By Jess McCabe | 15 August 2006, 21:28

Q. How do you know when you’re in the middle of the feminist renaissance?

A. When the third new feminist magazine launched this summer lands on your doorstep.

Uplift! is the glossiest of the magazines yet, and by far the most professionally produced.

It’s beautifully illustrated, from the explosive front cover and the playful illustrations based on women’s descriptions of what it’s like to orgasm, down to the tiniest of sketches of morose call centre workers.

As a secret design geek, the fact that this latest feminist magazine is so well put together pleases me almost as much as the fact that this grassroots publishing coup is upon us.

At \xA32 a pop, it’s not even that expensive.

But what do you get for your two quid? It is a slender magazine. But hardly any of the pages are wasted on advertising.

It achieves a nice editorial balance. On the serious side, it features an interview with Finn Mackay of Reclaim the Night and London Feminist Network fame. But this is a magazine which is firmly rooted in pop culture feminism: the first pages of content are dedicated to a discussion of the hypocrisy of celebrity magazines.

There are some real gems, such as Sarah Barnes’ description of the pleasures of bedroom dancing.

If, on occasion, the pages look better than they read, remember that this is still the first issue. No self-published magazine of this type will be perfect first time around. Roll on issue two.

While you’re waiting for your copy to arrive, drop in on Bitch PhD to read about her woes trying to find a camera for her daughter which isn’t pink with a “big green vagina”. (via BlogHer).

The latest Carnival of Feminists is also up at Super Babymama.