mnsss511 Joan E. Biren Papers, 1944-2011 (ongoing) Finding Aid Sophia Smith Collection

Smith College Northampton, MA

2010

Sophia Smith Collection. All rights reserved.

Finding aid exported into EAD from InMagic DB/Textworks 12.0. Encoded by Margaret Jessup. November 14, 2011 Finding aid written in English. Collection Overview Biren, Joan E. Joan E. Biren Papers1944-2011 (ongoing) MS 587 145 boxes (circa 70 linear ft.) English Sophia Smith Collection

Smith College Northampton, MA

Filmmaker; Photographer; Lesbian activist. Papers document Biren's professional and personal life. Major topics include photography, film, lesbianism, Judaism, feminism, lesbian and gay rights, political movements, and anti-nuclear movements. Biren was an avid collector of lesbian and social justice materials, and the Papers are rich in images, clippings, and other materials collected during events such as the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Justice. Materials related to Biren's filmmaking include extensive raw footage, research materials, and transcripts of interviews, conference panels, and events. Notable correspondents include Audre Lorde, Alison Bechdel, Tee Corrine, Barbara Smith, and John D'Emilio. [NOTE: The contents list for this collection is not online yet but will be soon. Check back again in a few weeks, or contact the Sophia Smith Collection if you would like a copy sent to you.] Biographical Note

Joan E. Biren (b.1944) grew up in the Washington, D.C. area, graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1966, and pursued graduate training in political science at Oxford University and communications at American University. Biren joined the women's liberation movement in Washington D.C. in 1969. Coming to feminism with her New Left political science background, Biren was particularly involved in the formation of feminist theory. Biren and others (including Rita Mae Brown and Charlotte Bunch) formed a lesbian-separatist collective, the Furies, in 1971. Though the collective was short-lived, it had, through its publications, a significant impact on the strategies of the women's movement. Biren taught herself photography because "I needed to see images of lesbians." She is best known for her photographic portraits, some of the earliest documents of late 20th-century lesbian life. Realizing the need for affirming images and self- expression outside of traditional patriarchal language, her work has appeared in off our backs, The Washington Blade, Gay Community News, and on countless LP album and book covers. Biren published two ground-breaking collections of her photography: "Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians" (1979) and "Making A Way: Lesbians Out Front" (1987). In the 1990s, Beginning in 1979 Biren toured the country presenting her slide show "Lesbian Images in Photography, 1850 to the present" to women's groups. Other shows followed and gradually Biren moved from still photography to filmmaking. She documented the 1987 and 1993 gay and lesbian marches on Washington in For Love and For Life and A Simple Matter of Justice and in 2003, an award-winning film on lesbian pioneers Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, "No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon."

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Joan E. Biren Papers document her professional and personal life. They include correspondence, notes, photographs, press releases, reports, fliers and publicity materials, journal and newspaper articles, newsletters, audiovisual materials, transcripts of interviews, and memorabilia. The bulk of the papers date from 1975 to 2003. Major topics found throughout the papers include photography, film, lesbianism, Judaism, feminism, lesbian and gay rights, political movements, and anti-nuclear movements. Biren was an avid collector of lesbian and social justice materials, and the Papers are rich in images, clippings, and other materials collected during events such as the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Justice. Materials related to Biren's filmmaking include extensive raw footage, research materials, and transcripts of interviews, conference panels, and events. Notable correspondents include Audre Lorde, Alison Bechdel, Tee Corrine, Barbara Smith, and John D'Emilio.

[NOTE: The contents list for this collection is not online yet but will be soon. Check back again in a few weeks, or contact the Sophia Smith Collection if you would like a copy sent to you.]

The papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection with the following caveats:

Access to audiovisual materials may first require production of research copies.

Portions of this collection have not been fully processed and therefore some portions may be difficult to use.

TJoan Biren retains copyright to her published and unpublished works. Copyright to works by others may be owned by them, their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights for permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use." Permission must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Joan E. Biren Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.

Additional Formats

Some audiovisual recordings have been converted to digital format for research use.

Periodic additions to collection are expected and may not be reflected in this record.

The Joan E. Biren Papers were donated to the Sophia Smith Collection by Joan E. Biren beginning in 2007.

Preliminary processing done by Maida Goodwin, 2010

Antinuclear movement -- United States -- History -- Sources Artists -- United States -- Biography -- Sources Breast Cancer -- Lesbians Civil rights movements -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Sources Collectivism -- United States Demonstrations -- United States -- Photographs Documentary films -- United States -- Production and direction Female friendship -- United States -- History Feminism and art -- History -- Sources Feminism -- Religious aspects -- Judaism Feminism -- History --Sources Feminism -- Periodicals Feminist spirituality -- United States -- History -- Sources Feminists -- United States -- Biography -- Sources Gay college students -- United States -- History Gay liberation movement -- History -- 20th century -- Sources Gay rights -- History -- Sources Gays in motion pictures Gays -- Periodicals Gender identity -- United States Goddess religion -- History -- 20th century -- Sources Hispanic American women -- Biography -- Sources Homophobia in sports -- History -- 20th century -- Sources International Women's Day -- History Indian women -- Biography -- Sources Jewish lesbians -- Biography -- Sources Jewish women -- United States -- Biography -- Sources Lesbian activists -- United States -- Biography -- Sources Lesbian artists -- United States -- Biography -- Sources Lesbian communities -- United States -- History Lesbian feminism--History--Sources Lesbianism -- Periodicals Lesbianism -- Religious aspects Lesbianism -- United States -- History Lesbians in motion pictures Lesbians -- Periodicals Lesbians -- Photographs Lesbians -- United States -- Biography -- Sources Nuclear disarmament -- History -- Sources Peace movements -- History -- 20th century -- Sources Photography of women -- History -- Sources Lesbian physicians Pornography -- Social aspects -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Sources Peace movements -- United States -- History -- Sources Women -- Photographs Women and peace -- History -- 20th century -- Sources Women and religion -- History -- 20th century -- Sources Women artists -- United States -- Biography -- Sources Women in mass media -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Sources Women photographers -- United States -- Biography -- Sources Women's periodicals, American -- History -- Sources Women's rights -- History -- 20th century -- Sources Women's studies -- History -- 20th century -- Sources Women -- Periodicals Women -- Religious life -- United States -- History Women's periodicals, American -- History -- 20th century Oral history Adam, Margie Biren, Joan E. Christian, Meg Deming, Barbara, 1917 Hammer, Barbara Helaine Victoria Press -- History -- Sources Jackson, James E., 1914- Near, Holly Pratt, Minnie Bruce National Abortion Rights Action League -- History National Endowment for the Arts -- History -- Sources National Organization for Women -- History National Women's Health Network (U.S.) Olivia Records Voices of Feminism Oral History Project J.E.B.