Manuela Kay


Manuela Kay is a German journalist, author and publisher.

Life and career

Manuela Kay worked from the first day of its founding until February 1991 as the editor and presenter of the first Berlin private Radio Station, Radio 100, including the gay-lesbian show ‘Eldoradio’. She is co-author and film producer of numerous video films on the theme of lesbian sexuality and feminist pornography.
In 1992 and 1994, she released the films ‘Du Darfst’ and ‘Airport’. The 33-minute, low budget film ‘Airport’ is regarded as the first German lesbian porno and remains to this day a milestone in the history of pornography.
After working as a freelance journalist, author and presenter, she worked from 1996 until 2005 as the editor in chief of Berlin's queer city magazine, Siegessäule published then by Jackwerth publishing company. Kay played a decisive role in the redevelopment of the magazine from a gay male publication to a gay-lesbian and ultimately queer inclusive content. In 2003, she planned and conceived the lesbian magazine, the L-MAG and was co-editor in-chief with Peter Polzer at its inception.
From 1995 to 2005 she worked at Berlin's International Film Festival in the Panorama section and the queer film prize, the Teddy Award. She is renowned within European and international Film Festivals as a jury member and speaker.
Kay co-curated the exhibition ‘Nobody is Perfect – Lesbian and Gay Film Idols’ with Wolfgang Theis and Maria Schmidt in Berlin's Schwules* Museum and conducted numerous guided tours throughout the duration of the exhibition.
Since 2007, she has been working as the curator and a team member of the organising committee of the Pornfilmfestival Berlin.
In 2012 the Jackwerth publishing company was dissolved and sold. Manuela Kay and her colleague of many years, Gudrun Fertig, founded the Special Media SDL GmbH publishing house and took over the Siegessäule and L-MAG and DU&ICH in 2012. Kay and Fertig become directors and majority shareholders of the above-mentioned publications.
Kay's journalistic focus lies in the realm of lesbian culture, sexuality, film and international issues.

Socio-political Commitments

Manuela Kay identifies as a radical feminist and is committed to lesbian visibility, Feminism and LGBT Rights in general.
For the tenth anniversary of L-MAG in 2013, Kay realised a lifelong dream and initiated Berlin's inaugural Dyke* March, based on the USA's model. Since then, other German cities have followed suit: Cologne, Hamburg and the Dyke* March in Heidelberg in 2017, with a demonstration for Lesbian Visibility, which took place the night before the Pride March.

Awards

In 2013 Kay was the recipient of the IGLTA Travel Writer Award.
In 2015, Manuela Kay and Gudrun Fertig were awarded the Augsburg-Heymann Prize. Since 2009, this annual award honours work by courageous lesbians LAG Lesbians in NRW towards the Advancement and Visibility of Lesbian Women.

Publications

Films