History
The first issue of Bitch was published in 1996 in Oakland, CA. The founding editors, Lisa Jervis and Andi Zeisler, along with founding art director Benjamin Shaykin, wanted to create a forum in which to air thoughts and theories on women, gender, and feminist issues, especially as they appear through the lens of the media and popular culture. The first issue of Bitch was a zine, and a mere 300 copies were distributed from the trunk of a station wagon. In 2001, a loan from San Francisco's Independent Press Association allowed Jervis and Zeisler to work on Bitch full-time and the magazine officially became a non-profit. In March 2007, Bitch relocated from its offices in Oakland to Portland, OR. The magazine's 50th issue was published in 2011. In 2009, Bitch transitioned from a typical print magazine to become a multimedia nonprofit, Bitch Media that publishes the magazine, blog and Popaganda podcast. Today, over 2,000 retailers carry Bitch Magazine and has 50,000 readers
Specialties
Bitch Media is a non-profit multimedia organization best known for producing Bitch magazine, a quarterly publication with the tagline A feminist response to pop culture. The magazine includes analysis of current political events, social and cultural trends, television shows, movies, books, music, advertising, and artwork from a feminist perspective and has 50,000 issues in circulation. In addition to the magazine, Bitch Media also produces a blog, Popaganda podcast hosted by Sarah Mirk, and has active Facebook and Twitter accounts that relay their more timely stories while the magazine prints extended commentary on popular culture through a feminist lens. Bitch's mission is to provide and encourage an engaged, thoughtful feminist response to mainstream media and popular culture.