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*Dykes, Disability & Stuff*
	Cover of the Winter 1988–1989 issue
First issue	1988
Final issue	2001
Country	United States
Language	English

Dykes, Disability & Stuff was a lesbian and disability magazine founded in 1988 in Boston, Massachusetts and published in Madison, Wisconsin.^[1] Its publication ended in Fall 2001.^[2]

History

Dykes, Disability & Stuff was first published by Catherine Odette, née Lohr, and Sara Karon.^[1] It covered inclusivity and disability rights in lesbian spaces and included artwork, reader submissions, articles, poetry, and queer book reviews.^[1] It was published irregularly from summer 1988 to fall 2001, releasing 25 issues in total^[2] under an annual budget of $6,000.^[3]^[4] Issues were not released in 1995, 1999, or 2000. Multiple individual quarterly releases were also missed in other years as a result of delays, which "continued to occur for the usual reasons - a combination of health limitations, coupled with a lack of contribution on [their] readers' end."^[5] Notably, the annual budget was partially constituted by sponsorships from the Cambridge Women's Center and the National Disabled Women's Educational Equity Project.^[3]^[6] However, after they moved from Boston, Massachusetts to Madison, Wisconsin in 1991,^[7]^[8] they lost their Boston sponsor and began to struggle financially.^[9] All issues were made available in six alternative formats to assist disabled readers, including standard print, cassette recordings, large text size, and Braille versions.^[10]^[11] In particular, the Braille edition was transcribed by Ruth Lehrer and the cassettes were voiced by Laura Yaros.^[9]

Content

Dykes, Disability & Stuff had a focus on representing and including disabled lesbians. To do this, the magazine showcased reader submissions, letters, artwork, and poetry.^[1] Other content included articles about various aspects of queer culture, queer book reviews,^[3] and news updates on disabled and queer issues such as the Sharon Kowalski case.^[3] It also included advertisements for then-upcoming queer events and other queer magazines, businesses, and publications such as "The Project on Women and Disability",^[1] Off Our Backs,^[3]^[12] and "Blackout"^[3]

Impact

Dykes, Disability, and Stuff created "a communications network for disabled dykes... to help build a strong lesbian community,"^[13] in accordance with Odette's beliefs on disability empowerment.^[14] It focused on uplifting and empowering^[13]^[15] the relatively disconnected^[15] disabled lesbian community and called attention to the under-discussed ableism present in lesbian communities everywhere.^[16] In a larger context, it drew attention to lesbians who existed outside of the commonly accepted narrative.^[16]

Dykes, Disability, and Stuff did not limit its assistance to those who were both disabled and lesbians. It also offered advice to disabled heterosexual women^[11] out of a commitment to the disabled community as a whole.^[1]^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Dykes, Disability & Stuff Building Lesbian Community Through Access, Building Accessible Lesbian Community Summer, 1988 Vol. 1 Issue. 1." Dykes, Disability and Stuff, vol. 1, no. 1, summer, 1988. Archives of Sexuality and Gender, Retrieved from: link.gale.com/apps/doc/HIKRIH594069678/GDCS?u=txshracd2598&sid=bookmark-GDCS&xid=ed340f58. Restriction: University Library.
^ ^a ^b "Dykes, Disability & Stuff Building Community Through Access, Building Accessible Lesbian Community '." Dykes, Disability and Stuff, no. 25, fall 2001, pp. [1]+. Archives of Sexuality and Gender, Retrieved from: link.gale.com/apps/doc/XULMRL459155416/GDCS?u=txshracd2598&sid=bookmark-GDCS&xid=7a745431. Accessed 25 Oct. 2022. Restriction: University Library.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Dykes, Disability and Stuff (Madison, WI) Winter, 1988-1989 Vol. 1 Issue. 3." Dykes, Disability and Stuff, vol. 1, no. 3, winter, 1988-1989, pp. [1]+. Archives of Sexuality and Gender, Retrieved from: link.gale.com/apps/doc/HLHJFB589813686/GDCS?u=txshracd2598&sid=bookmark-GDCS&xid=3cf18de1. Restriction: University Library.
^ Creamer, Heidi; Odette, Catherine; Gordon, Rivka; Isenberg, Sheldon (1994). "Letters & Responses". Bridges. 4 (1): 4–7. JSTOR 40358276.
^ "Dykes, Disability & Stuff Building Community Through Access, Building Accessible Lesbian Community [1998] Vol. 6 Issue. 2." Dykes, Disability and Stuff, vol. 6, no. 2, [1998], pp. [1]+. Archives of Sexuality and Gender, link.gale.com/apps/doc/LDEHDX983779420/GDCS?u=txshracd2598&sid=bookmark-GDCS&xid=30b66e27. Accessed 25 Oct. 2022. Restriction: University Library.
^ "Dykes, Disability & Stuff Building Lesbian Community Through Access, Building Accessible Lesbian Community Vol. 3 Issue. 4." Dykes, Disability and Stuff, vol. 3, no. 4, spring 1992, pp. [1]+. Archives of Sexuality and Gender, link.gale.com/apps/doc/RFVTYG239031116/GDCS?u=txshracd2598&sid=bookmark-GDCS&xid=46b608be. Accessed 25 Oct. 2022. Restriction: University Library.
^ Karon, Sara. "Oral History Interview, Sara Karon." Interview by Pat Calchina. UW-Madison Oral History Program, U of Wisconsin System, 30 Oct. 2016, digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/83306.
^ "Sara Karon: Dedicated to Helping People with Disabilities." Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, 23 Dec. 2020, www.sralab.org/research/labs/cror/news/sara-karon-dedicated-helping-people-disabilities-live-lives-they-choose.
^ ^a ^b "'Dykes, Disability & Stuff' 'Cause We Always Have 'Stuff' to Share 1990 Vol. 2 Issue. 4." Dykes, Disability and Stuff, vol. 2, no. 4, fall, 1990-1991, pp. [1]+. Gale Primary Sources, link.gale.com/apps/doc/XUNCJV684378444/GDCS?u=txshracd2598&sid=bookmark-GDCS&xid=ec52f422. Accessed 25 Oct. 2022. Restriction: University Library.
^ "Dykes, Disability and Stuff (Madison, WI) [1996] Vol. 5 Issue. 3-4." Dykes, Disability and Stuff, vol. 5, no. 3-4, [1996], pp. [1]+. Archives of Sexuality and Gender, link.gale.com/apps/doc/MZFTAX313177564/GDCS?u=txshracd2598&sid=bookmark-GDCS&xid=d965c70d. Accessed 25 Oct. 2022. Restriction: University Library.
^ ^a ^b S., Laura. "UK Disability History Month 2012." Glasgow Women's Library, 3 Dec. 2012, womenslibrary.org.uk/2012/12/03/uk-disability-history-month-2012/.
^ Karon, Sara (1990). "Computers & disability". Off Our Backs. 20 (8): 38. JSTOR 20833187.
^ ^a ^b Clarke, Mo. "Pride and Protest: LGBT+ Disability Activism in the US, 1985-1995." The Gale Review, Gale International, 3 Dec. 2021, review.gale.com/2021/ 12/03/lgbt-disability-activism-in-the-us/.
^ "Catherine O. Odette." Channel3000, 17 Apr. 2012, www.channel3000.com/catherine-o-odette/.
^ ^a ^b Lohr, Catherine. "Empowering Disabled Lesbians." Science for the People, vol. 20, no. 4, Sept.-Oct. 1998, www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/science/SftPv20n4s.pdf.
^ ^a ^b Forty Years after Combahee: Feminist Scholars and Activists Engage the Movement for Black Lives: NWSA's 38th Annual Conference. Baltimore, National Women's Studies Association, 2017. Digital Repository at the University of Maryland, drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/20638.