Brat Attack

Tables of Contents

PUBLICATION INFORMATION

The following information is taken from "Our Own Voices: Lesbian and Gay Periodicals 1890s-2000s" (http://www.clga.ca/Material/PeriodicalsLGBT/inven/oov/contents.htm).

Fish, Christine and Deva, Box 40754, San Francisco, CA, United States 94141.

CONTENTS INFORMATION

The table of contents are based on the portions of the zine that were placed on the Web (http://web.archive.org/web/20030202100658/home.earthlink.net/~devilfishtattoo/brat/). The zine published nonfiction on lifestyle issues.

TABLES OF CONTENTS

#1
1991

Cover art: Fish.

We're Not Knitting Doilies: Safe, Sane, Consensual and Beyond.
Author: Fish.
Summary: Interview with a leatherdyke, Alix. Discusses whether safety rules in the leather community have gone too far.

99 Cent Sex Toys: A Meditation on Thrift Store Perversion.
Authors: Holly and Christine.
Summary: Lists inexpensive items that can be used as sex toys.

Bottoms on the Rag.
Authors: Toni, Christine, Fish, and Deva.
Summary: The authors complain that people who play as bottoms aren't sufficiently valued.

Heavy SM: Fat Brats Speak Out.
Authors: "Christine, based on a conversation with Deva."
Summary: Argues that the SM dyke community is fat-positive but says that fat leatherdykes still face difficult issues.

#2
1991

Cover Art: Fish

You Say I'm Good.
Author: Alix Layman.
Summary: Thoughts on whether the author is good or evil.

The International Sex Wars: Leatherdykes in Berlin.
Author: Fish. Translation help by Fidi.
Summary: A German woman talks about the how little visibility SM dykes in her community have, and how this is affected by the pressure to focus their minds on political matters.

Casual Epiphanies: When Casual Isn't . . .
Author: Christine.
Summary: "I am frustrated by the lack of forum for acknowledging the transformative, emotional aspects of SM in 'casual' scenes. . . . I hate pretending [to my play partners that] nothing has changed. I hate taking my epiphanies home to my journal." Includes a discussion of the sacred aspects of bottoming.

#3
1992

Cover art: Julian

Talking Class
Editor: Christine.
Summary: A conversation between working-class leatherdykes about class issues in the leather community.

Undercover SM: A Tale of Accidental Espionage.
Author: Christine.
Summary: A leatherdyke describes her accidental attendance at a convention for lesbian separatists, many of whom opposed SM.

#4
1993

Talking Class
Editor: Christine.
Summary: Continuation of the article in issue #3.

History is Just Good Gossip: Fifteen Years of Dykes Doing SM.
Author: Fish.
Summary: Memories of the leatherdyke community on the West Coast from the late seventies onwards, drawn from interviews with eight women. Topics covered: coming out; switching; early experimentation with techniques; differences between playing then and now; drugs; serious role playing; today's larger community.

Allegra's Story: Surviving Chicago in the 80s.
Author: Allegra. Paraphrased by Fish.
Summary: Companion article to "History is Just Good Gossip." The author discusses her negative experiences being a leather top during this period, first professionally, then socially.

An Extremely Unofficial Timeline of Dyke SM: This Ain't the Bible, Kiddies!
Author: [Fish.]
Summary: Sidebar to "History is Just Good Gossip." Starts in 1975 and covers events on the West Coast and in Chicago. Mainly draws upon interview material. Includes passages about the following organizations and locations: the Society of Janus, the Catacombs (fisting club), Samois, Sutro Baths, Leather and Lace, the Outcasts.

#5
1994

Cover art: Beth Callaghan.

Hard Time: An SM Dyke in Jail for Real.
Author: Cyn Bivens.
Summary: A prisoner discusses the sexual hierarchies of life in a woman's prison, how she manages to do SM scenes there, and how she tries to educate her fellow prisoners on topics such as safer sex.

Child's Play.
Author: Wickie Stamps.
Summary: The author describes how her abusive childhood led her into sadomasochism.

Gender Tripping: When a Real Girl Needs Size 13 Heels.
Author: Christine. Summary: "While I know that feminism saved my life and laid the foundation upon which I understand gender, it's the gender outlaws that turn me on." A defense of gender-bending, with anecdotes from the author's life.

Butch: An Evolving Identity.
Author: Lori Hartmann.
Summary: Describes how the author's viewpoint about her gender identity has changed over the years.

FTM: Female-to-Male Transsexuals in the Leather Community.
Author: "Deva interviews Billy, Mike, Eric, Sky and Shadow."
Summary: A dialogue concerning various topics related to FTM.

MTF: Dykes and Male-to-Female Transsexuals.
Author: Tala Brandeis.
Summary: An MTF chides both separatists who fail to recognize MTFs and MTFs who fail to recognize the separatists' legitimate complaints.

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