.authored by something.of.substance.
Bitch, the title of the quarterly produced journal of “Feminist Response to Pop Culture”, is, of course, a double entendre. Obviously, the bold-face exclamative title refers to the most common reference for opinionated women that this publication may or may not be attempting to reclaim. But, the word “bitch” also references the rant that a so-called Bitch has to proclaim.
And, proclaim this magazine does. Acting mainly as a media watch-dog, Bitch columnists point out their opinions-good and bad- of everything from the death fetish episode of American’s Top Model (women do not need to be trussed up like beautiful corpses for fashion as it only promotes necrophilia and violence) to the value of alternative press such as Muslim Girl magazine (tackles issues of both secular and literalist Islam while promoting real discussions of faith and society for teenage girls) to the phoniness of keeping it “real” on Flavor of Love (the crux of the argument is that celeb-reality itself is not real and so the “real” they are seeking is more a statement of socioeconomic background than truthfulness).
But, the magazine does not rely on its columnists alone. Every month the magazine runs a different theme (such as The Smart Issue pictured above) and outside sources such as stay-at-home moms, graduate students, non-profit owners, website moderators, etc. send in thoroughly researched and well-written articles on some aspect of pop culture. What makes this magazine unique over other magazines aimed at my age audience (18-35) is that it has an opinion and it welcomes you to disagree with it. Rather than rehashing endless ways to make him orgasm harder or fifty things that can be done about your hairline with a sprinkle of mass-appeasement commentary, Bitch writers present their case and let you decide. After all, women DO have brains.
While I can’t do the quality of the writing in this non-glossy much justice here, suffice it to say that in every issue they publish pages of response letters from readers (bitches bitching about Bitch), a feminist-friendly book list, suggestions of movies and music to check out that don’t assume you are or want to be crying over anyone, and brief love it/shove it reviews of the week in pop culture. Hell, even the advertisements are feminist friendly.
Don’t think feminist response is for you? If you are a woman or know a woman then you could benefit from the intelligence of this publication. It doesn’t promote a certain brand of feminism and, oddly enough, rarely even mentions that pesky “F”(eminist) word. And, it doesn’t have to. It assumes you can read, think and decide for yourself. It never claims to be the ultimate authority on anything, unlike other for-women magazines that force-feed you your body image and relationships. However, one thing is for certain: this magazine is hip, smart, raw and not afraid to be wrong. If that’s a definition of a bitch, than I can’t wait to be one.
