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BITCHfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine by Margaret Cho
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BITCHfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch…

by Margaret Cho

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359514,652 (4.15)4
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Showing 5 of 5
The easiest way to sum up my impression is that I'd never read the magazine when I started this book, and when I was done, I ordered a (prepaid) subscription. I've still read very little on feminism, so even the presumably standard stuff was novel. It was surprisingly not-angry, given the title. Most pieces were just wry, and unnervingly close to resigned. On the other hand, except for one bit in one chapter intro, everything was thoroughly rational and quotable. I particularly liked seeing some of my presumably more out-there views expressed; the ones I've never heard anyone share before. And I still love the bit "[apparently women] use their genitals only as sticky traps in which to catch wedding rings." ( )
  kristenn | Nov 17, 2009 |
I loved this collection. Required reading for any feminist, especially those who have enjoyed Bitch magazine. ( )
  Heatherlee1229 | Dec 23, 2008 |
Never really read the magazine except for maybe one issue. Gave me a lot to think about that I'm still kicking around. Would like to read more. ( )
  beautifulcheese | Aug 5, 2008 |
Bitch is one of the smartest, funniest, broadest-minded feminist media forces I can think of. Because of the magazine format, these essays are concise and clearly written with the smart, savvy but not necessarily academic reader in mind, and never fail to push my thinking. ( )
  lola_leviathan | Jun 6, 2008 |
bitch: feminist response to pop culture is pretty much one of my favorite magazines evar. It is consistently thought-provoking and intelligent. It does not ignore issues of race and class, which I frequently find absent or superficially dealt with in feminist discourse. It's not glossy (except for the cover). It's not in color. There are no Calvin Klein ads, no thin women splayed out across two pages, selling perfume and shoes. Celebrities and models are never on the cover.

BITCHfest is divided up into 8 sections: Hitting Puberty; Ladies and Gentlemen: Femininity, Masculinity, and Identity; The F Word; Desire: Love, Sex, and Marketing; Domestic Arrangements; Beauty Myths and Body Projects; Confronting the Mainstream; and Talking Back: Activism and Pop Culture. Each section has approximately 4-7 essays. There were 1-3 outstanding ones per section. Obviously, not every article ever printed is in here. Hitting Puberty and Domestic Arrangements were my favorite sections. In the back there is an extensive list of resources, from websites to zines to writers.

It wasn't life-changing, but still very good. And it's nice to have so much Bitch in one volume and not have to dig through the aging, torn magazines I stack in haphazard piles. ( )
  doloreshaze55 | Oct 11, 2007 |
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Bitch (magazine)

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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0374113432, Paperback)

In the wake of Sassy and as an alternative to the more staid reporting of Ms., Bitch was launched in the mid-nineties as a Xerox-and-staple zine covering the landscape of popular culture from a feminist perspective. Both unabashed in its love for the guilty pleasures of consumer culture and deeply thoughtful about the way the pop landscape reflects and impacts women’s lives, Bitch grew to be a popular, full-scale magazine with a readership that stretched worldwide. Today it stands as a touchstone of hip, young feminist thought, looking with both wit and irreverence at the way pop culture informs feminism—and vice versa—and encouraging readers to think critically about the messages lurking behind our favorite television shows, movies, music, books, blogs, and the like. BITCHFest offers an assortment of the most provocative essays, reporting, rants, and raves from the magazine’s first ten years, along with new pieces written especially for the collection. Smart, nuanced, cranky, outrageous, and clear-eyed, the anthology covers everything from a 1996 celebration of pre-scandal Martha Stewart to a more recent critical look at the "gayby boom"; from a time line of black women on sitcoms to an analysis of fat suits as the new blackface; from an attempt to fashion a feminist vulgarity to a reclamation of female virginity. It’s a recent history of feminist pop-culture critique and an arrow toward feminism’s future.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:57 -0400)

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