Overview

Launched in New York City, in 1992, the Lesbian Avengers rejected the picket line and ordinary demo for media-savvy, nonviolent direct action. They were superheroes arriving ""to make the world safe for baby dykes everywhere;"" warriors with capes and shields doing a line dance; dykes ""Lusting for Power,"" pushing a giant bed float down Sixth Avenue in New York (with lesbians on it); nationally-ambitious Avengers eating fire in front of a hostile White House; lovers reuniting a statue of Alice B. Toklas with Gertrude Stein, then waltzing in the snow in Bryant Park. And homos who shamelessly chanted, ""Ten percent is not enough, recruit, recruit, recruit."" It only took a few years for the Lesbian Avengers to grow into a global movement with sixty autonomous chapters worldwide all working for the visibility and survival of lesbians, and all sharing an irreverent direct action aesthetic, eagerly dipping into agitprop and advertising and theater, in ways that still feel ground-breaking today. Key to their success-the tools they developed to help lesbians understand and reproduce the Avenger action. One was the 1993 documentary video, Lesbian Avengers Eat Fire Too, which offered the why, the who, and the what, featuring interviews with Avengers, and sharing actions from their first year. Another was this book, The Lesbian Avenger Handbook: A Handy Guide to Homemade Revolution, which offers step-by-step instructions for everything from how to hold a meeting to how to envision an action and wrangle the press-expertise gleaned from Avengers working in journalism, advertising, art, and theater, as well as long-time activists who honed their skills protesting the Viet Nam war, the abuse of farmworkers, forced sterilization of women of color, and bans on abortion, and who'd already, in some cases, led civil disobedience in ACT-UP. This new edition of The Lesbian Avenger Handbook offers the bulk of this extraordinary resource unchanged, though it acknowledged advances in technology for activists still using it today. Important bonus material has also been included, including tips for demonstrating when civil rights are being trampled. Also featured, An Incomplete History of LACROP (the Lesbian Avenger Civil Rights Organizing Project), and excerpts from their Out Against the Right: An Organizing Handbook, important historical documents offering hard-won insights about dyke organizing and the importance of building community for long-term social change. With dozens of new pages of Avenger newsletters, Communiqués from the Frontlines, and the inclusion of the Dyke Manifesto, the Handbook also serves as a Lesbian Avenger history told in their own words. The 1993 edition of the Handbook was written by the novelist and essayist Sarah Schulman, and edited by Ana Simo, playwright and novelist, both among the co-founders of the group. The current edition is introduced and edited by journalist and founding member Kelly Cogswell.

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9781736155806

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Reviews

""The Lesbian Avenger Handbook agitates, instructs, and inspires. It is mandatory reading for all activists, organizers, and everyone who teaches politics, history, gender studies or theater."" Michael Bronski, Author of A Queer History of the United States ""This is an extremely valuable resource for activists as well as historians and other scholars. Witty, bold, and unstoppable, the Lesbian Avengers organized brilliant direct actions to end homophobia and defend lesbian rights. The new expanded version makes clear the lasting significance of the Avengers' model of movement building, which prioritizes developing members' skills and empowering people to make change."" Tamar W. Carroll, Author of Mobilizing New York: AIDS, Antipoverty and Feminist Activism ""The Avengers' focus on lesbian visibility and survival achieved through attention-grabbing non-violent direct action is as relevant as ever. The communiques, which I had never seen, were fascinating pieces of history, revealing the range of creative, often zany actions through which the Avengers made their name. The LACROP reflections were intriguing, too, for what they revealed about the tensions between urban and rural styles of organizing, documenting a process of erring, reflecting, and coming back stronger. I am excited to use this amazing quasi-historical document in my classes and to share it with comrades, especially younger people just starting out."" Lana Dee Povitz, Author of Stirrings: How Activist New Yorkers Ignited a Movement for Food Justice

"""The Lesbian Avenger Handbook agitates, instructs, and inspires. It is mandatory reading for all activists, organizers, and everyone who teaches politics, history, gender studies or theater."" Michael Bronski, Author of A Queer History of the United States ""This is an extremely valuable resource for activists as well as historians and other scholars. Witty, bold, and unstoppable, the Lesbian Avengers organized brilliant direct actions to end homophobia and defend lesbian rights. The new expanded version makes clear the lasting significance of the Avengers' model of movement building, which prioritizes developing members' skills and empowering people to make change."" Tamar W. Carroll, Author of Mobilizing New York: AIDS, Antipoverty and Feminist Activism ""The Avengers' focus on lesbian visibility and survival achieved through attention-grabbing non-violent direct action is as relevant as ever. The communiques, which I had never seen, were fascinating pieces of history, revealing the range of creative, often zany actions through which the Avengers made their name. The LACROP reflections were intriguing, too, for what they revealed about the tensions between urban and rural styles of organizing, documenting a process of erring, reflecting, and coming back stronger. I am excited to use this amazing quasi-historical document in my classes and to share it with comrades, especially younger people just starting out."" Lana Dee Povitz, Author of Stirrings: How Activist New Yorkers Ignited a Movement for Food Justice"

The Lesbian Avenger Handbook agitates, instructs, and inspires. It is mandatory reading for all activists, organizers, and everyone who teaches politics, history, gender studies or theater. Michael Bronski, Author of A Queer History of the United States This is an extremely valuable resource for activists as well as historians and other scholars. Witty, bold, and unstoppable, the Lesbian Avengers organized brilliant direct actions to end homophobia and defend lesbian rights. The new expanded version makes clear the lasting significance of the Avengers' model of movement building, which prioritizes developing members' skills and empowering people to make change. Tamar W. Carroll, Author of Mobilizing New York: AIDS, Antipoverty and Feminist Activism The Avengers' focus on lesbian visibility and survival achieved through attention-grabbing non-violent direct action is as relevant as ever. The communiques, which I had never seen, were fascinating pieces of history, revealing the range of creative, often zany actions through which the Avengers made their name. The LACROP reflections were intriguing, too, for what they revealed about the tensions between urban and rural styles of organizing, documenting a process of erring, reflecting, and coming back stronger. I am excited to use this amazing quasi-historical document in my classes and to share it with comrades, especially younger people just starting out. Lana Dee Povitz, Author of Stirrings: How Activist New Yorkers Ignited a Movement for Food Justice

The Avengers' focus on lesbian visibility and survival achieved through attention-grabbing non-violent direct action is as relevant as ever. I appreciated the clear layout of political principles; the list of things to consider when planning an action; the basic structure of meeting/committees/two coordinators for getting things done; and the tips for running a meeting. The communiques, which I had never seen, were fascinating pieces of history, revealing the range of creative, often zany actions through which the Avengers made their name. The LACROP reflections were intriguing, too, for what they revealed about the tensions between urban and rural styles of organizing, documenting a process of erring, reflecting, and coming back stronger. Finally, as a kind of Sarah Schulman scholar/archivist, I read this document with an extra layer of fascination. The description of who the Avengers are intended for (including those who want to take responsibility on a regular basis, have their minds blown, [and] change their opinions is like Conflict is Not Abuse in a nutshell. I began to wonder if the LA Handbook wasn't also a kind of Cliff's notes for her current work, Let the Record Show, especially the handbook's emphasis on staying away from abstract theoretical discussion in favor of focusing on concrete goals, and on working with people who share key points of affinity without insisting that everyone think the same thing. I am excited to use this amazing quasi-historical document in my classes and to share it with comrades, especially younger people just starting out. The concrete, sensible, and accessible tips for action-planning were lodestones when I began organizing in the mid-2010s (back then I was working from an internet PDF off zinelibrary). Those lessons are just as helpful today for anyone who wants to move from conviction to action but isn't sure where to start. Lana Dee Povitz Visiting Assistant Professor of History, Middlebury College Author of Stirrings: How Activist New Yorkers Ignited a Movement for Food Justice (Justice, Power, and Politics)

Author Information

Kelly Cogswell is the director of the Lesbian Avenger Documentary Project and prize-winning journalist whose work has been recognized by the New York Press Association. Her 2014 memoir, Eating Fire: My Life as a Lesbian Avenger (U of Minn Press) was a finalist for the Lambada Literary Award and Triangle Book Award. In 2018, Yale University Awarded her its Poynter Fellowship in Journalism. She speaks frequently as a specialist in community media and social change. She lives in Paris. Sarah Miriam Schulman is an American novelist, playwright, nonfiction writer, screenwriter, gay activist, and AIDS historian. Co-founder of the Lesbian Avengers, she is a Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at College of Staten Island and a Fellow at the New York Institute for the Humanities. She is a recipient of the Bill Whitehead Award. Playwright and novelist, Ana Simo was born and raised in Cuba where she was the co-director of the youthful independent publishing project Ediciones El Puente. After immigrating to France where she studied with Roland Barthes and participated in early women's and gay groups, she moved to New York City where she became a playwright, co-founding the theater Medusa's Revenge. Her New York Times-reviewed plays were produced in a number of venues. Also a lesbian activist, she co-founded the Lesbian Avengers and Dyke TV. She lives in Paris.

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