Riese Bernard
Marie Lyn Bernard[1] (born 1981), known professionally as Riese Bernard, is an American writer and digital media executive. She is best known as the CEO and co-founder of the lesbian and queer women's interest website Autostraddle. Bernard received a 2017 GLAAD Media Award nomination for her article, “105 Trans Women On American TV: A History and Analysis”.[2]
Early life and education
[edit]Bernard was born and raised in Michigan.[3] Her father, Victor L. Bernard, a scholar, researcher and professor in the field of financial statement analysis, died of a heart attack when she was 14 years old. Her mother came out to her as gay shortly after her father's death.[4][5]
She graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy in 1999 with a major in Creative Writing.[6] After graduating from University of Michigan with a bachelor's degree in English in 2003, she moved to New York City to pursue a career in writing.[7][8]
Career
[edit]In 2007, Bernard created The Road Best Straddled, a spin-off of her personal blog This Girl Called Automatic Win, to recap The L Word, then in its fourth season.[8] This led to collaborations with The L Word Online and Showtime and her blogs gained sizeable followings.[9][10] She also interned at the now-defunct website Nerve and worked for the Donald Maass Literary Agency.[11]
Bernard has published writing in Marie Claire, Curve, GO, Queerty, Bitch, Jezebel and Emily Books.[12][13] Her article “105 Trans Women On American TV: A History and Analysis” was nominated for a 2017 GLAAD Media Award.[14] In 2018, Bernard's profile of Hayley Kiyoko was the cover story for Nylon's first-ever Pride Issue.[15]
Autostraddle
[edit]At the end of the final season of The L Word in 2009, she created Autostraddle.com with her then-girlfriend Alex Vega, with the intention of creating a digital website focused on gay women. Bernard stated she was inspired to create the website because nothing else like it existed at the time.[10] The website received a GLAAD Media Award in 2015 and receives 4 million unique page views per month.[8] In 2012, she created A-Camp, an annual 5-day "curated conference/camp/retreat combo" for queer women and trans people, located in Ojai, California.[16][17]
Personal life
[edit]Bernard first began to identify as a bisexual, and then as a lesbian, in her twenties.[8] Bernard is Jewish.[7] She is divorced and lives in Los Angeles.
Accolades
[edit]- 2010 – 100 Women We Love, GO [18]
- 2011 – 100 Women We Love, GO[19]
- 2016 – 100 Women We Love, GO[3]
- 2017 – GLAAD Media Award (nomination), GLAAD[14]
- 2018 – Queero, Them[20]
References
[edit]- ^ Allen, Samantha (2016-09-22). "AfterEllen Is Shutting Down: Is This the End of Lesbian Media?". Retrieved 2019-05-22.
- ^ "How Autostraddle's Riese Bernard Forever Changed the Queer Media Landscape". them. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
- ^ a b Hymowech, Gabby; Jackson, S. E. (2016-06-30). "100 Women We Love 2016 | Page 84 of 98". GO Magazine. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
- ^ Dupont, Nicole (April 4, 1994). "A Tribute to Professor Victor Bernard". The Monroe Street Journal. Archived from the original on April 16, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
- ^ "Riese Bernard, episode #57 of Queery with Cameron Esposito on Earwolf". www.earwolf.com. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
- ^ D'Art. Interlochen Arts Academy. 1999. p. 86.
- ^ a b Bussel, Rachel Kramer (2008-04-01). Dirty Girls: Erotica for Women. Basic Books. ISBN 9781580052511.
- ^ a b c d Pasulka, Nicole (2015-09-11). "Clicking the Bean: The History of the Internet's Most Popular Lesbian Blog". Vice. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
- ^ A New Lezberado. Plus, Jenny is Dead!, 2009-01-22, retrieved 2019-07-09
- ^ a b Bonney, Grace (2018-05-01). Good Company (Issue 1): The Community Issue. Artisan Books. ISBN 9781579658427.
- ^ "AfterEllen Was a Refuge for All Queer Women — Until It Wasn't". www.out.com. 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
- ^ "HER - Dating and Social App for LGBTQ+ People". Her. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
- ^ "You Guessed Right: We're Pushing The LGBTQ Agenda". NYLON. 2018-06-01. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
- ^ a b "Moonlight, The OA, and Frank Ocean Among GLAAD Media Awards Nominees". www.vulture.com. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
- ^ Byrnes, Lindsey (2018-06-01). "Hayley Kiyoko Is Our June Cover Star". NYLON. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
- ^ "Introducing Camp Autostraddle". Autostraddle. 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
- ^ "A-Camp". A-Camp. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
- ^ Zinn, Esther; Long, Kat; Burke, Cheryl; Isaac, Emily (2010-08-13). "100 Women We Love Class of 2010". GO Magazine. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
- ^ Maritescu, Corina; Pitagora, Dulci; Long, Kat; Jackson, Sharyn (2011-06-17). "100 Women We Love 2011". GO Magazine. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
- ^ "How Autostraddle's Riese Bernard Forever Changed the Queer Media Landscape". them. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
External links
[edit]- 1981 births
- Living people
- 21st-century American businesspeople
- 21st-century American businesswomen
- 21st-century American Jews
- 21st-century American LGBTQ people
- 21st-century American non-fiction writers
- 21st-century American women writers
- American lesbian writers
- American LGBTQ businesspeople
- American online publication editors
- American technology chief executives
- American women chief executives
- American women non-fiction writers
- Interlochen Center for the Arts alumni
- Jewish American non-fiction writers
- Lesbian businesswomen
- Lesbian feminists
- Lesbian Jews
- LGBTQ people from Michigan
- University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni
- Writers from Michigan