The Leaping Lesbian Records are comprised of materials relating to the publication and the administration of the Leaping Lesbian publication, from 1977 until 1981. Although they adequately reflect the operations behind the publication, little information is present about the women who made up the collective. Meeting minutes hint at strained relationships and uneven workloads, but conclusive evidence as to why the collective disbanded is missing. The records do, however, provide a descriptive view of both the local and national lesbian community. The publications themselves reflect these communities through submitted articles, letters to the editor and news releases. Business correspondence vividly portrays the growing network of lesbian and women's enterprises in the late 1970s. And personal correspondence shows the emergence of a similar network within the social community. Overall, the records of the Leaping Lesbian collective display a lesbian community growing increasingly self-assured. Although an attempt has been made to follow the collective's original organizational system, a few changes have been made in order to make the records more easily accessible. File folders, most maintaining the originally designated titles, have been arranged alphabetically within series. Materials within files have been arranged chronologically. Records containing no identifying date have been placed in front of marked records with file folders. The records are organized into four series: Publication Materials, Organizational Materials, Financial and Legal Materials and Previously Unopened Incoming Correspondence. The Publication Materials Files contain all materials related to the publishing aspect of the organization. Included are contributed materials, press releases, and layouts of publications. The Organizational Materials Files contain all material related to the administration of the organization. Included are incoming correspondence from both businesses and patrons, mailing lists, meeting agendas and minutes, as well as advertising and sales information. The Miscellaneous Memorabilia folder in this series includes flyers and publicity photographs from various organizations and events. The Financial and Legal Materials Files contain all material related to the financial and legal operations of the organization. Included are financial and legal papers, receipts, account statements and records of subscriptions. The Previously Unopened Incoming Correspondence Files contain material that arrived at the Leaping Lesbian office after the final disbanding of the organization. This is the only series that does not reflect the collective's original organizational system. Included is correspondence from businesses, correspondence from patrons and national event notices and press releases.
The creative and publishing force behind the Leaping Lesbian publication was formed in December of 1976 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This collective of four Ann Arbor women (Laura Sky Brown, Susan Fecteau, Nancy Silverrod, and Perry Silverschanz), funded by the University of Michigan Student Government, published their first newsletter early in 1977. Initially a free publication with a small monthly circulation, the Leaping Lesbian sought to fill the needs of the Ann Arbor lesbian community. In order to achieve this objective, the collective accepted and published original material from its readers, which included poetry, articles, essays and letters. Topics of submitted and published materials varied, ranging from social, political and legal issues to emotional and erotic issues. As stated in the first issue of the Leaping Lesbian, the collective endeavored to include "a spirituality column, a woman's bookstore feature, coverage of cultural events, letter to the Leaping Lesbian, as well as news, ads, and a calendar..." with each publication (Vol.1, #1, p.1). Articles covered prostitution, lesbian child custody battles, gay violence, eating disorders, lesbian performers and lesbian profiles. Within two years, the collective had published seventeen issues. It had grown from a small, monthly newsletter with a mainly local readership to a larger, bimonthly magazine maintaining a national lesbian following. In order to keep up with the growing demands, the collective asked all readers to subscribe to the magazine. The collective asked for "donations" on a sliding scale, where the cost of a subscription varied from $4.00 to $10.00. The May-June 1978 issue (Vol. 2, #4) marked the last free issue of the Leaping Lesbian. Although the growth of the Leaping Lesbian reflected its success, the collective records, particularly the meeting minutes, show that the operation of the publication did not always run smoothly. Early in the collective's history, personality conflicts, heavy workloads and strained budgets added tension to its operation. Several members left the collective, some to return again. At one point near the end of the publication's life, the Leaping Lesbian had a single editor who managed to continue publishing on her own. Ironically, the last published issue announced the return of the collective group. Although it is not clear why the collective disbanded, or never reformed, this March 1980 (Vol. 3 #5) issue was the last Leaping Lesbian ever to be published.
