Curve Magazine Slashes Staff

Curve, one of only a handful of magazines dedicated fully to lesbian content, has announced numerous layoffs in the wake of the worsening financial crisis.

"The magazine industry is having a really difficult time," Diane Anderson-Minshall, editor in chief of Curve, told Tracy Gilchrist, senior editor of SheWired.com, Advocate.com's sister site. "We're doing some belt-tightening."

According to sources, the San Francisco–based publication let go of its director of operations, associate publisher, director of marketing, photo editor, and subscription manager. Anderson-Minshall said that all of the laid-off employees were recent hires who had held nonessential positions.

"This [was] the largest the staff has ever been," Anderson-Minshall said.

Anderson-Minshall dismissed rumors that the magazine was folding or being converted solely to a website: "Curve has experienced worse financial times in our 20 years of publication. We hope to be here another 20 years." (Neal Broverman, The Advocate)

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Name: Dustina
Date posted: 2008-12-29 6:10 PM
Hometown: Vancouver

Comment:

I am disheartened by the hetero sexist repression I am seeing here. We are defined by our heart, soul & desires. This is not quantifiable in labels. Mainstream culture has determined that we all need to fit into a box so we place labels over our heads to conform. If you don't like what Curve is doing then talk to them about it & if that doesn't work, don't buy the magazine. I however, am proud of how well Curve represents the lesbian community. The economic spiral that is effecting us all is sad, but what's harder is the fact that instead of fighting that injustice together we are turning on each other. You missed the point: The point is they HAD to lay people off, no one wanted to, they HAD to. If you are angry about that great, get angry at the President, at congress, at auto dealers in private jets. Get angry at people who didn't vote, or campaign to raise $ for Curve to rehire those people. But please don't attack those on the front lines with Hetero sexist dribble.

Name: Rey
Date posted: 2008-12-02 4:31 PM
Hometown: Berkeley

Comment:

From what I know Diane's partner is someone who was female and later became a man... I'm not aware of any rule that would now kick her off the Island of Lesbos, unless there's something on the books about people who love their partners so unconditionally that they accept them regardless of the gender they wish to be. Also, is this not a gay magazine, with articles written by gay writers, founded by a gay woman, and staffed with gay women? Why does the presence of one heterosexual editor or staff member bother you so much (and what if they are bisexual)? Do you really need to be a gay woman to help edit verbiage in a gay magazine?

Name: Stacy
Date posted: 2008-12-02 1:37 PM
Hometown: Portland, OR

Comment:

I'm disappointed in the ugliness and inflexibility I'm seeing in the comments here. Queer culture is so widely varied. There are so many gradients, so many unique circumstances. Diane identifies as a Lesbian, and that's all anyone needs to know to respect that. Language is a social contract, each word an informal agreement -- Tree is the word we use to describe the tall, branchy things in the forest. We've all kind of gotten together and made that agreement, and each time one of us learns the word and accepts the definition, that contract is enforced. But sometimes our definitions don't match up. Sometimes a contract can't be formed. Sometimes life isn't as simple as an absolute. And that's OK. I'm not interested in anyone that would seek to define me against my wishes. And I'm not interested in the opinions of those who would define anyone else that way, either.

Name: CurveEditor
Date posted: 2008-12-01 4:22 PM
Hometown: Portland, OR

Comment:

Well, I really don't want to dignify this comment with a response because these comments are endless she said-she saids. But I can't let it go without clarifying that I'm a big old lesbian and so is my publisher, just for starters. I don't think having one straight girl on staff dilutes the queer sensibility of the magazine, especially when she has a queer sibling and has grown up under the banner of queer pride. Maxim has female editors, Vogue has male staffers, and I'm sure The Advocate has more than one non-gay person on staff themselves. We care about our readers and making sure they get what they need—the ability to do that is what's most important to us from our staff.

Name: Diane Anderson-Minshall
Date posted: 2008-11-26 5:36 PM
Hometown: Portland, OR

Comment:

Hi, there's a slight mischaracterization in the article. I said that "most" of the staff let go had been hired within the last year or so, as 2 of the 3 staff members laid off were. And sadly, we do consider our operations manager a support position simply because as a company we went 17 years without one. Calling the staffers laid off "support" positions is in no way an indication of their value. We care a great deal about our staff and hope to bring them back on after the economic crunch is over. Also, we laid off 3 full time staff members, not 5, as the article indicates. Our photo editor is an independent contractor position, not a staff position. Diane Anderson-Minshall Curve Magazine

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