Climbing The Ladder

Climbing The Ladder

By A.E. Raddley

Polaroïd Of LBT Culture

The decor of Climbing The Ladder is set in the magazine community in modern times. Which is, needless to say, is on the decay.

Unlike Raddley usual stories, this one does not really focus on one or two protagonists. But on a whole group. We follow a big bunch of co-workers living the same stressful events together, each perspective adds layers and depth to the story. And it makes a great read. 

Put a bunch of wlw (women loving women) together and of course, crushes are meant to be. While those are fun to read, it’s not the main point of the story. The survival of LBT magazine Honey is at stake and all of the community must rise. But will they be up to the task? Their journeys are passionate to read. Both their personnel and professional stories are a delight. So much happened in this book that I would qualify it as a rollercoaster. Buckle up 'cause you're in for quite a ride.

This book is an important allegory. Will we? The wlw in real life, the LBT people, are we ready to continue spending? Spending on our content? Spending on our culture? Our books, our movies, our music? At a time where so much content is available for free our culture is a stake.  While this freeness is great for low-income members of our community and allows our younger ones to access life-changing content, it is a double-edged sword. Our content creators need to get paid for their works. To be motivated to create more to continue to allow us to read ourselves, to see ourselves, to hear ourselves. 

We can’t let the cishet control what is culturally available. Because they don’t care for us. And we must stand together.