Apr 21
Small furore, massive shame
Oh dear, a small furore has broken out over the publication of the quiz from the front of my book, The Noughtie Girl's Guide to Feminism, in Company magazine.
It's a small furore but a massive shame. I love women's magazines and always have. Of course they are not without faults but I love the way they combine entertainment with serious messages and how they tailor important messages to be accessible to as wide an audience as possible. In fact I am a lecturer in journalism at Goldsmiths College and I try to get across to my students how important it is not to be snobby about this kind of publication. When I was younger I particularly loved the multiple choice quizzes in these publications. So I decided, when writing my book, itself an accessible look at serious issues for young women, to begin it with a quiz on what type of feminist you are - the idea was that it would encourage all readers, whatever their answers, to read on and discuss the issues in the book. So I was delighted when, as well as quoting me in an article on Feminism, Company decided to reprint the quiz on their website (see pic).Alas, some women were less pleased. They seized on the quiz as letting down feminism and reducing it to the choice of answers in the tongue in cheek quiz. Sigh. Leading the charge was sex writer Zoe Margolis aka Abby Lee aka Girl with a One Track Mind. She (@girlonetrack) tweeted the following four tweets (see other pic):I wrote a feature for Company recently, but they edited it into a piece of sexist, patronising shit, so I was forced to pull it. SeriouslySadly, most "women's magazines" are full of sexist, patronising shit; unless you're in it for £, forget writing for them if you're feminist. I know I'm not making any friends here by publicly slagging off women's mags, but really: it's 2010, can you not drop the sexism, please? If you enjoyed that "Are you a feminist?" quiz http://bit.ly/aOgOHp you can now share your love for it with them. Go! > @companymagazine Seems to be some sour grapes here and perhaps an element of cyber bullying. Oh dear. Anyway, many of her followers did as she suggested and Company has responded by taking down the quiz. What a shame they listened to people who openly declare themselves as people who do not like magazines such as their own rather than admirers and readers of their magazine. I'll republish the quiz here as soon as permission from my publishers arrives in my inbox. Or you can see it at the beginning of my book by buying a copy yourself, just £4.99 on Amazon at the moment - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Noughtie-Girls-Guide-Feminism/dp/1851686835
