.gif)
Homocore (zine)
Encyclopedia
Homocore is an American
anarcho-punk
zine
created by Tom Jennings
and Deke Nihilson
, and published in San Francisco from 1988 to 1991. One of the first queer
zines, Homocore was directed toward the hardcore punk
youth of the gay underground. The publication has been noted for popularizing the Queercore
movement on the United States west coast.
in the Toronto-based queer punk
zine, J.D.s
.
The term was a neologism based upon combining the words homosexual and hardcore, and used as a description of their audience: disenfranchised queer hardcore punk
s. The word first appeared in J.D.'s issue #1 in 1985.
Tom Jennings
borrowed the word 'homocore' after he and co-editor Deke Nihilson met Jones and LaBruce at the 1987 Anarchist Survival Gathering
in Toronto. Inspired by the editors of J.D.'s, and other anarchists, Jennings and Nihilson returned to San Francisco and began the Homocore zine. The first issue was published in September 1988. Although their initial audience was the queer underground within the San Francisco area, letters published in later issues came from readers around the world. Homocore featured writers, artists and bands such as the Anarcho-punk
group The Apostles
, photographer Daniel Nicoletta
, Chainsaw Records
label owner and musician Donna Dresch
, writer and founder of Lookout Records Larry Livermore
, Bruce LaBruce and G.B. Jones. Steve Abbott first published excerpts of what would become the novel The Lizard Club in Homocore. Writing for The Village Voice
, author Dennis Cooper
started off his 1990 survey of the then-nascent queer zine scene with a review of this zine, noting "Homocore is the most generous and info-packed of the zines."
Subsequently, eight issues were published over a 16 month period, ending in February 1991. An odd issue, titled Bad Poetry Issue #5½, resulted from the use of overlarge newsprint paper. The editors also organized Homocore events in which bands such as Fugazi, MDC
, Beat Happening
and Comrades In Arms appeared. The 1991 short film Shred Of Sex by Greta Snider was made at Homocore headquarters.
movement, especially on the west coast of North America. In the book DIY: The Rise and Fall of Lo-Fi Culture, Amy Spencer stated that "zines acknowledged that their origins stemmed directly from the existence of J.D.s and Homocore." Spencer further wrote that Homocore and similar zines became "required reading material" for those disillusioned by other more mainstream gay choices.
In his book examining zines, Stephen Duncombe explains, "Queer punk rockers, for example, feel unrepresented in both predominantly straight punk zines and the liberal assimilationist gay and lesbian press. Therefore they use zines like Homocore and J.D.s as virtual meeting places, spaces to define and communicate who they are, and remind themselves (and others) that they are not alone."
Christopher Wilde in an 2007 essay for Queer Life said it was Homocore #7, the final issue, which is the "most fondly remembered of all queer zines" and "cemented its reputation as a leader in the evolution of the [radical queer] scene."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk is punk rock that promotes anarchism. The term anarcho-punk is sometimes applied exclusively to bands that were part of the original anarcho-punk movement in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
created by Tom Jennings
Tom Jennings
Tom Jennings is a Los Angeles-based artist and technician. He is the creator of FidoNet, the first message and file networking system for BBSes...
and Deke Nihilson
Deke Nihilson
Daniel "Deke" Frontino Elash is an American zine editor, musician, actor, activist and historian.In 1988, he and co-editor Tom Jennings began publishing Homocore zine out of San Francisco. One of the earliest queercore zines, it followed in the wake of J.D.s and was instrumental in the expansion...
, and published in San Francisco from 1988 to 1991. One of the first queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
zines, Homocore was directed toward the hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
youth of the gay underground. The publication has been noted for popularizing the Queercore
Queercore
Queercore is a cultural and social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of punk. It is distinguished by being discontent with society in general and its rejection of the disapproval of the gay, bisexual, and lesbian communities and their "oppressive agenda"...
movement on the United States west coast.
History
The word 'homocore' was first coined by G.B. Jones and Bruce LaBruceBruce LaBruce
Bruce LaBruce is a Canadian writer, filmmaker, photographer and underground gay porn director based in Toronto, Ontario.-Biography:...
in the Toronto-based queer punk
Queercore
Queercore is a cultural and social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of punk. It is distinguished by being discontent with society in general and its rejection of the disapproval of the gay, bisexual, and lesbian communities and their "oppressive agenda"...
zine, J.D.s
J.D.s
J.D.s is a queer punk zine founded in Toronto by G.B. Jones and co-published with Bruce LaBruce, that ran for eight issues from 1985 to 1991....
.
The term was a neologism based upon combining the words homosexual and hardcore, and used as a description of their audience: disenfranchised queer hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
s. The word first appeared in J.D.'s issue #1 in 1985.
Tom Jennings
Tom Jennings
Tom Jennings is a Los Angeles-based artist and technician. He is the creator of FidoNet, the first message and file networking system for BBSes...
borrowed the word 'homocore' after he and co-editor Deke Nihilson met Jones and LaBruce at the 1987 Anarchist Survival Gathering
Anarchy
Anarchy , has more than one colloquial definition. In the United States, the term "anarchy" typically is meant to refer to a society which lacks publicly recognized government or violently enforced political authority...
in Toronto. Inspired by the editors of J.D.'s, and other anarchists, Jennings and Nihilson returned to San Francisco and began the Homocore zine. The first issue was published in September 1988. Although their initial audience was the queer underground within the San Francisco area, letters published in later issues came from readers around the world. Homocore featured writers, artists and bands such as the Anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk is punk rock that promotes anarchism. The term anarcho-punk is sometimes applied exclusively to bands that were part of the original anarcho-punk movement in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
group The Apostles
The Apostles
The Apostles are an experimental punk rock band who developed within the confines of the 1980s Anarcho Punk scene in the UK, but did not necessarily adhere to the aesthetics of that movement.-History:...
, photographer Daniel Nicoletta
Daniel Nicoletta
Daniel Nicoletta is an American photographer, photo journalist and gay rights activist.-Biography:Born in New York City, Daniel Nicoletta was raised in Utica, NY. In his late teens he left New York to attend San Francisco State University, later graduating from the Bachelor of Arts program...
, Chainsaw Records
Chainsaw Records
Chainsaw Records is an independent record label run by Donna Dresch, devoted to Queercore bands and operating out of Portland, Oregon.-History:...
label owner and musician Donna Dresch
Donna Dresch
Donna Dresch is an American punk rock musician, perhaps best known as founder, guitarist and bass guitarist of Team Dresch and the Queen of Grunge....
, writer and founder of Lookout Records Larry Livermore
Larry Livermore
Lawrence "Larry" Hayes , best known by the pseudonym Larry Livermore, is an American musician, record producer, and music journalist. He is best known as the co-founder of Lookout! Records.-Biography:...
, Bruce LaBruce and G.B. Jones. Steve Abbott first published excerpts of what would become the novel The Lizard Club in Homocore. Writing for The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, author Dennis Cooper
Dennis Cooper
Dennis Cooper is an American novelist, poet, critic, editor and performance artist.-Career:Cooper grew up the son of a wealthy businessman in Arcadia, California. His first forays into literature came early, focusing on imitations of Rimbaud, Verlaine, de Sade, and Baudelaire...
started off his 1990 survey of the then-nascent queer zine scene with a review of this zine, noting "Homocore is the most generous and info-packed of the zines."
Subsequently, eight issues were published over a 16 month period, ending in February 1991. An odd issue, titled Bad Poetry Issue #5½, resulted from the use of overlarge newsprint paper. The editors also organized Homocore events in which bands such as Fugazi, MDC
MDC (band)
MDC is an American hardcore punk band formed in Austin, Texas in 1979. The band were subsequently based in San Francisco, California, and are currently based in Portland, Oregon. MDC originally formed as The Stains before changing their name...
, Beat Happening
Beat Happening
Beat Happening is an American punk band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1982. Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis and Bret Lunsford have been the band's continual members...
and Comrades In Arms appeared. The 1991 short film Shred Of Sex by Greta Snider was made at Homocore headquarters.
Influence and cultural significance
Homocore has been noted as being instrumental in popularizing the QueercoreQueercore
Queercore is a cultural and social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of punk. It is distinguished by being discontent with society in general and its rejection of the disapproval of the gay, bisexual, and lesbian communities and their "oppressive agenda"...
movement, especially on the west coast of North America. In the book DIY: The Rise and Fall of Lo-Fi Culture, Amy Spencer stated that "zines acknowledged that their origins stemmed directly from the existence of J.D.s and Homocore." Spencer further wrote that Homocore and similar zines became "required reading material" for those disillusioned by other more mainstream gay choices.
In his book examining zines, Stephen Duncombe explains, "Queer punk rockers, for example, feel unrepresented in both predominantly straight punk zines and the liberal assimilationist gay and lesbian press. Therefore they use zines like Homocore and J.D.s as virtual meeting places, spaces to define and communicate who they are, and remind themselves (and others) that they are not alone."
Christopher Wilde in an 2007 essay for Queer Life said it was Homocore #7, the final issue, which is the "most fondly remembered of all queer zines" and "cemented its reputation as a leader in the evolution of the [radical queer] scene."
Issues
- Homocore #1, September 1988
- Homocore #2, December 1988
- Homocore #3, February 1989
- Homocore #4, June 1989
- Homocore #5, December 1989
- Homocore #5½
- Homocore #6, May 1990
- Homocore #7, February 1991