Feminist based design magazines

Mushpit

'After nine issues and five years, the Mushpit (founded by Bertie Brandes and Charlotte Roberts) has made a name for itself as London’s most-loved satirical fashion/political/feminist magazine. Inspired by 90s/00s anarchic mag Cheap Date, Mushpit was born as a zine in a Dalston flat share and found its legs being sold on the dancefloor of The Alibi. Typically, each issue takes the theme of a particular crisis Brandes and Roberts are experiencing; there has been “The Sell Out” and “The Confused” issue, and their latest, issue 09 – almost double the content of previous ones – is steered by a post-Brexit climate and aptly dubbed “The Crisis Issue”.

Now a fully fledged glossy, even on a shoestring budget – partly due to their strict no ads policy and the fact that just breathing in London is extortionate – Mushpit’s covers have been lensed by Tyrone LeBon (issue 06) and Alice Neale (issue 07). And while it’s easy to appreciate Mushpit on the surface, spend some quality time between those covers and it’s clear that the true beauty lies in its details. Aimed at a generation of short attention spanned 20-something-year-olds and packed with quizzes, “advertisements”, a centre-fold, fashion shoots, and a lonely hearts classifieds page, for any impatient page-turner Mushpit demands that your attention is well-spent with them. Thought-provoking, humorous, and eye-opening/eye-rolling... with heapings of genius, Mushpit offers the approach that if we don’t laugh then, well, we’re fucked.'

Mushpit is a London based magazine in which has been set up by two best friends who work alongside one another in order to develop a visually engaging, humorous and politically charged magazine. The majority of the content is parody in which pokes fun at the mainstream media, and other magazines. Following a teen magazine idea, the magazine frequently makes visual and written puns surrounding the ways in which women are treated within society, including that of gender norms and female pressures.

The design aesthetic used may be deemed as 'overly female' with bright pinks frequently being used, this again relating to the parody present within the magazine. By visioning these generic gender ideologies the magazine is able to have a larger stance upon that of other feminist magazines in which follow a stricter, less ironic approach. This may be explored as a way in which to make a strong female design catalogue, embedding the idea that the lack of females within design is stupid.

Being one of my favourite spreads this design highlights consumerism in a way in which subtly undermines new building developments. The design uses parody in such format in order to develop a lasting impression, as well as gaining the consumers attention. 

‘The Mushpit Guide to Dating in Your Twenties’ spread follows that of a typical dating add aesthetic in order to communicate the idea, again in a parody format, that dating is often placed upon young women as a necessity. 

A typical teen girl magazine style which has been used in a format in which again intelligently uses parody. Maybe a similar design to this could be added to the catalogue in order to formulate the idea that women should not be treated differently to men in the workplace.

The Gentle Woman 

'The Gentlewoman celebrates modern women of style and purpose. Its fabulous biannual magazine offers a fresh and intelligent perspective on fashion that’s focused on personal style – the way women actually look, think and dress. Featuring ambitious journalism and photography of the highest quality, it showcases inspirational women through its distinctive combination of glamour, personality and warmth. These qualities are also at the heart of its website, thegentlewoman.com, a virtual place where real women, real events and real things are enjoyed.'

Focusing largely upon the fashion industry this feminist based magazine explores the idea of empowering modern women through the basis of a people based magazine. The idea that fashion can alter how you are perceived and how you perceive yourself is the main ideology present. The idea that women often feel self-conscious when around men, and often feel judged. The quote below by Penny Martin explores this further.

'Any fool can make a fifteen year old look good in a sample, let’s put that to the side. The real work is making women look great and feel confident in clothes that weren’t designed for their bodies. We commission unexpected women – scientists, astronauts […] Now already they’re thinking how they’re going to be represented. First of all they’re not going to have an option of wearing their own clothes. They’re going to think, ‘You’re going to force me into something that I don’t really like and I feel really uncomfortable and then I sit on the set and the stylist comes over and the hair and make-up and everybody’s watching me thinking ‘Oh God she’s really big’’ or y’know whatever. That’s what they think they’re going to have to go through. And then they’re going to get on to the set and they won’t really like the pictures and then they’re going to go back into their profession and they’re going to go to a conference where they’re representing, y’know… ‘Women in Urology’ and there going to think that they’re male colleagues are saying [sniggers] ‘Did you see that picture of her in that women’s magazine’ and they think they’re going to undo all the work they did in their career by associating with fashion. That they’re actually vain and vapid after all. Don’t forget their Fields Medal or whatever it was they got, or Nobel Peace Prize nomination. They were in the women’s pages of a newspaper and they looked foolish. So that’s what happens as soon as I ring up.' http://www.rarelywearslipstick.com/2015/04/feminism-friday-the-gentlewoman-in-fashion/

The editorial design of the magazine positions the consumer to slowly encounter each page, absorbing relevant details present. The minimal design layout following strong photography further embeds this. Exploration of type size complies to legibility, alongside gaining the consumers attention when its needed. This is often embedded further with the design language used in which captivates the consumers attention. 

Ladybeard

Unique in its own terms, Ladybeard, focuses largely upon gender roles, and the suppression in which occurs between both sexs. The above issue focuses upon the way in which sex can be suppressed amongst women, with slut shaming being a re-occurring theme. Using 'shocking' imagery, the magazine attempts to gain attention by using photographs/symbols in which are not frequently expressed upon that of glossy mainstream magazines. 

Visual queues are referenced throughout the magazine, alongside that of interviews in which focus upon the facts on the matter and attempt to exclude no gender. The art direction itself is bold and impactful with many spreads boldly hitting the consumer due to the vast amounts of colour used.