In a perfect world each city would offer breaking, local and national news of interest to an LGBT audience, but with the steady decline of LGBT local papers – the kind that used to be stacked in alternative bookshops, coffee spots and queer bars – now is the time for people, and especially women who are not always represented by the dominant gay male media, to strike out in inventive ways to offer LGBT media.
And two Seattle-based lesbians have done just that for their community. Executive Editor Kate West and Editor-in-Chief Sarah Toce – a frequent and favorite contributor to SheWired – have built The Seattle Lesbian for their community, and the lesbians have come in droves to the new site that features local and national news, politics and entertainment.
Here’s West on the drive to create a place for the lesbians in her community.
Kate West
Seattle seems to be very gay-friendly. Why was a website exclusively for lesbians needed?
Seattle is definitely a very gay-friendly city, but even so, lesbians aren’t really represented in the local mainstream or gay media. My business partner Sarah [Toce] and I had been complaining for over a year about the lack of a voice in Seattle for lesbians and we finally decided to do something about that. We wanted a place for local lesbians to be able to look for local and national news, reviews, lifestyle and political stories of interest to and about them.
Why do you think the lesbian population is overlooked so often in the media?
In reference to the mainstream media, I don’t think lesbians and their issues are usually considered a worthy story unless it involves a scandal or a celebrity. In the alternative or gay media, gay men’s issues or more general LGBTQ issues seem to be the concentration. The issues that interest and affect lesbians are often quite different than those that affect gay men.
How has the community response been to The Seattle Lesbian since its launch on Wednesday, October 13, 2010?
The community response and support has been phenomenal! Sarah and I expected to be supported, but nowhere near the degree that we have experienced. We’ve had so many positive emails about what we’re doing and support from the lesbian community in general. We couldn’t be more pleased.
What will The Seattle Lesbian provide to the lesbian community that other gay publications can’t (or won’t)?
We will provide coverage of political issues, human-interest stories, reviews of lesbian books/films/music and interviews with people who are movers and shakers who are specifically of interest to lesbians. You won’t find the kind of coverage we are providing in other local or national gay publications. For instance, you just won’t find stories about some of our local lesbian musicians, poets or athletes in other gay publications.
Have you or Sarah experienced any positive feedback from the other Seattle local news outlets?
Yes definitely. We’ve had positive write-ups done on our website by several different local news outlets including the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, the Seattle Post Globe, the Charlene Strong blog, and the Washington News Council. In addition, Kiro 97.3 FM had Sarah on their program for an interview. We are all publications in the same community and it’s really nice to be able to support each other.
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Have either of you faced negative feedback?
We haven’t really had any negative feedback so far, but we have received constructive criticism from readers. We read and respond to every comment we get and take it all into consideration since we feel we can always improve and do better.
The Seattle Lesbian recently covered President Obama’s visit to Washington State. How did you manage to score that press pass?
We asked Senator Patty Murray’s campaign for a press pass and they were gracious enough to oblige. Our staff photographer, Stephanie Brusig, was able to get some really excellent shots of the rally and speakers and they can all be seen on our website.
Stephanie Brusig and Sarah Toce
Any thoughts on President Obama’s hesitance to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?
Well, the LGBTQ community is tired of waiting for action on issues such as DADT, DOMA and other equality measures. I can understand my fellow community members’ frustration with the slow pace and I feel it myself. In this instance of the DADT ruling being appealed by the Department of Justice, my understanding is that it’s out of the President’s hands. At the end of his speech [in Washington State last week], the President did promise those in the audience that DADT would be repealed. I think we have to give the President a chance to make good on his promise and wait through the government’s process.
You also covered the Senator Patty Murray rally with former President Bill Clinton. What was that experience like?
It was unreal to be that close to a former President of the United States. He still has it! His speech was so educational, inspiring and gave me goose bumps. And Senator Murray was inspiring as well. She has such a great record of supporting the LGBTQ community and many of us here in Washington State certainly appreciate her hard work on our behalf in Washington, D.C.
With things happening so quickly, how do you and Sarah manage all of the responsibility of being new role models and putting out news for the masses?
We definitely work hard. Our goal was to create a cutting-edge electronic publication and we will accept no less. Sarah is able to devote her full attention to the website at this time while I still work a day job so my time is limited to evenings and weekends. As for being role models, I think we both do our best to be positive role models for young lesbians coming up and out. We are both motivated, positive, hard-working activists in our community. I actually have a few fans now and that is something I had not anticipated!!
What is your dream vision for The Seattle Lesbian?
My dream would be for The Seattle Lesbian to become the pre-eminent lesbian publication in our region, reaching both a local and national audience. We will always keep our Seattle roots and give our local community a voice, but some of our articles and coverage will also be of interest to lesbians outside of Seattle, too.
How can the lesbian community in Seattle and around the world help embrace the website to garner further success?
They can tell all their friends we exist, read our stories and comment on them, participate in our discussion forum on the site, follow us on Twitter and on Facebook. Also, if anyone with a business or organization is interested in advertising with us, we welcome any LGBTQ-owned or LGBTQ-friendly advertisers.
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