Editors: Lisa Jervis & Andi Zeisler
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Few of my intelligent, successful, beautiful girlfriends will dare utter the f-word in public. Feminist, that is. The culprit? That tired stereotype of a feminist as a burly, man-hating, castration obsessed dyke. Thankfully, for the past 10 years, Bitch magazine has bravely shown us a different kind of feminist. In the world of Bitch, feminists can read Vogue, shave their legs and sleep with men (or women! or both!). Bitch taught us that a feminist believes in equality and thinks critically about the world around her, whether she’s wearing Manolos or army boots. Now, a decade after its birth, Bitch editors Lisa Jervis and Andi Zeisler celebrate the diversity of modern day feminism with the release of Bitchfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine, a 350-page critical offensive that dissects contemporary American pop culture with intelligence, wit, and, of course, a little bit of sassy feminist theory. The paperback is a collection of the best of Bitch, with over 50 essays that tackle topics from sex positions to, of course, Martha Stewart (“The Paradox of Martha Stewart: Goddess, Desperate Spouse Seeker or Feminist Role Model?”). With an inspiring forward by Margaret Cho, Bitchfest puts the fun back into feminism, and the bite back into bitch.
Lisa Jervis & Andi Zeisler appear September 20 at The New School; September 22 at Blue Stockings Bookstore.
