IT'S TIME TO GET OUT OF THE BEDS, OUT OF THE BARS AND INTO THE STREETS. IT'S TIME TO SEIZE THE POWER OF DYKE LOVE, WITF VISION, DYKE ANGER, DYKE INTELLIGENCE, DYKE STRATEGY. IT'S TIME TO ORGANIZE AND INCITE. IT'S TIME TO GET TOGETHER AND FIGHT. WE'RE INVISIBLE, SISTERS, AND IT'S NOT SAFE—NOT IN OUR HOMES, NOT IN THE STREETS, NOT ON THE JOB, NOT IN THE COURTS. WHERE ARE THE OUT LESBIAN LEADERS? IT'S TIME FOR A FIERCE LESBIAN MOVEMENT AND THAT'S YOU: THE ROLE MODEL, THE VISION, THE DESIRE.

BECAUSE: WE'RE NOT WAITING FOR THE RAPTURE. WE ARE THE APOCALYPSE. 10 J ££ L, ami

LESBIAN AVENGERS BELIEVE IN CREATIVE ACTIVISM: LOUD, BOLD, SEXY, SILLY, FIERCE, TASTY AND DRAMATIC. ARREST OPTIONAL. THINK DEMONSTRATIONS ARE A GOOD TIME AND A GREAT PLACE TO CRUISE WOMEN. \ RRiflNflUFNP.Firc DON'T HAVE PATIENCE FOR POLITE POLITICS. ARE BORED WITH THE BOYS THINK OF STINK BOMBS AS ALL-SEASON ACCESSORIES. DON'T HAVE A POSITION ON FUR. AN AVLNl BELIEVE CONFRONTATION FOSTERS GROWTH AND STRONG BONES. BELIEVE IN RECRUITMENT. NOT BY THE ARMY; NOT OF STRAIGHT WOMEN. DON'T MIND HANDCUFFS ATALL m DO BELIEVE HOMOPHOBIA IS A FORM OF MISOGYNY. " " LESBIAN AVENGERS ARE NOT CONTENT WITH GHETTOES: WE WANT YOUR HOUSE, YOUR JOB, YOUR FREQUENT FLYER MILES. WE'LL SELL YOUR JEWELRY TO SUBSIDIZE OUR MOVEMENT. LESBIAN AVENGERS DON'T BELIEVE IN THE FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY. WE DEMAND UNIVERSAL HEALTH INSURANCE AND HOUSING. WE DEMAND FOOD AND SHELTER FOR ALL HOMELESS LESBIANS. LESBIAN AVENGERS ARE THE 13th STEP, imm mmm THINK GIRL GANGS ARE THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE.

BELIEVI IN T^NS€ENDEN€||l«tLLtSTIITIS, INCLUMMG COUMIAN AND OREGON. THINK SEX IS A DAILY LIBATION. GOOD ENERGY FOR ACTIONS. CRAVE, ENJOY, EXPLORE, SUFFER FROM NEW IDEAS ABOUT REIAT1ONSB1FS: SLUMBER PARTIES. POLYGAMY (WHY GET MARRIED ONLY ONCE?). PERSONAL ADS. AFFINITY GROUPS. ARE OLD FASHIONED: PINE, LONG, WHINE, STAY IN BAD RELATIONSHIPS. GET MARRIED BUT DON'T WANT TO DOMESTICATE OUR PARTNERS. LESBII LIKE THE SONG "MORE MADONNA, LESS JESUS" USE LIVE ACTION WORDS: Ixci, vhxh^o, aal, ^LUJL, &LAA$ piau/, diie^ abhzs it LESBIAN AVENGERS LIKE JINGLES: SUBVERSION IS OUR PERVERSION.

LESBIAN AVENGERS SCHEME AND SCREAM. THINK ACTIONS MUST BE LOCAL, REGIONAL, NATIOfWi^LOBAL, COSMIC. GER5 THINK CLOSETED LESBIANS, QUEER BOYS AND SYMPATHETIC STRAIGHTS SHOULD SEND US MONEY. •t BELIEVE DIRECT ACTION IS A KICK IN THE FACE, LESBIAN AVENGERS PLAN TO TARGET HOMOPHOBES OF EVERY STRIPE AND INFILTRATE THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT. LESBIAN AVENGERS ENJOY LITIGATION.

(IN DESCENDING ORDER) 10. COMPASSION 9. LEADERSHIP 8. NO BIG EGO 7. INFORMED 6. FEARLESSNESS 5. RIGHTEOUS ANGER 4. FIGHTING SPIRIT 1 PRO SEX 2. GOOD DANCER 1. ACCESS TO RESOURCES (XEROX MACHINES) here is a wide spectrum of opinion in the lesbian community about what kinds dykes, flaming shrines. of strategies to employ for lesbians to survive and flourish. Some people want how to do it + get away with it Once you've decided on to provide social services. Some want to do theoretical development. Some a target—an openly homopho- want to be in therapy groups. Others want to work on electoral and legal reform. LESBIAN AVENGERS 101 bic lawyer, a Cardinal, a way- 3 TAll are valid strategies. Direct-action is what The Lesbian Avengers do. That is our rea- C3 ward pol—plan a DRAMATIC IF YOU WANT REVENGE, CALL A MEETING. A meeting is the first step toward a life of retri- son for existing. ACTION. It's important to have a bution and an essential element in organizing Lesbian Avengers. Meetings are a (3? CLEAR MESSAGE, so keep it sim- 2 great way to trade info and get to know other lesbians. This is the time to report on I f ple. The details of your posi- I I past and upcoming actions, share news, and sign up for COMMITTEES. Committees youh, s tion can be spelled out in the meet outside the general meeting to plan and organize actions and then report 1 I i I I i $ DIRECT-ACTION is what we do FACT SHEET you distribute at vnatic C3 back to the whole group for a vote. A FACILITATOR, armed with the meeting AGENDA, the action. Fact sheets will keep things moving and focused at your meetings. It helps to begin gatherings 2 § The Lesbian Avengers uses grassroots activism to fight for lesbian survival and visi- should clearly explain why by having each dyke introduce herself (another way to get to know each other) and to end bility. We identify lesbian issues and perspectives. We empower lesbians to become expe- you're staging an action, them by having each one tell what she'll be working on until the next meeting. rienced organizers who can participate in political rebellion. Learning skills and strategiz- and give facts to back up ing together are at the core of our existence. DANCES, PARTIES, and other FUNDRAISING STUNTS are a great way to recruit new your position. 2 As a direct-action, activist group, The Lesbian Avengers is not for everybody, nor Avengers and raise money. FLYERS make for cheap and easy outreach: wheat paste them If you can, should it be. It is for women who want to be involved in activism, work in communi- around town, leave them in church pews and gym lockers, staple them to your ty, be creative, do shit-work, take responsibility on a regular basis, have their ^ dog before letting him out of the house, send them to your MAILING LIST. If you VIDEOTAPE all your actions. Hi-8 is best but minds blown, change their opinions and share organizing skills. m don't have a mailing list yet, put a sign-up sheet by the door of yo'ur next • Camcorders will do. ss Olv Since we started, in June 1992, we have found that certain organizing ideas L Avenger party and, soon, you will, Ask *ntial. °" «P c j/ Saturate your local (or } a s help us keep our work pro-active, gratifying and successful. One outstanding reve- for phone numbers, too. • regional) public lation has been to stay away from abstract theoretical discussion. It is so easy to we recruit I I" PHONE LISTS and mailing lists are invalu- access cable channels create false polarities when there LU 2s« able in Avenger warfare. A PHONE TREE can get the word out fast on upcoming actions and with your own sub- THE IS A DIRECT- is nothing concrete on the table. But parties. To create a phone tree, just divide up your phone list among a few strenuously •g *~ce versive videotapes— •H .S O i|| when our political discussions seductive and reliable Avengers, who will become your LIEUTENANTS. You'll call them and ACTION GROUP FOCUSED ON ISSUES VITAL by law, they MUST 1 revolve around the creation and pur- •S so TO LESBIAN SURVIVAL AND VISIBILITY. they'll call their lists. Elevate yourself to phone tree CAPTAIN (or DIVA) and enjoy activating broadcast them. i pose of an action, it is much easier to the lines. LU come to agreement and share 1« FOR INFORMATION: insights. ^lJ XsQAXUZA/ to put contact information for your group on all your fly- CALL THE LESBIAN AVENGERS HOTLINE gffi! Another idea that has surfaced ers, posters and other materials, so potential Avengers can find you. Remember to state gu-o in our work is to encourage each that "The Lesbians Avengers is a direct-action group focused on issues vital to lesbian sur- Si 5£J Avenger to take responsibility for her vival and visibility". Get the word out. B own suggestions—in other words, be willing to make them happen. This way, "Someone If you've ever spray painted anti-hate slogans LESBIANS have been Sj should..." becomes "I will" or "Who will do this with me...?" around town, you know how good it feels to VANDAL- :18 in the forefront df every New York, NY 10011. Telephone: (212) 967-7711 ext. 3204. The entire contents of this instead of just tearing it apart, propose another way of realizing the goal. rights, feminism, .the lesbian and gay rights movement, the broadsheet are copyright © 1993 by The Lesbian Avengers. No part of this broadsheet SOMETHING TO What follows are some tips on how to organize a direct-action group. The complete, labor movement, housing and environmentalism. Yet our participation is ignored, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechani- direct-action LOOK AT—dykes in cal, including photocopying, recording or any information storage-and-retrieval system, unexpurgated version appears in THE LESBIAN AVENGER HANDBOOK. You can get the deb gowns, slan- OFTEN WITH OUR COMPLICITY, Why? Not only because we have felt unworthy but also without prior written permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. HANDBOOK by filling out the coupon on the page opposite. derous slogans on banners and placards, serenading because we have fetlt secure in our insignificance: after all, who would dream BROADSHEET DESIGN: CARRIE MOYER of squashing a tin

essential first element of education: a question. A few weeks later, we noisily paraded a gigantic Avenger chants of "We're here, we're queer, we're not going skiing." It ue of Alice B.Toklas. MAXINE WOLFE believes that we should "keep our eyes on the Dykes and kids proved to be an explosive political mixture. bomb in front of the NYC Board of Education. "Lighten up! Teach went on al day and night and into the next morning, when we We missed Alexandra but were delighted that 250 others prize." As with our first action about homophobia in schools, "we We did it, and vowed to do it again, in spite about lesbian lives!", our banners roared. The Lesbian Avengers ambushed Mayor Webb and his ever growing security detail in a made it to the reunion of our Alice B. with the existing statue of her should continue to pick cutting edge issues in which we take the of dire warnings of violence, action style had been bom: a single image—clear and powerful; a tucked-away conference room at the Plaza Hotel. lover, Gertrude Stein. On a crisp winter day the golden statue of risks that no one else is willing to take." In her view, our function is backlash, and even child lean slogan; and the most crucial element: our own fierce energy, a Remembering the speed and efficiency of the Avenger retalia- Alice reached toward Gertrude's sitting figure. Playwright to bring attention to an issue, paving the road for others, who exploitation. That day, we potent mix of the dangerous and the humorous, fueled by raw, tion, AVENGE? ANN NORTHROP says, "It's just as difficult for us, Maria Irene Fornes, filmmaker Yvonne Rainer, novel- >v.fe u> J\Sarah Schulman and Jacqueline Woodson, and V^ ° \ I and following up on it in other ways. AVENGER fear. As the November 1992 election approached, we erected a between us aid people who don't do anything is the willingness to poet Eileen Myles, read from their own as well as ' agrees: "We take up things quick- At each action, | shrine in the West Village in honor of Hattie Mae Cohens and make that magnal leap of faith. We think we can make a differ- Alice's and Gertrude's writings. A Lesbian ly, as soon as they happen or, at times, before, •V ever since, fear has [ Brian Mock, a lesbian and a gay man, burned to death by white- ence." Avengers ensemble performed from Stein's thereby creating an issue." been eroded and brav- I supremacist skinheads in Salem, Oregon. We defiantly ate fire in In fact, the acton did make a big difference. We reset Mayor "Lifting Belly". At the end, we all waltzed in the Taking risks is something new for many of us. ery redefined. "For me, ' front of the shrine, to "make the power of the flame our own." Webb's agenda. Eveywhere he went, reporters only wanted to snow. Cops kept their distance. AVENGER LYSANDER PUCCIfij when visiting other les- it's important that an We staged a four-day around-the-clock vigil, often under freezing hear about Amendment 2, not about investing in the ski slopes. He Valentine's Day 1993 was action kick-off day r\ bian and gay groups to talk about The Lesbian Avengers, action be brave", says drizzle. We created a wall of light by their portraits, keeping can- was forced to cancel ^similar trip to Toronto. Our action also for new Lesbian Avengers groups spreading like wildfire ?/>' " > 13 has found people cautious and fearful about direct-action. AVENGER PHYLUS LUTSKY. dles lit day and night. helped persuade Net York City Mayor David Dinkins to come out in throughout the country. The first such group sprung in "They feel that you have to be very radical to do it," she says. favor of a travel boycott of Colorado. Front-page coverage of the Mi Later that month, we marched down Fifth Avenue with flaming Durham, North Carolina, at the Southern Sisters Bookstore, after Lysander thinks that you have to want real change. "You have to torches at rush hour, without a permit. Cops tried to wrestle Avenger action in he Colorado press raised the boycott issue to a AVEmm SARAH SCR?' i Wffi showed the video "Lesbian Avengers ¥•'• ' be willing to act. Maybe that is radical." the torches out of our hands, but we managed to keep fever pitch. Back i New York, NEWSDAY gleefully reported on our Eat Fire," and articulated our vision of a direct-action lesbian To act, you must trust the group. Recalling the night when she lighting new ones. At Rockefeller Center, in the activities while reprnanding us because our chants did not movement. Schulman's tour of 19 cities to promote her new novel publicly held School Board 24 "responsible for any future murder heart of the media district, we burned Oregon's rhyme. and The Lesbian Avengers has already sparked similar groups in of lesbians and gay men in New York City" because they were In another Austin, Atlanta, San Francisco, Tucson, Minneapolis and Montreal. teaching children how to hate, ,'£SE I quick strike, ear- "Our existence can inspire people in the broader lesbian com- says: "I wasn't afraid at all. I trusted that if anyone tried to hurt lier this year, munity who aren't directly involved. We are a catalyst in the forma- me, the other Avengers in the room would protect me. I felt their I Lesbian tion of a counter-culture," presence strongly." The Lesbian Avengers was founded in New York City in Proposition 9 and Colorado's Avngers stormed the editorial offices of Schulman says. At the same time, The Lesbian Avengers hope to inspire lesbians to Junel992 by six experienced political activists. Amendment 2, protesting a virtual SLF magazine. Our wrath persuaded the inside The Lesbian Avengers, act. Our unabashed slogan—"We Recruit" and the On Lesbian and Gay Pride Day, they handed out 8,000 fluores- media black-out on the issues. SELF nsses to cancel an ill-timed trip to leaders are forming. "Lesbians bomb logo—are calls to action. A recent recruit, cent green club cards that said "Lesbians! Dykes! Gay Women! "If When Wellington Webb, the the Cotrado slopes, ft also yielded have been excluded from power. AVENGE %*fmm v»AVf% was seduced by the Avenger We want revenge and we want it now." Fifty lesbians came to the I'm Mayor of Denver, came to town articles in NEWSDAY and The critical role of the organiza- bomb logo and its intimation that our collective lesbian first meeting. An action was decided. Organizing started. not last December on a dam- THE NEW YORK TIMES and a tion is to teach lesbians how to fuse was getting shorter. "I once saw graffiti sprayed On September 9,1992, to the tune of "When the Dykes Come scared | age-control visit following letter to the Lesbian Avengers organize and how to think politi- on a stadium wall that said, 'Be the bomb you throw.' I Marching In" played by the Avenger Marching Band, some sixty before an r the passage of Colorado's from Alexandra Penney, cally and have the confidence to loved the idea of being my own weapon rather wielding Lesbian Avengers marched into what was, by all accounts, enemy action, it's ' homophobic Amendment 2, we The Oregon Martyrs: SELF'S editor and author of move ahead with political expedi- one. Being dangerous without being violent. Making a territory—Middle V-ilage, Queens, site of homophobic Public Hattie Mae Cohens not worth doing.' ' reacted swiftly. We decided to fol- How to Make Love to a Man, ency." She believes that if the huge impact merely by asserting my existence. To me, School Board 24. Capitulating to the religious right, the Board had Brian Mock With everything ' low him everywhere. detailing the cancellation Avengers forms 200 to 500 polit- that's what The Lesbian Avengers is about." refused to teach respect for lesbians and gay men, as required by a I've done with The A dozen Avengers carried out the and regretting that she was ically experienced leaders, les- new multicultural curriculum. Lesbian Avengers, I two-day mission. It started at 8AM at the unable to make it to bians will be in the forefront of Surrounded by a frenzy of cops and media, we gave first- get that feeling of fear plush Regency Hotel, with Avengers Bryant Park on Valen- every future political movement. graders at PS 87 lavender balloons inscribed "Ask about Lesbian first and I come out trampling all over the dining room tine's Day for the Knowing where our energies Lives." A few mothers, quietly and courageously, allowed their feeling empowered." and ruining the Mayor's breakfast with unveiling of our stat- should go is essential. AVENGER children to keep the subversive balloons. We were giving kids the

JUNE 1992 SEPT 1992 OCT 1992 NOV 1992 NOV U NOV 1992 DEC 1992 1992 JAN 1993 FEB 1993 11993 I i !•••'<•••• !••••• *m •••••••••••--«••• •••••••••••••••«•••• •*«**•••>••• •) The Avengers are formed. First Day of School Action. School Board Action. Anti-violence march. I ent + shrine to Oregon \ ftvengers take Fifth Avenue. Lesbian Speakout. Avengers greet Denver's Mayor. Awgers invade SELF magazine's offices. UFT + domestic partner actions. Gertrude + Alice are reunited in NYC. The Avengers serenade hate-monger Mary Cummins. Dyke March in DC.