Can you believe it is August already? We've just had our British summer and soon we will be inundated with the dreaded Back to School ad campaigns. But as September and autumn begin beckon we find we have something to look forward to.
Charlotte Raven's long awaited project has had several teething problems, the attempt to restore the feminist publication 'Spare Rib' was thwarted by original founder Marsha Rowe who feared the name Spare Rib would be turned into a brand and began the procedure of copyrighting the name. Writing in 'The Guardian' Marsha explained her actions: “The name Spare Rib has an emotional and a commercial value, but to us it was never a brand. It became iconic because of the energy, commitment and time of the many women who contributed to the magazine, who worked on it tirelessly, who put on fundraising concerts when we needed the cash, who used it as their focus for communication and challenge and dreams, for imagining how our lives could change and how this could be made a reality.”
Marsha's concerns regarding women's access to this new version of 'Spare Rib' sparked a name change and after a competition with suggestions from their members (such as 'Prime Rib' and the very popular 'Speculum') the new publication and site will be called 'The Feminist Times'.
In spite of various difficulties beyond simply name changes Charlotte, feminist journalists and those members who have donated to the project have worked hard and we at Funny Women HQ were excited to learn that come September 'The Feminist Times' site will go live and the first publication will be available in the autumn.
The bi-monthly magazine promises to be full of high quality journalism, club news and in-jokes. Editor Charlotte predicts: “I’ll probably prefer the print version of Feminist Times to it’s online incarnation. I always pictured it this way, as something I can read at breakfast time. It will be more beautiful than Private Eye, but not so designy that I'll mind spilling coffee on it.” We will be keeping our copies in pristine condition, of course.
Members of 'The Feminist Times' will have plenty of events to fill their calendars, with opportunities to meet the team, attend specially curated talks and share ideas with a focus on collaboration. You can still become a member and be a part of the project by joining here.
Bringing the Spare Rib '70s message: 'The personal is political' into the 21st century with the motto 'Life not lifestyle' 'The Feminist Times' looks set to become an exciting part of the latest wave of feminism we are currently riding.
