The Demise of ’90s Feminist-Zine Culture

In the late 1990s, learning about something obscure took effort. You’d have to make your way to the right bookstore or know the edgy older person who might turn you on to a special record, a book, or a zine. These pre-internet objects were community builders; if you met someone who had heard of the specific thing you were into, you made a very cool friend. That was Bitch magazine. I don’t remember the first moment I read it, but it was omnipresent in the world I inhabited—riot grrrls, punks and hardcore kids, women’s-studies majors, the LGBTQ community, activists. Bitch wasn’t just a publication—it was an identity marker.

Despite occupying a niche corner of the media world, was highly influential. A self-described “feminist response to pop culture,” it ran media criticism and cultural commentary on topics including , , , and , using the confrontational style of in-your-face politics often synonymous with ’90s-era third-wave feminism. It would go on to publish some of for not being diverse enough, it dropped an interview with .