Locally published Bitch magazine celebrates their 15th birthday this month (their first issue was technically in winter of 1996, but we'll let it slide), with an art show of covers from their decade and a half history. (Herstory? Ha, just kidding, no.)

You can browse through all of their past covers here, and there are also a smattering of old articles available digitally, including the editor's note from their very first issue:


Make_Believe.jpg

This magazine is about speaking up. Because when we hear, over and over again, without responding, what the mass media has to say—that women are stupid, shallow, incapable—we will believe it. Too much of the time we’re told to shut up, to calm down, to take a joke. Well, we won’t. Because it’s not a joke, and what we have to say is too important to leave unsaid.
This magazine is about speaking up. It’s about formulating replies to the sexism that we see every day. It’s about using those replies to maintain our sanity. It’s easy to point a finger at the most egregious of what we see and say simply, “This is bad.” But we also need to recognize the more subtle assaults; they’re more pernicious. We need to talk about what they’re saying and why. We need to find and make girl-friendly places in the mass media. Where are the things we can see and read and hear that don’t insult our intelligence? How can we get more of them? This magazine is about theorizing and fostering a transformation of pop culture.

There's more fun to be had in the archives, like this late-'90s breakdown of MTV-generated female archetypes. It's like a feminist time machine! (No, not this one.)

The show opens Friday at ADX (417 SE 11th), with a reception from 6-9 pm.