magazine

Herizons Magazine (Winter 2011)

beth — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 08:00:00 +0000

When I first moved to Canada, Herizons was virtually the only magazine I came across that dealt with feminism and issues concerning women. My understanding of the women’s movement before that point was primarily focused on within the U.S., and it’s not exactly the same. The laws are different in Canada. Thus, they affect women in a different way and Herizons helped me understand that.

There are several things that non-Canadian readers might discover in this issue. To name a few: there are over 500 cases of missing Aboriginal women within the nation; the Ontario Court of Appeal now allows Muslim women who file sexual assault complaints to wear the niqab, if they choose to; Ottawa will hold a global women’s conference this summer; and a Quebec bill proposes that Muslim women be prohibited from receiving or delivering public services while wearing a niqab. These are issues that are addressed articulately in this issue through the contributing writers of Herizons.

The only problem is that these facts aren’t necessarily recent news, not for people living in Canada at least. These are topics that any Canadian resident might know if they follow the national news. Such is the trouble with distributing a quarterly magazine. By the time it’s out on print, the topics feel very backdated. Issues such as Muslim women in Canada having certain rights while wearing the niqab have been out since last year and as someone who regularly follows women’s news in the country, I was already well-read on the various opinions and attitudes that come with it.

However, there were some parts of Herizons' winter issue that educated me. Did you know that a young woman in her twenties recently started the first women’s magazine in Afghanistan? I certainly didn’t. Not until now. It’s called Negah-e-Zan, meaning "A Vision of Women," and is committed to women’s empowerment. There’s also a great, lengthy Q & A piece with Kate Bornstein, author of Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us, and performance artist S. Bear Bergman. Bornstein and Bergman have put together an “anthology of new transgender voices” called Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation. In the interview by Mandy Van Deven, they discuss the obliteration of the gender binary and what feminism can learn from trans politics.

Herizons is undoubtedly packed with great content about feminist views. But I would say that this issue works better on the international scale. It would probably be more interesting to a non-Canadian who is interested in learning more about how the women’s movement is perceived and enacted in another country.

Written by: Fadi Gabir, April 24th 2011

Granta 112: Pakistan

gwen — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Edited by John Freeman

Sigrid Rausing

I was not looking forward to the new issue of Granta on Pakistan. I worried about opening it and finding it looked like some compendium of war reportage. But what I saw when I opened the envelope made me laugh, and it has been a long time since anything about my home country has done that.

The cover of this issue looks like one of the trucks that careen around Pakistan’s roads like some madman’s joke. They are always overloaded, belching black smoke, and as you make your way past, hoping that today will not be the day one falls on you, you catch a glimpse of Pakistan—a flower or a mountain or a building or a leaf—and that image stays with you.

The madman, it turns out, is Islam Gull and, by giving him the cover, Granta invites us all to take this overbalanced, barely road-safe vehicle and try to navigate Pakistan through it. The journey the magazine takes you on may not be as wild as a journey on a Pakistani truck, but it does try to be as kaleidoscopic.

The impressive list of writers doesn’t shy away from the many low points in Pakistan’s history and politics: Zia ul-Haq, the military dictator who Islamicised Pakistan; Benazir Bhutto and the failure of democracy to bring change; the endless war in Kashmir; Faisal Shahzad, the most famous Pakistani-American according to the New York Times; the rise of the Taliban; and even the beheading of Daniel Pearl, fictionalised by Mohsin Hamid. Division and nuance run through the magazine. Hamid voices this in “A Beheading” in a raw cry of: “Who the fuck are these people?” Meanwhile, Declan Walsh shows the fluid alliances in Northwest Pakistan and Basharat Peer speaks to young Kashmiris caught in a power struggle between India and Pakistan and feeling allegiance for neither.

Some of the most lasting images for me were in the love stories; it seems I can only find hope for Pakistan in fiction these days. There are five love stories in the collection and two bookend the magazine: “Leila in the Wilderness” by Nadeem Aslam and “The Sins of the Mother” by Jamil Ahmad. These two could be the beginning and end of the same story: the first is about a woman freed from her brutal husband by her childhood love; and the second ends with a woman killed by her lover to protect her from a worse fate, leaving behind their little son to pay for her sins.

The love stories have as much violence in them as the war reporting. Men use guns, rape, and brutal attempts to control and contain women to protect their honor. Yet in the face of this, there is also a sense of hope—against all odds.

In Pakistan, men cannot sin; women bear the brunt of men’s and even the country’s honor and only they can betray it. The love stories and indeed—as they are woven throughout—the magazine as a whole tease out this issue of honor and humanity. The art in the magazine, introduced with bittersweet resignation by Hari Kunzru, also beautifully testifies to the endurance of this humanity, despite the geopolitical forces that buffet it.

And so this is the image Granta leaves you with: the image of a multitude, divided on itself, yet comprised of individuals who each love this country that betrays them and fails them and yet also somehow contains them all. And while you may not be able to understand why they love it, in the end, you cannot deny that they do.

Written by: Khadijah Fancy, October 18th 2010

make/shift: feminisms in motion (Issue 7)

admin — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Edited by Jessica Hoffmann, Daria Yudacufski

make/shift is a satisfying thing. Describing itself as "feminisms in motion," it is a much-needed breath of fresh air for both our minds and our movement. Deep, political roots give way to a body of thought-provoking content and are topped with flexible branches of ideas, encouraging discourse and change. The magazine itself has full-color front and back covers. The entire inside is in black and white. It's heavy on text, and I like it that way. The layout is easy to read; no "continued on page seven" nonsense here. Pictures are scant, but clear and artful. There are advertisements, and as expected for a feminist magazine, they're not of the demeaning garden-variety like the ones we see in other magazines.

make/shift boasts quality content; empowering, thought-provoking, and provocative. I saw boatloads of grassroots activism and resources, along with essays, interviews, news stories, poetry, and reviews. The advice column is answered by Nomy Lamm, which is pretty sweet. Reading this magazine brought up a lot of thoughts and feelings I haven't experienced in years. I felt both educated and encouraged, as if they were saying, "You're capable of making a difference. Then, tell us about what you did!"

Most magazines make me feel like I need to change my body and my life in order to be happier and more accepted. Instead of stress and insecurity, I welcomed the empowerment. "Why Misogynists Make Great Informants" definitely struck a chord in me. It made me recall my earliest days of activism, the people I met and the situations I encountered. I was disappointed to experience sexism and homophobia in activist groups. After fervently waiting for so long to move away and meet "my own kind," such experiences made me feel as if nothing on Earth was definitive.

Nomy Lamm's advice to an assault survivor's question both educated and moved me. I was very happy to see a column about self-publishing poetry, and plan to send my writing to a few of the DIY publishers listed. (Cross your fingers for me, yes?) In a nutshell, every article made me see things a little differently or taught me something new. All magazines should aspire to have high-quality content like make/shift.

Written by: Jacquie Piasta, August 22nd 2010

Aquila

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Edited by Jelte ten Holt

For those familiar with women’s “lifestyle” magazines, the call to be “sexy” in some way or another is not new. We women need to have “sexy” everything: attitude, legs, skin, armpits, you name it. So pervasive is this message that I’m surprised that no one has spontaneously combusted from sexual arousal at the sight of a women’s magazine devotee. And then we have the new Aquila magazine, whose key buzzwords are modesty and fabulousness.

As the “world’s first English fashion and lifestyle magazine for cosmopolitan Muslim women in Asia” that is based in Singapore, Aquila serves up the standard menu of any glossy: tips on make-up, shopping, book and film reviews, and some lightweight advice on career-building.

Aimed at readers from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, modesty and fabulousness are far from alien concepts: Muslim women of all ages, hijabis in particular, in Southeast Asia are intensely responsive to new faith-based sartorial trends, perhaps more so than women who do not cover their hair.

That said, Islamic consumerism, as cynical as it sounds, is a fairly new phenomenon in which women in the region form an active role. Aquila is an obvious byproduct of the purchasing power of Muslim women in Southeast Asia, but whether or not it aims to be representative of its target audience is quite another matter. So let us explore this issue by breaking it down to three parts, based on how well it’s doing for its intended readers thus far:

The good: The one thing I can generously say about Aquila is that there seems to be an intention that it offers something for everybody: from articles on face creams to an as yet developed page on “science,” which I hope will be a more informative take on scientific breakthroughs, instead of the science of eye creams and hair serum.

The bad: The beating heart of any self-respecting popular publication is the opinion piece. Often brief and pseudo-philosophical, the op-ed is, for me, what makes fashion magazines human and less banal. But that was what I thought before I came across the first opinion piece on Aquila. Entitled “Leap of Faith,” it reveals the thoughts of a Muslim man whose moral dilemma about his daughter dating a non-Muslim seems to completely eclipse his social drinking habits, at his favorite drinking hole no less! The piece ended on a cryptic note that suggested a sense hypocrisy that plagues the urban, middle-class and the selectively liberal Muslim communities in Southeast Asia, but lacked any insight or depth in what is a serious issue that very much concerns the intended reader.

The could-be-better: Though brand-spanking-new with the impressive accolade of being a kind of landmark magazine for Southeast Asian Muslim women, Aquila looks more like a half-built project with little pizazz. The graphics leave plenty to be desired, but then that wouldn’t be such an issue if it had more substantial content. I get the feeling that Aquila isn’t really targeted at parents, as it lists “kids” as a “lifestyle” issue that sits at the bottom of the drop down list. But I shouldn’t really be asking for the moon here, as most fashion and beauty magazines rarely figure parenthood as a particularly “trendy” subject.

In sum, Aquila is far from divinely inspired. It is a bland derivative of many beaten dead horses called women’s fashion magazines, except with less exposed flesh. It reminds me why I’ve stopped reading such things for good. I’m also not entirely convinced that it is trying hard to be representative of the young, upwardly mobile Muslim women who are taking Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia by storm. If the magazine’s not so modest vision of being “the world’s most trusted authority on the intelligence of affluent Muslims” is anything to go by, I would suggest Asian Muslim women to read elsewhere for fabulous inspiration.

Written by: Alicia Izharuddin, June 2nd 2010

American Girl Magazine (May/June 2010)

admin — Sat, 22 May 2010 08:00:00 +0000

American Girl Magazine

American Girl Publishing

I recently reviewed New Moon Girls Magazine and was particularly impressed with the way it provides interesting and encouraging content to young girls without succumbing to the harmful media trends that can potentially harm their self-esteem. American Girl Magazine is another publication that appeals to girls without excessively highlighting gender stereotypes. You won’t find articles here on how to win a boy’s affection or properly apply makeup. Rather, American Girl focuses on a combination of real world issues, like relationships with friends and family, and fun features like recipes, craft ideas, and quizzes. This particular issue offers the following sections:

Together Time—suggestions for activities to do with parents
Rooms for You—how to jazz up your room to fit your personality, be it earthy, artistic or sporty
Frosted Friends—recipes for baking and decorating cupcakes, complete with cupcake stickers
Which Friend Are You? And: Save or Spend? Quizzes
Small Stuff—tips for decorating your doll’s room
Puzzle Palooza
Puppy posters

The magazine also publishes quite a bit of content from its young readers. This issue alone features drawings, letters, recipes, and more from over fifty girls. In my opinion, this gives readers the feeling that they have a role in the creation of the magazine and that the things they mail in have a good shot at being included.

While some feminists might bristle at the “girly” aspects of the magazine such as the encouragement to bake, decorate rooms and hang up pictures of puppies, I do not believe that this undermines the positive potential of the magazine. Some young girls are just plain girly, and there’s nothing wrong with that so long as it’s by choice. American Girl does, however, forgo an unnatural focus on appearance, weight, or popularity. In this way, the magazine provides an excellent alternative to other publications that push agendas that are toxic to a young girl’s development.

Written by: April D. Boland, May 22nd 2010

New Moon Girls (The Beauty Issue)

admin — Sat, 01 May 2010 12:00:00 +0000

New Moon Girls

If you’re a parent or a person who interacts with and cares about children, you might have noticed some worrisome trends, especially among girls. I have seen girls as young as seven show concerns over “getting fat” or being unpopular. Bullying, body image conflict, and other issues seem to be plaguing young women earlier and earlier.

Most women who call themselves feminists would agree that enriching the younger generation is crucial. The statistics on young girls today are disturbing: according to the National Institute on Media and the Family, forty percent of girls between nine and ten surveyed had tried to lose weight. The NIMF also published study results that stated the following: “One in every three articles in leading teen girl magazines also included a focus on appearance, and most of the advertisements (fifty percent) used an appeal to beauty to sell their products.” This is getting serious, folks. We cannot continue to feed our daughters this kind of messaging and then wonder why rates for eating disorders and low self-esteem are so high. That said, I think it can sometimes be hard to give these girls positive messages that are digestible and make sense at their level. Who wants to listen to boring old parents anyway?

Thankfully there are forms of media to help. If your daughter, sister, or friend is drawn to magazines, hide their latest issue of Teen Beat and replace it with New Moon Girls. The magazine has so many fun sections that she will hardly miss it. New Moon puts a spin on traditional magazine sections to make them even more relevant for girls. Instead of a Letter from the Editor being written by an adult, girls who helped work on the magazine write it. The advice column provides advice from—you guessed it—girls. The entire magazine focuses not only on giving girl readers good content but also in making sure that it is credible and relevant by getting it from the very girls New Moon targets. Simply put, this magazine is genius.

The Beauty Issue (May-June 2010) is full of positive messaging and reinforcement, something girls today often lack from the media. The issue contains features on beauty including how to boost your body confidence, your favorite body part, and a piece on inner beauty, as well as short fiction. The idea of beauty is tackled from every possible angle, giving girls an opportunity to discover what they like most about themselves rather than showing them yet another picture of female celebrities and models.

I am encouraged and thrilled about magazines like New Moon Girls and my hope is that they will continue to compete with more mainstream magazines for the attention of young girls. (Hint: They can’t do so without our support!) This magazine is for anyone who wants a girl in his or her life to know just how special she is.

Written by: April D. Boland, May 1st 2010

Briarpatch Magazine (Jan/Feb 2010)

admin — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Edited by Dave Mitchell

Turning through the pages of Briarpatch Magazine, I was offered a glimpse into Canada's progressive social movements. Reading the Responsibility to Protest issue, which is also available online, gave me a crash course in several progressive ideologies I wasn't familiar with, and I was able to explore some familiar issues that are close to my heart as well.

Briarpatch covers a lot of ground. The headline story, "Mass Protests & The Future of Convergence Activism" by Jane Kirby, gave me a crash course in what's happening on the streets of social activism while "From Invisibility to Stability: Transgender Organizing for the Masses" by Mandy Van Deven introduced me to the interplay between transgender issues and poverty. I work for a nonprofit that addresses the global water crisis, so "Water Fight: First Nations' Water Rights in the Thompson Okanagan" by Hannah Askew provided me with fresh insight into Canada's own water struggles.

Especially illuminating were the pages devoted to suggestions of how better to spend the $6.1 billion price tag of the recent Vancouver Olympic Games. "Boosters' Millions" by Dawn Paley and Isaac Oommen, offered solutions in education, transportation, and housing that could take British Columbia well beyond the entertainment value of the two-week games if the Canadian government would spend the public money on more sustainable initiatives. "Selling the Olympics in the Schools: Government & Anti-Olympics Groups Take Their Messages to the Classroom" by Jenn Hardy offered timely and relevant insight into another side of the Olympic Games. Needless to say, I got a lot out of this issue.

My favorite article, though, was about my favorite social issue: feminism. I could readily relate to "When We Were Feminists" because, as someone just entering her thirties, I often observe my own feminist ideas fading, changing, and even burning brighter as I move through different phases of my life. Author Penelope Hutchison looks back at her progression from a founding member of the Radical Obnoxious Fucking Feminists (ROFF) in her undergraduate days to a forty-something professional who recently reunited with ROFF's other members. Hutchison reveals that the once radical change-makers have mostly tucked their feminist ideologies away to pursue careers, relationships, and families.

The article made me question my belief that if I support the feminist issues I care about, and if I work hard to allow my feminism to be exemplified in my actions, then I will always be a feminist no matter what work I'm doing or what lifestyle I'm leading. It's difficult for me, at thirty-one years old, to imagine dampening my desire to improve the lives of women because I've recently gotten married or plan to have kids within the next couple of years. In ten years, I don't want to look back and wonder where my former feminist self has gone. I hope my role as a feminist activist can co-exist with my roles as nonprofit professional, wife, M.B.A., and mother.

_Briarpatch Magazine__ _did exactly what I was hoping it would. It gave me fresh perspective on issues I'm already familiar with, and it introduced me to new lines of thought and new ways to apply my social activism.

Written by: Meg Rayford, April 16th 2010

Herizons Magazine (Fall 2009)

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:01:00 +0000

Edited by Penni Mitchell

I had never heard of the Canadian feminist news magazine Herizons before receiving my copy of the Fall 2009 issue in the mail. In fact, I often avoid globally-oriented, North American feminist articles, because they too often read like a contemporary version of the white man’s burden (“Oh dear, look at the how the brown barbarians treat their women”). While Herizons didn’t completely escape this snare, on the whole it was a refreshing surprise.

The most striking feature of the publication is its emphasis on women’s power to create change in local struggles. The opening letter from the editor, introducing the issue’s theme, is entitled “The Unstoppable Women of Asia.” In glowing prose, editor Penni Mitchell describes the determination and savvy of the women behind each of the political struggles covered in the issue (including the Nepali fight for “substantive equality” to be written into the new constitution, as well as Afghan women’s protests against the patriarchal Shia Personal Status Law). This is a welcome departure from so many Western portrayals of developing countries—rather than emphasizing the repression of brown women by “uncivilized” brown men, and the oh-so-noble efforts (by Westerners, of course) to “save” those women, Herizons puts the focus on the women themselves, and in particular, their dynamic acts of resistance and their creative visions for change.

The one article that misses the mark in this regard is “Making a Statement: Gender Roles in India Slowly Changing,” which unfortunately takes the all-too-familiar stance that Westernization automatically improves the status of women. (Really, Kaj Hasselriis, does the fact that you saw a young girl in “an unusual outfit—jeans and a t-shirt” indicate that sexism in India is on its last legs?) However, thankfully, Herizons does acknowledge that sexism is also a continuing reality “at home”—in addition to the international coverage, the issue also places a focus on Canadian feminist issues, including the fight for Canadian custody laws that acknowledge the impact of domestic violence. Another “local” feature article profiles Canadian Aboriginal theater director and playwright Yvette Nolan.

On the whole, the magazine takes an optimistic, visionary tone. In fact, at times I felt that the magazine was almost too upbeat, and ran the risk of idealizing some of the activists profiled within its pages. However, the parting shot (a one-page piece by Lyn Cockburn entitled “Fall of Patriarchy Imminent”) restored the balance. In a cheery satirical tone, Cockburn reminds us that the struggle is far from over: “Given the wild success of both post-feminism and post-racism, it is no wonder that I...await post-patriarchy with barely restrained enthusiasm.” As those of us involved in activism know all too well, it’s often difficult to strike a balance between clearly naming oppression and celebrating our progress toward ending it. Herizons walks this line skillfully, emphasizing the dignity of struggle without sugarcoating the context.

While the overall quality of reportage is high, not every article makes the grade—such as Susan G. Cole’s poorly written, barely relevant column entitled “Michael Jackson’s Swan Song.” On the other hand, the feature article “Is Feminism Men’s Work, Too?” is a gem—a great short introduction to doing political work from a place of (relative) privilege. Finally, the issue closes with a multitude of engaging, well-written, and useful book and music reviews.

I’ll be picking up future Herizons issues to find out about women’s current political struggles and successes both in Canada and worldwide—and I’ll look forward to enjoying some quirky, heartening editorializing along the way.

Written by: Ri J. Turner, February 8th 2010

make/shift: feminisms in motion (Issue 6)

admin — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:34:00 +0000

Edited by Jessica Hoffmann, Daria Yudacufski

Make/Shift aims to thrust the ignored populations into the greater recognition. Native Americans living in urban settings rather than rural reservations tend to be invisible in our nation’s consciousness. Society shies away from the combination of disability and sexuality, and when it comes to women’s prisons, many question the validity of empowerment through peer education health programs. The Fall/Winter edition of Make/Shift explores these and a wide variety of other social issues. It highlights individuals working to improve the world on personal, local, international, and virtual levels through social action or artistic ventures.

A letter from the editors tells readers that the theme of the issue is movement, but some of the articles that follow move more efficiently than others. A few of the more personal pieces struck this reader at a trifle tedious. A piece about losing one’s ethnic identity by using a certain hair product makes about as much sense to me as the belief that using spray-on tanner would force me to concede my Whiteness. An article entitled “Vocabulary Lesson” questions the queer world’s borrowing of the word wife from mainstream society when that word has many negative historical connotations attached to it, but the execution came off condescending, and seemed to push for the continued separation of the two groups.

Many stories move quite fluidly, however. A tale about a formerly battered woman’s journey into professorship hits the mark, as does a story about a Haitian lesbian’s encounter with a skinhead on a train. A collage piece on kitchens examines how this politically charged space changes depending on the occupants and attitudes. A series of segments on health focus on specific issues concerning women’s health, such as environmental hazards connected with work traditionally performed by females.

Another focuses on the push to provide health care for transpeople. As a health care provider featured in the article puts it, “If someone has a cervix, they need gynecological care,” yet many trans people harbor fears of discrimination and simply discomfort with entering a clinic. A piece on immigration explores how the nation’s policies affect those in the queer community.

The magazine doesn’t focus long on any one issue or demographic. Make/Shift strives to reach out to all who identify as female, no matter what their origin or back story, and there is a tidbit for everyone—hopefully more, if you’re willing to learn something.

The design would benefit from more art and photographs to further connect readers to the subjects of the articles. This shouldn’t be difficult, considering that this is a magazine that celebrates artists. I don’t know if the lack of image distribution is a reflection of the magazine’s relative newness, a lack of resources, or failure to see the need, but either way, the need is evident.

Written by: Kelly Palka Gallagher, December 2nd 2009

Briarpatch Magazine: The Gender & Sexuality Issue (March/April 2009)

admin — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:41:00 +0000

Edited by Dave Mitchell

At first glance, Canada's Briarpatch Magazine reminded me of American feminist magazine Bitch; the content is similar, the overall message is similar, and, hell, even the font in the logo seems similar. What I love about Bitch is that although it’s an American magazine, it covers issues from all over the world, so I can keep up on feminist issues all over just by checking in one place. Briarpatch does not cover such a distance, as it seems to be primarily a Canadian-focused magazine; however, I still learned a lot about some of Canada’s different subcultures.

This issue was billed as “the gender and sexuality issue,” so the topics covered were about polyamory, sex working and transsexual issues. First, I learned about Canada’s health care system in relation to transsexuals undergoing or wanting to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Unlike the United States, Canada has a government-funded health care system. It is apparently extremely difficult to get coverage for something such as this type of surgery. This was an interesting, in depth look at one man’s personal journey through this ordeal. It was inspiring, yet also sad with the hoops he had to jump through in order to become the gender he felt comfortable with.

Briarpatch also educated me about sex workers in Canada through an interview with Kara Gillies, co-founder of both the Canadian Guild for Erotic Labour and the former Toronto Migrant Sex Workers Advocacy Group. Gillies also does work for Maggie’s, an organization run by sex workers. Maggie’s includes all aspects of sex work in their attempts to advocate for these workers’ rights, such as individuals involved in pornography, phone sex workers, and dominatrixes, to name a few. It is Gillies' work with Maggie’s that is the primary focus of the article.

The most interesting thing I learned from this was that in Canada, the act of prostitution itself is actually not illegal and never was. What is illegal is negotiating for services in a public place or even somewhere that’s open to public viewing such as parked or moving cars or bars. So it’s fine to go and do the deed elsewhere but not to discuss anything such as protection, payment, or even specific services beforehand if it’s in a public area. But you also can’t technically go anywhere because your work site, if used for this purpose, could be classified as a ‘bawdy house’ and under the bawdy house law, that’s illegal too. In addition, if you participate in someone else’s activities, it falls under the procurement law. This means that you can’t do such things as advertise someone else’s services or even offer to protect them personally. But, again, the actual act of prostitution is totally legal!

This, too, was an inspiring although frustrating piece because while some of the facts were new to me, unfortunately, the overall story and public perception seems to be the same all over. On the whole, I enjoyed getting an in-depth look on another country’s struggles with the same issues as are faced in the United States, and Briarpatch was a very enjoyable read.

Written by: Jen Klee, September 6th 2009

Permaculture Magazine (No. 60 Summer 2009)

admin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:52:00 +0000

Edited by Maddy Harland

Permaculture Magazine seemed like an interesting concept that you don’t hear about in too much detail. I hate the ‘Go Green!’ trend and was interested in learning actual tips on sustainable living. On this front, the magazine was definitely able to deliver.

In this issue, I learned (theoretically) how to build an outdoor wood fire oven, how to care for chickens, tips for inexpensive and green day trips out with the family, and DIY recipes for beauty products, among other things. In addition to teaching, Permaculture Magazine also had stories from real people trying to minimize their carbon footprint by moving to sustainable farms, working on allotment gardens, and renovating old houses into more environmentally friendly ones.

This was all very interesting and inspiring. After reading this issue, I wanted to move out of my city, get a farm, build a wood oven so I can try the delicious looking pizza recipe, and live in a cute, renovated house in the countryside. However, after thinking about this for a minute, I realized that while these are all really neat ideas, they aren’t exactly practical for me, nor, I suspect, are they for a good majority of the population.

Permaculture is printed in the United Kingdom, and maybe they have more countryside and resources available there, but even though I’m from a more rural part of the United States originally, I don’t feel I could implement many of the ideas covered here. Many of the ideas require lots of land, resources, time, hard work, and research. Most of them require a hefty dose of capital to start up, even though they should save you money in the long run.

In the end, the only real things I could do after reading this magazine was to make the beauty products and take some advice from the green day trip outings section. The plus side is that all the beauty recipes are vegan. I did enjoy this issue; however, it seems to only cater to a very small, elite group so unfortunately it’s not for everyone.

Written by: Jen Klee, September 3rd 2009

New York Times 'Half The Sky' Issue

admin — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:42:00 +0000

Edited by Nicholas Kristof

New York Times

In July, I wrote a post about Nicholas D. Kristof's announcing a "special issue" of the New York Times Sunday Magazine that would cover women in the developing world. Well, that issue is now available online, and will be arriving to the doorsteps of NYT subscribers in a few days. While this issue would have felt more authentic had the Times solicited pieces written by women from the Majority World, there is still much to be gleaned from this weekend's glossy.

As I anticipated it would be, the artwork is fantastic. In "A Powerful Truth," a five-minute audio slideshow, Kristof briefly tells the stories of six women--Saima Muhammad, Goretti Nyabenda, Claudine Mukakarisa, Edna Adan, and Abbas Be--while Katy Grannan's photos supplement the words by geographically gliding one homeland to the next: Pakistan, Burundi, Rwanda, Somaliland, and India. Saima's and Abbas' stories are further detailed in "The Women’s Crusade," which explores the myriad challenges women face around the globe; examines the positive role microfinance, foreign aid, US policy, and NGOs play on bettering women's individual conditions; and positions women's collective empowerment squarely at the center of solving global ills--including human rights violations, poverty, war, heath crises, and modern day slavery.

Another feature piece is "A New Gender Agenda," in which Mark Landler interviews Hillary Clinton on which foreign policy issues will be prioritized in the Obama administration. While some of the questions Landler asks are bold, and he should be applauded for having asked them, Clinton consistently sidesteps, leaving much to be desired. "A School Bus for Shamsia"is a feel-good piece with many moments that don't feel so great. At its core, it's about the progress of girls' education in Afghanistan, and one journalist's accidental transformation into an activist. Despite acid attacks and other forms of intimidation, the girls who attend Mirwais Mena School in Kandahar are determined to complete their studies--even if it results in their death.

On the topic of girls' death, "The Daughter Deficit" outlines the cultural factors behind daughter deaths and sex-selective abortions in India and China--an ironical twist to how increasing development can backfire if not coupled with an increase in women's status. Some of you may remember Ellen Johnson Sirleaf from her appearance on The Daily Show a few months ago. In "Madame President", Deborah Solomon speaks to the only female head of state in Africa in what, ultimately and unfortunately, is a lackluster interview.

"The Feminist Hawks" is one of the more interesting articles here, as it deconstructs the use of feminist rhetoric ("women's empowerment") as it is applied by conservative "hawks" (or those who gun for military intervention), particularly with respect to the post-9/11 paternalistic focus on Muslim women's rights (a la "to hijab or not hijab"). Writer Virginia Heffernan further complicates this discussion by considering the effect the Internet has on disseminating and manipulating the message.

In addition to the content, this issue has two "Half the Sky" contests for artists and activists: 1) photographers can submit pictures that exemplify the theme of women and girls' empowerment and 2) those with personal stories regarding work done to empower women and girls (in the US and abroad) can post a comment on the contest's page. Winners chosen will receive a signed copy of Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's newly published book called, as you might have guessed, Half the Sky.

Perhaps the most important parts of this issue are the "Do-It-Yourself Foreign Aid" and "Organizations Supporting Women in Developing Countries" pieces, accompanied by Lisa Belkin's explanation of gendered giving in "The Power of the Purse." Audre Lorde wrote, "The essence of a truly global feminism is the recognition of connection." The struggles of women around the globe are the struggles of women everywhere; as women in the Western world and women of means in the Global South, we must find a way to wield the privilege we possess in order to dismantle systems of oppression which keep other women's needs from being met. Problems are not monolithic, and neither are solutions. The only thing that is not an option is failing to act.

Cross-posted to Bitch Magazine's On the Map blog

Written by: Mandy Van Deven, August 20th 2009

make/shift: feminisms in motion (Issue 5)

admin — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:04:00 +0000

Edited by Daria Yudacufski, Jessica Hoffmann

I am a magazine junkie, so much so that I look forward to spending time in airport terminals, subway cars, and doctor’s offices just to feed my addiction. My drugs of choice—US Weekly, Elle Décor, and Gourmet—don’t exactly resonate with my daily experience as a feminist, vegetarian writing a philosophy-heavy dissertation about performance art in a cramped Brooklyn apartment. Perhaps it’s this disconnect that I find appealing, as I escape into the worlds of Jon & Kate Plus 8, this season’s must have lawn accessories, and sausage on the grill. Reading make/shift represented an entirely different—if equally seductive—journey, one in which my activist and intellectual life was reflected on the page.

The magazine, published biannually in March and September, is more an academic journal than Bust or Venus but just as clever and far more relevant (to me, at least). make/shift both reports on and seeks to generate culture and action by fostering an expansive feminist dialogue. It features events (El Mundo Zurdo: Gloria Anzaldúa Conference), performers (Good Asian Drivers), and stories (sexual violence within activist scenes; celebrating the other F word—fat; and queer labor politics) that might be deemed uncool or unmarketable in another feminist publication.

Instead of hawking DIY cutesy crap and indie fashion make/shift features a regular column by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore (author and editor of Nobody Passes and That’s Revolting) and punk rock activist Nomy Lamm as a Dear Abby. I especially enjoyed the “Letter from the Editors,” in which Daria Yudacufski and Jessica Hoffmann critique the economic growth model of publishing success and articulate alternate forms of sustainability for make/shift. Rather than “building up” the magazine (increasing print run or online presence), the editors are “building out”—reaching across divergent communities to create a heterogeneous dialogue and vision of feminism.

Photo credit: My Ecdysis

Written by: Jeanne Vaccaro, August 11th 2009

Ex Nihilo Magazine

admin — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:08:00 +0000

Edited by Saptarshi Chakraborty, Sayantani Dasgupta

Ex Nihilo Magazine is an online magazine that was started in December 2006 as a bilingual online publication in English and Bengali for college students. Under the initial chief editorship of Sourya Deb, the small online magazine ran its first issue in January 2007 regrouping and resurfacing the following year. This online publication serves the student population of South Asia and the diaspora with its main focus on art, poetry, photography, and short stories. Under the current artistic leadership of Saptarshi Chakraborty (editor of photography), Sayantani Dasgupta (editor of art), and Debarshi Banerjee (‘Web Wizard’), Ex Nihilo Magazine ('ex nihilo' means ‘rising from nothing’) is now going strong on a monthly basis.

One of the standout features is an interview of Marcus Rediker, who published the book The Slave Ship: A Human History in September 2007. The title provides a somewhat safe mislead on content, a darkly humorous abolitionist’s take on a shark’s perspective on why the slave trade should continue. This special feature of Rediker’s book makes the reader aware of the communal the effort to end slavery, as opposed to the long held notion that one man was responsible for bringing it to an end. Rediker also communicates the other long held notion that abolitionists were saintly people with the desire to do what was right and just.

Another feature includes the photography of Jasmeen Prather, who convinced six heterosexual men, in Leicester, UK, to pose for photographs in womens’s clothing. The age ranges of these men were from seventeen to twenty-one and include one fifty-year-old as well. What may be more interesting than the fact that they agreed to this project is the possibility of the work being a topic for discussion of generational views on sexuality and levels of comfort.

Provided that Ex Nihilo Magazine is still somewhat in its infancy, as far as consistency and content are concerned, the modes of artistic expression found in this publication are vast and original. It is refreshing to see the varied artistic expressions of those who may or may not exist alongside us, but whose culture is different enough to provide a varied, unique perspective that allows us to widen ours. The aesthetics of this online publication seem to still be finding an identity, but the uniqueness of the content is far from that search. Hopefully, its readers will continue to grow and contribute to this content.

Written by: Olupero R. Aiyenimelo, June 14th 2009

Doppelgänger Alert!

admin — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:46:00 +0000

Interview with Missy Magazine

Coming onto the hipster scene in Germany just one year ago, Missy Magazine looks at pop culture, fashion, art, sex, and music through a feminist lens. Missy is being called the "little sister" of Emma, the country's leading feminist magazine known for its serious journalism (think Ms.), but Missy doesn't need anyone to watch over her; she's standing on her own two feet, out of the shadow of her so-called older sibling.

After a rapid sell out of its initial 15,000 print run and winning €25,000 from the Hobnox Evolution competition, editors Sonja Eismann, Stefanie Lohaus, and Chris Köves upped the ante on their ambitious plans for this newly emerging girlie mag. I had the exciting honor of conducting their first-ever interview with an American publication, so this, my friends, is an exclusive!

Tell me a little about Missy's editorial trio. How did you all meet?

Chris: Steffi and I met in a Applied Cultural Sciences Program at the University of Lüneburg, a small town in the north of Germany close to Hamburg, and have been really good friends for a few years now. Sonja and I met a few years back at a Ladyfest here in Hamburg. She was working as an editor for INTRO (one of the biggest German pop culture magazines) at the time and did a workshop on the representation of women in pop journalism. I was researching for my Master’s thesis and held a workshop on gender roles in TV series. So the organizers stuck us together. After that we stayed in touch. Actually, the community of people in Germany and Austria working at the intersection of feminism and pop culture is pretty small. So if you do research in that area you are destined to meet again and again.

How did the idea for Missy come about?

Chris: Sonja and I had been reading BUST for years and had been talking for a while about how great it would be to have something similar to it in Germany, but it was mostly just talk. We thought since there was no way to finance a magazine that there was no way we could pull it off. Then New Years of 2008 I gave Steffi some copies of BUST I had lying around. She basically freaked out and instantly convinced me that we had to do something similar in Germany. So we called up Sonja and a month later we had founded a publishing company.

It was kind of a crazy idea because we all had other full-time jobs at the time, but we knew that if we didn't do this instantly, we'd be too discouraged by the risks later. So we just did it. The plan was to keep our jobs and have Missy as a very time consuming hobby on the side. A month later, however, we won €25,000 in the Hobnox Evolution competition, kind of by accident. The money had to be spent within a year, so things started speeding up a lot.

__How did it feel to learn you won enough money to bankroll your first issue?

Sonja: We like to joke that it was like being at the Oscars and hearing that you just won that stupid little golden statue. We were all already quite drunk with excitement anyway, but when our names were called out and we had to enter the stage and do an acceptance speech, we were simply overwhelmed. The feeling was the exhilaration of winning, of course, but there was also knowing that other people shared our dream of a feminist magazine--and deemed it a necessity, just like we did.

How is Missy different from other German magazines?

Sonja: I think it is safe to say that we are the only German language publication that offers articles on pop culture from a decidedly feminist perspective. On a broader scale there are smaller publications—like Fiber in Austria—that are also very enthusiastic on the topic, but operate on a much smaller scale, more like fanzines. We offer a feminist, woman-centric view on pop culture that puts women—who are too often marginalized in similar, boy-driven magazines—up front and center. I think what people like about us is that we are quite "hip" or "trendy" (a.k.a. "in the know" regarding cool, subversive pop culture and theory) without being apolitical, and always tongue-in-cheek.

How long did it take you to put together the first issue?

Sonja: It took a pretty long time, almost a year. The process was made even more complicated by the fact that we did and do not live in the same city (Chris and Steffi in Hamburg and myself between Zurich and Vienna, sometimes Berlin). We talked a lot via Skype, tried to meet in person whenever that was possible and just brainstormed. I think we all had a pretty clear vision of what the magazine should be like, thanks to our avid reading of American magazines like Bitch and VenusZine. And since we had all been working in journalism and alternative culture before, we had pretty good networks of people who we could ask to contribute. That's not to say it wasn't hard and that there weren't quite a few points where we had different opinions—but even if it is not easy, it is always fruitful to discuss these points and find a suitable solution together.

Most US magazines have to become more established before talking to film stars. How did you get such great interviews and articles from the jump?

Sonja: Well, thank you for this wonderful compliment! Fortunately, we had quite a bit of experience under our belts and a very good feminist network. And when you have been dreaming of publishing your own feminist pop culture magazine for so many years (as was definitely the case with me), the ideas just come pouring out. There is so much you want to see realized that you can hardly wait.

Where is Missy sold?

Chris: Missy is sold at all airports and train stations in Germany, Autria, and Switzerland. In the bigger cities (Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Vienna) it is also at regular newsstands. We also offer subscriptions and have about 1,500 subscribers by now, which is still rapidly growing. Most subscribers are in Germany and Austria, of course, but there are also a few overseas—from the US to Japan to Australia.

Were you surprised the first issue sold out so quickly?

Chris: Yes! Surprised and thrilled. Of course we had hoped there would be a market for this kind of thing in Germany while we were working on the first issue, but to see that confirmed was still really great.

What kind of feedback have you received so far?

Chris: It totally depends on the perspective of the reader: Everything from "You guys are so great. I have been longing for the longest time for something like this. Thank you, you make my day." to "You are a lesbian magazine and we want nothing to do with you." The latter mostly came from old men in advertising, who were offended by our non-heteronormative ways. But hey, you can't please everybody, right? (laughs)

A lot of people, especially other younger women, have critiqued us for "not being political" or not going far enough. In Germany the perception of feminism is mostly connected to Emma. So when we came out with claims of being a new feminist magazine a lot of people had hoped we'd be "the new voice of young feminists today.” When they realized we were a pop culture magazine and not the spokespeople for the new feminist agenda of our generation, they were disappointed and claimed we were apolitical, which actually isn't true at all. We see what we do as deeply political; we just think that representing women differently is politics too.

__What do you think about Missy being called Emma's "little sister"?

Chris: We can relate to that, as we see ourselves in a feminist tradition and want to be perceived that way too. We also have a lot respect for feminists of the second and first waves; without them, we couldn't do what we do today. So we try to give them as much credit as we can. The only problem we have with Emma and Alice Schwarzer is that they make it seem like Emma is the only kind of feminism in Germany when, in fact, feminism has always been a very diverse movement with a lot of different opinions. So we are happy to be called "Emma’s little sister," but we don't want to dominate the feminist discourse in Germany in the way Emma had done before us. If you’ve got a different opinion, make your own feminist magazine! We'd like to have as many different feminist magazines as possible, so people can realize how diverse feminism is.

Originally published at Bitch Media

Written by: Mandy Van Deven, May 11th 2009