Female Independant Media Explosion

By Jennifer Maerz, deleted
Posted on April 26, 2000, Printed on May 26, 2012
http://www.alternet.org/story/6719/female_independant_media_explosion

Forget YM, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Allure and Seventeen. Forget Sassy and its spiral downwards from content to cosmetics. A multitude of more hip and progressive magazines for young women can be found at places other than next to the candy and gum at the checkout aisle, where these thinly disguised sales pitches for girlie consumerism reside. Believe it or not, there is another realm of reading for female teens and twentysomthings who want writing that reflects their experiences and not national clothing chains: Bitch, Bust, Hip Mama, Teen Voices, New Moon, Blue Jean, Hues, YO!, Youth Outlook 360 Degrees, Reluctant Hero, and Brillo. These are just a sampling of the many progessive resources for information and experiences currently available to young women. They range in scope and content -- Hip MamaÊis a progressive young parenting magazine, New Moon is a magazine "for girls and their dreams" before they hit the teen years -- and you have to look a little further than the five and dime to check them out. But the extra trip to the book store, the phone call to order a subscription, or the letter you send to find out more about the publication will reward you tenfold with more intelligent writing than all the supermarket stands of magazines combined.  Although there still are girls and young women who want to be advised about the correct shades of lipstick for the season and the "hard and fast" rules on how to meet and keep a boyfriend, many females are starving for less vapid information and commentary on their lives. These independent magazines offer personal essays and articles that often include submissions from readers, turning the magazines into more of a collective, educational experience than simply being told what is "cool." "We're trying to break down barriers so girls can find out about each other and alleviate racism," said Teen VoicesÊexecutive director, 30-year-old Alison Amoroso. "We have articles about girls from around the world," she said, adding that they're currently working on articles written by girls who survived the war in Bosnia. Diversity is also important to New Moon magazine, a publication for younger girls age 8 and older. "We're working to get more and different voices," said New Moon's managing editor Barbara Stretchberry. The 3-year-old magazine is not as diverse as Stretchberry would like it to be, "but I think we do a good job," she said. By targeting a younger age than most of the other independent female magazines, New Moon hopes to educate and entertain girls before they hit adolescence so they can "keep them strong" as they head into the emotionally volatile teen years. Teens are craving outlets for their voices, said 360 Degrees publisher Parker Stanzione. Her magazine of three months, entirely staffed and written (with two exceptions) by young people, grew out of the void for quality adolescent magazines. "We heard from people who started their own underground zines and newspapers because they felt their voices weren't being heard," she said.Such magazines as the Web-based Brillo, the San Francisco-based Bitch and the New York-based Bust target slightly older audiences but share the common thread of airing readers ideas. They offer critiques of popular culture and the complexities of being strong, independent women. "There is an explosion of do-it-yourself women's media," said Bitch editor/publisher Lisa Jervis. A recent issue of Bitch began with Jervis confronting her own racism: She apologized for forgetting to include magazines for women of color in her recent critique of commercial girl's magazines. Jervis also commented on the necessity for the "interrogation of their own skin privilege" by while feminists, adding that she aspires to make her 'zine something that "media-critical women of all color can pick up and see articles that speak to them, include them, and rail against the things that they hate too." This editorial is an example of the thought provoking commentary Bitch publishes on everything from Martha Stewart -- "Martha My Dear: Goddess, Desperate Spouse Seeker, or Feminist Role Model?" -- to "Wonderbooty: The Political Economy of Your Breasts." Eat your heart out, Cosmo. BustÊis a larger magazine that also encompasses the complexities of feminists in its pages. The current winter issue has a "mommy" theme, where women write about their mothers, about being a mother, and about never wanting to have kids if they were the last childless woman on the planet. A magazine that continually features motherhood is Hip Mama, a quarterly magazine published in the Oakland living room of single mom Ariel Gore. Working on an "organic" advocate level, Gore's aim is to empower the people who commonly are slandered by the press. "I hope that four times a year, people don't feel so alienated," she says. Featured regularly in Gore's magazine are articles on doll making or toddler bedtime lessons designed to help parents avoid depression and pull through rough times. She emphasizes that Hip Mama is an even mix of issues for parents and child-less people alike, though. Her publication is completely reader based, as the only other stable staff members are a "poetry editor in Seattle" and a neighbor.And while you probably won't see Hip Mama on a rack next to Elle and a box of Snickers, the further you venture from conventional magazines, the more intelligent, unconventional writing you'll find. SIDEBARHow to Contact These Magazines:Bitch3128 16th StreetSan Francisco, CA 94103415-864-6671Bust P.O. Box 319Ansonia StationNY NY 10023Hip MamaP.O. Box 9097Oakland, CA 94613510-658-4508e-mail hipmama@aol.comTeen Voices P.O. Box 116Boston, MA 02123-0116New Moon (800) 381-4743Blue Jean P.O. Box 90856Rochester, NY 14609Hues(313) 971-0023YO! Youth Outlookcontact Nell Bernstein, David Inocencio or Andrea Lewis Pacific News Service450 Mission, Suite 204 San Francisco, CA 94015 (415) 243-4364360 Degrees(202) 628-1836Reluctant Hero212-475-0403Brillohttp://www.virago-net.com/brillo/

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