I’m not sure why Broken Pencil asked me to review a publication with the subtitle “By girls for girls,” but I’ll give it a shot – man, those feminists never know when to shut up. I’m just kidding! This is actually a great little feminist-empowerment zine, and when they say “by girls” they mean it – out of almost 50 contributors to this issue, not one is over the age of 19. “Reluctant Hero” combines the attitude of “Bust” with the youth orientation of “Sassy,” but with its own twist – instead of concentrating on political issues or makeup ones, it instead simply publishes tales of what teenage girls are doing around the world. The articles range from Desiree Walsh’s hatred of her school uniform to Amy Wright’s first snowboarding experience, to Sarah Douglas’ frustrations with being skinny and everyone thinking she’s anorexic, to Carey Rudisill’s sincere plea for teenage girls to masturbate more. The writing is fresh and original throughout, and this has actually turned out to be my favorite zine I’ve read all year. Go get it! (JP)
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