It’s no secret that the majority of women’s magazines in the world today exist to create and perpetuate a culture based on superficiality, bitchiness, and negativity. Sure not every bit of content both online and in print is damaging and horrible, but let’s be honest, the inspiring stories and empowering messages aren’t exactly on the top of the list when it comes to what women’s media is known for.
Thankfully this digital age has signaled a need for change with more and more consumers speaking out and creating their own content in frustration out of the narrow ideals that exist in the media. In response to this there have been some awesome publications that have been borne out of recognition of this need. Verily magazine, started by two New York gals who used to work for Elle magazine, was created as a women’s lifestyle magazine free of any photoshop in its editorials. That in itself is ground-breaking because pretty much every magazine uses or contains photoshopped content.
Native Max magazine was started by a Native American girl who was sick of the lack of great content tailored to her culture. Instead of all the bad examples of cultural appropriation, she sought to make a place dedicated to the fashion and lifestyle-loving Native Americans, and in turn created the very first magazine dedicated to her culture. Amazing!
Another great women’s magazine we have become fans of is Magnify magazine out of London. They are a unique publication featuring content that combines faith and feminism, a combination not normally seen in mainstream media but needs to be.
And now we can add another great magazine to our list – Riposte Magazine. It is a “smart magazine for women” (riposte meaning “a quick clever reply to an insult or criticism” – seems fitting) unlike any other you will see. The London-based publication, distributed all over the world, was created by editor-in-chief Danielle Pender who spoke to Women In The World about why she wanted to create something different for women.
After looking for an interesting magazine to buy at the airport on a holiday, she had one of those “ah-ha” moments when she looked at the array available to women at a store.
“I was faced with a wall of women’s magazines that were — mostly pink — full of fashion, beauty, made up stories about celebrities and very little else. I realized I was buying a lot more men’s magazines, or art/design/culture titles, as the range of topics were a lot more interesting and varied than they were in women’s magazines,” she explained.
“I felt that even if women’s magazines struck out and featured an interesting woman outside of the usual model, actress, pointless celebrity, they always still asked them reductive and boring questions about their children/childcare/wardrobe/beauty regime. I know lots of amazing, inspiring women but I didn’t see them reflected back in women’s media,” she continued.
We’re pretty sure there are plenty of other women who feel the same as Danielle on this one!
The main selling point of Riposte is their content. Rather than featuring the regular stories about fashion, diets, celebrities, relationships, sex etc, they focus on interesting and inspiring stories about women from a range of industries and backgrounds.
“Each issue features five ideas, four meetings, three features, two essays and one icon. We profile bold and fascinating women whose achievements speak for themselves. Our interviews are honest rather than being full of media trained responses as the women we feature candidly discuss their successes & failures, their work, their passions and perspectives,” says a website description of what you can expect from the bi-annual print magazine.
One of the main reasons they chose this focus was because Danielle felt there were far too many media outlets focusing on the same people and not thinking outside the box for content.
“I think women across the board are still underrepresented. If there is a woman from a certain discipline who has built up a strong media profile, she is rolled out again and again. There doesn’t seem to be much effort put into researching a wider canon of names and talent. I’m really passionate about finding those women who do incredible things, who are behind the well-known organizations, but who you’ve possibly not heard of,” she said.
We are big believers in the saying “you can’t be what you can’t see” and when all young women see day after day is celebrities, reality TV and the same few people or topics dominating headlines (we cannot even explain how annoyed we are about celebrity twitter feuds!!) it’s no wonder there is a generation growing up void of the diverse role models that exist out there. This is where Riposte hopes to fill in the gap.
“We’re trying to offer a new way to talk to and about women. We want to inspire our readers with stories of women who are bold and fascinating – who are carving a life or career out for themselves on their own terms. We celebrate the women we feature for who they are, not what they look like, and their achievements speak for themselves,” Danielle told WITW.
“Although the women we speak to are inspiring and brilliant we don’t put them on a pedestal. There is still a very approachable and human feel to our interviews and articles, they are honest and we don’t shy away from discussing failures and fears.”
The type of women they feature include stunt women, news reporters, politicians, artists, and discuss issues such as equality, power, masculinity and much more.
While the world is used to consuming content in the digital space, holding a magazine in your hands and specifically carving out time to read some inspiring stories is a bold move, and one that we wholeheartedly support.
“There’s a place for a new kind of women’s magazine because I refuse to believe that all women want to read about is diets, rehashed fashion trends and where Kim Kardashian’s butt has been that weekend,” Danielle concluded.
It’s time for a generation of media creators to think outside the narrow ideals that mainstream media has perpetuated for so long and use our empowered voices to change the game!
