Our 20 Most-Read Articles of the Year

A detail of the cover of our spring print issue, Maps & Legends.

What a year! In addition to publishing four print issues of Bitch magazine, Bitch Media worked with exactly 153 writers to publish original online articles and put together 23 brand-new episodes of our feminism and pop culture podcast Popaganda. 

Since it’s the last week of the year, we’re looking back on all the great work we’ve published this year. We steer clear of publishing clickbaity articles, but are a home for thoughtful and incisive writing that says something new. From all the articles we published online, here are the 20 that were most widely read. 

January

• Why Jezebel was Wrong to Put a Bounty on Lena Dunham’s Photos by Kelsey Wallace

In a move that reeked of body shaming, the feminist site offered to pay $10,000 for unretouched photos of the Girls creator’s photoshoot with Vogue.  

February

• It’s Time to End the Long History of Feminism Failing Transgender Women by Tina Vasquez

An in-depth look of the way feminist groups have excluded transgender women and ignored the crucial need to advocate for trans rights.

March

• The Cost of Kale: How Foodie Trends Can Hurt Low-Income Families by Soleil Ho

When traditionally cheap foods become trendy, stores can charge more for them, pricing out families who used to rely on them.

• A Great Artist Kills His Wife—Now She’s Just a Quirky Footnote in His History by Leela Ginelle

A tribute to Joan Vollmer Burroughs, a poet struck down before she even turned 30.

• Oh Joy Sex Toy: How to Eat Pussy by Erika Moen 

I’m not sure what to make of this, but according to our analytics readers spent noticably longer lingering on this sexy how-to comic on December 25. Merry Christmas! 

April

• Newsstands Ban Magazine Cover Featuring a Breastfeeding Mom by Sarah Mirk

The mother and her son who graced the new issue of Hip Mama were deemed too hot for the newsstand.

May

• Read Two Sexy Comics from Smut Peddler edited by Spike

The women-made comics collection Smut Peddler includes a diverse array of people who love getting it on.

• Tina Belcher’s Sexual Revolution by Gabrielle Moss

A role model for teen girls comes from an unexpected place: animated Fox TV series Bob’s Burgers.

June

• The Surprising History of American Sex-Ed Films by Sarah Mirk

Most of us have endured an educational film on the birds and the bees, but the messages these films send has changed with each generation.

• Eight New Hobbies That Will Help Fight Hobby Lobby by Sarah Mirk and Andi Zeisler

The Supreme Court ruled that companies don’t have to provide birth control coverage, which means we’re now busy crafting vintage-inspired protest signs.

July

• Seven Studies that Prove Mansplaining Exists by Lucy Vernasco

It’s true—women get interrupted by men more often and are less likely to dominate classrooms.

• What Pennsatucky’s Teeth Tell Us About Class in America by Susan Sered

When the Orange is the New Black character gets a new set of dentures, suddenly she’s different from her working-class friends.

• How Big of a Problem is Harassment at Conventions? Very Big. by Janelle Asselin

A new survey shows that 25 percent of comics fans and professionals say they’ve been harassed at industry conventions.

August

• When Someone in the Sex Industry is Attacked, It’s Victim-Blaming Business as Usual by Andi Zeisler

When a former porn star went public about her ex-boyfriend’s abuse, people gave her a disgusting amount of flack.

• Nikki Minaj’s Unapologetic Sexuality is Not a Crisis by Amy Lam

A woman expressing her sexuality is easily (and lazily) derided as pornography.

September

• How Marge Simpson Raised Springfield’s Favorite Feminist by Mary Grace Garis

Lisa is a quotable gem, of course, by Marge Simpson is an underappreciated feminist of a different era.

October

• Instead of Banning Yoga Pants, Schools Should Crack Down on Harassment by Elleanor Chin

School dress codes target girls’ clothing, rather than the people who make them feel uncomfortable and unsafe.

• 16 Ideas for Feminist Halloween Costumes by the Bitch staff

From Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the all-lady Ghostbusters, some fun ideas for Halloween.

November

• A Look at How Media Writes Women of Color by Victoria Law

The hashtag #howmediawriteswoc sparks a necessary conversation about diversity in publishing and portrayals of women of color in news media.

• Oh Joy Sex Toy: Consent by Erika Moen

As this weekly sex-positive comic points out, all good sex has one thing in common.  

MOST POPULAR PODCAST SEGMENTS

Here are the four most popular interviews from our feminism and pop culture podcast Popaganda. These are the individual excerpts from longer shows that were the biggest hits on our Soundcloud page.

Why Do We Fear Menstrual Blood?

On our Oh the Horror episode, the ladies of podcast Crimson Tide talk about the use of blood in horror films.

From Genie to Housewife

On the (Re)Vision episode, media critic Stephanie Abraham explains how TV execs controlled the image of I Dream of Jeannie’s star.

Turning Video Game Music into Hip Hop Beats

On the Geek Girls episode, musician Sammus breaks down how she turns the soundtrack of classic video game Metroid into beats for her own original songs.

What Does Wonder Woman Represent?

As part of the episode on The Evolution of Wonder Woman, Scholar and author Jennifer K. Stuller talks to people at San Diego Comicon about what Wonder Woman means to them.

Popaganda comes out every two weeks. Subscribe to the show on iTunes and browse our podcast archive for all our shows.