Joan Nestle is a lesbian feminist and co-founder of the Lesbian Herstory Archives in 1973.
Joan came out as a fem in the working class bars of Greenwich Village in the late 1950s. She has a long and proud history as an activist, protesting against the House Un-American Activities Committee, the Vietnam War, nuclear war, segregation, apartheid, and US involvement in Central America. She has also demonstrated for women's rights including abortion and Gay Liberation.
In 1979 Joan started writing erotic stories and in 1982 ran afoul of the anti-pornography movement, thus becoming a fervent pro-sex activist in the "Sex Wars." She has two collections of writings, A Restricted Country, published in 1987 by Firebrand Books, and A Fragile Union, published in 1998 by Cleis Press. Joan taught at Queens College from 1960 until 1995 when cancer forced her to retire.