When we began this work, in May 2021, the idea of curating and connecting lesbian history and culture felt like a breath of fresh air – particularly poignant as we faced another year of pandemic life.

On Zoom, we gathered. We road-tripped and flew to safely premier Ahead of the Curve. We selected our first cohort of Curve Award winners, and were honored with their presence at the 2021 National LGBTQ Journalists’ Association conference. We did what we could to gather and tell stories, and explored what safe digital space could look like for our community.

At the end of our first year, it’s these moments that we hold with pride. We are proud of the resilience of lesbians, queer women, non-binary people, and trans people. It has been an incredibly difficult time to celebrate ourselves, and our community has lost several elders since we started this foundation. And yet – queer joy thrives at the Curve Foundation. We laugh together, we hold space, and we ask questions with the very same tenacity as Curve readers and writers of the past.

Curve Community – we made it to Pride month!

We hope that you will take this moment to be proud of yourselves and celebrate the intergenerational resilience that keeps our community alive. As Pride month becomes both politicized and commercialized, we want to remind you that your queerness (and relationship to it) is yours to discover.

In the June 1995 issue, Victoria A. Brownworth – famed journalist and Curve contributor – said it best:

“There are myriad points of herstoric light for each lesbian to bathe herself in. This June, as you sweat and simmer with your gay brothers, remember that Pride goes far beyond the limits of Stonewall. It goes to the very heart of who we are as lesbians: women who have challenged oppression through history – and changed the world.”

This Pride month, we celebrate you. Take time to sweat and simmer, to discover your reasons to celebrate, and to hold community close.

We are grateful for your support, this year and always, and we’re proud of you – for speaking up, supporting causes that matter to you, and finding the joy.

Cheers to year two!

Photos: Spring 2019 issue, May/June 1995 issue