Lambda Literary: My life as a Lesbian Avenger

Interview with Kelly Cogswell.

Cogswell_Eating coverIn your book you talk about how the Internet was, at first, a powerful organizing and connecting tool, and then subsequently you came to experience its drawbacks as well. Has your perspective on using the Internet as an organizing tool evolved in recent years? 

Yes, the Internet was a revelation. After years of trying to get mainstream media to cover LGBT issues, especially dyke stuff, it was incredible to be able to bypass the gatekeepers and share ideas and information directly–and globally. Social media was even faster, and at first people thought of it as a magic bullet. Even before the Arab Spring it was hailed for its contribution to flash organizing, like with the huge demos that happened in California when Prop H8 reversed same-sex marriage there. It took a while to understand that social media was really just a form of media and communication. Twitter is a faster version of a phone tree. YouTube and Tumblr are just the latest do-it-yourself versions of posters and handbills. Ways to get the message out. 

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Published in: Lambda Literary
By: Sarah Burghauser