Biography

When Alix Dobkin graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1962, she headed straight for New York City's Greenwich Village, where she initiated a career for herself as a folk singer. In the early '70s, having discovered her attraction to women, she released Lavender Jane Loves Women (1973). A positive role model for its clear feminist lyrics and its unwavering pro-Lesbian stance, it set an early standard with its independent production (on her own Women's Wax Works label), as well as for its collective spirit. Dobkin became one of the most visible and vocal lesbian feminists in the community. Unlike some other performers, she shared the process of her life with her audience; unlike most other performers, she made herself personally available to non-performers after gigs on-site, at festivals; and as a Lesbian and feminist resource at workshops (on the sexism and misogyny of commercial album art, for example). Like few other performers, she publicly claimed her own identity as a Jewish Lesbian, and reflected that identity in her shows. Along with Meg Christian, Cris Williamson, and Holly Near, Dobkin was one of the pioneering figures in the women's music movement of the '70s, but while 1975's Lavender Jane Loves Women was a tremendously influential effort, it was one of only five albums she would record between 1975 and 1990, including 1976's Living with Lesbians, 1980's XX Alix, 1986's These Women Never Been Better, and 1990's Yahoo Australia! Alix Live from Sydney. In 1992, she issued Love & Politics: A 30 Year Saga, a career-spanning anthology that reflected on her life as an activist for the left as well as the LBGTQ+ community. 1998's Living with Lavender Jane was a two-fer CD reissue of Lavender Jane Loves Women and Living with Lesbians. Dobkin stepped away from recording to focus on education and activism, but she continued to perform live and remained an outspoken figure in the Lesbian community. Alix Dobkin died at her home in Woodstock, New York on May 19, 2021 after suffering a brain aneurysm and a stroke. She was 80 years old. ~ Laura Post, Rovi