Bitch (magazine)
|
bitch, cover from the Winter 2004 issue | |
| Categories | Feminism |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Quarterly |
| Year founded | 1996 |
| Company | Bitch Media |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Portland, Oregon |
| Language | American English |
| Website |
bitchmagazine |
| ISSN | 2162-5352 |
Bitch is an independent, quarterly magazine published in Portland, Oregon. Its tagline is "a feminist response to pop culture".[1] Bitch is published by the multimedia non-profit organization Bitch Media. The magazine includes analysis of current political events, social and cultural trends, television shows, movies, books, music, advertising, and artwork from a feminist perspective. It has about 80,000 readers.
History
The first issue of Bitch was a ten-page feature. It was published in January 1996 in Oakland, California. The founding editors, Lisa Jervis and Andi Zeisler,[2] along with founding art director Benjamin Shaykin, wanted to create a public forum in which to air thoughts and theories on women, gender, and feminist issues, interpreted through the lens of the media and popular culture. The first issue of Bitch was a zine, and a mere 300 copies were distributed from the trunk of a station wagon.[3]
In 2001, a loan from San Francisco's Independent Press Association allowed Jervis and Zeisler to quit their day jobs and work on Bitch full-time and the magazine officially became a non-profit.[4]
Bitch celebrated its 10th anniversary in August 2006 by publishing a Bitch anthology entitled BITCHfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine. Edited by Bitch founders Jervis and Zeisler, BITCHfest includes essays, rants and raves, and reviews reprinted from previous issues of Bitch magazine, along with new pieces written especially for the anthology.[5]
In March 2007, Bitch relocated from its offices in Oakland, California, to Portland, Oregon. The magazine's 50th issue was published in 2011. This same year, Bitch won an Utne Reader Independent Press Award for Best Social/Cultural Coverage.[6]
In 2009, Bitch transitioned from a non-profit print magazine to become a multimedia organization that publishes the magazine. They became Bitch Media as a means of responding to changes in the publishing industry that demanded an online presence. Bitch Media includes a blog, a podcast entitled "Popaganda" (hosted by Sarah Mirk, online editor for Bitch Media), and maintains active Facebook and Twitter accounts. The quarterly magazine prints extended commentary on popular culture through a feminist lens, and relays more timely articles via its online presence. The non-profit hired Julie Falk as their first executive director in 2009. Kristin Rogers Brown, the current art director, was hired in 2010. In early 2013 Sarah Mirk was hired as the online editor. Kjerstin Johnson is the magazine's current editor-in-chief.
Today, over 2,000 retailers carry Bitch and the magazine has an estimated 80,000 readers.[7]
Notes
- ↑ "Bitch Media: About Us".
- ↑ Seely, Megan (2006). Fight Like a Girl: How to be a Fearless Feminist. NYU Press. p. 223.
- ↑ "Bitch Magazine: Our History".
- ↑ "Bitch Magazine: Marrying Pop Culture And Feminism". The Huffington Post. March 11, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-16.
- ↑ Watrous, Malena (August 20, 2006). "More than a bitch session — essays scrutinize pop culture". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
- ↑ Utne Independent Press Awards: 2011 Winners
- ↑ "Bitch Magazine: About Us".
References
- Jervis, Lisa and Zeisler, Andi, Harpo eds. (2006) BITCHfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-11343-2
External links
