial mix and a highly personal style" [Streitmatter, Rodger. "Unspeakable: The rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America, Fabe & Faber, 1995 ISBN 0571198732, p2] and opened up a forum for lesbians to communicate with each other via readers' letters, personal essays, short fiction and poetry". The first issue weighed in at 15 pages, subsequent ones ranged from 9 to 20 pages. [Streitmatter, Rodger. "Unspeakable: The rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America, Fabe & Faber, 1995 ISBN 0571198732, p4]

In "Unspeakable", his history of the gay and lesbian press in the United States, journalist and historian Rodger Streitmatter noted that "Vice Versa" "contained no bylines, no photographs, no advertisments, no masthead and neither the name or address of its editor... yet it set the agenda that has defined lesbian and gay journalism for 50 years." [Streitmatter, Rodger. "Unspeakable: The rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America, Fabe & Faber, 1995 ISBN 0571198732, p2] As examples of the 'defining qualities' of the magazine, Jim Kepner, founder and curator of the International Gay and Lesbian Archives cites Vice Versa's mix of editorials, short stories, poetry, book and film reviews and a letters column as setting "the pattern that hundreds (of gay and lesbian magazines) have followed. [Kepner interview with Streitmatter, 26 April 1993, Studio City, Ca. "Unspeakable: The rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America, Fabe & Faber, 1995 ISBN 0571198732, p2]

The publication was free, and Ben distributed each issue herself initially. Issues were later passed from friend to friend in an informal network, so that each issue may have been read by dozens [Marcus, Eric. [http://www.queermusicheritage.us/jun2004lb.html Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights] , 1945-1990, HarperCollins, 1992. Retrieved on 2008 March 10.]

Ben eventually left her job at RKO Studios, and publication of the magazine ceased in 1948.

The editor expressed the hope that "perhaps "Vice Versa" might be the forerunner of better magazines dedicated to the Third sex, which, in some future time, might take their rightful place on the newsstands beside other publications, to be available openly and without restriction." [Ben, Lisa. "Vice Versa", quoted in Streitmatter, Rodger. "Unspeakable: The rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America, Fabe & Faber, 1995 ISBN 0571198732, p16]

References

ee also

*Lesbian literature
*List of lesbian periodicals