Publisher of GBF (Gay Black Female)
FemmeNoir
A Web Portal For Lesbians Of Color
Taken from bio at
http://www.gayblackfemale.com/bio/GBF_Bio.htm
In 1990 I wanted to meet other gay women. Going to the various clubs and lesbian functions didn’t seem to offer the type of woman that I wanted to meet. Being a visionary, and a person of action, I drafted a one-page brochure advertising four of my own personal ads and a few classified ads.
After receiving several calls from my ads I knew I had something and took the brochure a little further. The following week I folded an 8x11 piece of paper in half so I would now have four pages or one piece of paper with four sides. I picked the name GBF because at the time LA Weekly, a straight newspaper, had personal ads in the back, and they used the acronyms GBM, GBF, GWF, GWM etc. So I thought that by choosing an acronym that straight people knew, then surely gay people would now what GBF stood for.
For several months I printed GBF weekly increasing it to about three pages before I began to print it monthly. I initially distributed the magazine to local clubs, gay & lesbian organizations, and social events. The name GBF began to buzz around the community, but I knew I needed to add more than just personal ads and began to write short stories. Women would complain about mistakes, but they would faithfully continue to read. The readers range from 15 years old to 70 with various incomes and backgrounds.
From 1990 until 1996, I printed GBF off and on for a total of 57 issues. In mid 1996 I had the opportunity to meet Ta’Shia Asanti who knew that I wanted more from GBF and began to write articles and poetry. In the same month I hooked up with an incredible artist by the name of Zoo. Zoo was key to providing the black and white artwork that took GBF to the next level. It’s been five years since Asanti and Zoo has joined the crew and GBF is running full steam ahead.
GBF had a good year in 1997 in which the magazine was picked up by Koen & Bookazine national distributors. In the same year I built a web-site and GBF has been international since. There has been 109 issues published to-date, and the magazine is up to forty pages without any consistent major advertising dollars.
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