Making Feminist Media: Feminist Media Activists Share their Views

Jessica Hoffmann, Daria Yudacufski, Sonja Eismann, Jeanna Krömer and Jenni
pp. 110-120 (11 pages)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1wxr2f.10

FROM THE BOOK
Feminist Media: Participatory Spaces, Networks and Cultural Citizenship

Elke Zobl
Ricarda Drüeke
Copyright:
2012
Publisher:
Transcript Verlag

How can feminist media production  challenge and intervene into the status-quo and initiate and effect social  change? Which  strategies have you developed in your own project(s) to do so?

make/shift : One thing we are doing is documenting the challenges and interventions people are making in many places and in many ways. Also, radical, feminist media production in and of itself is an intervention, as we share and amplify voices and stories not found in dominant media – and the fact that we do it collaboratively, with a lot of skill-sharing and an emphasis on collective process and relationships, as well as a multiplicity of voices and perspectives.

Missy: By presenting alternative images of women/queers and empowering readers to look at their surroundings critically and to take action themselves. But we have to be realistic – we’re publishers of a feminist magazine first, not activists or politicians, so the scope of our impact is somewhat limited by our job description.

AMPHI: We try to provide our readers with information and material that they otherwise couldn’t get, either because it is ignored in other media (because it is too subversive, feminist, etc.) or because it had been published in foreign languages. In fact, 80% of the content of AMPHI are translations and 20% are self-produced texts. One example which may illustrate to you why this is important: when we worked on our issue about contraception we realised that all the information we found on Russian websites dealing with this topic was at least 3 or 4 years older than on English or German websites. We also try 1) to write as clearly and simply as possible in order that people who don’t have any former knowledge about these issues still can understand what we are talking about; 2) to inform our readers, and not to judge certain developments; 3) if it’s possible, to present more than one view on a specific topic; and 4) also to keep the magazine “attractive” in terms of layout and aesthetics. Our influence is rather limited, as for the moment the magazine is only subscribed to by a rather small community on a regular basis (a little bit more than 1,000 readers). But our aim and also our dream is to publish AMPHI as a printed and free magazine that gets distributed in waiting rooms of gynaecologists, at universities, in public spaces, etc. Unfortunately this is not possible at the moment, not only because it is too expensive, but also because in Belarus every independent activity is prohibited and threatened (with penalties, prison, and in some cases even with death). Not only political activists get persecuted, but also independent journalists.

make/shift

MISSION

Make/shift magazine creates and documents contemporary feminist culture and action by publishing journalism, critical analysis, and visual and text art. Made by an editorial collective committed to antiracist, transnational, and queer perspectives, make/shift embraces the multiple and shifting identities of feminist communities. We know there’s exciting work being done in various spaces and forms by people seriously and playfully resisting and creating alternatives to systematic oppression. Make/shift exists to represent, participate in, critique, provoke, and inspire more of that good work. - Last magazine published in 2017.

Missy

about us

Missy is the magazine for pop, politics and feminism. We write about trans families, sex work, Kathleen Hanna, Mösendampfbäder, Bike Polo, Fat Acceptance, computer games, compatibility, Sofia Coppola, asylum and everyday life, The Knife, Anal Plugs, cats and men, menstruation in horror films, armpit hair and Lena Dunham. Crafting and cooking are topics for us as well as queer pornography or organisations committed to safe abortion. All this happens with an attitude that constantly challenges the status quo with a grin. Because we do not (yet) live in an equal society. Because there is still much to discuss and improve. Feminism is passé? We do not think so. FEMINISM IN GEIL. That's why Missy.