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Hello,
I am 16, and rather annoyed
with my generation. I have lived
in multiple places and have
only met one fellow girl in
high school that could be classified
as anything close to a feminist.
This is one out of over 1,000
teenage girls that had any feminist
ideas. The rest of the females
that I have met are obsessed
with how they look and impressing
guys. Today I was going to write
a letter to Seventeen
magazine to see if they would
publish any articles about the
heated abortion issue, because
I feel that issue should be
acknowledged in my generation
as more than just a choice,
but as a choice that may be
taken away and should be kept
solid as a choice that is for
an individual to make.
Then
I realized, would Seventeen
publish that? And what should
I do? The conclusion that came
was: write my own magazine!!!
A magazine directed to teenage
girls, by women, for women.
Give them something other than
the normal junk reads about
clothes and makeup; give them
something about feminist issues,
real problems, better information,
and get a sense of female spirituality
and the power of the woman's
mind! What I need is funding,
other writers, and people who
want to see this happen. I can
write, am an artist, and am
creative. Is there anyone out
there willing to help?
Teenage
Feminist,
Sally
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Dear
Sally,
Thanks for personally dispelling
the myth that teenagers aren't
active or don't care. I think
it's great that you want to
speak out and that you want
to create a forum for others
to do so. I think that there
are many things you can do --
and you can do one or all of
them. For starters, you should
certainly write a letter to
Seventeen, telling them
that you are their target audience,
a reader of their magazine,
and this is an issue you want
them to cover. You might get
a response and you'll never
know until you try. You can
also try to get your messages
and perspective into existing
magazines--for instance, Teen
Voices, which is a quarterly
magazine out of Boston and which
would certainly want to hear
what you have to say. Or check
out Ms.
Magazine, which has
an older readership, but certainly
likes to include the voices
of women of every generation.
And,
of course, you can also start
your own magazine. Perhaps you
want to start it as a sort of
school newspaper. I suggest
this, only because you might
be able to get funding for it
from your school. If you decide
to do it by yourself, then I
can give you more suggestions
and perhaps even put you in
touch with friends of mine who
started their own magazine.
So, if you choose to go with
this, let me know and I'll make
the connection. Let me know
what happens either way, and
good luck - you will make a
difference.
Amy
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