U.S. activist urges for societal change - Jeanne Córdova's journey to representing lesbian women's voices.
Jeanne Córdova was born on July 18, 1948, in Bremerhaven, Germany, to a Mexican father and an Irish-American mother. She grew up as the eldest of 12 children. Following her high school graduation in Puente, California, in 1966, she joined the Immaculate Heart of Mary convent. However, she soon began to question her sexuality and her faith. In 1968, she left the convent and obtained her master's degree in social work from the University of California.
Career in the lesbian and gay rights world began as the president of the Los Angeles branch of the "Daughters of Bilitis." She said, "I always knew I was a lesbian and decided to have a career around that." To help other lesbians express themselves, she launched "The Lesbian Tide," which turned into a national news magazine and the voice of an entire generation of lesbians. In 1971, she opened the first lesbian center in Los Angeles.
In the following years, Córdova was also a board member of the Los Angeles Gay Community Services Center and contributed articles and editorials for the "Los Angeles Free Press." Her writings were gathered and published in her book "Sexism — It's a Nasty Affair" in 1974. As the gay and lesbian movement gained more political traction, she took over the chairmanship of the Stonewall Democratic Club, and spearheaded a nationwide campaign in California for the election of openly gay delegates to the Democratic National Congress in 1980.
She also established the "Community Yellow Pages," which brought together hundreds of gay and lesbian businesses in Southern California by creating "The Gay Business Directory." This directory offered consumers a wide range of services without confronting them for being gay. Córdova once said, "I feel more comfortable with a gay plumber than a straight one. I don't need to hide my lesbianism around them."
In 1999, she sold her business directory, relocated to Mexico for a while, and co-founded the "Palapa Society of Todos Santos" with her wife Lynn Harris Ballen, a non-profit organization for economic justice. Later, she penned her award-winning memoirs "When we were Outlaws; A Memoir of Love & Revolution." As an activist and entrepreneur, she kept writing columns, blog posts, and journalistic features.
Córdova and her wife Ballen exchanged vows of partnership in 1995 in a private ceremony attended by family and friends. They legally married in 2013 after same-sex marriage got legalized in California.
Despite being staunch Catholics, Córdova's parents found her coming out difficult. Her sister Lu revealed that she had been distant from the family for a significant period. Eventually, a reconciliation took place, but they weren't able to re-convert her to the faith.
In a public announcement on her website in September 2015, Córdova confessed to having battled with colon cancer since 2008. She initially managed to control the disease but it progressed. In 2013, it spread to her lungs and then to her brain. She underwent multiple surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy before her death at home in Los Feliz on January 10, 2016. At the time of her passing, she was 67 years old.
Resources: jeannecordova.com; "Los Angeles Times"; ONE Archives at the USC Libraries
