 | | Down on the Farm with Anne and Ellen
Farm livin’ is the life for Anne Heche and Ellen DeGeneres. By flying the Hollywood coop, one of the lesbian community’s favorite couples has escaped much of the media glare and discovered a niche in nature.
By Laurie K. Schenden
“We almost bought a little goat,” Heche coos. “I fell in love with it the other day at the feed store.”
DeGeneres, who is a little more hesitant to welcome strangers (of the two- or four-legged kind) onto their little patch of green acres, is nonetheless just as enthusiastic about life away from the big city.
“Each morning I get up, put on full makeup, sometimes a ball gown, and go out and call the chickens,” says the comedian. (She’s merely practicing, however, since the hen house is still empty.)
Portrait of a 100-Year-Old Lesbian
When she came out in 1915, there was no one to teach her what it meant to be a woman. Certainly, there were no lesbian role models in her life.
By Kathleen Wilkinson
As we hurtle towards the millennium, 100-year-old Ruth Ellis is a living reminder of the century past, born July 23, 1899, in Springfield, Ill., into a world of oil lamps and horse-drawn carriages.
Lately, having gained a bit of notoriety as the oldest out lesbian, Ellis has been traveling, making connections with women form all around the world. She is a familiar face each year at the Michigan Womyn’s Festival, and has also been invited to speak at numerous other events nationwide.
Bali, Baby!
It was to be their “last hurrah” before settling down to start a family, so why did they invite the grandma-to-be? Bali provides a sacred journey before motherhood.
By Gina Bowers
Photographs by Jennifer Roper
Jennifer and I were sitting on the patio revisiting a popular topic of discussion in our home – what to do before we settle down and get pregnant.
Just then, our 50-something neighbor, Madeline, sprang up the stairs, yoga mat under her arm, and asked if we’d like to see her photos of Bali. In the three years we’ve lived next door, she’s always been on her way to or form somewhere – a meditation retreat, Bangor, Maine, a ceramics sale at the community college, Nepal, the plant nursery. Thankfully, she enjoys sharing her travel tales with us.
Why Aren’t There More Lesbian Features?
We all cheered for Corky and Violet in Bound. Shouldn’t that translate into more lesbian features playing at the multiplex? Find out why Hollywood hasn’t been paying attention – and what we can do about it.
By Kathleen Wilkinson
While a popular film like Bound may have artistic value, it still wasn’t a genuine contribution to lesbian culture, according to experimental lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer.
Made three years ago by two men with Hollywood backing, Bound was “a loud, brash film, and sexual outlaws fit into that outlaw film,” Hammer says. “It was pretty savvy movie-making [and it] could please those of us who want artistic films [as well as] a general audience. But it wasn’t anything we took so seriously.”
Clif Bar Founder Lisa Thomas Raises the Bar
Work and play go hand-in-hand for out lesbian Lisa Thomas, entrepreneur and driving force behind Clif Bar.
By Erin Raber
“My mother never really liked Clif Bars too much,” admits Lisa Thomas, co-founder and CEO at Clif Bar, a $30 million company with 65 employees, and a leading maker of all-natural energy and nutrition foods.
Thomas finally earned the “Mom stamp of approval” with the introduction this year of a new product geared specifically for women.
Just before a recent visit, Thomas’ mom asked a favor. “She wrote me a note – ‘Bring a box of Nutz Over Chocolate LUNA bars,’” says Thomas.
“Finally, I created something she likes,” Thomas reports proudly.
According To
Tracing An Activist Past
By Patribha Parmar
Back in 1967, when I had just turned 12, I stepped onto a plane at Nairobi airport in Kenya, East Africa, and began a journey with my mother, sister and brothers that was to bring us to our new home in London.
I was wearing my first watch, a new dress sewn by my mother and some snazzy white new sandals. I was looking forward to seeing my father. We had been separated for more than a year.
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