Et tu, Jessica? "BUST not feminist?" Really?
Posted by: debbie
in Feminizzle
on Nov 16, 2009
Here at BUST, we've always been supportive of other feminists. Always. We don't hold a narrow view of what feminism means, and understand that there are different ways of being feminist. We helped promote Bitch magazine in it's earliest days. We've never trashed Ms. We've always thought feministing.com was a cool and important website. Alas, our other sisters in crime are not nearly as generous.
In this weekend's New York Times, Jessica Valenti, editor of feministing.com, took the opportunity to sucker punch us in the face. When asked by the notorious Deborah Solomon, "What publications are you comparing yourself with?" Jessica answered, "There’s Ms. magazine and there’s Bitch. Bust used to be a feminist magazine, but now it’s more crafty and about making things out of yarn. I’m not a D.I.Y. feminist. I once tried knitting a scarf but threw it away after 15 minutes"
For fuck's sake, Jessica, so you don't enjoy knitting, and that makes BUST not a feminist magazine? We embrace all of those feminine crafts and skills that have long been trashed by the patriarchy, and you're jumping right onto that bandwagon as well? Don't you realize that the female-led DIY revolution (you know that the vast majority of sellers on Etsy.com are women, right? Something like 99%, I believe), is an important and positive movement?
Aside from that, sure, we publish crafting and DIY articles because we think our readership enjoys it and we feel that it's high time that these lady skills got the props they deserve. But that's just a small portion of the articles we publish in BUST - in fact, it's in the minority of what we print.
Here are some of the most recent articles in BUST that Jessica, apparantly, deems "Un-feminist":
Bjork helps woman-run investment firm in Iceland starts fund to help female-run companies
China's new Barbie Store Raises Questions
The Secret Feminist History of Home-Ec
Interview with Diablo Cody discussing - what else? - feminism
The Vagina Dialogues: Why are women altering their lady parts?
Ellen Page and Alia Shawkat discuss their latest film and, oh yeah: feminism
Smells Like Teen Spirit: Article about the challenges faced by teen feminists
We can dance if we want to: the new feminist go-go dance troupes
Angry in Pink: India's Gulabi Gang vigilante group protects village women
This is just a sampling, a smattering, if you will, of stories from the past 3 issues -- we don't put all of our articles online. True, there aren't any stories there about abortion 'n rape, but that doesn't mean we aren't a feminist magazine. We are cultural feminists over here at BUST, just like Simone de Beauvoir and so many others, who believe that it is our culture that does the most to propagate and promote sexism, and so we fight that by creating a cultural project that does the opposite; turns the world on it's head and puts women and women's interest at the center of our content, with a couple of cute boys on the side.
It's a fun, if challenging task, but there has been no greater disappointment to me, in all my years since creating BUST, than having narrow-minded feminists declare our point of view to be "not feminist," and having to defend our approach. I'd never criticize Jessica's approach to covering feminist issues. Never. But really, this kind of girl-on-girl crime? Not feminist. At all.
BUST not feminist? In the immortal words of blogger Angie Tempura, "Bitch, pleeze!"

[photo of Jessica Valenti from The New York Times]
The opinions expressed on the BUST blog are those of the authors themselves and do not necessarily reflect the position of BUST Magazine or its staff.

written by Brittany Jerlat, November 16, 2009
written by QueenofBows, November 16, 2009
written by kakoivisto, November 16, 2009
written by Intern nicole!, November 16, 2009
BUST has been the magazine that I most identify with and hell, I am not a crafty lady at all.
Thank you, Debbie, for addressing this rubbish and for continuing to put out a magazine I so greatly adore.
written by JainaLewis, November 16, 2009
written by Amanda Stovall, November 16, 2009
written by Chelleshock, November 16, 2009
I think this whole thing is obnoxious; especially because BUST is a lot of younger girls' introduction to feminism. I picked it up because it looked cool when I was 15-16 and it was one of the first things that made me start rethinking what feminism meant to me and why I had previously thought it was an outdated concept.
And as someone who loves DIY and currently makes most of her income as a seamstress, her attitude towards DIY/crafts reeks of snobbery to me. I might be being oversensitive but really - "making things out of yarn"? Could you be more dismissive? It's not like, you know, making things out of yarn (or sewing, or crafts in general) has been traditionally dismissed BECAUSE it was primarily done by women or anything. Nope.
written by ecs, November 16, 2009
Feminist writing that constantly positions us as victims and lacks acknowledgment of our power, progress and creativity will keep us forever in a subordinate place.
written by intern Amber, November 16, 2009
Jessica's verbal nonsense is pretty hurtful to all those who cherish and work hard to make this magazine... For fuck sake Debbie and Laurie are pioneers who deserve credit along side Gloria Steinem (who has been a Bust cover girl by the way). I know from working in the office that every issue is equipped an ready to do one thing: empower women.
written by lizaeckert, November 16, 2009
Seriously, as soon as I saw this interview I was livid (and awaiting your response). I never met a more awesome, hardcore feminist group of ladies than I did when I was at Bust. You guys have the attitude but keep it fun and that's why I love ya and why my internship was so awesome.
Shit like this is one of the reasons I barely even look at Feministing anymore. I briefly met Jessica a couple of years ago and she seemed pretty cool; methinks something since then has gone to her head.
I'm going to go make something out of yarn now, then wear it (and reap the benefits of everyone I know complimenting/coveting it).
written by bjorn Roche, November 16, 2009
I think Bust is awesome for it's breadth of coverage and it certainly doesn't need to be bashed by other people fighting for the same cause.
written by Kelly McClure, November 16, 2009
written by JB22, November 16, 2009
written by ValleyViolet, November 16, 2009
written by Jessica Valenti, November 16, 2009
Jessica
written by Liza, November 16, 2009
written by constantlyconflicted, November 16, 2009
written by tee_tuhm, November 16, 2009
written by Karen Hawkins, November 19, 2009
written by Jennifer K, November 19, 2009
Thanks again,
Jennifer
written by jesmsmith, November 19, 2009
if you ask me, ahhhhh NO. it's not.
for that, and many other reasons, i have canceled my subscription to BUST.
you want another reason?
using bitches in your insult to a feminist blog.
being heterosexist. there. i said it. queer women are always as a guest, but never actively included.
being classist. your adds make me feel like you're classist.
but you have brought me a lot of joy, and were an important influence in my feminist upbringing.
but i have to say i'm siding with feministing.com on this.
written by Kate Black, November 19, 2009
This is why misogynist (and classist and racist and homophobic, etc) leaders & politicians have gotten as far as they have. They work together to smite women's freedom. Activists defending us pick each other apart for not falling into neat, narrow definitions.
p.s. I also suck at knitting and only keep those needles around in case the Stupak amendment passes.
written by Bibi, November 19, 2009
Feminism is hardly a political ideology or an intellectual dialogue, it's just a way of life and whatever way we wish to express it is just right.
Bust's honest and wide perspective of women's life is uplifting, whether they are knitting or stripping.
written by Ursula de Vries, November 19, 2009
I think today's feminist has the choice to be a bra-burning hater or a lipstick crafty lesbian or a GladRag wearing suburban soccer mom or whatever we want to be, but please Jessica, stop putting your foot in your mouth slaggin' on a magazine that doesn't fit your narrow definition of feminism.
written by Ramen for Breakfast, November 19, 2009
It's tough being on top--even your sisters will hate on you from time to time.
Love,
Jessica (the nice one)
written by Kate Black, November 19, 2009
I'm still keeping the needles around because of Stupak and his ilk, though.
written by southstudentsforchoice, November 19, 2009
A bigger problem with the whole article is how it seems to reduce young feminists today to online blogs, which is like reducing third-wave feminism to a stack of zines. There’s a lot that young feminists are doing offline that has little to do with internet-driven culture, old-school stuff like work with community-based nonprofits, small businesses, etc. That might have more to do with a crafty, DIY spirit anyway than the copy, paste, and forward tendency that email and weblogs can lead one into. Magazines like Bust, Bitch, and Ms. have the format to cover stories on that in greater detail, but the feminist blogs do at least make regular reference to the same topics.
One thing that online (and offline) zines like Bust might really be able to help feminist blogs with is a how-to guide to developing more of a relationship with advertisers so they can rely less of outside services like Google Ads which often display ads which are counter to feminist values. Feministing has a relationship with BlogAds which seems to be a good service but developing direct relationships with advertisers has some obvious advantages, including bringing online ads from ventures which otherwise would not be advertising online at all. That’s one obvious difference that could be improved on in many feminist blogs, things that Bitch, Bust, and of course Ms. has been well known for in the past, socially responsible values in the advertising they solicit and accept.
written by May, November 19, 2009
written by cupofjones, November 19, 2009
That said, I would have been upset by Ms. Valenti's comment, too, had I not spoken to her personally at the California NOW conference a year and a half ago, at which we discussed BUST and its presence as a feminist voice in the print and digital media realms. She certainly didn't have anything bad to say about it then.
Also - and this is going to sound nitpicky, but I don't really give a shit - in the spirit of good journalism, could we please spell and grammar check our entries? "Apparantly"? "It's head"? C'mon. As the daughter of two English teachers, I expect more from you ladies. (And the rest of the world, for that matter.)
written by Indy Grrrl, November 19, 2009
written by southerngirlknits, November 19, 2009
(Judgmental remarks like this are the reason I don't read Feministing much anymore.)
Now, back to my cable-knit socks, and plans to eradicate the patriarchy.
written by Amanda Barlow, November 19, 2009
http://thepowerbombshell.blogspot.com/2009/11/feminism-and-femininity-are-not.html
written by southstudentsforchoice, November 19, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/magazine/15fob-q4-t.html
In case the HTML coding doesn't work you may need to copy and paste the address above into your browser.
She didn't devalue crafting either in intent or in how the phrase was edited. She was asked what publications she compared herself (meaning Feministing, which is more than Jessica, anyway) with, and you can read the rest in context at the link above. The best way to read what she said might be that Bust is more "crafty" but she's not meaning (and the quote doesn't say) that she's implying it's less feminist.
What one (not to put words in Jessica's mouth) might have additionally said is that Bust has over time become more oriented to crafting, art, and music, like Venus Zine, for example, than politics and protest, but that there's a lot of feminist culture that they share with feminist blogs, which is what the interview starts out to be about - feminist blogs. But this one paragraph is longer than the responses that are usually given in Q&As like the NYT journalist's "Questions For..." column usually includes.
written by anotherpatricia, November 19, 2009
but she and the quote do explicitly say that Bust is less feminist. I don't know how else you can interpret "Bust used to be a feminist magazine, but now it's more crafty and about making things out of yarn."
I think it's good she apologized. I think it would be appropriate for her to post an apology on her blog, as well as here, and to write a letter to the nyt.
written by southstudentsforchoice, November 19, 2009
The misunderstanding here comes from the quote not going on to say something like how Bust it still is feminist but in different ways that don't as clearly fall into definitions of feminism as an ideology, or an "-ism". Jessica probably feels that Bust used to have more feminist content like on politics, and given the changes that Bust has gone through since it's beginnings in the early 90s it's correct to say that.
But Bust still does have new content that relates to feminist politics, and the fact that it may have less political content -- and maybe especially to Jessica to seem to have much less -- is because Bust and other feminist culture websites and magazines (like Venus Zine, for example) have become more focused on arts and culture say over the last 5-10 years because the online feminist community has grown enormously, and most of that growth has been in blogs which deal more with feminist politics, or political takes on feminist themes. The biggest change was seen after the 2004 presidential election with the growth of blogs as a political organizing tool, and many feminist blogs -- including Feminsting -- developed around that time.
Jessica will probably comment on this on her blog and say in so many words that she's sorry for any misunderstanding. From what we've read of Jessica and Bust, for that matter, it's not likely that anyone feels seriously insulted or even criticized. If anything, this is like a catfight over a ball of yarn, with no moves intending to cause any hurt, but rather to have fun and maybe even turn this into something that brings good attention to both "Jessica's blog" Feminsting and Bust.
written by issy, November 19, 2009
Having gone through, and spoken out against, this EXACT thing in her very own book, she really should know better
written by dizzymisslizzy, November 19, 2009
I have loved BUST for years, but lately something's off. Why can't we love ALL women, instead of finding opportunities to tear our fellow woman down?
written by jamia, November 19, 2009
written by sophieoh, November 20, 2009
written by Shy Mox, November 20, 2009
written by Polli, November 20, 2009
I am a feminist, among the vast and varied population of women who embody that definition. I've been a stay-at-home-mom (whatever that means...because I certainly do not just "stay at home") I have 6 kids-my youngest is 15. I've been fulfilling my goals as an athlete, event planner, board member and community service volunteer, floral designer and artist to name a few of my endeavors over 30 years of child rearing. I even tried to learn to knit once but I didn't sit still long enough to finish my projects. (One of my sons, who is now a furniture designer, accomplished the most with yarn and needles!) My sons are daughters are all self-proclaimed feminists-2 of my sons were women's studies dual majors in college, and my daughters are strong, STRONG gals.
It has been my primary mission as a mother to teach my kids to make the most of their time here on this planet and embrace diversity among women and men.
I have found it sad and disheartening that during my many years of interacting with women in varied venues, I have been in many testy conversations with (usually very young) working moms who have felt the need to denigrate those of us who chose not to. I have heard pieces on the radio and read articles and books on the subject...trust me, I am going somewhere with this...
The point is, I would wager that Jessica is quite young and lacks the life-experience, maturity and confidence to know how to define herself without denigrating others. She will learn. Meanwhile, let's all make an effort to celebrate our differences and learn from one another, as cliche as that sounds...so true and so important. Paula
PS
As you have surely realized, I'm way out of your demographic, but I thought you would want to hear from a reader in my age group. I picked up my first issue of BUST in Northampton, MA when my daughter was at Mt Holyoke College because Susan Sarandon was on the cover. It was a striking photo of an amazing (older) woman, and I was impressed with your content. I have passed your magazine on to the talented and bright young women in my life-daughters, daughters-in-law and fiances. We all enjoy the sharp reviews; out-of-the box articles (no pun intended); relevant and timely content; and an aspect that's just naughty enough with a little bit of crafty nice.
written by CourtneySue, November 20, 2009
By the way, I am and know a lot of knitters, and every one of them would qualify as a feminist.
written by sheila shotwell, November 20, 2009
written by Lisa, November 20, 2009
written by Laurie, November 20, 2009
I'm very happy for feministing, I'm sure the press is great for her business, but this was pretty bad for us. In any case, thank you all for your support, it means alot to us, after all, we want to keep publishing and we will continue to try and support women in all the various things they do, be it knitting, blogging, raising kids, starting businesses, etc.
written by Scano, November 20, 2009
Go BUST or go home. Still my favorite mag. I'm still going to try and get published with them one day.
written by Jessica Valenti, November 20, 2009
A request to the BUST crew: It would be wonderful if you could update your post to reflect that I've responded in your comments section - I've gotten tweets and emails from women who weren't aware of the conversation going on here. (As you know, most people don't read comments, just the post) Thanks in advance for considering it.
written by J. Carpenter, November 20, 2009
written by Scano, November 20, 2009
written by MishMish, November 22, 2009
I only skimmed all the comments, but MANY PEOPLE SEEMED TO MISS THE APOLOGY AND CLARIFICATION FROM JESSICA VALENTI ABOVE.
And just looking at the quote in the context in which it was published, Jessica doesn't say Bust isn't FEMINIST, she said it's not a FEMINIST MAGAZINE. Which I interpret to mean that she thinks it's a crafty magazine with a feminist lean rather than a magazine specifically focused on feminism. Which seems pretty accurate to me. And I LOVE Bust. And I love feministing.com. And they both sometimes say things that I don't love. And that's ok. Because we are thinking individuals with different opinions who think different things are important. Which is why we're so awesome. =D
It's totally valid to call out people who hinder the cause of feminism, but all the high-heel-bashing and other irrelevant attacks are certainly not helping the cause, you know?
written by ahem., November 22, 2009
written by Vaverine, November 22, 2009
This feels stupid. BUST *isn't* ABOUT feminism - as Jessica may have implied and Debbie flat out said. What Jessica said made sense in context, she apologized for the out-of-context implication and we've even agreed with her original meaning... WHY are you still playing victim?
This feels more like the BUST ladies were embarrassed in front of the cool kids and are refusing to let it go until they drag Jessica down too. And that's not feminist, or even grown-up.
The internet is a public place and we're your audience/customers not your best-friends. Hurt feelings belong on personal blogs.
written by Toongrrl, November 23, 2009
written by jennagodis, November 26, 2009
regardless of what Jessica said this post feels attacking in ways that were unnecessary. (and if Jessica was criticizing or putting down BUST, then this post is just hypocritical, too).it's understandable that you'd want/need to post a response, but did it have to take such a snarky & attacking tone? you could have defended yourselves without trying to take someone else down.
i get the nyt magazine and, honestly, Jessica's interview didn't affect how i feel about BUST at all; this did.
i've been subscribing to Bitch since the 90s and just recently decided to subscribe to BUST, but i'm seriously debating that now. (i've already unsubscribed from the newsletter.)
it would be nice to see some accountability for your actions/words (i.e this post) in this situation, too.
written by Alison Tyler, December 03, 2009
It also bothers me when someone who has been put down ("but now it's more crafty and about making things out of yarn" still reads like a huge trivialization of all that BUST is to me) is supposed to take the high road.
XXX,
Alison
written by replica bag, December 04, 2009
There are millions of girls & women reading Bust articles and it sure be of that much truth and realistic things that are faced by women today.
written by issy, December 04, 2009
Personally I would never have heard about this issue if this article hadn't come to my attention, and I think that's what this article was about- bringing an issue some attention that the writer considered important, not COOL KIDS VS' INDIE KIDS or whatever divisive metaphor was used.
I think the fact that she DID use a mainstream outlet to air her opinion is what sparked this rebuttle, because that is the outlet that most young or inexperienced people have to get their info from. Dismissing Bust as just a craft magazine would cause those who aren't interested in crafts, like myself, to dismiss the magazine without realizing there is more to it than that.
Now that the balance has been readdressed and the feathers smoothed and the waters cleared, we can stop taking sides hopefully?
I like Jessica. I like Bust. There are things that both have done I don't like. I speak up when either does something I don't like. It isn't a tit for tat thing. It's not vengeance or trying to tear anyone down. It is simply What I Think About Things. Which is my right. Which is Jessica's right. Which is Bust's right. Both have exercised their right to their opinion. There is no need for a cheering section at this point.
written by Emsies, December 12, 2009
I mean, homemade popsicles and iron-on graphics are cool... but I never subscribed to BUST for that stuff. If that was the kind of writing I wanted I would have signed up for Martha Stewart's magazine instead.
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