Bitch (magazine)

History

Founding

The first issue of Bitch was a ten-page feature, Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture, which started as a zine distributed out of the back of a station wagon in 1996, published in January 1996 in Oakland, California. The founding editors, Lisa Jervis and Andi Zeisler, 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. In a 2008 interview, Zeisler stated that the zine published content of interest to the editors and which wasn't available elsewhere. Prior to founding the magazine, Jervis and Zeisler had worked as interns at Sassy, another feminist magazine.

Later speaking about the decision to name the magazine "Bitch", Zeisler stated that it was inspired by reclamation of the word 'queer' by the LGBT community. The editors viewed the word 'bitch' as associated with a derogatory description of outspoken women so thought it best to claim the word in advance." Other reasons for the name included its capability to intrigue people, and the word's use as both a verb and a noun. Zeisler stated that: "Having the word 'feminist' in the magazine subtitle has been far more controversial than having the word 'bitch' in the title... the word 'bitch', for better or worse, has become part of our cultural lexicon. Yet 'feminist' is still one of those words that people find very hard to understand."

Expansion

In 2001, a loan from San Francisco's Independent Press Association allowed Jervis and Zeisler to quit their current jobs and work on Bitch full-time and the magazine officially became a non-profit. Around that time, Shaykin left the magazine. By the early 2000s, the magazine had achieved a readership of about 35,000, which grew to 47,000 by 2006.

The magazine was the subject of an obscenity controversy when it published a dildo advertisement on its back cover for its Fall 2002 issue. Responses to this were mixed, and Bitch later published varying opinions about the incident from letters sent by readers. Later interviewed about the events, Zeisler expressed that there had been a certain naivety about the impact of placing the advert on the back cover. The U.S. Postal Service contacted the magazine and stated that copies of the issue would be considered obscene literature and would have to be distributed in black polybags.

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.

In March 2007, Bitch relocated from its offices in Oakland, California, to Portland, Oregon. In 2009, the Bitch nonprofit changed its name to Bitch Media, covering expansion beyond publication of the magazine. The magazine's 50th issue was published in 2011. That same year, Bitch won an Utne Reader Independent Press Award for Best Social/Cultural Coverage.

In 2011, Bitch partnered with feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian to create the video series Tropes vs. Women. The series examined common tropes in the depiction of women in media with a particular focus on science fiction. As of 2012, Bitch hosted the Bitch YA Book Club for young women and girls, which focused on young adult literature. The reading group's online blog included a forum for club participants.

Bitch Media also hosted podcasts, and a college speaker series, "Bitch on Campus". "Popaganda" was hosted by Amy Lam and Sarah Mirk, who discussed politics, news, and media. "Backtalk" was hosted by Amy Lam and Dahlia Balcazar, who reviewed and discussed the week in popular culture through a feminist lens.

Decline and closure

Bitch Media experienced difficulty funding its magazine in its final years. On April 12, 2022, Bitch Media announced they would be shutting down the publication after 26 years. The magazine's last issue was released in June 2022, for its Summer edition. Bitch Media ceased all operations the same month. According to Bitch Media, its website would keep archives of its publications available for the "foreseeable future". By 2025 the website went offline.

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. .

References

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2. Bailey, Courtney. (2003-09-22). "Bitching and talking/gazing back: feminism as critical reading". George Mason University.
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4. (2 April 2008). "Delacorte Lecture with Bitch's Andi Zeisler". Columbia Journalism Review.
5. Gautschi, Heidi. (2018-03-10). "Des femmes, des sciences et des technologies : une analyse textuelle de Bitch (2000-2016)". L'Harmattan.
6. Kuo, Rachel. (February 2018). "Racial justice activist hashtags: Counterpublics and discourse circulation". New Media & Society.
7. (2017-03-04). "Body Politics: Coverage of Health Topics and Policy in U.S. Feminist Magazines". Mass Communication and Society.
8. Clarke, Kelly. (20 March 2017). "Andi Zeisler and Bitch Media Pushed the World to See Pop Culture through Feminist Eyes". Portland Monthly.
9. (12 April 2022). "Bitch Comes to a Close". Bitch Media.
10. Mukhopadhyay, Samhita. (6 May 2022). "The Demise of '90s Feminist-Zine Culture". The Atlantic.
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12. "Research Guides at Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America: Women's Magazines". Harvard Radcliffe Institute.
13. Yoshiko, Lauren. (2 March 2021). ""Bitch" Magazine Co-Founder Andi Zeisler Talks 25 Years of Sharp Feminist Thought, Finding Home in Portland, and That Controversial Dildo Ad". Willamette Week.
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18. Hurwitz, Heather McKee. (2017-05-10). "From Ink to Web and Beyond". Oxford University Press.
19. Zeisler, Andi. (2007-11-18). "The B-Word? You Betcha.". The Washington Post.
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29. Dean, Paul. (May 31, 2013). "Tropes vs Women in Video Games: Why It Matters".
30. Williams, Mary Elizabeth. (June 14, 2012). "Lara Croft battles male jerks".
31. Shier, Allie. (2012-12-01). "Young Adult Book Clubs: Feminism Online". Berghahn Journals.
32. Frost, Allison. (15 April 2022). "Feminist nonprofit Bitch Media folds after 25 years". Oregon Public Broadcasting.
33. Schwedel, Heather. (12 May 2022). "Bitch Media's Co-Founder Explains Why Bitch Media Had to Fold". Slate.
34. Steiner, Linda. (2019-05-14). "The International Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies". Wiley.
35. "Podcasts {{!}} Bitch Media".
36. Locker, Melissa. (27 September 2019). "Feminist publishing icon Bitch magazine needs your help". Fast Company.
37. Bernard, Riese. (12 April 2022). "Bitch Magazine Is Closing: Bad News For Me, You and Indie Media Overall". Autostraddle.
38. Reaume, A. H.. (12 May 2022). "Celebrating Bitch Magazine: A Reading List". Longreads.
39. Shotwell, Alyssa. (13 April 2022). "Bitch Media Ends After 26 Years of Provocative, Vital Pop Culture Criticism With a Feminist Perspective Front & Center". The Mary Sue.