AfterEllen explained

AfterEllen
Collapsible:Yes
Commercial:Yes
Type:Website, blog, news (entertainment, community, society), podcast
Registration:Optional
Language:English
Owner:Lesbian Nation, LLC
Creator:Sarah Warn
Editor:Jocelyn Macdonald, Editor in Chief[1]
Current Status:Online

AfterEllen is an American culture website founded in 2002, with a focus on entertainment, interviews, reviews, and news of interest to the lesbian and bisexual women's community. The site covers pop culture and lifestyle issues from a feminist perspective; and the political climate as it pertains to the community. AfterEllen is not affiliated with entertainer Ellen DeGeneres, although its name refers to her coming out, specifically when her character came out in "The Puppy Episode" (1997) on her eponymous sitcom.

AfterEllen originally reported on subjects of popular culture, such as celebrities, fashion, film, television, music, and books; publishing articles, regular columns, opinion pieces, interviews, reviews, recaps of television shows with lesbian and bisexual characters or subtextual content, and popularity contests. Weekly vlogs were a key feature, the more popular of which included "Brunch With Bridget", "Lesbian Love", and "Is This Awesome?" The site also featured popular web series such as the Streamy Award-winning and Webby Award-nominated Anyone But Me.[2] AfterEllen later included news and politics affecting lesbians, bi women, and the general community. Its podcast, Let's Process, ran from 2014 to 2016, and was revived in 2020 as the AfterEllen Podcast. Ownership of the website changed hands in 2006 (Logo), 2014 (Evolve Media), and 2019 (Lesbian Nation).

History

2002–2005 (Erosion Media)

AfterEllen was founded April 15, 2002 by Sarah Warn and Lori Grant, under their corporation Erosion Media.[3] [4] [5] A companion site focusing on the portrayal of gay and bisexual men in the media, AfterElton.com, was founded in January 2005.[6] Its name was an homage to Elton John. The site rebranded as TheBacklot.com in April 2013,[7] and was dissolved in June 2015.[8]

2006–2013 (Logo)

In 2006, AfterEllen and AfterElton were acquired by cable television channel Logo.[9] [10] In 2007, in response to the popular "Maxim Hot 100" readers contest for heterosexual men, the annual "AfterEllen Hot 100 List" poll of women in "film, television, music, sports and fashion" was created.[11] [12] [13] The special feature ran until 2016.

In March 2008, AfterEllen was named one of "the world's 50 most powerful blogs" by British newspaper The Guardian for its "irreverent look at how the lesbian community is represented in the media.[14] At the time considered the top website for lesbian women, that same year it averaged "over 700,000 readers" per month.[15]

In October 2009, Sarah Warn announced that associate editor Karman Kregloe would take over as Editor in Chief.[16] In June 2011, the site ranked as the second most popular LGBT website with 203,924 monthly visitors, after The Advocate.[17]

2014–2018 (Evolve Media)

In October 2014, Evolve Media acquired AfterEllen from Viacom Media Networks, the parent company of Logo, and made it a part of its TotallyHer Media subsidiary.[18] [19] [20] [21] Kregloe announced that managing editor Trish Bendix would be assuming the role of Editor in Chief.[22] [23] In November 2014, TotallyHer Media announced the launch of The Lphabet, an original AfterEllen online comedy series that would "demystify terms from the lesbian and bi community".[24] [25] According to Karman Kregloe, in 2015 AfterEllen "averaged 1.25 million readers" per month.[26]

In September 2016, Trish Bendix announced her departure on her personal Tumblr blog and stated that AfterEllen was shutting down, with only its archive to be kept live.[27] TotallyHer Media denied the allegation by Bendix, calling it a "false rumor",[28] [29] and on September 20, 2016, Evolve Media fired Bendix ahead of her scheduled departure.[30] [31] Bendix told The Advocate, "I share the feelings of the community at large that contributing to a site that is run by a cisgender, heterosexual male is not what we are looking for in a virtual home".[32] Emrah Kovacoglu, General Manager of TotallyHer Media, explained that a drawback was triggered by the lack of "increased audience" and "enough advertiser support to justify continuing to invest at the same levels".

Memoree Joelle became Editor in Chief of AfterEllen in December 2016.[33] Joelle promised readers that there would be a return to the website's original intention of maintaining a "feminist perspective" and staying "true to a lesbian/bi perspective", as well as "more racial diversity and age diversity". Soon afterwards, Joelle issued a statement in which she questioned the motives behind the increase in "attack" language directed at lesbians from members of the LGBT community, and the decline in interest within it "to hear the variety of perspectives in our community".[34] Under her editorial direction, articles and essays of political nature became more frequent.

In December 2016, Joelle added her personal signature and endorsement statement to the "L is out of GBT" petition on Change.org:Former AfterEllen senior editor Heather Hogan criticized Joelle on Twitter for doing so,[35] accusing Joelle of promoting a "lesbophobia" movement on AfterEllen which, according to Hogan, was a disguise for "anti-trans, anti-bi" rhetoric.[36] Joelle denied Hogan's accusations and described her reasoning as "a FORM of activism".[37]

In 2018 — after banning use of the controversial term "TERF"[38] on its website and social media channels,[39] [40] publishing articles such as "Girl Dick, the Cotton Ceiling and the Cultural War on Lesbians, Girls and Women" by Miranda Yardley,[41] and the op-ed "How I became the most hated lesbian in Baltimore" by Julia Beck,[42] as well as for giving publicity to vloggers who criticized trans women activism in the lesbian community[43] — AfterEllen (although not specifically mentioned) was by implication accused of transphobia in a general declaration titled "Not in our name" signed by representatives of nine lesbian and queer publications in which "trans misogynistic content" in "so-called lesbian publications" was condemned, including "male-owned media companies" that profited "from the traffic generated by [such] controversies".[44] [45] The trans-related controversy received coverage on NBC Out, the LGBTQ section of mainstream media NBC News.[46] In response to NBC Outs news story, Joelle and AfterEllen colleagues described the "Not in our name" statement as "a continuation of a false narrative that's been created to perpetuate division and anxiety within the lesbian community", and denounced the backlash launched against AfterEllen for addressing issues such as "lesbians [being] called 'vagina fetishists' with 'genital preferences'";repudiating the "idea that lesbians are not allowed to have an opinion, or feel anything for that matter. That we can't have any autonomy. That we must bow to groupthink at every turn or be subjected to homophobic slurs, attacks on our jobs, doxing."[47] It was also revealed that AfterEllen "was invited...to sign the statement as well, the day after it was released."

2019–present (Lesbian Nation)

In March 2019, AfterEllen was bought by Lesbian Nation, a multimedia company owned by Memoree Joelle and business partner Gaye Chapman.[48] [49] [50] [51] With this change in ownership, articles and opinion pieces concerning controversies affecting lesbians and bisexual women increased.

"AfterEllen does not use the word queer to describe lesbians" was announced in an editorial addendum to a March 2020 article.[52] In September 2020, the site declared their stance on terms used for referring to females: "We will NEVER use the words 'womxn' or 'cis' or any other derogatory, insulting, abusive terms directed at females. Women are women."[53]

In June 2020, Joelle announced the promotion of Jocelyn Macdonald, managing editor of AfterEllen, to Editor in Chief.[54]

In November 2020, the website experienced technical difficulties and was inaccessible for a week, prompting Out to publish a hostile article speculating about AfterEllen's demise.[55] Gaye Chapman, co-founder and chief executive officer of Lesbian Nation LLC, issued a rebuke through her Twitter account and announced that the site would "be back soon".

On February 18, 2021, AfterEllen announced that the business partnership between Gaye Chapman and Memoree Joelle had been dissolved, with Chapman retaining sole ownership of Lesbian Nation LLC and AfterEllen.[56]

In April 2023, Gaye Chapman made it known that "almost 60,000 articles" were restored from the web server crash that occurred in November 2020. Chapman also announced that effective June 30, 2023, "new, paid content" was being suspended as a cost-cutting measure necessitated by the site's current financial situation. Chapman stated unequivocally that AfterEllen was not for sale, and she intended to "find new ways to put content up on the site" and compensate writers.[57]

Podcast

AfterEllen's official podcast, Let's Process, premiered on November 18, 2014, and continued until January 13, 2016.[58] [59] [60] The podcast was relaunched under a new name, AfterEllen Podcast, on April 29, 2020.[61] [62] [63]

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About . AfterEllen . Lesbian Nation LLC . 2021 . 11 May 2021.
  2. Web site: Cohen. Joshua. Indie Drama 'Anyone But Me' Hits 10 Million Views. Tubefilter. August 9, 2011. 7 July 2020.
  3. Book: Frey. Mattias. Sayad. Cecilia. Film Criticism in the Digital Age. 2015. 125. Rutgers University Press. 978-0813570730.
  4. Web site: About AfterEllen.com. AfterEllen. 2002. 21 October 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20020419095229/http://www.afterellen.com/About.html. April 19, 2002.
  5. Web site: Voo. Jocelyn. Anderson-Minshall. Diane. Other clicks.(tech girl)(afterellen.com). Curve. June 1, 2005. 29 January 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110516164050/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-132761695.html. May 16, 2011.
  6. Erosion Media Launches AfterElton.com . Erosion Media . 3 January 2005 . 29 January 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070928020656/http://www.erosionmedia.com/news/01032005.html . September 28, 2007 . dead .
  7. Web site: Ayers. Dennis. R.I.P. AfterElton. And What the Hell is "The Backlot"?. TheBacklot. January 31, 2013. 7 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20130630004146/http://www.thebacklot.com/rip-afterelton-and-what-the-hell-is-the-backlot/01/2013/. June 30, 2013. dead.
  8. Web site: Ayers. Dennis. Changes At TheBacklot. TheBacklot. June 29, 2015. July 28, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150703005516/http://www.thebacklot.com/changes-at-thebacklot/06/2015/. July 3, 2015. dead.
  9. Web site: Warn. Sarah. Letter from the Editor: Announcing our Acquisition by Logo. AfterEllen. June 5, 2006. 28 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20160925110926/https://www.afterellen.com/letter-from-the-editor-announcing-our-acquisition-by-logo. September 25, 2016.
  10. Web site: Kramer. Staci D.. MTVN's Logo Acquires Three LGBT Sites. GigaOm. June 8, 2006. 28 April 2019. 28 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190428115445/https://gigaom.com/2006/06/08/mtvns-logo-acquires-three-lgbt-sites/. dead.
  11. Web site: scribegrrrl. The AfterEllen.com Hot 100 List. AfterEllen. June 6, 2007. 15 October 2019. ...what straight men and lesbians find sexy in a woman is a little bit different.. https://web.archive.org/web/20070608110359/https://www.afterellen.com/people/2007/6/hotlist. June 8, 2007.
  12. Brownlee. John. Lesbians Vote On The 100 Hottest Women. Wired. June 12, 2007 . 15 October 2019.
  13. Logo. Logo TV. AfterEllen.com and AfterElton.com Heat Things Up With Their Third Annual "Hot 100" List. New York. Viacom Media Networks. April 10, 2009. 18 January 2019.
  14. Web site: Aldred. Jessica. Astell. Amanda. Behr. Rafael. Cochrane. Lauren. Hind. John. Pickard. Anna. Potter. Laura. Wignall. Alice. Wiseman. Eva. The world's 50 most powerful blogs. The Guardian. 9 March 2008. 29 January 2011.
  15. Web site: Warn. Sarah. Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever. (June 20, 2008). AfterEllen. June 20, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080809131646/http://www.afterellen.com/blwe/06-20-08?page=0,7. August 9, 2008.
  16. Web site: Warn. Sarah. Passing the Torch. AfterEllen. October 26, 2009. 18 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20091028015342/https://www.afterellen.com/passing-the-torch-2009. October 28, 2009.
  17. Web site: Cision Staff. Top 10 LGBT Websites and Blogs. Cision. June 30, 2011. 18 January 2019.
  18. writer. Evolve's TotallyHer Acquires AfterEllen.com. Los Angeles. Business Wire. October 7, 2014. 18 January 2019.
  19. Web site: Dave. Paresh. AfterEllen.com acquired by Evolve Media from Viacom . Los Angeles Times. October 7, 2014. 18 January 2019.
  20. Web site: Castillo. Michelle. Evolve Media Acquires AfterEllen.com. Adweek. October 7, 2014. 16 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20141008040009/http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/evolve-media-acquires-afterellencom-160626. October 8, 2014.
  21. Web site: Garcia. Michelle. AfterEllen Leaves Logo Online For Enthusiast Publisher EvolveMedia. The Advocate. October 7, 2014. 18 January 2019.
  22. Web site: Kregloe. Karman. Evolve's TotallyHer Acquires AfterEllen.com. AfterEllen. TotallyHer Media. October 7, 2014. 18 January 2019.
  23. Web site: About. AfterEllen. TotallyHer Media. https://web.archive.org/web/20141225094430/https://www.afterellen.com/about. December 25, 2014. 2014.
  24. writer. TotallyHer Media's Recently Acquired AfterEllen.com Launches Original Series, The Lphabet. Los Angeles. Evolve Media. Gorilla Nation. November 6, 2014. 18 January 2019.
  25. Web site: Video: AfterEllen Launches New Lphabet Web Series. Tagg. November 6, 2014. 21 May 2019.
  26. Web site: Bianco. Marcie. Lesbian culture is being erased because investors think only gay men (and straight people) have money. Quartz. October 6, 2016. 22 June 2019.
  27. Web site: Bendix. Trish. Eulogy for the Living. trish-bendix.tumblr.com. Tumblr. September 20, 2016. 18 January 2019.
  28. Web site: Kovacogluon. Emrah. False Rumor: We Are Not Shutting Down!. AfterEllen. September 21, 2016. 22 June 2019.
  29. Web site: Edwards. Stassa. AfterEllen EIC Says Site Will Shut Down on Friday While Corporate Owner Calls It a 'False Rumor'. Jezebel. September 21, 2016. 18 January 2019.
  30. Web site: Browning. Bil. AfterEllen publishers deny shutdown, fire editor after advertiser blowback. LGBTQ Nation. September 21, 2016. 18 January 2019.
  31. Web site: Horgan. Richard. A Messy Exit for the EIC of AfterEllen. Adweek. September 23, 2016. 18 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20181210141852/https://www.adweek.com/digital/trish-bendix-afterellen-evolve-media/. December 10, 2018.
  32. Daley . Elizabeth . Lesbian Website AfterEllen to Be Run by Straight Men? . . September 21, 2016 . 21 March 2021 .
  33. Web site: Joelle. Memoree. Greetings From Your New Editor-in-Chief. AfterEllen. TotallyHer Media. December 12, 2016. 14 August 2018.
  34. Web site: Joelle. Memoree. Letter From the Editor: What Our 1 Resolution Should Be in 2017. AfterEllen . TotallyHer Media. December 30, 2016. 21 January 2019.
  35. theheatherhogan. Heather Hogan. But the new AfterEllen editor signed a "take the L out of LGBT petition" and tweeted at me and tweeted a "lesbophobia" article.. 814529947033288704. 29 December 2016. 11 April 2019.
  36. theheatherhogan. Heather Hogan. And a loud group of people are shielding themselves behind AE's history to spread that kind of anti-trans, anti-bi, etc. toxic thinking.. 814530321916039168. 29 December 2016. 11 April 2019.
  37. memoreejoelle. Memoree Joelle. Replying to @theheatherhogan. I signed a petition that did not mention anything about trans ppl it was about a FORM of activism.. 814641130650431489. 29 December 2016. 11 April 2019.
  38. Web site: Weinberg. Justin. Derogatory Language in Philosophy Journal Risks Increased Hostility and Diminished Discussion (guest post) (Update: Response from Editors). Daily Nous. August 27, 2018. 13 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20180828150531/http://dailynous.com/2018/08/27/derogatory-language-philosophy-journal-hostility-discussion/. August 28, 2018.
  39. afterellen. AfterEllen.com. Be advised we don't allow the use of slurs on our page or social channels.. 1068156874518921216. 29 November 2018. 11 April 2019.
  40. afterellen. AfterEllen.com. people using the term will be blocked.. 1068156041265852425. 29 November 2018. 11 April 2019.
  41. Web site: Yardley. Miranda. Girl Dick, the Cotton Ceiling and the Cultural War on Lesbians, Girls and Women. AfterEllen. December 5, 2018. 11 April 2019.
  42. Web site: Beck. Julia. How I became the most hated lesbian in Baltimore. AfterEllen. December 10, 2018. 11 April 2019.
  43. afterellen. AfterEllen.com. Dear Trans Women, Stop Pushing "Girl Dick" On Lesbians https://youtu.be/9D_lK8cwmgg via @YouTube. 1069078950725472258. 1 December 2018. 11 April 2019.
  44. Web site: Not in our name. Diva. 19 December 2018. 11 April 2019. https://archive.today/20190411113203/https://divamag.co.uk/2018/12/19/not-in-our-name/. 11 April 2019.
  45. Web site: Gilchrist. Tracy E.. Female Editors Reject AfterEllen, Other Sites' Anti-Trans Agenda. The Advocate. December 19, 2018. 10 April 2019.
  46. Web site: Compton. Julie. 'Pro-lesbian' or 'trans-exclusionary'? Old animosities boil into public view. NBC News. January 14, 2019. 10 April 2019.
  47. Web site: Joelle. Memoree. AfterEllen's Response to NBC OUT (Full Statement). AfterEllen. January 15, 2019. 11 April 2019.
  48. Web site: Joelle. Memoree. Announcing Our Acquisition by Lesbian Nation!. AfterEllen. March 4, 2019. 5 March 2019.
  49. Web site: Newsdesk. AfterEllen.com acquired by new owners. The Gay UK. 14 March 2019. 11 March 2020.
  50. Web site: Lesbian Nation Has Acquired AfterEllen from Evolve Media. AfterEllen. March 22, 2019. 23 March 2019.
  51. Web site: About. AfterEllen. Lesbian Nation. 2019. 23 June 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191008095637/https://www.afterellen.com/about. October 8, 2019.
  52. Web site: Heuchan. Claire. Lezbehonest, Opposing Same-Sex Attraction is Homophobic. AfterEllen . March 6, 2020. 11 March 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200307001752/https://www.afterellen.com/general-news/576147-lezbehonest. March 7, 2020. live.
  53. afterellen. AfterEllen.com . 1303369512968884226. September 8, 2020. We will NEVER use the words "womxn" or "cis" or any other derogatory, insulting, abusive terms directed at females. Women are women.. 29 September 2020. https://archive.today/20200910044436/https://twitter.com/afterellen/status/1303369512968884226. 10 September 2020. live.
  54. Web site: Joelle. Memoree. A Farewell From Your Editor in Chief, and Here's to New Beginnings. AfterEllen. June 8, 2020. 9 July 2020.
  55. News: Rude . Mey . UPDATE: It Sadly Doesn't Look Like AfterEllen Is Dead Quite Yet . . December 2, 2020 . 11 May 2021.
  56. afterellen. AfterEllen.com. Their partnership owned AfterEllen. Memoree still had access to our Twitter account and used it to like things that are not representative of AE, our business, or our politics. Gaye Chapman @my_real_name is now the sole owner of Lesbian Nation LLC and AfterEllen. 2/. 1362623182566400007. 18 February 2021. 11 May 2021.
  57. Web site: Chapman . Gaye . The Future of AfterEllen . AfterEllen . April 26, 2023 . 15 July 2023.
  58. Web site: AfterEllen's Podcast "Let's Process". PlayerFM. March 16, 2017. 9 July 2020.
  59. Web site: Piccoli. Dana. AfterEllen's podcast "Let's Process" debuts with "Carmilla" cast as special guests. AfterEllen. November 18, 2014. 9 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20141205224714/https://www.afterellen.com/people/232263-afterellens-podcast-lets-process-debuts-the-with-carmilla-cast-as-special-guests. December 5, 2014. dead.
  60. Web site: Piccoli. Dana. AfterEllen's podcast "Let's Process" Episode 16: Amber Benson. AfterEllen. January 13, 2016. 9 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20160117163005/https://www.afterellen.com/tv/469229-afterellens-podcast-lets-process-episode-16-amber-benson. January 17, 2016. dead.
  61. Web site: AfterEllen Podcast . Podbean . 9 July 2020 . 2020 . 9 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200709042337/https://podcast.afterellen.com/ . dead .
  62. afterellen. AfterEllen.com. 1255528494173499395. April 29, 2020. Introducing the AE podcast! Our first episode is a SportsCast segment with Gabrielle - more episodes to roll out in the weeks ahead! Sportscast Episode 1! Interview With Daria Berenato. July 9, 2020.
  63. Web site: Alejandro. Gabrielle. Sportscast Episode 1! Interview With Daria Berenato. AfterEllen. April 29, 2020. 9 July 2020.

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