For lesbians who have something to say but nowhere to say it, Kelly Leszczynski – Managing Editor of the popular blog, thelesbianlifestyle.com – is happy to help them get their stories told. Kelly recently shared with cherrygrrl.com how she came up with the idea for the blog, what her authors are talking about on it and what she hopes it brings to our community.
Cherrygrrl.com (CG): What is The Lesbian Lifestyle blog all about?
Kelly Leszczynski (KL): The Lesbian Lifestyle (TLL) is a multi-authored blog that seeks the stories of women that identify as lesbian. Registered authors of the blog are welcome to post as much or as little as they want. They tackle monthly topics and cross post posts from their own personal blogs. It’s about sharing our stories with the blog’s readers. It’s about allowing people to see that we are all the same in the end and yet wonderfully different.
CG: Who are the blog authors?
KL: I believe that the blog authors were once the blogs readers. They are lesbian women who found the blog and decided that they had stories they wanted to share with the world.
CG: What is your role with the website?
KL: I am the Managing Editor of the blog. I do the work on the back end of the site. Things like approving author registrations, answering emails from readers, and making sure the site stays up to date. I’m part webmaster, part advice columnist, and part TLL author. For the most part the authors write the posts and I’m lucky enough to get to read all the stories.
CG: How did you come up with the idea for the blog?
KL: Feeling like I was alone prompted the idea for TLL. It wasn’t until I was 23 that I started to meet other lesbians. High school was hard for me. Though I was in a relationship – I was in the closet – and when things went downhill it was hard not to have anyone to talk to about it. When I discovered blogs I thought it would be a great way for lesbian women to not feel alone. They could use the blog to share their experiences and other women could read the posts and know that they weren’t alone.
CG: What are some of the topics you feature?
KL: Each month I like to come up with 1-3 topics for the TLL Authors to write about. We have covered all kinds of topics and I don’t think that anything is ever taboo. One of the more popular posts was on racism, and I recently wrote a post on abortion. I think the best topics are those that hit close to home, and those that most everyone can relate to. Everything goes on TLL. There are no restrictions and topic suggestions from readers are always welcome.
CG: Are the topics categorized?
KL: TLL has over 100 categories for posts written. Due to the shear number of categories I chose not to list them all on the side bar of the blog. Each time an author posts they can choose to check off any number of topics they feel their post should be categorized under. At the bottom of each post the categories chosen are listed and can be clicked on to view more post that were tagged under the same category.
Kelly Leszczynski, Managing Editor of TLL
CG: What is the Lesbian Collection and what makes those blogs different from the rest?
KL: The Lesbian Collection features categories like lesbian parenting, finance, and gossip. I like to think of The Lesbian Collection as the best of the best in lesbian blogging. I’ve been in the lesbian blogging world for a long time and I’ve seen many blogs come and go. The Lesbian Collection is my humble opinion on blogs that have stood the test of time and those that I believe have the content to be listed as the best of the best in lesbian authored blogging. I am always open to suggestions for new submissions to The Lesbian Collection and believe that those who put a lot of time and thought into their blogs should be brought to the attention of TLL’s readers.
CG: What is the average age of your authors?
KL: TLL has over 180 registered authors. To give an average age would be difficult. If I have to give an average age I would say 35.
CG: How can someone become an author on your site?
KL: It’s very easy. All you need to do is go to http://thelesbianlifestyle.com
Click on Register on the top right hand corner of the blog and the rest is easy.
TLL has a FAQ page that will answer many questions that future authors may have, and I am always available to answer questions as well.
CG: Can authors write about whatever they want or is it monitored and edited?
KL: Authors can write about anything. In over four years I have yet to decline a post that was submitted to the blog. I do run a spell check on posts before I publish them, but that is the extent of my input.
CG: You have an advice panel on the site. Why did you create that element and what kinds of questions have you been asked as a columnist?
KL: I created the advice column for the same reason I created the blog… for those readers that felt alone or needed someone to talk to. Sometimes things in life pop up and it’s good to get an outside opinion on them. Plus, when I asked who would be interested I had a great group of TLL authors volunteer. The other four women on the panel are all so different which makes for a total of five wonderfully different responses for the women who send in their questions.
So far the panel has tackled ten questions. Most of those have been relationship issues. So if anyone has a question they would like to pose to 5 lesbians please feel free to check out the TLL Advice Panel at http://thelesbianlifestyle.com/tlls-advice-panel/.
CG: With the election coming up, do you have a lot of authors voicing their opinions on the candidates?
KL: No, but I plan on making it a topic for the month of October. I think that this is the most important election of my lifetime and I’m really interested in what others have to think. No matter what your opinion I believe that everyone should get out and vote this year. Personally I have done a lot of research on the candidates and am proud to say that I am giving my vote to Barack Obama.
CG: What are your long-term goals for TLL?
KL: TLL is truly my baby. I have met so many wonderful and interesting women via the blog, and want as many people to read what the authors have to say as possible. Expanding TLL’s readership and acquiring more authors from around the world are very important to me. The past two years TLL has hosted The TLL Lesbian Blog of the Year Award. Next year we are expanding the awards to include eight different categories, a better nomination and voting system, and great prizes for the winners! Look for the TLL Leszzys in 2009!
TLL has a way of reinventing itself. With new authors come new stories. The most important thing for a blog to have is good content. So I suppose my long-term goal is to keep the good content coming!
Visit TLL at http://thelesbianlifestyle.com.
