Monday, July 14, 2008

"Alright, sisterhood!"

I went to the mall today with my mom and sister, and we ended up in Barnes and Noble, as we often do. My mom was looking at magazines, and I tagged along, expecting to pick up a military mag (one of the few kinds of magazines I read), and I stumbled across something even better. Copies of Ms. and Bitch Magazines.

I was unduly excited, because, believe it or not, I have never actually read a single issue of either magazine. I have read about them, but having a copy in my hands was amazing. Reading Gloria Steinem's article "Sex, Lies, & Advertising" about the struggles that Ms. Magazine faced is actually what I consider to be my "click moment" as a feminist.

I had to put the magazines down, though, because I didn't even have enough money for one copy. So I contented myself with wandering about the rest of the bookstore with my sister. It was my lucky day, though, because my mom was nice and bought me a copy of Ms.

When I put the copy of the magazine on the counter, the cashier immediately said that that it was great to see a young woman reading Ms. Her reaction sparked a conversation about feminism, and my mom (thanks, mom!) dropped a line about the Female Impersonator blog. The cashier asked for the blog address, which I happily gave her. It was great running into someone who seemed very able to appreciate my passion and my activism.

Thanks, Karen V., from Barnes and Noble. You made my day.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some reading to do.

4 comments:

Jenn said...

Aw, that's so sweet. I'm really glad your mother is so supportive of you. My mother is a little more tentative, but sometimes I can catch her in a very feminist rant that makes me proud.

Also, I had no idea Barnes and Noble carried Bitch and Ms magazines. I'm going to check my local one out and see for myself!

Cyn said...

Your family is awesome.
And so is Barnes and Noble for carrying feminist magazines.
I shall get my dose soon.

lindsay said...

I decided to stop buying Cosmo after the gray rape debacle (http://feministing.com/archives/007678.html) and what I should have done was get a subscription to Ms. or Bitch. It's on my holiday/birthday list, that's for sure.

lindabeth said...

Wow, I'm suprised you've never read either. I have been reading Bitch for 7 or 8 years...it's really great. You can catch up on selections from their first 10 years in their book Bitchfest.

Make/shift is also excellent.