Customer Reviews

BITCHfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine

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What a remarkably smart and satisfying collection of cultural criticism! Whether you're into gender theory, feminist historicism, questions of identity, or simply the deeper consequences of pop cultural phenomena, this book has it all. I studied gender and sexuality in college, and while I love reading more serious philosophers such as Judith Butler, Michel Foucault, and even Freud, sometimes I wish there were something appropriate for beach reading that is as intellectually gratifying. Each article in this anthology runs approximately 5 or 6 pages, and touches upon so many key themes in gender/sexuality studies that it leaves me feeling buzzed! The scope and breadth of the articles truly offer a representative vista of contemporary feminism. If you're looking for something lighter than Lacan but heavier than the NOW (National Organization for Women) newsletter, this is the answer. I would strongly recommend it to men too, since any critical view of women inevitably touches upon the tensions between genders and various sexualities. There are more than a few articles that discuss masculinity and identity, including a few that I got my boyfriend to read, simply because they were *that* good, and he enjoyed them too.

Presenting...

"Bitch" magazine - insightful, educational, hilarious - has been exploring "feminist response to pop culture" for the past decade and, at long last, several essays from the magazine have been collected into a book. The advent of "Bitchfest" is a blessing: the earliest issues of "Bitch" are nigh impossible to find anywhere due to the magazine's non-glamorous beginnings at a copy shop in the Bay Area (no glossy, Midtown Manhattan celebrity-laden launch for Bitch -- and we're all the better for it). I'm glad to finally have the opportunity to read some of the earliest essays.

Plus, you also get ...

How cool is it that some of my favorite essays are together at last? From Lori Tharp's well thought out rant on the absence of black characters from contemporary sitcoms to the snarky and oh-so-funny "Ten Things to Hate About JANE" (a dead-on critique of JANE magazine), each essay proves how all-pervasive pop culture has become, and why feminist thought can not afford to ignore it.

Buy now and we'll send you ...

"Bitchfest" also succeeds as a critical history of the feminist movement - one of the most incisive pieces in the book discusses the disconnect that occured when the feminist movement (at various times in its history) refused to single any one person out to be the "spokesperson" (for lack of a better word) for the movement. The result? The media anointed their own person, leading to infighting and yes, even pettiness that showcases the frustrations that can arise while trying to promote an egalitarian movement in a sensationalistic, media-controlled world.

But wait - there's more!

As an added bonus, there are a handful of articles that appear in this book for the very first time, in addition to introductory essays at the beginning of each section. It's nice to know that the editors cared enough to actually give the readers something extra rather than just throwing a handful of pre-published essays into a book and sending it to the printers.

Sure I don't always agree with "Bitchfest" but nobody ever said I had to. This book is wonderful and truly proves how unique and necessary "Bitch" magazine is (and will hopefully continue to be) during these crazy times.

Order yours today, it'll make a great present!

Disclaimer-I subscribe to Bitch Magazine and have for a number of years. I love it! When I saw this book at the university bookstore, I bought it and savored reading through the book.

What I really like about Bitch Magazine, more so than Bust, is that the articles are more theoretical and erudite. I don't consider them dry, but I am WS educator and view BM as more a cutting edge zine that demonstrates the various feminist strands that exist today in the 3rd Wave, No Wave era of the feminist movement.

Buy this book! Subscribe to the zine for thoughtful, well-written articles about all sorts of issues.

After that plug, let me just say that I don't always agree with the essays. Some will definitely leave you with that sense that you want to grab a coffee with a friend and hammer out some of your thoughts.

I had quit writing reviews for books for a long time now. I live in Turkey so I do not get the magazine, but I purchased the book after reading many favourable reviews here on Amazon.com. It turns out that I was missing a lot! This book has great, great articles, some are very original in essence and it keeps you interested. Although I, too, skipped a few of the articles, 90% of them are really good ones, about many different subjects. The articles are sharp, witty and it is good that the subject variety is satisfactory. If I could, I would translate it to Turkish so it can reach more people over here. Great, great stuff, if you are interested in popular culture as well as gender issues, this is the essential reading for you. Can't recommend it enough!

Gotta hand it to Bitch:

- All of the articles are well written, if a bit dry at times.
- Even if you don't agree 100% with what the author is saying they usually make some good points and at least make you think.
- Many different views of feminism are offered.

I highly reccomend this along with a subscription to Bitch Magazine.

I found this book to be rather eye opening,
really talks about feminism in depth through a series of high-quality articles provided from the "Bitch" magazine.

For everyone interested/passionate about feminism/women's rights
or anyone simply looking for an enjoyable book to read,
this is a must!

This is a great collection of writings from a thought-provoking website. A little bit of something for every fem reader.

This is a compilation of articles from Bitch Magazine. It touches on a wide range of topics and while there is a lot of interesting feminist analysis, most of it is at a very easy level to read. I gave a copy to my friend that has feminist tendencies but isn't interested in the higher-level literature and she absolutely devoured the book. This book isn't going to change the feminist landscape but it's a great little way to introduce people to the topic.

As a (middle-aged) male reader, I found this collection to be quite amazing. It seems that all contributors are equally committed to crafting clean, succinct essays with an engaging, yet erudite style. I can actually state that every piece was worth reading. Entertaining, instructive, even delightfully casual, at times, these are short, but thorough, and always interesting.

I bought this book because I've read a couple issues of Bitch Magazine and have been pretty impressed so far. This book is like a "greatest hits," covering a wide range of feminist issues and interesting topics like menstruation, gender identity, feminism in pop culture, sex, relationships, beauty ideals, etc. However no article in here seem like they're re-hashing what we already know about how our society is oppressive. There are lots of interesting essays/articles in here that pose thoughts and theories that I haven't considered before. A nice read for anyone interested in feminism and gender studies.