USA activist - Jeanne Córdova's journey to becoming a voice for lesbian women.
Jeanne Cordova was born on July 18, 1948, in Bremerhaven. She was the eldest child of a Mexican father and an Irish-American mother, growing up in a family with eleven siblings. After graduating from high school in Puente, California, in 1966, she entered the convent of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. However, she began questioning her faith and sexuality shortly after. In 1968, she left the convent and obtained her master's degree in social work from the University of California.
Cordova's career in advocating for lesbian and gay rights began when she was appointed president of the Los Angeles branch of "Daughters of Bilitis." Determined to become a professional lesbian, she launched "The Lesbian Tide," which turned into a national news magazine that represented an entire generation of lesbians. In 1971, she also established the first lesbian center in Los Angeles.
Soon after, Cordova joined the board of the Los Angeles Gay Community Services Center and contributed to "Los Angeles Free Press." A compilation of her columns was featured in her book "Sexism — It’s a Nasty Affair" in 1974. As the LGBTQ+ movement gained political prominence, she assumed the leadership of the Stonewall Democratic Club and spearheaded a state-wide campaign for open-gay delegates to attend the Democratic National Congress in 1980.
Cordova founded the "Community Yellow Pages," a directory that connected hundreds of gay and lesbian businesses in Southern California and became an annual publication with a circulation of 100,000 copies. The goal was to give people who sought services from businesses that didn't discriminate against them a diverse selection. "I'd much rather have a gay plumber than a heterosexual one," she said in an interview with the "New York Times" in 1989. "I don't have to hide my sexuality when they come into my home."
In 1999, Cordova sold her business directory and moved to Mexico with her wife, Lynn Harris Ballen, founding the "Palapa Society of Todos Santos" - a non-profit organization dedicated to economic justice. Later, she released her acclaimed memoirs, "When we were Outlaws; A Memoir of Love & Revolution." As a persistent activist and entrepreneur, she continued producing essays, columns, and journalistic pieces, publishing them on her personal blog.
Cordova and Ballen exchanged vows during a commitment ceremony in 1995 before they legally married in 2013, when same-sex marriage was finally legalized in California.
Cordova's Catholic parents found it difficult to come to terms with their daughter's being a lesbian. Her sister, Lu, shared that they were estranged for several years. Eventually, the family's attempts to lure Cordova back to the faith were unsuccessful.
In September 2015, Cordova disclosed in an open letter on her website that she had been battling cancer since 2008. For the first four years, she managed her condition successfully, "as I often do with physical illnesses or challenges." Cancer returned in 2013, forming metastases in her lungs and later in her brain, prompting her to undergo several surgeries, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. She passed away in her home in Los Feliz, California, on January 10, 2016, at 67 years old.
References: jeannecordova.com; "Los Angeles Times"; ONE Archives at the USC Libraries
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Jeanne Cordova, the influential activist, made headlines in Los Angeles, California, as she fought for lesbian rights and established the first lesbian center in the city. Her activism and contributions to the LGBTQ+ community were featured in top news around the world.
Despite her groundbreaking work in Los Angeles, Cordova's struggles and achievements continued to resonate globally, making her a symbol of the LGBTQ+ movement's progress and the challenges it continues to face.
