Jan Gibson

Interview by Lorraine Fontana at Jan Gibson’s home in Atlanta on November 20, 2024

Jan Gibson, a well-known lesbian feminist artist, became a lesbian ancestor on September 16, 2025. A woman of many talents, Jan was most widely known as the cofounder and songwriter for the band, Moral Hazard.

Jan was born in Abilene, Texas, in 1954. Her parents divorced when she was four years old, and she lived mostly with her grandmother until she was ten years old. That was when she started writing poetry and playing her guitar. Her father worked on oil rigs, so the family moved many times. She skipped lots of school then with her three sisters because they hated always being the “new kids.” The family eventually landed in Atlanta, Georgia, where they stayed. During high school in Atlanta, Jan wrote her first song, “Children of the Island,” which was about the hippies on Tenth Street who fascinated her.

Jan knew she was a lesbian from the time she was in high school, but she hadn’t found any other lesbians. In 1973, Jan looked up the word “lesbian” in the phone book and discovered the Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance (ALFA). At ALFA, she found her community. She said the best thing that happened in her life was coparenting her daughter, Catherine (“Cat”), who was born in 1990.

Jan, together with KC Wildmoon, formed the band Moral Hazard in 1979. The band made its debut with their “Moral Hazard Flight 101” show at Atlanta’s Seven Stages Theatre. The band went on to perform two more stage shows and numerous music performances, including at the Southern Women’s Music and Comedy Festival, and at RhythmFest. Moral Hazard also recorded a CD, Step over This Line. You can hear their CD on iTunes and Spotify.

Along with writing most of the lyrics and music for the band, Jan Gibson was an artist through and through. She created art and furniture with natural objects. She enjoyed painting on these natural objects as well. She continued to write poetry throughout her life.