The Feminist Gift Guide: For Every Feminist on Your List!
By Emily Scott
Image via Bust Magazine
Bust Magazine Subscription
For: The feminist who has sworn off traditional women’s magazines
Price: $24.95 for a year (6 issues)
Women are surrounded by magazines from the time they are tiny children. The light-hearted coverage of topics like fashion, makeup, lifestyle, and romance can be really entertaining and even legitimately helpful at times. Who doesn’t love a good makeup tutorial or advice column?
But many women’s magazines use the medium to capitalize on women’s insecurities and internalized misogyny. First of all, the erasure of all non-thin, non-straight, non-cis, non-white women is rampant among the pages of many magazines. This perpetuates the idea that if you’re a woman of color, LGBT+, older, or non-thin, you’re just not worthy of notice or admiration. In addition, many women’s magazines adopt and perpetuate the male gaze. Makeup and fashion tips will often be framed with the question of what “he” will like, rather than what you, the woman wearing it, will like. And sex advice will frequently focus on the man’s pleasure. Rarely will you ever see a traditional women’s magazine feature a title like, “100+ Tips To Make Sure You Enjoy Yourself In Bed.” Even more rare is the acknowledgment of non-heterosexual relationships.
So magazine culture is screwed up in a lot of ways. But we need a break from Simone de Beauvoir and bell hooks every once in a while. That’s where Bust comes in! Bust Magazine is a bi-monthly publication “for women with something to get off their chests.” It’s been around since 1993 and covers all the things any other women’s magazine does: news, lifestyle, fashion, interviews, reviews. But Bust does so with a feminist lens and a commitment to showcase “smart, funny, cool, complex women.” You will find no male gaze, gossip, or body-negativity in its pages. Bust is all about women and what they want for themselves.
She’ll Love It If: She can’t stand not knowing about the latest music/books/movies/etc.; she loves discovering new feminist artists, actors, activists, etc. from interviews, like NPR’s Fresh Air; she is tired of the exclusiveness and misogyny of other women’s magazines and has been looking for something better.
Buy It Here: Bust Magazine