Bad Attitude: A Lesbian Sex Magazine (Vol. 8, No. 1)
Volume 8, Number 1 of the rare, trailblazing lesbian, feminist, and S/M journal Bad Attitude. The magazine became widely known for its involvement in a Canadian anti-obscenity lawsuit, known as the R. v. Butler decision, in 1992. Toronto police convicted and fined the owner of the Glad Day Bookshop, Canada’s oldest gay and lesbian bookstore, for selling an issue of Bad Attitude.
This issue draws attention to Bad Attitude’s role in the case, featuring the text “Banned in Canada” stamped across the cover. The opening pages are dedicated to a collection of media coverage surrounding the event, with updates on the trial published in the front pages of later issues.
Many feminists embraced the new law as progressive, but in the post-Butler years, heterosexual and mainstream pornography continued to flourish, while censorship of marginalized communities and practices, such as S/M and gay and lesbian sex, continued. The case became a prominent example of how anti-obscenity laws, even those with feminist origins like the Butler decision, could be used to suppress marginalized voices and non-mainstream sexual expression.
Contents of this issue also include an editorial from editor Jasmine Sterling, “Girl Talk,” an advice column, erotic short stories and poetry, literary reviews of erotic books and films, black-and-white photography, letters and personal ads from readers, and comics. For later issues such as this, the tagline on the cover has been revised from "A Lesbian Sex Magazine" to "Lesbian Erotic Fiction". Item #1988.
Condition: Fine.
Price: $165.00