CATCHING THE WAVE

Abstract

Due to some of the unique conditions surrounding its production, there is a lack of knowledge about lesbian journalism in Britain that this article hopes to go some way to remedying. The first half of the article traces some of the key moments in the British lesbian publishing tradition; from the 1960s, when lesbian publishing first became viable, through to the 1990s, when the launch of DIVA demonstrated the new viability of a commercial, ‘mainstream’ lesbian magazine. Using interviews with key staff from the time, the second half of the article discusses the circumstances surrounding DIVA's launch and the philosophical and financial culture of its production. It ends with a discussion of DIVA as a product, in terms of its brand message and the nature of its content. The article aims to show the changes that afforded lesbian journalism a place within the mainstream and to highlight the abiding nature of the alternative values with which the tradition began.