Ivy Bottini, pictured at a West Hollywood discussion of her book, “The Liberation of Ivy Bottini,” has been a trailblazing lesbian-feminist activist almost 50 years. Photo: Jon Viscott.
Ivy Bottini has been a trailblazing feminist-lesbian activist almost 50 years, most of that time has been spent on the frontline for equality in Los Angeles and West Hollywood.
Bottini’s book, “The Liberation of Ivy Bottini: A Memoir of Love and Activism,” chronicles her life in the trenches fighting for civil rights.
ONE ARCHIVES EVENT
Bottini, 93, will attend a discussion about her activist life that will take place Sunday at the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC.
A selection of Bottini’s personal papers, which are preserved at the ONE Archives, will be on display.
The event also will be a bon voyage of sorts for Bottini, who will be leaving West Hollywood and moving to Florida in February to live with her daughter.
The Factory, historic gay club in West Hollywood, to be demolished
FEMINIST ACTIVIST
Bottini was named Woman of the Year by Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica), whose district includes West Hollywood, in 2017.
Bottini’s feminist and lesbian activism trace their roots to 1960s New York, where Bottini was a co-founder of the New York City chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW). In 1969, she designed the logo that the organization still uses today.
Katie Hill elected first LGBTQ Congresswoman from California
LESBIAN ACTIVIST
Bottini also was an advocate for lesbian rights, but in 1970, NWO’s president, Betty Friedan, who didn’t agree with that lesbian activism should be a part of the women’s liberation movement, kicked Bottini out of the organization.
In 1971, Bottini relocated moved to Los Angeles and became an LGBTQ activist, co-founding the Coalition for Human Rights; the Los Angeles Lesbian/Gay Police Advisory Board; AIDS Network LA; and AIDS Project Los Angeles, which eventually changed its name to APLA Health.
