In the 1990s Curve magazine made a significant mark as a magazine created by lesbians for lesbians.
Now in the documentary Ahead of the Curve, which has just arrived on Netflix, tells the story of the publication and its founder Franco Stevens.
The provides an insight into the representation of lesbians in the media in days gone by, and what kind of representation is still needed now and into the future.
Described as “one of the most influential women in lesbian history you’ve never heard of” Franco Stevens saw the need for a magazine for lesbians while living in San Francisco in the late 1980s.
In 1990, aged just 23, she founded a magazine that would have global reach and provide inspiration to a generation of publishers around the globe.
Initially it was named Deneuve, but after French actor Catherine Deneuve expressed alarm over the name, it became Curve.
Growing up, Franco never saw any representation of queer women–she didn’t even know it was possible for a woman to be gay. When she realised she was a lesbian, it changed the course of her life. It brought an end to her marriage of three years, she fell out with family members, and she found herself living in her car.
Slowly though she got back on track, and while working in a bookstore she came up with an idea for a bold publication that proclaimed it was for lesbians – right there on the cover.
Her approach to threats and erasure in the ‘90s was to lift all kinds of lesbians up and make them beautifully visible. The magazine helped build a foundation for many intersectional movements being led by today’s activists in the face of accelerating threats to the LGBTQ community.
The documentary discovers Stevens decades later, as her legacy faces extinction and she reassesses her life after a disabling injury. She sets out to understand visibility work being led by an intersection of queer women of today and asks if there’s still a place or a need for Curve.
Featuring Andrea Pino-Silva, Kim Katrin, Denice Frohman, Amber Hikes, Jewelle Gomez, Melissa Etheridge, and Lea DeLaria.
Ahead of the Curve is now available via Netflix.
