ALIX DOBKIN

Biography Quotes Rumor Control Personal Statement Booking Information

WOW!

I LOVE that you're visiting my WEB PAGE!

"Long, long ago, maybe even before you were born, way far back in the late 1950's... Philadelphia was a hotbed of do-it-yourself culture, magnetizing folk music on the East Coast... and I was a teenaged guitar-totin', card-carrying comrade grounding myself in mushrooming crowds of progressive Jews, self-taught musicians and other local subversives.

"Immediately after graduating from the Tyler School of Fine Arts I headed east to NYC's world-famous Gaslight Cafe, and from that rich, heady, heart of Greenwich Village in the early '60's, I launched my full-time, professional folksinging career.

"Focusing during the first decade on an international and contemporary/ protest repertory, I came out as a Lesbian in 1972 and turned to writing and singing for women in general and to building Lesbian Culture in particular.

"Over the last 25 years I have travelled to hundreds of women's communities in this country and in many others. It has been my privilege and pleasure to gather elements of our common culture and to create a body of songs and workshops to share with you, honoring and reflecting our unique Lesbian style, substance, issues and values.

"I currently have six albums and one songbook to my name, was voted "All Time Favorite Performer" by Hot Wire magazine, and have been called "Head Lesbian"! If you aren't already familiar with my work, I hope you will soon be. Just check out this page and then browse through Ladyslipper's discography. For more info, just ask."

"Dobkin is one performer who has never disappointed me. . . equal parts humor, stories, beautifully crafted and executed music and political rap. . . she gathers the pieces of our women's movement struggles and knits them together, makes the connections, presents the whole picture." - Common Ground (Buffalo, NY)

"Alix Dobkin has been a thunderbolt in feminist circles since she entered them in the early seventies." - The Blade (Washington, DC)

". . . the perfect music experience." - Music Machine (Dutchess County, NY)

". . . pungently personal songs . . ." - The Village Voice (NYC)

". . . a biting sense of humor . . ." - New Age Journal (Massachusetts)

". . . remains on the cutting edge. . . " - Sojourner (Boston, MA)

"Alix is a man-hater"

Nonsense! Some of my best friends are men. I certainly have strong opinions about men's violence, men's dominance, men's politics, male institutions, male hierarchies and penis-centered culture (don't you?), but man-hating is irrelevant in my life.

"Alix is against transexuals"

No way! I look to transexuals to break new ground and not to reinforce conventional gender stereotypes.

"Alix hurts little boys by excluding them from women-only space"

On the contrary, I treasure all children and hate to see any child spoiled by mistreatment and neglect, or misguided by ignorance and disrespect. Teaching little boys universal entitlement and teaching little girls that they have no right to privacy is ignorant and disrespectful.

"Alix believes that women-only space is sacred space"

True.

"Alix performs only for women"

False. I often appear before mixed audiences.

"Alix loves all Lesbians but doesn't like some Lesbians"

True.

"Alix wants her work to have meaning for everyone"

True.

"Alix is 'Politically Correct'"

I certainly hope so, and so should you hope to be politically enlightened and untrendy!

Personal Statement

"Hi, and welcome to Ladyslipper. . .

". . .with the most extensive collection of Lesbian music and music by Lesbians in the world.

"My name is Alix Dobkin. In 1973, with Kay Gardner, I produced Lavender Jane Loves Women, the very first album by, for and about Lesbians in the history of the world. From then until now, I have focused on the lives, concerns and perspectives of women who love women, and for most of those years I and scores of other women-identified musicians, Lesbians and non-Lesbians alike, have enjoyed the support and encouragement of Ladyslipper. It's hard to imagine surviving in this business without them. So thanks to Ladyslipper for your consistence and persistence!

"Most commonly defined as "Music By, For & About Women", the category of Women's Music has been entertaining and enlightening a vast network of Lesbians and our friends and supporters at concerts, festivals, gatherings and parties, on vinyl, tape and disk, for well over two decades. Since the most common definition of "Lesbian" is "women who love women", this cultural genre is a natural result of Lesbian creativity, and Ladyslipper has always seen to it that our impressive and unique body of work is available to anyone with an interest in the cultural traditions which have at their center the love of women.

"Flourishing at the edges of a tedious mainstream, that wasteland of male-obsession which either ignores, ridicules or trivializes whatever honors or takes women seriously, both Ladyslipper and I are delighted to welcome you to this oasis of woman-loving. Check us out and make yourself at home.

"Thanks for your visit, and be sure to note the wide variety and depth of quality reflected by this Music By, For & About Women."