Dear Reader,
When Bitch began its life as a beautifully drawn, hand-stapled ‘zine 19 years ago, it was daring, fresh, and a harbinger of the increasing importance of both pop culture and feminism in society. But as forward thinking as Bitch has always been, very few could anticipate the implications of the media and pop culture explosion fueled by the technology we now hold in our hands, wear on our wrists or interact with one way or another almost every waking hour of the day.
Truth be told, Bitch’s first website went online in 1998, two years after the first issue was personally delivered to bookstores out of the back of an old Volvo station wagon. Over the past two decades, our website has played second fiddle to our quarterly print magazine, suffering from its blog-style format, with great articles pushed off the front page in hours and long-form, highly-researched pieces indistinguishable from quickly-written responses to the news of the day.
The new bitchmedia.org is the culmination of several years of work to situate Bitch Media as a thought-leader and go-to feminist media organization online. We have a staff of eleven (we’ve grown by more than one-third since the redesign began!) and we’ve all had a hand in the design of this site, which not only does a better job of showcasing our writers and engaging our readers but also, and very importantly for a nonprofit media organization, strengthens our unique business model, which relies on subscriptions, sponsorship, and, the B-Hive, our critically important membership program.
This redesigned site is “bold,” “dynamic” and “inventive”— all adjectives used to describe our first issues. The potential for the new bitchmedia.org to engage, activate, and inspire a huge, diverse, robust community committed to social change is nothing short of thrilling. But don't just take our word for it. Hear from Online Editor Sarah Mirk on just how exciting the redesign is for readers and writers alike. Get into design details with Art Director Kristin Rogers Brown.
Here’s some of what’s new:
Organized and Curated: The new toolbar, organizing content by genre, is just the beginning. The new bitchmedia.org allows our editors to highlight and curate our diverse writers and their content in ways that are smart and fun, and allows you to find both news that is trending and important stories that too often go untold. The site will also allow us to better feature articles from Bitch magazine that are published online and will display the depth of our rich archive through functions such “Read This Next” and “Best of Bitch.”
Community and Action-Oriented: Whether you want to donate or subscribe, tweet or share, sign a petition or post a comment, the new bitchmedia.org is designed to make those actions easier and more accessible, from any device. Amplifying diverse voices speaks straight to our mission to encourage an engaged feminist response to pop culture, but our work only goes as far as the people who share it: you. So please, share what you love at bitchmedia.org! This is how we make change.
Responsive and Dynamic: The new site is designed for our readers to enjoy and engage deeply with our site, whether on a phone, desktop or tablet. To be a go-to, daily resource, bitchmedia.org needs to be as attractive and accessible on your phone as on your desktop—and now it is!
This website embodies our commitment to and investment in being leaders in the feminist community and a powerful voice for social change for the next 20 years. We truly wouldn’t be where we are today without your support and we are so eager to both expand our audience and deepen our engagement with our community through the new bitchmedia.org.
And one more thing before we close: We are incredibly grateful to our partners at Congruity Works for their ingenuity, patience and round-the-clock awesomeness.
We hope you enjoy the new bitchmedia.org as much as we do. Make sure to share your thoughts with us!
Julie Falk, Executive Director Andi Zeisler, Cofounder and Editorial/Creative Director
PS: If you're excited about the redesign, please show your support—become a member at Bitch or make a one-time donation! Membership includes a subscription to Bitch magazine in print and digital, as well as other benefits. It's never been faster, easier, or more rewarding to support Bitch. Check out what membership has to offer!
