A new Venus?

This site wouldn't exist if it weren't for the trifecta of Bust, Bitch and Venus. (Every third-wave feminist who never really got over the demise of Sassy knows what I'm talking about.) Venus in particular was an inspiration because it showed me how popular culture could be used as a gateway to feminist thought, so of course I was slightly dismayed to read in an interview with the Chicago Reader that its new publisher, Sarah Beardsley, rejects the term.

"That's such a word fraught with interpretation and meaning," she said. "We don't use that particular F word around here. It just doesn't seem relevant." She called feminism "an old-fashioned concept" and explained that "it doesn't enter into our discussions about what we're going to cover and what have you." She said, "We're much more into discovering trends, talent, whatever they are, and they can come in all shapes, sizes, genders, and forms."

I'm not writing off the new Venus just yet, but really? Although Venus's feminism was never overt, calling it "old-fashioned" would be anathema. And the success of websites like Feministe, Feministing, Jezebel, and Shakesville  proves there are a lot of younger women aren't afraid of the "F" word, and they are most likely part of Venus's target audience. (Oddly enough, Beardsley is a decade older than the average Venus reader -- a fact I'm loathe to point out because a woman's age shouldn't matter, but it seems relevant here.) The comments at the Chicago Reader were varied, but most were flummoxed to see the head of a magazine that made its mark championing women as creative, independent artists calling feminism irrelevant.

Related Reading:

Who's Afraid of the word "feminism" (Broadsheet)
Venus Lives On, But New Owner Rejects Its Feminist Past (Huffington Post)
"Feminism is so over" according to Venus magazine publisher (Bust)