Founded in 1992 in New York City, the Lesbian Avengers were loud, fearless, and utterly uninterested in being polite about their rights. Part activist group, part street-theater phenomenon, they marched, chanted, fire-ate (literally), reclaimed public space, and demanded visibility for lesbians at a time when queer activism often sidelined women’s issues. Their message was simple: We recruit. We exist. We’re not going anywhere.
The Avengers helped organize the first Dyke March in 1993 — an event that became an international tradition and one of the most enduring legacies of queer protest culture. Their tactics were bold, public, and unforgettable: political interventions, school-curriculum fights, anti-violence campaigns, and unapologetic street action that pushed lesbian identity into the spotlight with humor, heat, and absolute conviction.
