Julia Rosenzweig, Curve’s Archive & Outreach Manager, presents the winners and honorees of this year’s Curve Photo Contest.
2025 marks the third year of The Curve Foundation’s re-invigorated annual community Photo Contest! Curve magazine held an annual lesbian lifestyle photography contest for eleven years, and we are so proud to continue this tradition of amplifying the creativity and self-expression of our colorful community. From 1995 to 2006, thousands of entries would flow into the Curve magazine office, displaying rich, diverse images. From crust punks on the streets of San Francisco to nude women in rural Connecticut, the submissions encapsulate lesbian life and culture during those years. To learn even more about the history, read this article about it published in a past Curve Quarterly issue.
This year, we asked The Curve Foundation’s community members to submit photos that capture the lesbian, queer, trans, and nonbinary identities of recent days. We are proud to put forward three fabulous winners, each with titles that describe the folks who are portrayed. There is a beautiful triptych of a butch person in three vulnerable, sensual positions. The photo was submitted by their partner, and you can feel the intimacy and love behind the lens. Another is a gorgeous black and white image of a nude person, shadows covering their body, and the hint of another person—perhaps a lover—in the darkness behind. And the third image perfectly documents the ennui of being a youth in the 2010s, showing two young folks laying in the grass, one staring at the sky and the other gently splaying their arm across their companion while they drag on a joint.
The throughline between these three winning photographs is a feeling of care and love. You can feel this sentiment in the vulnerability of the butch’s body language, the unspoken trust of the nude person and their shadowy companion, and in the comfort and relaxation portrayed by the two youths. Our community is one that puts forward so much love, and we are proud to display it.
We had so many wonderful submissions that this year, we chose not three but five runners-up. The five choices represent queer joy, motherhood, freedom of gender expression, neurodivergence, and, of course, love. To view all of this year’s submissions, visit the digital exhibit in our Curve Archive!
Winners
Mel Oliver
This is what a 2010’s young adult lesbian looks like
“Being an Indigenous lesbian from the suburbs means searching for liberation and release in pockets of community and acts of disobedience from a young age.”
Samaya Norman
This is what butch looks like
“This is a triptych of my partner, Belle. They teach me something new every day; what it means to be queer, what it means to love with complete transparency, what it means to be fluid and in a constant state of motion. They are the most beautiful person I know.”
Elodie Hekimian-Brogan
This is what a queer person looks like
“This is what being lesbian means to me.”
Honorable Mentions
Randi Russo
This is what queer love looks like
“What began as a photo shoot to explore drag and masculine identity with my non-binary friend ultimately evolved into a celebration showcasing their love with their new partner. They had become an official couple the evening prior, and I simply needed a shot of the two of them together. Their affection for one another was palpable.”
Lily McLaughlin
This is what a community looks like
“This is what being queer means to me. It means having a community of fellow queer people coming together to find friendship in difficult times. I’ve always felt like I’ve been on the outside; however, when finding a community, it feels like I am seen.”
Kenya Graham
This is what trans love looks like
“This is what being young and in love means to me.”
Lily Olsen
This is what a butch legacy looks like
“In searching for family representation that included masculine and butch women, I found only a limited glimpse. That absence led me to create the imagery myself. For 13 years, I’ve documented masculine women and queer communities, capturing the realities that exist beyond expectation. This photograph continues that work, making visible what has always been here.”
Chelsea Curtis
This is what a gay mama looks like
“Being a mom to a special needs kid is pretty normal. Being a lesbian while doing so makes us powerful.”