JEB (JOAN E. BIREN)
MAKING A WAY:
LESBIANS OUT FRONT

JEB (Joan E. Biren) first introduced viewers to her photographs in 1979 when she published Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians, a groundbreaking celebration of women loving women. In the years that followed, JEB collaborated with poets, musicians, filmmakers, elected officials, healthcare providers, factory workers, spiritual leaders, and others who built communities and worked for political change. Her second book Making a Way: Lesbians Out Front, published in 1987, depicts the spirit and energy of this movement in more than a hundred emotionally resonant photographs that take us from passionate activism to thoughtful solitude, while remarks and remembrances from each woman photographed deepen the historic record. This reissue of Making a Way adds insightful new essays by Cheryl Clarke and JD Samson, resulting in an essential document of an era whose impact continues to be felt across our society today.

Creative Direction: Jesse Pollock
Editor: Mark Iosifescu
Design: MRFA Studio
Image Retoucher: Maura Murnane
Contributors: JD Samson, Cheryl Clarke, Alexis Pauline Gumbs

Anthology Editions, 2025

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