Letter from the Editor

Hello, lesbian friends and friends of lesbians!

Welcome to Lyke Mag, Philadelphia’s new online lesbian magazine. Lyke is a labor of love, produced by two local journalists: myself, Raeann, and my friend and partner in crime, Izzy. Our staff includes some photographers, monthly contributors, and a web designer, all supportive of and understanding of what it means to be a lesbian in the 215 and beyond. Like Sisters, Fuse, the Dyke March, and the many other local organizations, Lyke wants to be in the vocabulary of every lesbian in the area. We will be discussing hard-hitting issues like gender and feminism, as well as the fun stuff, like embarrassing coming out stories and things to do when you’re bored. Izzy will be keeping you up to date on what’s going on in the land of lesbian entertainment, with reviews, “Dykes We Lyke,” a monthly column that focuses on important dykes throughout history. On the flip side of that, I will be zeroing in on local dykes who are moving and shaking up Philly. Rounding out Lyke will be a bit of fiction and poetry, all collaged with photographs from local dyke and dyke-friendly photographers. Sounds pretty fuckin’ cool, right?

The first issue is loosely based on the idea of feminism. I suppose as your editor this is where I insert my two cents. Ever since Lyke became a reality, my mind has been on feminism. The first submission I received was by a straight woman who wanted to write about feminism. Whoa. As a butch lesbian reaching out to other local beer-drinking, extreme-sporting dykes, that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. I envisioned a funky mag that would have the lesbian masses uniting and telling steamy Sisters bathroom hookup stories. Not a straight chick wanting to rant about feminism! By the second email, I got over the fact that she was straight. She was nice, enthusiastic and took the lesbian community very seriously. The feminist thing was still nagging at me though. As the weeks unfolded, I roped another friend into writing something. She turned in a ten page rant about the injustice of women. While both of these women were very passionate, their opinions were completely opposite. The first brought up the idea that straight women were possibly the most feminist women out there, while the second article denounced straight women. The article quotes, “I’m developing a theory that no straight sexually active woman can possibly be a feminist. How can you declare yourself as such while there is a man excreting his semen on your body somewhere?’ As the idea of “feminism” seesawed back and forth in my brain, I began to realize that this is one of the most complex issues going, and more than that, I really have no idea where I stand on it.A writer of one of the articles claims that feminism is dead. Is it?

I guess the answer to that question depends on what defines being a woman at the current point in time. Right now, in the newly-turned year, what does it mean to be a woman? What did it mean to be a woman in the 60s and 70s during the civil rights movement? What did it mean during the 40s while WWII was going on? What about the 50s when men came home? The Roaring 20s? What is a woman at all? I wear men’s clothes, have a men’s hair cut, and encompass just about every stereotypical guy thing from fishing to motor sports. But, underneath that button-down shirt and guy’s size 34 jeans is a vagina and a pretty big set of knockers. If I’m 80% guy, am I still a woman? What about women who starve themselves and bleach their hair and get breast implants, just so they can look like a Barbie? Are they women, or just saline sculptures?

When it all boils down to it, I think, to be a feminist is to do something unexpected. There are certain things in society that make up the traditional idea of what it means to be a woman: stay at home, clean the house, be polite, have a little fun (but not too much fun), and support a man in his career which will support you financially. To be a true feminist is to do or support behavior that takes these concocted expectations and throws them in the fire pit, next to a pile of push-up bras. Pure feminism doesn’t exist anymore. It doesn’t have to, at least not in the United States. Women are (for the most part) able to get jobs, vote, go to college and lead a completely single and wild life, free of child-rearing and marriage. There is still the perpetuation of stereotypes and there are still men (and women) that thrive on these, but only because they are still readily available, just watch a music video or rent almost any mainstream movie. It is up to the LYKEable portion of the population to show that this cramped, subservient box that women live in on TV and in the movies doesn’t exist in real life. Elements of it exist: some women want to be polite, some want to be beauty queens, some are obsessed with cleaning, and some are happy to cook every night, but these women should have some sort of an edge. They should refuse to play softball just because it’s for women, they should go skydiving on the weekends, or get a sleeve of tattoos, or learn how to change a transmission or something (and likewise a man should pursue an interest in knitting or baking). A true feminist is a person who blurs gender lines so there are no expectations beyond that a “woman” has a set of hooters and a vagina and a “man” has a twig and berries. These anatomical parts are undeniable, scientific, factual classifications of what is to be a man or a woman; the rest is just all in our heads.

At any rate, enjoy the first issue and please, please comment your thoughts, join our effort, or profusely stalk us on Myspace.

Sincerely Your Editor,

Raeann