Dr. Leandra Zarnow on "Trans-Ms.ions: Bust and Bitch Magazines and The Popular Feminist Tradition"

Ms. Magazine has had a large impact on feminist discourse, political action, and theories to date. But as Dr. Leandra Zarnow, an Advancing the Humanities History Fellow at Stanford, wanted to express: Ms. should not be seen as a forerunner to Bust and bitch, two magazines whose first issues came out in 1993 and 1996, respectively. On February 15^th, Dr. Zarnow began relaying the histories behind Bust and bitch, illustrating the intricate ways in which they came to fruition. Though Ms. Magazine helped to pave a way for feminism in print media, it was really from Sassy, a magazine aimed at teenage females in late 1980s, where Bust and bitch drew their inspiration. Moving away from thinking of Ms. Magazine as the mother of all magazines was a very interesting approach in Dr. Zarnow’s talk, but it was an approach that I very well appreciated.

As a first generation feminist I did not grow up reading Ms. Magazine nor have I ever really known the significance behind it. Until very recently, however, the magazines Bust, bitch, and Ms. were three magazines I began to hear about upon declaring my major in feminist studies. Since I’ve been given the opportunity to attend so many eye-opening events that are a part of the 40^th anniversary celebration of Ms. Magazine, my initial view of Ms. was a very matriarchal one. So I was utterly shocked to find out, yet very thankful that the symposium included other publications not only to show that there are, in fact, other feminist publications circulating, but also there are feminist publications that should not be shadowed by Ms. on any occasion (especially during Ms.’s 40^th anniversary).

According to Dr. Zarnow, the mother-daughter trope associated with Bust and bitch in relation to Ms. Magazine is too simplistic. Such a trope disconnects generations and fosters a sort of “battle of the ages” that blurs many of the shared ideas between them. It was really interesting to hear this idea about older and younger generations of feminists being played out in terms of the publications, as it has been a topic of not only our class’ discussions, but also a topic that has been brought up throughout the symposium. I think a lot of the reason why there is such a schism between the generations is because we, as a society, tend to measure the value and worth of things, people, and institutions by virtue of their respective dates of patent, birth or establishment. Moving away from this ideology is difficult, especially when we continue to award and certify and therefore place more value on various things as they progress throughout whatever measurement of time is appropriate for that thing or person (e.g. a career, models, or life span). Although I do believe that experience does help to gain capital, I think we, as feminists, should not structure such capital hierarchically. Rather, as Dr. Zarnow expressed, we should look at our past, present and future kaleidoscopically: a tiny shift in one idea may spark ten more ideas, but those ideas aren’t necessarily a 180 turn from the big picture.