Drop your subscription to Allure and start subscribing to bitch, a magazine that has billed itself as a “feminist response to pop culture” for more than a decade. This publication’s brazen quality may seem off-putting at first if you’re older than 40, and the ads for feminist sex toy shops (catering to all genders and orientations) are hard not to notice (hmmmmm), but once you get into the actual reading, the top of your head will open up to a new energy that’s smart, healthy, and healing. It’s a fantastic magazine. Do you doubt me? Read on.

The Winter 2007 issue takes innovative stands on subjects as intriguing as Suze Orman, the Girl Scouts, Tyra Banks, and the growth of feminist vegetarianism (writes Aimee Dowl on the later topic: “Yes, Gloria Steinem is a vegetarian, but none of the major feminist organizations in the United States… have policies dealing with vegetarianism, ecofeminism, meatpacking labor, or animal rights issues.”)

Writer Wendy Felton mocks Glamour magazine for cheerfully reminding readers that five of the eight “Sports Illustrated” swimsuit-issue models have passed their 30th birthdays as if to say, “Wow, you can be that old and that good looking.” Says Felton: “It’s not exactly earth-shattering (or helpful) to learn that you can still be attractive beyond age 30…if you were beautiful before you crossed the dreaded threshold.”

Most interesting to me, is the article on radical knitting and craft. Gosh, what a great review of why a new generation of young people are finding the creation of their own garments and belongings a comfort, as well as a surprisingly powerful political statement. We can talk more about this. Writes author Wendy Somerson:

Like the slow-food movement, which discourages a reliance on fast food and encourages slower-paced home cooking with local ingredients, the radical knitting movement relies on its advocates making the decision to take the time to handmake an item, even though it would be much faster (and sometimes cheaper) to go buy something similar at Old Navy. By slowing down, knitters can reap the spiritual rewards that come with establishing a repetitive rhythm with our hands; we can achieve a calm physiological state similar to that of meditation. Being mindful of every stitch that goes into a garment, we can feel a strong connection to the items that we wear, use, donate, sell, or give as gifts. Unlike mass-produced objects that alienate workers from what they produce, handcrafted items have the potential to ensure a connection between creators and their creations.

Read the whole article, read the whole issue. It comes quarterly. Here’s where to subscribe.