Text announcing a virtual panel titled "Reclaiming the Word Lesbian" is positioned at the top, with five circular headshots of the speakers and their credentials arranged below against a purple gradient background.

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Please join The Curve Foundation for the virtual program, Reclaiming the Word Lesbian: An Inclusive Discussion on Queer Identity and Media.&nbsp;This talk is an encore by popular demand! It was originally presented at the 2026 NLGJA National Convention of LGBTQ+ Journalists in San Francisco on September 12, 2026. We are making this talk more accessible to folks by presenting it online. Please RSVP to receive a link to join the virtual event. Event Date: Wednesday, October 7th, 2026Time: 3pm PT / 5pm CT / 6pm ETWhere: Virtual (Zoom)Cost: FREE Description: Queer women face persistent erasure in media and culture, misrepresentation and stereotypes, and a lack of spaces specifically celebrating queer women. How can we reclaim the &quot;L&quot; in LGBTQ+ media while being inclusive. Curve is 100% inclusive and supportive of trans and gender non-confirming identities.&nbsp;We do not and will not tolerate transphobia. About the Panelists:<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790276250/wysiwyg/ivozatucvtumakghqiy5.jpg" style="width: 134px; display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto 5px 0px; text-align: left; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; user-select: none; max-width: 100%; position: relative; box-sizing: inherit;" fr-original-style="width: 134px; display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto 5px 0px; text-align: left;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Franco StevensFounder of Curve magazineCo-Founder of The Curve Foundation Franco Stevens (She/They) is a pioneering figure in queer women&rsquo;s media, best known for founding Curve magazine, the world&#39;s most successful lesbian magazine. Created in 1991, Curve became a crucial space for raising lesbian visibility, connecting the LGBTQ+ community, and breaking down barriers in media representation. Under Franco&#39;s leadership, the magazine covered politics, news, entertainment, and culture from a distinctly lesbian perspective, paving the way for increased recognition of femme-identifying lesbians, transgender experiences, and lesbian families. In addition to her media work, Franco co-founded The Curve Foundation. Whether shaping Lesbian Visibility Week into an international celebration or mentoring the next wave of LGBTQ+ storytellers, she leads with purpose, clarity, and inclusivity. Franco&#39;s legacy in queer media and activism has earned her a place in NLGJA&rsquo;s LGBTQ+ Journalists Hall of Fame. Franco&rsquo;s story is featured in AHEAD OF THE CURVE, a documentary highlighting her life and work as a trailblazer in the LGBTQ+ community. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790276174/wysiwyg/syjga44elie1ivgay5um.jpg" style="width: 168px; display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto 5px 0px; text-align: left; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; user-select: none; max-width: 100%; position: relative; box-sizing: inherit;" fr-original-style="width: 168px; display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto 5px 0px; text-align: left;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable"> Merryn JohnsEditor, Curve magazine<p data-end="960" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="" data-start="944" fr-original-style="" id="isPasted" style="margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5; width: 100%; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Former Editor-in-Chief of Curve magazine Merryn Johns is an award-winning New York City-based journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who has spent decades championing LGBTQ+ visibility, equal rights, and queer women&#39;s culture. She was Editor-in-Chief of Curve from 2010 to 2020, and later returned to edit Curve Quarterly. Previously, she was founding editor of Queer Forty, BOUND, and also LOTL, Australia&#39;s lesbian magazine. Johns has written for prominent mainstream and alternative outlets, including Vanity Fair, Vogue, Slate, Pacific Standard, INTO, Gay Cities, DIVA, and Vacationer Magazine. She has been a regular co-host of Gay USA, the longest-running LGBTQ+ television news program in the United States. In 2014, she was awarded by the International Gay &amp; Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) for her work highlighting lesbian and queer travel and culture. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790276677/wysiwyg/nig0nthvhd0rcaegdi38.jpg" style="width: 157px; display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto 5px 0px; text-align: left; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; user-select: none; max-width: 100%; position: relative; box-sizing: inherit;" fr-original-style="width: 157px; display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto 5px 0px; text-align: left;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Sunny LeerasanthanahDirector of Communications and Engagement, The Curve Foundation Sunny picked up a copy of Curve magazine in high school and never looked back. As the Director of Comms and Engagement, Sunny ensures that Curve creates intergenerational and intersectional conversations, drawing on Curve&#39;s three-decade legacy to reach a global audience. Initiatives they lead include the Curve Photo Contest and Curve Power List. Sunny&#39;s background includes arts administration, publishing, media planning, and project management for cultural nonprofits, working with various institutions from art museums to botanical gardens. Sunny&#39;s commitment to the LGBTQ+ community extends to their practice as an artist and photographer. Their exhibited and published work includes LGBTQ+ portraiture and archives. They earned an MA at Columbia University and a BFA at Ithaca College. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790276390/wysiwyg/tyrkf6khlqwg2x7omybp.jpg" style="width: 137px; display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto 5px 0px; text-align: left; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; user-select: none; max-width: 100%; position: relative; box-sizing: inherit;" fr-original-style="width: 137px; display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto 5px 0px; text-align: left;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Laila Annmarie StevensFreelance Photojournalist2025-26 Recipient of the Curve Fellowship for Emerging Journalists Starting with The New York Times Metropolitan Section at just 20 years old, Stevens has since become a frequent contributor &mdash; first covering a Brooklyn protest titled &quot;State of Emergency&quot; for Trans Youth, and earning two International A1 covers and two Metropolitan A1 covers before the age of 25. Her editorial work has since appeared in National Geographic, The Guardian US, The Nation, Cultured Magazine, The Gothamist, and other world-renowned publications. She is a 2025 NYSCA Grantee, 2025&ndash;2026 Curve Foundation Fellow, Fall 2025 Artist-in-Residence at Yaddo, a 2023&ndash;2024 Magnum Foundation NYC Fellow, and a graduate of the Eddie Adams Workshop Class of XXXIV. Class of XXXIV. <p data-end="960" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="" data-start="944" fr-original-style="" id="isPasted" style="margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5; width: 100%; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790276084/wysiwyg/n2yndwfkxxwyzlqhejpf.jpg" style="width: 143px; display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto 5px 0px; text-align: left; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; user-select: none; max-width: 100%; position: relative; box-sizing: inherit;" fr-original-style="width: 143px; display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto 5px 0px; text-align: left;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Diane Anderson-Minshall&nbsp;Executive Director, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment CriticsFormer Editor-in-Chief of Curve magazine Once called &ldquo;the queen of queer media,&rdquo; Diane Anderson-Minshall is a lesbiqueer journalist, editor, author, and activist of Indigenous and European ancestry. She currently serves as executive director of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics.Anderson-Minshall co-founded Girlfriends and Alice magazines, led Curve for a decade, and later served as CEO and editorial director of Pride Media, then the nation&rsquo;s largest LGBTQ media company and publisher of Out, The Advocate, Out Traveler, Plus, and Chill. Her honors include GLAAD Media Awards, Maggie Awards, PFLAG Queens&rsquo; Brenda Howard Memorial Award, a Golden Crown Literary Award, and numerous NLGJA Excellence in Journalism Awards&mdash;including the 2018 Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for LGBTQ Journalist of the Year.&nbsp; - - - - - - - - -&nbsp; The Curve Foundation is a <a fr-original-style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; margin: 0px; color: rgb(52, 109, 219);" href="https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/fiscal-sponsorship-nonprofits" id="isPasted" rel="noreferrer nofollow noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; margin: 0px; color: rgb(52, 109, 219); text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto;" target="_blank">fiscally sponsored</a> project of <a fr-original-style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; margin: 0px; color: rgb(52, 109, 219);" href="https://www.socialgoodfund.org/" rel="noreferrer nofollow noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; margin: 0px; color: rgb(52, 109, 219); text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto;" target="_blank">Social Good Fund</a>, a California nonprofit corporation and registered 501(c)(3) organization, Tax ID (EIN) 46-1323531

&nbsp;<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790278185/wysiwyg/yupjxxns693ewplcneaf.jpg" style="width: 270px; display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; user-select: none; max-width: 100%; position: relative; box-sizing: inherit;" fr-original-style="width: 270px; display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable"> Hi <span contenteditable="false" data-custom-variable="{{firstname}}" fr-original-class="fr-deletable styled-tag-chip" fr-original-style="" style="color: rgb(42, 42, 196); overflow-wrap: anywhere; user-select: none; background-color: rgb(248, 248, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(191, 191, 255); border-radius: 4px; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 8px; font-size: 11px; display: inline-block; box-sizing: inherit;">First name, Thank you for registering for <a fr-original-style="" href="http://thecurvefoundation.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">The Curve Foundation&#39;s</a>&nbsp;virtual panel,&nbsp;Reclaiming the Word Lesbian: An Inclusive Discussion on Queer Identity and Media. Please join this virtual event using&nbsp;the Zoom link below:<a fr-original-style="" href="https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87126942130?pwd=mZtdaLxNSwSkC4tP1TBzAoGvrvwHfX.1" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87126942130?pwd=mZtdaLxNSwSkC4tP1TBzAoGvrvwHfX.1</a> Meeting ID: 871 2694 2130Passcode: 380028 Event Date: Wednesday, October 7th, 2026<br style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 100%; color: rgb(235, 233, 241); font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.25px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(58, 41, 127); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" id="isPasted" fr-original-style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 100%; color: rgb(235, 233, 241); font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.25px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(58, 41, 127); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Time: 3pm PT / 5pm CT / 6pm ET<br style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 100%; color: rgb(235, 233, 241); font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.25px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(58, 41, 127); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" fr-original-style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 100%; color: rgb(235, 233, 241); font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.25px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(58, 41, 127); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Where: Virtual (Zoom) The Curve Foundation Team

Please join The Curve Foundation for the virtual program, Reclaiming the Word Lesbian: An Inclusive Discussion on Queer Identity and Media. This talk is an encore by popular demand! It was originally presented at the 2026 NLGJA National Convention of LGBTQ+ Journalists in San Francisco on September 12, 2026. We are making this talk more accessible to folks by presenting it online. Please RSVP to receive a link to join the virtual event. Event Date: Wednesday, October 7th, 2026Time: 3pm PT / 5pm CT / 6pm ETWhere: Virtual (Zoom)Cost: FREE Description: Queer women face persistent erasure in media and culture, misrepresentation and stereotypes, and a lack of spaces specifically celebrating queer women. How can we reclaim the "L" in LGBTQ+ media while being inclusive. Curve is 100% inclusive and supportive of trans and gender non-confirming identities. We do not and will not tolerate transphobia. About the Panelists:<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790276250/wysiwyg/ivozatucvtumakghqiy5.jpg" style="width:134px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto 5px 0px;text-align:left;cursor:pointer;padding:0px 1px;user-select:none;position:relative;box-sizing:inherit;max-width:100%" />Franco StevensFounder of Curve magazineCo-Founder of The Curve Foundation Franco Stevens (She/They) is a pioneering figure in queer women’s media, best known for founding Curve magazine, the world's most successful lesbian magazine. Created in 1991, Curve became a crucial space for raising lesbian visibility, connecting the LGBTQ+ community, and breaking down barriers in media representation. Under Franco's leadership, the magazine covered politics, news, entertainment, and culture from a distinctly lesbian perspective, paving the way for increased recognition of femme-identifying lesbians, transgender experiences, and lesbian families. In addition to her media work, Franco co-founded The Curve Foundation. Whether shaping Lesbian Visibility Week into an international celebration or mentoring the next wave of LGBTQ+ storytellers, she leads with purpose, clarity, and inclusivity. Franco's legacy in queer media and activism has earned her a place in NLGJA’s LGBTQ+ Journalists Hall of Fame. Franco’s story is featured in AHEAD OF THE CURVE, a documentary highlighting her life and work as a trailblazer in the LGBTQ+ community. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790276174/wysiwyg/syjga44elie1ivgay5um.jpg" style="width:168px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto 5px 0px;text-align:left;cursor:pointer;padding:0px 1px;user-select:none;position:relative;box-sizing:inherit;max-width:100%" /> Merryn JohnsEditor, Curve magazineFormer Editor-in-Chief of Curve magazine Merryn Johns is an award-winning New York City-based journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who has spent decades championing LGBTQ+ visibility, equal rights, and queer women's culture. She was Editor-in-Chief of Curve from 2010 to 2020, and later returned to edit Curve Quarterly. Previously, she was founding editor of Queer Forty, BOUND, and also LOTL, Australia's lesbian magazine. Johns has written for prominent mainstream and alternative outlets, including Vanity Fair, Vogue, Slate, Pacific Standard, INTO, Gay Cities, DIVA, and Vacationer Magazine. She has been a regular co-host of Gay USA, the longest-running LGBTQ+ television news program in the United States. In 2014, she was awarded by the International Gay &amp; Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) for her work highlighting lesbian and queer travel and culture. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790276677/wysiwyg/nig0nthvhd0rcaegdi38.jpg" style="width:157px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto 5px 0px;text-align:left;cursor:pointer;padding:0px 1px;user-select:none;position:relative;box-sizing:inherit;max-width:100%" />Sunny LeerasanthanahDirector of Communications and Engagement, The Curve Foundation Sunny picked up a copy of Curve magazine in high school and never looked back. As the Director of Comms and Engagement, Sunny ensures that Curve creates intergenerational and intersectional conversations, drawing on Curve's three-decade legacy to reach a global audience. Initiatives they lead include the Curve Photo Contest and Curve Power List. Sunny's background includes arts administration, publishing, media planning, and project management for cultural nonprofits, working with various institutions from art museums to botanical gardens. Sunny's commitment to the LGBTQ+ community extends to their practice as an artist and photographer. Their exhibited and published work includes LGBTQ+ portraiture and archives. They earned an MA at Columbia University and a BFA at Ithaca College. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790276390/wysiwyg/tyrkf6khlqwg2x7omybp.jpg" style="width:137px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto 5px 0px;text-align:left;cursor:pointer;padding:0px 1px;user-select:none;position:relative;box-sizing:inherit;max-width:100%" />Laila Annmarie StevensFreelance Photojournalist2025-26 Recipient of the Curve Fellowship for Emerging Journalists Starting with The New York Times Metropolitan Section at just 20 years old, Stevens has since become a frequent contributor — first covering a Brooklyn protest titled "State of Emergency" for Trans Youth, and earning two International A1 covers and two Metropolitan A1 covers before the age of 25. Her editorial work has since appeared in National Geographic, The Guardian US, The Nation, Cultured Magazine, The Gothamist, and other world-renowned publications. She is a 2025 NYSCA Grantee, 2025–2026 Curve Foundation Fellow, Fall 2025 Artist-in-Residence at Yaddo, a 2023–2024 Magnum Foundation NYC Fellow, and a graduate of the Eddie Adams Workshop Class of XXXIV. Class of XXXIV. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/hxn9dbuhd/image/upload/v1790276084/wysiwyg/n2yndwfkxxwyzlqhejpf.jpg" style="width:143px;display:block;vertical-align:top;margin:5px auto 5px 0px;text-align:left;cursor:pointer;padding:0px 1px;user-select:none;position:relative;box-sizing:inherit;max-width:100%" />Diane Anderson-Minshall Executive Director, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment CriticsFormer Editor-in-Chief of Curve magazine Once called “the queen of queer media,” Diane Anderson-Minshall is a lesbiqueer journalist, editor, author, and activist of Indigenous and European ancestry. She currently serves as executive director of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics.Anderson-Minshall co-founded Girlfriends and Alice magazines, led Curve for a decade, and later served as CEO and editorial director of Pride Media, then the nation’s largest LGBTQ media company and publisher of Out, The Advocate, Out Traveler, Plus, and Chill. Her honors include GLAAD Media Awards, Maggie Awards, PFLAG Queens’ Brenda Howard Memorial Award, a Golden Crown Literary Award, and numerous NLGJA Excellence in Journalism Awards—including the 2018 Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for LGBTQ Journalist of the Year.  - - - - - - - - -  The Curve Foundation is a <a href="https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/fiscal-sponsorship-nonprofits" target="_blank">fiscally sponsored</a> project of <a href="https://www.socialgoodfund.org/" target="_blank">Social Good Fund</a>, a California nonprofit corporation and registered 501(c)(3) organization, Tax ID (EIN) 46-1323531

Social Good Fund, The Curve Foundation

Reclaiming the Word Lesbian: An Inclusive Discussion on Queer Identity and Media

Zoom (Virtual Event)

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General Admission

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