Out in the Mountains

 

B   6 (from preceding page)

Alison: Yes. It’s interesting because
my strip has gotten more political over the
years. I mean, the very existence of a les-
bian comic strip is political, but it’s taken
more of a political stance in the world, over
the war recently.

It’s interesting, because I know that
gays and lesbians as a group do not ascribe
to these politics. There’s a percentage that
do, but in a way I think my strip has more in
common with progressives as a group than
it does with gays and lesbians as a group, as
an entire group. Certainly there are lesbian
Republicans. I know there are women who
are offended by my strip, and people who
think my politics are silly.

OITM: One of the things that strikes
me about your strip is that your characters
live in a completely lesbian world. 'Ihere’s
hardly ever any men, and definitely hardly
ever any straightpeople. Is that intentional?

Alison: No, that was not intentional at
all. It’s just that the strip has mirrored my
life, and that’s pretty much what my life has
been like. Since my job is in the commu-
nity, I don’t interact with the straight world
like most people do. And it wasn’t really
intentional. In fact, I really want to show
more of how they interact at their jobs and
with their families. And I think that’s going
to start happening more.

OITM Really?

Alison: Yeah. In a way it’s like a ref-
uge. The strip is a kind of refuge to me. It’s
like women-only space, like going to a
music festival. I remember the first time I
went to a festival, this incredible feeling of
safety and relief. And now I don ’t have that.
I’m very jaded. I go to these festivals all the
time, and I’ve lost my youthful innocence.
But I remember that feeling and I think
that’s something I wanted to carry into the

strip. I’m feeling stronger and safer from
having had that refuge, from having had
this really supportive community. I feel
like I’m ready to maybe go out in the world
a little more.

OITM: Do you consider yourself a
separatist? Or have you been a separatist?

Alison: No. No, I haven’t. I never have
called myself one. But I think I probably
actually live my life similarly to women
who do identify as separatist. I don’t know.
I mean, I’m becoming friends with men. I
think it’s part of that hauling myself out of
the little safe subculture phenomenon,
being ready to do that.

OITM: What are your biggest chal-
lenges in doing the strip?

Alison: Making myself laugh is one.
Being funny is something I have zero clue
about. It just happens or it doesn’t happen.
And sol guess for me the challenge is the
anticipation of waiting to see whether or
not it’s going to happen with a particular
strip. And then there’s always thechallenge
of being substantive without offending
anyone.

Lately the challenge has been to not
become a parody of myself. I look at sit-
coms on TV, for example, for guidance,
like “Mary Tyler Moore.” And there’s a
point at which “Mary Tyler Moore” just
became a cartoon of itself. It’s already
happened in a way. Mo’s anxiety has taken
on these epic proportions. And I have to be
careful to keep them real and not let them
become simply cartoon stereotypes.

OITM: What are your satisfactions, or
what makes you happiest about the strip?

Alison: I am thrilled with the reception
that it’s gotten. It’s really become a part of
this culture. When I came out 11 years ago
and I saw this world that I wanted to be a

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part of, I never dreamed that I would be a
part of it. And I love that. I’m able to let in
a little bit of it at a time. That it’s really true,
that I really do sell these books, and lots of
them. It’s totally thrilling to me. Becausel
think it’s such a wonderful community,
such a wonderful culture, and I’m just re-
ally proud and happy to be in it.

OITM: And it’s a community you
know so well.

Alison: Well, parts of it. I mean, it’s
not representative. Of course, as is continu-
ally being pointed out to me, I don’t have
any straight characters, I don’t have any
male characters, I don’t have any bisexual
characters. I don’t have any Air Force
dykes, I don’t have any Christian dykes, I
don’t have any lesbians with children, I
don’t have any bar dykes. There are huge
chunks of our community that you don’t
see in my strip.

OITM: Yes, but it’s not that thatl was
thinking about. It’s the emotional truth, the
qualities of the interactions, the way they
relate to each other, the kinds of things
they’re interested in. When I read it, I
recognize parts of myself.

Alison: Well, the real motivation for
doing this comic strip is my desperate
hunger to see my reality reflected. I think
it’s such an important, nurturing thing to
see yourself reflected. I mean, why do we
make plays and movies and books?

Ever since people have been alive,
we’ve created stories about ourselves and
images of ourselves... And I’m desperate to
see myself because I don’t see it anywhere.
And I draw the cartoons because I want to
see pictures. I want to see myself. And
probably I would do it even if no one else
was looking at it.

    

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