By Paula, for the Shocking Pink Collective Shocking Pink is described by the collective that produces it aged from 12-21 alternative magazine young women. Why?
First, the people who produce the established magazines young women are older women, siling in plusn ornices, cur off from the young women they are trying to reach by their sociely, which also affords them ac cess to skills, equipment, and money that young women are denied.
Editors of these magazınes they are giving us what we want, when there are no readily nauves lorus to caoose urom They regard the young women in their stories as 'sinners' keep the rest of us in line, following already well-rodden female respectability children, and perhaps a job to provide us with pin money.
Negative Secondly, the sort of material that they produce are stories where the 'victim' doesn't report the attack to the police, with no analysis why this might be;
when the majority 'models' are white and the magazine pushes a totally white culture.
Occasionally, a bright spot shows through the dark clouds, like a spread in Boy about now to ourselves when attacked by a man. In the same issue. however, woman writes in saving she tinks she is a lesbian and the ashti receives is negative, uninforma:te, and condescending.
We and others felt the need for an alternative magazine because the existing ones do not give • pression of our lives: These are some of the comments made to us:
consider many of, for face life with a realistic attitude.
designed for made the men and which is forced down my throat position in say Alternative available alterto be used to ucoCIucl as voule wolicu path somebody marriage up).
intelligence.
interested of rape, man:
articles the tion.
presented. For defend La youne comfort purposes, too snor us wao are agest.
"relisiie in- and older women.
Although I am guilty of buying a well-established magazine for girls, 1 their attitudes absoule rooisn ana iney never seem lo •.. Thank god someone has at last move to get out a real magazine for people of my age (16).' T'm sick to death of all the crap ...At someone has realised that we don't want the mythical female 'role' of mother, wife, or lover pushed upon us — we want to decide for ourselves.
None of the established magazines encourages us to teel complete or inThev encourage us to feel that we have to lean (usually boy) something (usually clothes and makeThey don't give us any credit for Like the rest of the media, they presume that we are only clothes, cooking, the home and family, and getting our I am sick to death of being told just what make-up to plaster myself in and instructed on exactly how to wear my clothes to attract the most attenWe are interested in some of these things, but not in the way they are example, don't necessarily wear "fashionable' clothes to catch a boy's eye, but we like dressing for ourselves and for practical and T'here are many issues which par ticularly concern younger women. It We are forced into certain situations because of our ings, We have fewer rights than men Our social and everytlay lives are »•• the subject-by editing the artieles: 'The existing magazines do not give a realistic impression of controlled by laws and attitudes which presume that we have to "protected', but in fact stop us from choosing what we want to do.
The very real alternative that Shocking Pink offers is the chance for the readers of the magazine to control the contents, because it allows young women to express their opinions, and experiences OI loc lume that really affect us, without an editor expressing his/her own opinion about