Join Sara Angevine and Trish Bendix for a special Double Feature Lecture! Sapphic Chic: From Lesbos to Los Angeles & Sappho Was a Pop Star: A Herstory of Sapphic Pop will feature two lectures discussing two lesbian topics showcasing quantitative and qualitative findings.
Sapphic Chic: From Lesbos to Los Angeles
Sara Angevine will take the audience through her qualitative case study research into the origins and impact of the concept of “Lesbian Chic.” She traces the initial media circulations of the concept in the 1990s, highlights the influence of Los Angeles cultural leaders to embrace and expand the idea, show visual materials from her archival research, and argue how this impacted the enthusiastic distribution of the Showtime hit The L-Word. Using multi-media platforms, she will present her research with slides and videos, followed by an open conversation with the audience reflecting on the different perspectives on the meaning and impact of this expansion of lesbian identity politics that arguably began in Los Angeles, California.
Sappho Was a Pop Star: A Herstory of Sapphic Pop
As the inventor of lyrics, love songs, and the guitar pick, Sappho was the first known pop star. The performer from Lesbos made audiences swoon while she sang for and about several different women, making her an iconic namesake for a new era of queer women in music. Journalist Trish Bendix will share Sappho’s story and reveal how her impact can be found across every genre of the 20th and 21st centuries, including blues, jazz, folk, country, gospel, soul, disco, rock and roll, punk, new wave, hip-hop, electronic music, and traditional pop.
Participant Bios:
Trish Bendix is a GLAAD-nominated and NLGJA-award-winning writer based in Los Angeles. She regularly contributes to the New York Times, and her book, Sappho Was a Pop Star, will be published by St. Martin’s Press in 2027.
This lecture is organized by Sara Angevine and Trish Bendix and as part of Circa: Queer Histories Festival 2025, presented by One Institute.
One Gallery is an art gallery and cultural programming space operated by One Institute, the oldest active LGBTQ+ organization in the country. Located in the heart of West Hollywood, One Gallery is dedicated to hosting archival and contemporary art installations that showcase LGBTQ+ history. Through partnerships with established and emerging community partners, the gallery also serves as a low-cost, multi-purpose space for community meetings, creative workshops, classes, and other mission-aligned programming.