Preface: Feminism and Pop Culture by Andi Zeisler

Welcome to my inaugural pick for my bookclub/readalong…thing. This is very much a work in progress, and things will probably evolve as I figure out what works or doesn’t work. And also: I recognize that nobody is reading this and that I’m just rambling into the void…but maybe that will change?

For this series, I’m discussing Feminism and Pop Culture by Andi Zeisler.

Some background

I was first introduced to Zeisler through Bitch Magazine, a quarterly magazine with the tagline “a feminist response to pop culture.” Zeisler was a founding co-editor, along with Lisa Jervis. 

The first issue of Bitch was published in January 1996, with the final issue being released in April 2022. 

Full disclosure: I loved Bitch. I didn’t read every issue, nor did I agree with everything I did read, but I appreciated that the articles in the magazine generally made me think. I found Bitch at a time when I was learning about feminism, and it played a formative role in my understanding of feminism. I was sad to see it go. 

Feminism and Pop Culture

Feminism and Pop Culture was first published in 2008. It’s a fairly short read at under 200 pages. 

I previously read Feminism and Pop Culture while Bitch was actively being published. One of the things that I remember thinking during my first read was that Zeisler wasn’t really covering anything that couldn’t be found on the pages of Bitch. Given the amount of time that has passed since Feminism and Pop Culture was first published, I suspect at least some of the book will feel dated. 

Reading schedule

I plan on breaking Zeisler’s book into smaller chunks, covering a chapter or two per week over the next few weeks. 

I’m hoping the breakdown will look something like this: 

➡️September 14: Chapters 1&2

➡️September 21: Chapters 3&4

➡️September 28: Chapter 5 and final thoughts

In each post, I hope to examine the following questions:

1️⃣How has feminism influenced pop culture, according to Zeisler?

2️⃣How has pop culture influenced our understanding of feminism, according to Zeisler?

Ways to join in

➡️I have set up a buddy read on The StoryGraph. If you have an account there, feel free to join.

➡️If you are subscribed to Grrrl Fans, you are welcome to comment on posts.

➡️If you are subscribed to Grrrl Fans, you are welcome to participate in the private channel on my Discord. If you haven’t received instructions about accessing the channel, please Email sage[@]grrrl.fan.

I’m hoping this will be a fun experience.