Sexuality

To keep their community informed and inspired, Latine LGBTQIA+ organizations produced newsletters, magazines, and zines during the 1980s and 1990s. They discreetly circulated these materials in small quantities around the country. Queer scholars, writers, and artists shared their love, struggles, joy, pride, and reflections on society through these modes of expression.

Art provides a powerful means of expression for individuals exploring and celebrating their queer identity. Circulated materials, such as newsletters and zines, typically included art that visualized the themes they mentioned. Notable queer artists, such as Teddy Sandoval, created mail art for newsletters that celebrated queer sexuality. Sandoval’s personal art reflects that desire to be celebrated and recognized as a queer Latine.

Newsletters are a powerful tool to circulate useful information, art, and poetry within LGBTQIA+ communities. These were often bilingual or solely in Spanish to be more accessible. An example of this is ¡ALLGO pasa!, a publication of the Austin Latino/a Lesbian and Gay organization. The circular contained columns, opinion pieces, essays, and poetry. Among these was Lillie Almánza’s “Bare Foot Morning'', a short piece written about the speaker’s lover and the desire to stay with them in the morning. The gentleness of the prose highlights how these publications conveyed the simple and pure love that can exist between LGBTQIA+ Latines.

To ensure the safety of their members, several queer newsletters advertised discreet delivery. This was the case for Las Amantes de La Luna', a 1990s lesbian newsletter that circulated in Mexico and Texas. In it, women were portrayed in a way that challenges the male gaze. It often depicted women in relaxed yet erotic positions, sometimes unshaven, and enjoying their bodies with other queer women. Given the content, the organization discreetly delivered the publication in plain envelopes to protect subscribers who may have been at risk if their LGBTQ+ identity was made public.

LGBTQIA+ communities also produced and circulated zines. These quickly became a great medium for collaboration among artists, poets, essayists, and individual authors to explore important topics and themes. Among these were mental health, identity exploration, and queer love, and sexuality. For example, A La Brava, published in 1996-1997 by Jaime Cortez, included comics, illustrations, and writings that explored relationships, safe sexual practices, and testimonials from queer Latines.

Recent zines, like MIXED UP! and Interstellar Bruja' continue to depict unapologetic queer love to empower female sexual expression. Released in 2013, MIXED UP! is a zine that is dedicated to exploring the identities of queer mixed race individuals through poems, essays, and artworks. Poems featured in the zine, such as Crushlandia by Sabrina Ibarrola, vividly portray deep affection between Latina queer women. The poem expresses a sense of timelessness, a celestial quality to this love, and the joy that comes from experiencing sexuality with someone like her- Latina and queer.

"The spiderweb"
"Aggresive Kisser"

Zines typically publish writings and illustrations that make social commentary about queer sexuality. For example, ¡el telarañazo! showcased illustrations from 1997 that were unapologetically provocative and celebrated queer sexuality. “Nacimiento'' from Interstellar Bruja Vol. 2 (2018) by Rios De La Luz highlights the struggle of queer Latinas living in a conservative and religious town. The poem ends with a celebration of their sexuality, despite the context.


Segade, “A MARICON BEAUTY: Alexandra Segade on queer Chicanx zines”. Artforum International, 57(2), 55 (2018).