The Ladder is named in homage to The Ladder (1956–1972), the first nationally distributed lesbian publication in the United States.

Published by the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian organization in the U.S., The Ladder was more than a magazine. It was a lifeline. At a time when isolation, criminalization, and silence defined queer life, The Ladder created connection across distance, fear, and invisibility. It offered education, shared stories, political analysis, poetry, and care, often produced quietly, anonymously, and with immense personal risk.

The name itself came from the magazine’s first cover, simple line drawings of figures climbing toward a ladder that disappeared into the clouds. A symbol of reaching upward. Of movement. Of becoming. Of finding one another.

For many readers, The Ladder was the first place they saw themselves reflected, affirmed, and named. Historian Marcia Gallo described it as “a means of breaking through isolation and fear,” a sentiment that deeply resonates with Lyon-Martin’s own origins and purpose.