Bitch Media, Trailblazing Feminist Publication, Shutters After 26 Years

Since 1996, Bitch Media has found a way to educate and inform a feminist audience by providing thought-provoking criticism on media and pop culture. For over 25 years, the company continued to instigate conversations on sociopolitical theory through their magazine, website, podcasts, writing fellowships, campus programming, and more. As the longest-running feminist publication, they truly have trail-blazed and managed to be a site to say the things that no one wanted to say, and the things that many hadn’t heard said out loud before.

Yesterday, Bitch Media announced that they will be ceasing all operations in June of 2022.

“Recent years have brought a multitude of challenges to our organization, and despite incredible effort, we have concluded that we are unable to sustainably continue creating the quality content that our readers and supporters expect,” the company said in their official statement.

It’s a tragedy, to say the least. Fans are mourning the provocative publication.

what a sad day as i get my last copy in the mail. bitch was my first print byline – rip to the mag that *calmly* dedicated itself to conversations people needed to hear rather than what they thought people wanted to hear. you don’t see much of that anymore. https://t.co/4v60owfdUG

— christal (@dearskye) April 13, 2022

I have been buying issues and subscribing to Bitch Mag since high school. Very very very sad to see it go, especially when it became such a space for Black and woc feminist thought. Heartbreaking 💔

— Cassie Osei (@tropigalia) April 12, 2022

The magazine served as a form of education, as a “political awakening” for most. Many of whom grew up in sheltered and conservative environments where their sociopolitical awareness was slim to none.

i’ve read bitch mag since high school and it was a major politics awakening to me as a kid. i’m so sorry they are closing, and so gratified to have gotten a chance to write for them. bitch, thank you for all you’ve given us! 💔 https://t.co/ySfLbAmBik

— Roan Parrish (@RoanParrish) April 13, 2022

BITCH was the first feminist mag I started reading back when I was still an evangelical teenager. it helped make a difference in how I thought, in how I began to challenge things.

the latest issue just showed up at my house this week. damn. what a run.

— Jeanna Kadlec (@jeannakadlec) April 13, 2022

The publication provided opportunities for intelligent topics to be divulged on by writers. The writers were given creative freedom to tell their stories, thoughts, and dreams. 

I am deeply emotional and upset about @BitchMedia closing – writing for Bitch has been one of the highlights of my career and the mag is what made me want to become a writer in the first place. I am so heartbroken over this loss but so grateful Bitch existed at all. https://t.co/ZX5W1vlC8P

— Elly Belle 🔮 (famously not a woman) (@literElly) April 12, 2022

This is really sad to hear and it sucks. @andizeisler was one of the first editors to take a chance on me and Bitch has been a touchstone for me through the years. Truly a loss to independent feminist media. https://t.co/MOGaA3F0hq

— s. e. smith (@sesmith) April 12, 2022

so heartbroken. there has never been a mag like bitch and there never will be again.. they published one of the first real stories i ever wrote and to this day it’s one of my proudest moments. this is truly an incalculable loss https://t.co/lrsECJRVPW

— rayne fisher-quann (@raynefq) April 13, 2022

Bitch Media was responsible for shaping the minds and intellect of all their readers and listeners. Their content became a tool to bring enlightening perspectives and stories to the table. It was for women, the LGBTQ+ folks, people of color and, yes, even the occasional straight white man. Their absence in alternative literature and media will be felt come June.

“We feel incredibly lucky to have turned what was once a stapled-together zine into a media organization that published a talented and diverse slate of new voices and inspired an incredible amount of loyalty from people who became not just readers but stakeholders in our work,” the publication said. “And we are proud to leave a quarter-century legacy as a fresh, revitalizing voice in both contemporary feminism and independent publishing. We will miss all those who accompanied us on this journey. Thank you for everything.”

I don’t have the words for what @BitchMedia meant to generations of feminists. To every writer, editor, photographer, designer, copyeditor, proofreader, thinker, and donor who shaped its pages and its vision, thank you. This is so sad. I’ll be sad for a very, very long time.

— Evette Dionne (@freeblackgirl) April 13, 2022