The Human Sexuality Collection at the Cornell University Library is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its establishment. This past week, the library announced that is has received a donation of archival materials from feminist author Susie Bright.
Bright is a leading voice on sexual politics and is the former editor of the magazine On Our Backs, a publication targeted at the lesbian community. The magazine was first published in 1984 and the last issue came out in 2006.
The archival material in the Bright collection contains documents relating to the magazine, videos, and detailed documentation of the battle for sexual equality that has been waged for the past 35 years.
“I’ve admired Cornell’s archives of GLBT history for years — really, it’s one of the world’s finest when it comes to sexual representation, and the range of erotic and sexual identity in full flower,” Bright said. ‘The On Our Backs legacy — the hundreds of women we published who took such great risks, and our thousands of readers who had their lives changed by this vision of lesbian sexual self-determination — deserve the perfect spot.”
Bright gave a lecture last week at Cornell entitled “The Sexual State of the Union Address.”
Thank you for spreading the welcome news! The magazine cover image featured above was shot by Honey Lee Cottrell. The models are Laurie “Raven” Parker, and Mary “Cassie” Gottschalk.