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

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

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
Main article: Autostraddle

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

Bernard first began to identify as a bisexual, and then as a lesbian, in her twenties.[8] Bernard is Jewish.[7]

Accolades
  • 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
  1. Allen, Samantha (2016-09-22). "AfterEllen Is Shutting Down: Is This the End of Lesbian Media?". Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  2. Nast, Condé. "How Autostraddle's Riese Bernard Forever Changed the Queer Media Landscape". them. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  3. Hymowech, Gabby; Jackson, S. E. (2016-06-30). "100 Women We Love 2016 | Page 84 of 98". GO Magazine. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  4. Dupont, Nicole (April 4, 1994). "A Tribute to Professor Victor Bernard". The Monroe Street Journal.
  5. "Riese Bernard, episode #57 of Queery with Cameron Esposito on Earwolf". www.earwolf.com. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  6. Interlochen Arts Academy (1999). D'Art. https://guides.interlochen.org/ld.php?content_id=25629957: Interlochen Arts Academy. p. 86.CS1 maint: location (link)
  7. Bussel, Rachel Kramer (2008-04-01). Dirty Girls: Erotica for Women. Basic Books. ISBN 9781580052511.
  8. Pasulka, Nicole (2015-09-11). "Clicking the Bean: The History of the Internet's Most Popular Lesbian Blog". Vice. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  9. SHOWTIME (2009-01-22), A New Lezberado. Plus, Jenny is Dead!, retrieved 2019-07-09
  10. Bonney, Grace (2018-05-01). Good Company (Issue 1): The Community Issue. Artisan Books. ISBN 9781579658427.
  11. "AfterEllen Was a Refuge for All Queer Women — Until It Wasn't". www.out.com. 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  12. "HER - Dating and Social App for LGBTQ+ People". Her. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  13. "You Guessed Right: We're Pushing The LGBTQ Agenda". NYLON. 2018-06-01. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  14. "Moonlight, The OA, and Frank Ocean Among GLAAD Media Awards Nominees". www.vulture.com. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  15. June 1, Lindsey Byrnes; 2018 (2018-06-01). "Hayley Kiyoko Is Our June Cover Star". NYLON. Retrieved 2019-07-08.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. "Introducing Camp Autostraddle". Autostraddle. 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  17. "A-Camp". A-Camp. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  18. Zinn, Esther; Long, Kat; Burke, Cheryl; Isaac, Emily (2010-08-13). "100 Women We Love Class of 2010". GO Magazine. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  19. Maritescu, Corina; Pitagora, Dulci; Long, Kat; Jackson, Sharyn (2011-06-17). "100 Women We Love 2011". GO Magazine. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  20. Nast, Condé. "How Autostraddle's Riese Bernard Forever Changed the Queer Media Landscape". them. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
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