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KRAB-FM Lesbian-Feminist Radio Program recordings, 1971-1982

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Ottey, Shan
Title
KRAB-FM Lesbian-Feminist Radio Program recordings
Dates
1971-1982 (inclusive)
Quantity
8.24 cubic feet (10 boxes and 1 oversize vertical file including 226 sound reels and 16 audio cassettes)
Collection Number
6115
Summary
Recordings from the KRAB-FM Lesbian-Feminist Radio Program
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

The collection contains analog and digital media. Please contact Special Collections for more information. Approximately 100 recordings which are free of copyrighted material are available on our digital collections site; all 6115-001 files are available for viewing on the Virtual Vault in the Special Collections Reading Room.

No restrictions on access for paper-based materials. Analog media for 6115-002 is closed until processed.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Shan Ottey was born in Philadelphia in 1946 to a labor union family. She and her brother Bob Ottey were pirate radio enthusiasts who used the airwaves to protest political issues of the day. After participating in the Stonewall riots in 1969, Ottey moved to Seattle. As a licensed radio sound engineer, she began an all-night jazz show on KRAB. As an advocate for women in radio, Ottey held hands-on technical training seminars at KBCS and KRAB to prepare women to become licensed sound engineers. She continued her work with KRAB until 1982. Eventually she worked as an engineer at the University of Washington and earned an engineering degree.

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Historical Background

KRAB-FM was a non-commercial, educational FM radio station (107.7) in Seattle that began in a garage on Roosevelt Way in Seattle and moved to an old fire station on Capitol Hill and eventually to Rainier Avenue. KRAB-FM went silent in 1984. Among its dozens of programs KRAB-FM broadcast one of the earliest American gay and lesbian radio shows in the United States "Make No Mistake About It, It's a Faggot and a Dyke." The program was created for KRAB-FM by Shan Ottey and Paul Barwick in 1971. Ottey went on to produce broadcasts for the Lesbian Feminist Radio Collective including the show WE: Women Everywhere, which featured a format of women's music, news, and interviews. The volatile issue of lesbian separatism eventually split the Collective into two groups in 1975: Amazon Media and Lesbian Feminist Media Collective. The Amazon Media group members’ reaction to the split was aired during the show “First Sunday Night” (6115-001_001).

Lesbian Feminist Media Collective went on to produce WE: Women Everywhere, which continued to feature feminist programming while Amazon Media produced Women’s Survival Kit for a few more months then dropped it and launched Surviving in the Patriarchy in May 1976. This show focused on lesbian feminist separatist issues and programs often provided deep analysis and discussion around the topics of the day. Show titles include: Women in Prison, Ageism, Racism, Matriarchies, Classism, Animal Oppression, Prostitution, and Feminist Economics. Show producers conducted numerous interviews with a broad range of lesbian feminists, including authors and musicians, with a focus on lesbian organizations and women in the Seattle area; most of the conversations include some discussion about lesbian separatism. Lesbians from Peru, Japan, Mexico and other countries were also interviewed; these recording provide a unique perspective on the similarities and differences in lesbian communities around the world in the 1970s.

LGBTQ Radio, a history by Tina Gianoulis

The KRAB Archive; Staff, Volunteers and Supporters

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Content Description

This collection includes reel recordings of programs, songs, interviews, and dances from the KRAB-FM Lesbian-Feminist Radio Program, 1971-1982, produced and recorded by Shan Ottey.

In addition to fully produced shows, the collection includes recordings of original skits the lesbians presented to illustrate their topical analysis, talks by influential women such as Rita Mae Brown, Flo Kennedy, Diana E.H. Russell and a wide range of music, from live recordings in the studio to favorite albums and dance mixes. These tapes provide a significant view of the influence of lesbian feminist music and writing on the women of the time. Significantly, there are numerous discussions—sometimes with the musicians themselves (see 6115-001_196 Alix Dobkin Interview)—about the economics of lesbian music, often revolving around Olivia Records and the lesbian separatist movement. The recordings of Alix Dobkin, BeBe K’Roche, Berkeley Women’s Music Collective, Kay Gardiner, Malvina Reynolds, Isis and others are featured regularly throughout the programming.

Unfortunately, many of the tapes were used multiple times and some important programs were recorded over. The Program Guides archived at KRAB-FM and the handwritten notes written on the original reel-to-reel boxes provide additional information about some of the shows that might have been lost and the topics they covered.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from the collection in digital format

Restrictions on Use

Creator's copyrights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Organized into 2 accessions.

  • Accession No. 6115-001, KRAB FM Lesbian-Feminist Radio Program recordings, 1967-1982
  • Accession No. 6115-002, We: Women Everywhere radio collective, KRAB-107.7 FM records, 1980-1982

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

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Subject Terms

  • Ageism--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Drug addiction--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Feminism--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Feminists--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Lesbians--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Patriarchy--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
  • Racism--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Radio programs--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Women in music
  • Women--Washington (State)--Seattle--Interviews

Personal Names

  • Ottey, Shan--Archives

Corporate Names

  • KRAB-FM Radio Station (Seattle, Wash.)
  • KRAB-FM Radio Station (Seattle, Wash.)--Archives

Other Creators

  • Corporate Names

    • KRAB-FM Radio Station (Seattle, Wash.) (creator)


2017 (Last modified: 5/30/2024)

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