Inside the pages of The Dyke Issue, DIVA investigates the past, present and future of the grassroots movement
BY DIVA STAFF, IMAGE BY ACETO, COVER IMAGE BY PHOEBE JANES
On 24 April 1993 over 20,000 dykes descended on Washington DC. Fire-eating lesbians made a statement outside the White House. Leather-clad dykes on bikes sounded their horns. Defiance, rage and pride filled the air as protesters chanted: “We’re dykes, we’re out, we’re out for our power.” While all-dyke marches had taken place in other parts of the world before, this was the first of its kind and scale. The history-making event added fuel to a fire that burns bright to this day.
Thirty-three years later and the movement is still going strong. Long-running dyke marches get bigger every year. London Dyke March and Dublin Dyke March have been revived, after not taking place
in over 10 and 25 years, respectively. Not only that. Some countries and cities are hosting their first-ever dyke marches. The grassroots movement is having a mighty resurgence.
The above is an excerpt from a long-read feature inside the pages of the April/May edition of our magazine, aka The Dyke Issue. DIVA’s deputy editor Nic Crosara hears from attendees and organisers around the globe to find out more about the unstoppable rise of the dyke march. You can read a teaser below and then pre-order your copy to read the full feature.
Here’s your teaser for what *some* of the organisers had to say:
“As we approach darker political horizons, dykes are realising how important it is to show up. To say that we exist and aren’t going away.” – NYC Dyke March’s Klo
“I wanted to make sure that this was a march that was intergenerational and honoured the people who paved the way before us.” – Dublin Dyke March’s Alice Linehan
“That’s what makes our community so beautiful. We are all so multifaceted, and we want to wear that on our sleeves.” – London Dyke March’s Shiv Dave
Within this feature, Nic also speaks to organisers and attendees from Japan, Korea, Canada and Italy. Want to learn more about the global rise of the dyke march? Pre-order your copy of The Dyke Issue today at divadirect.info. Copies will be sent out on 25 March.
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