Wicked Women

Description

Wicked Women (1988–96) was a delectable sex-positive zine published by Jasper Laybutt and Lisa Salmon thirty years ago when they decided Australian dykes deserved more accurate representation. The zine evolved into a magazine that sparked a revolution in lesbian circles of inner city Sydney and Melbourne. It wasn't just straight people who objected when Jasper and Lisa launched the zine in 1988, their ‘politically incorrect’ writing and risqué imagery also disrupted the rigid political climate that dominated the dyke scene at the time. There was nowhere safe for dykes to run wild so they took matters into their own hands and ran dance parties, raunchy events, and a competition called ‘Ms Wicked’. This ruckus contributed to the emergence of a new kind of feminism - one that visibly celebrated queerness with camp humour and an erotic edge.

Together they faced the stigma of HIV AIDS, street violence, and lesbian and trans invisibility to create a pocket of queer joy.

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