Common Lives/Lesbian Lives
Common Lives/Lesbian Lives was a collectively produced lesbian quarterly published in Iowa City from 1981 to 1996.
Last updated October 14, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Common Lives/Lesbian Lives, commonly abbreviated CL/LL, was a collectively produced lesbian quarterly published from Iowa City, Iowa. It began in 1981 after an eight-member group of lesbians who had been living in the Los Angeles area relocated to Iowa City and developed a new publication. The journal emerged within the women in print movement, a network of feminist and lesbian-feminist publishing, printing, typesetting, distribution, and bookselling initiatives that sought to create autonomous communications channels for women. The publication was conceived as an inclusive, non-academic, diverse, and accessible forum. Its editors actively solicited work from lesbians who were frequently marginalized in mainstream media and sometimes underrepresented even in lesbian-feminist publications, including lesbians of color, Jewish lesbians, fat lesbians, disabled lesbians, poor and working-class lesbians, older lesbians, younger lesbians, and women from varied cultural backgrounds. Much of the material came from people who had not previously been published. The magazine's editorial and production work was performed by lesbian volunteers, and its content was based on contributions by self-defined lesbians. CL/LL was connected to the broader lesbian publishing community through the support of Catherine Nicholson and Harriet Ellenberger, also known as Harriet Desmoines, who had co-founded Sinister Wisdom. Sinister Wisdom received more submissions than it could accommodate, and the new journal provided another venue for lesbian writing, visual work, commentary, and cultural expression. Core contributors and editors included Cindy Cleary, Anne Lee, and Tracy Moore. Other contributors included Elana Dykewomon, Tee Corinne, Sapphire, Hawk Madrone, Julia Penelope, Candis Graham, Martha Miller, and Ruth Mountaingrove. The Iowa City setting was significant. Rather than originating in the principal coastal lesbian-feminist centers of New York, Los Angeles, or Berkeley, CL/LL developed in the Midwest alongside local women-in-print institutions such as Iowa City Women's Press and a women-owned typesetting firm. The journal therefore became an important example of lesbian publishing outside the dominant urban and coastal circuits. At its height, it reached approximately 2,500 subscribers in the United States and abroad. The journal also became involved in disputes over lesbian self-definition, employment, publishing access, and freedom of expression. Complaints were filed with the University of Iowa Human Rights Commission after a heterosexual woman said she had been denied an internship and a bisexual woman objected to the rejection of her submission. In 1982, the University of Iowa printing department refused to print an issue containing photographs of lesbians making love. CL/LL sued the university and prevailed, making the dispute a notable episode in the history of lesbian publishing and institutional censorship. The publication's later years were affected by distribution problems. Its principal distributor, Inland, entered bankruptcy in 1995. As a result, the planned fall 1995 issue did not appear. Issue 56, intended as the final issue, was eventually published as the 1995–1996 issue. Although the collective attempted to raise funds, the project officially closed in 1997. The magazine's legacy has been preserved through archival collections, including the Iowa Women's Archives at the University of Iowa Libraries and the Lavender Library, Archives and Cultural Exchange in Sacramento. In 2024, Sinister Wisdom published an issue titled Lives of Common Lesbians, created as a tribute to CL/LL. The project involved research, oral-history interviews with original editors, and the reunion of former editors in an editorial collective. CL/LL remains significant as a community-produced lesbian periodical, a women-in-print project, and an example of identity-centered independent publishing that expanded the range of voices represented in lesbian cultural media.
History
Common Lives/Lesbian Lives was initiated in late 1980 by eight lesbians living in the Los Angeles area. The project was encouraged by Catherine Nicholson and Harriet Ellenberger, also known as Harriet Desmoines, who had helped establish Sinister Wisdom. Because Sinister Wisdom received more submissions than it could publish, the new periodical offered an additional outlet for lesbian writers and artists. The group moved to Iowa City before the first issue appeared in 1981. The publication developed within the women in print movement, which connected second-wave feminist and women's liberation projects focused on independent media and autonomous production. Iowa City already had a supportive infrastructure, including Iowa City Women's Press and a women-owned typesetting operation. This environment allowed the journal to operate outside the larger lesbian publishing centers of New York, Los Angeles, and Berkeley. Its Midwestern location became part of its historical importance. CL/LL was organized as a collective rather than as a conventional commercial magazine. Its editors sought to make the journal inclusive, non-academic, diverse, and accessible. The publication actively solicited material from lesbians of color, Jewish lesbians, fat lesbians, disabled lesbians, poor and working-class lesbians, lesbians over fifty, lesbians under twenty, and lesbians from different cultural backgrounds. Most contributors had not previously been published. The project defined its editorial community through lesbian self-identification: all published work came from self-defined lesbians, and the volunteers involved in producing the magazine were lesbians. The journal published literary and cultural material, including writing and visual work. Contributors included Elana Dykewomon, Tee Corinne, Sapphire, Hawk Madrone, Julia Penelope, Candis Graham, Martha Miller, and Ruth Mountaingrove. Core editors and contributors included Cindy Cleary, Anne Lee, and Tracy Moore, who had also participated in the Ain't I a Woman? collective. The publication's commitment to lesbian-defined participation generated institutional and legal controversy. A heterosexual woman filed a complaint with the University of Iowa Human Rights Commission after she believed she had been discriminated against when she was not hired as an intern. A bisexual woman also complained after her submission was not published. In a more direct confrontation over content and institutional authority, the University of Iowa printing department declined to print Issue 20 in 1982 because it contained photographs of lesbians making love. CL/LL brought a lawsuit against the university and won. At its peak, the magazine circulated to approximately 2,500 subscribers nationally and internationally. Its distribution network became vulnerable in the mid-1990s when Inland, the principal distributor, declared bankruptcy in 1995. The fall 1995 issue was not published. Issue 56, planned as the final issue, eventually appeared as the 1995–1996 issue. Fundraising efforts were unable to sustain the project, and CL/LL officially closed in 1997. The archive of the magazine is held in several repositories. The Iowa Women's Archives at the University of Iowa Libraries preserves Common Lives/Lesbian Lives records, while the Lavender Library, Archives and Cultural Exchange in Sacramento holds a substantial collection of the periodical. In 2024, Sinister Wisdom revisited the publication through Issue 134, Lives of Common Lesbians. Julie R. Enszer and interns conducted research and recorded oral-history interviews with original editors, who reunited as an editorial collective for the commemorative project. The tribute demonstrated the continuing significance of CL/LL in lesbian publishing history, feminist print culture, and community-based archival work.
- 2024
Sinister Wisdom tribute issue
[1]Sinister Wisdom publishes Lives of Common Lesbians, bringing former editors together and documenting the journal through research and oral histories.
- 1997
Publication closes
[1]The collective officially ends publication after unsuccessful efforts to raise sufficient funds.
- 1996
Final issue appears
[1]Issue 56 is published as the combined 1995–1996 issue and serves as the final issue.
- 1995
Distributor bankruptcy
[1]Inland, the principal distributor, declares bankruptcy, interrupting the magazine's publication schedule.
- 1995
Fall issue is not published
[1]The planned fall 1995 issue does not appear following distribution and financial difficulties.
- 1982
Issue 20 printing lawsuit
[1]After the University of Iowa printing department refuses to print an issue containing sexual photographs, CL/LL sues and wins.
- 1981
First issue published
[1]Common Lives/Lesbian Lives publishes its first issue from Iowa City, Iowa.
- 1980
Founding collective forms
[1]Eight lesbians in the Los Angeles area initiate a new periodical, with encouragement from Sinister Wisdom co-founders Catherine Nicholson and Harriet Ellenberger.
Products and positioning
An independent, collectively produced lesbian cultural journal positioned around inclusivity, accessibility, non-academic publishing, and representation of lesbians across racial, cultural, economic, generational, bodily, and disability identities.
Lesbian cultural periodical · 1981
Common Lives/Lesbian Lives quarterly
The principal product was a collectively produced quarterly magazine publishing lesbian writing, cultural commentary, photography, and other creative or community-oriented work. Its editorial mission emphasized accessibility and representation rather than academic gatekeeping. The journal sought contributions from lesbians across racial, cultural, economic, generational, disability, and body-size identities, and provided a publication venue for many people who had never previously been published.
Magazine issue · 1982
Issue 20
Issue 20 became the focus of a 1982 dispute with the University of Iowa printing department after the department refused to print photographs depicting lesbians making love. CL/LL challenged the refusal in court and won, making the issue an important reference point in the publication's history of defending lesbian expression.
Final magazine issue · 1996
Issue 56
Issue 56 was intended to be the journal's last issue and was ultimately published as the 1995–1996 issue. It followed the non-publication of the fall 1995 issue and appeared during the period when the publication was dealing with distributor bankruptcy and fundraising difficulties.
Brand decisions
1995
Fundraising effort to sustain publicationStrategyBackground
The bankruptcy of Inland, the principal distributor, disrupted the publication schedule and contributed to the absence of the fall 1995 issue.
Action taken
The collective attempted to raise funds and continued long enough to publish Issue 56 as the 1995–1996 final issue.
Aftermath
The fundraising effort did not preserve the publication, which officially closed in 1997.
1982
Challenge to University of Iowa printing refusalOtherBackground
The University of Iowa printing department refused to print Issue 20 because it contained photographs of lesbians making love.
Action taken
Common Lives/Lesbian Lives sued the university over the refusal.
Aftermath
The magazine won the lawsuit, allowing the dispute to stand as a significant defense of lesbian cultural expression and independent publishing.
Recent events
- 2024
Sinister Wisdom publishes tribute to Common Lives/Lesbian Lives[1]
Product launch · Other
Sinister Wisdom published Lives of Common Lesbians, a commemorative issue developed through archival research, oral-history interviews, and the participation of former CL/LL editors.
- 1997
Common Lives/Lesbian Lives officially closes[1]
Other
After efforts to raise funds, the publication officially ceased operations.
- 1995
Inland distribution bankruptcy disrupts final publication period[1]
Bankruptcy · Other
The magazine's principal distributor, Inland, declared bankruptcy, contributing to the non-publication of the fall 1995 issue and disruption of the journal's final production cycle.
- 1982
University of Iowa printing dispute over Issue 20[1]
Lawsuit · Other
The University of Iowa printing department refused to print an issue containing photographs of lesbians making love. The magazine sued the university and won.
- 1981
Common Lives/Lesbian Lives begins publication in Iowa City[1]
Other
The first issue of the collectively produced lesbian quarterly was published after the founding group relocated from the Los Angeles area to Iowa City.
Sources3 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/common-liveslesbian-lives · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled