She’s a bitch. Her name? Andi Zeisler.
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She’s a woman speaking her mind, responding to society and pop culture, pushing feminism forward while redefining the meaning of bitch. Zeisler is the co-founder, editorial and creative director of Bitch Magazine, with success fueled by her feminist fire burning with passion.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Heroines and Hellions series featured Zeisler in the Union Wisconsin Ballroom with a diverse audience Wednesday night hosted by the Women’s Resource Center.
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“There were people of all different backgrounds who came out,” said Cathy Seasholes, the Women’s Resource Center director.
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Heroines and Hellions is a series, free and open to the public, spotlighting women who challenge perceptions, power structures, stereotypes, and expectations in conventional and unconventional ways in mediums ranging from speakers, art, and films to performances or activism.
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The Women’s Resource Center hopes the series ignites new conversations about women’s identities, images in contemporary culture, power and sexuality.
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Zeisler and co-workers are working hard to re-elucidate what bitch means.
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Bitch Magazine is a feminist response to pop culture which began in 1996 out of Portland, Oregon as an all-volunteer ‘zine and a small circulation, now reaching over 50,000 readers. The Chicago Tribune has stated, “[It’s] A breath of journalistic fresh air.”
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“Feminist don’t want to just liberate women they also want to liberate men,” said Zeisler.
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Bitch. Bitch. Bitch. Bitch. Bitch.
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Now what might you say is a bitch? Well, by technical dictionary terms it’s as stated:
bitch |biCH|
noun
1 a female dog, wolf, fox, or otter.
2 informal, derogatory a spiteful or unpleasant woman.
• black slang a woman.
• a person who is completely subservient to another: he will always be her bitch.
3 (a bitch) informal a difficult or unpleasant situation or thing: the stove is a bitch to fix.
4 informal a complaint: my big bitch is that there’s nothing new here.
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5 To Zeisler and Bitch Magazine, “bitch” is an epithet hurled at women who speak their minds, who have opinions and don’t shy away from expressing them, and who don’t sit by and smile uncomfortably if they’re bothered or offended.
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“When we started the magazine we wanted to do for Bitch what the LGBT movement had done for Queerd, taking a tremendous slur and owning it, reclaiming it, and saying this is something we want to be called and we’re going to call it to ourselves. It worked,” explained Zeisler.
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Katharine Perella, a feminist and student of UWM, is a fan of Bitch. “They are reclaiming the word,“ said Perella.
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They stress if being an outspoken woman means being a “bitch” then they’ll take that as a compliment.
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“We should use bitch in the context that does not draw from negative historical and social meanings; it’s a word that doesn’t need to be associated with a certain gender,” said Perella.
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But not everyone is convinced of redefining “bitch” and the magazine is well aware of it. “We have to talk about whether or not it is possible to reclaim the word, there are still people who have no interest in reclaiming bitch, still using it in the classic ways,” said Zeisler. She doesn’t know if it’s possible for the feminist movement do as the LGBT community did.
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“The project for the reclamation of bitch has been…pretty fraught,” said Zeisler sounding defeated.
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Andi Zeisler???
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She sits relaxed, legs crossed.
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Her black fifties style glasses with blue floral printed lace tights and corky style makes you notice her.
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With her calm soothing voice, she describes herself as a polite woman, introverted and non-confrontational, even though she is well aware her zeal is stirring up a loud commotion in the media world.
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Her passion to be a feminist, activist, and writer came with being an avid reader at a young age. “The characters [in books] had some sort of a reckoning with what was expected of them and what was in their hearts,” said Zeisler. Female characters chafed against societal expectations.
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Let’s Progress Not Digress
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In many instances for gender equality “It’s one step forward, two steps back or sometimes two steps forward one step back,” said Zeisler.
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Zeisler’s advice: everyone needs to step in more and take more control. “We do have power, especially if everything is driven by capitalism, we’ll have some measure of control” said Zeisler.
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She argues that choosing not to support certain products, networks, etc. and putting forth ideas that are not repugnant is how consumers can seize the power, pushing companies who negatively view gender equality out of the way.
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Who’s the Bi…Breadwinner Now?
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Women are on the rise and taking over! Now more than ever, more women bring home the big bucks for the family, graduating to later seat an executive position.
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Our parents were of a very different generation. “My father told my mother that she had to give up her high power executive job after she had kids,” said Zeisler.
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Rebecca Grassl is a Milwaukeeian and Assistant Director of the Student Union. “A key element is helping male identified people to be allies and keep the [feminist] conversation going,” Grassl emphasized.
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Many actions held in her household informed Zeisler that things weren’t fair and they weren’t fair for reasons based on gender differences. “I would be asked to mend my brothers clothes even though he took home economics and I didn’t,” explained Zeisler.
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Today women are no longer being told to stay home raise the family, cook and clean. “Men and women’s stereotypes are becoming less rigidly defined,” said Zeisler.
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Even though, many women and men still participate in that “old fashioned way,” society is still moving toward to an equal, freeing both women and men of old societal expectations.
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Media Milwaukee
Amy Watanabe
