Making a Way: Lesbians Out Front

JEB is a portal maker—one of those loving souls who made sure we would have a way back to witness the world-changing bravery of our communities. —Alexis Pauline Gumbs JEB (Joan E. Biren) first introduced viewers to her photographs in 1979 when she published Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians, a groundbreaking celebration of women loving women. In the years that followed, JEB collaborated with poets, musicians, filmmakers, elected officials, healthcare providers, factory workers, spiritual leaders, and others who built communities and worked for political change. Her second book Making a Way: Lesbians Out Front, published in 1987, depicts the spirit and energy of this movement in more than a hundred emotionally resonant photographs that take us from passionate activism to thoughtful solitude, while remarks and remembrances from each woman photographed deepen the historic record. This reissue of Making a Way adds insightful new essays by Cheryl Clarke and JD Samson, resulting in an essential document of an era whose impact continues to be felt across our society today.

About the Author :
Joan E. Biren, known as JEB, is a filmmaker, photographer, and lesbian activist who has been documenting lesbian lives and communities since the 1970s. Her work serves to legitimize the lives and experiences of lesbians and queer people through honest portraits of everyday life. She was a member of the short-lived but influential The Furies Collective, a lesbian commune in Washington, DC, presented the touring slideshow exhibition The Dyke Show throughout the 80’s, and has produced several documentaries on queer topics. In an effort to destabilize the traditional power structures present in portraiture, she considers her models to be muses rather than subjects.JD Samson is a musician, producer, songwriter, and DJ. As lead singer of the band MEN and member of the feminist-punk band and performance project Le Tigre, Samson has toured extensively and collaborated with numerous major artists, in addition to producing and composing highly influential work across the fields of music, fine and visual arts, fashion, and activism. She is currently an Assistant Arts Professor and Area Head of Performance at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, where she is working on a range of collaborative music and performance projects.

Review :
Praise for Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians...“The momentous reception that awaited Eye to Eye on its release demonstrated the burning desire for authentic representation. JEB published the images widely, in books and on postcards, posters, calendars, in newspapers, and exhibited in her touring 'Dyke Show.' Women wrote letters thanking her for saving their lives, recalling how, after seeing her images, an unfamiliar feeling of pride overwhelmed them. Eye to Eye provided women with a mirror to reflect the possibilities of what they could be or what they already were.” - i.D., 2021 “With 'Eye to Eye,' from 1979, the photographer JEB created not a paean to lesbian life but something more essential: plain evidence of lesbians’ basic humanity.” -The New Yorker, 2021 “If we are honest, there is still much validation and visibility needed, for all kinds of people, which is why 'Eye to Eye' still resonates so strongly. There is much talk these days about equity and inclusion, and the conversation is welcome. But actions speak louder than words, and sometimes so do images. Books like 'Eye to Eye' remind us of the importance of putting those words into action.” -The Washington Post, 2021