Eve’s Back

[Update, July 2004: Eve’s Back is no longer published.]

Okay, here’s the blurb from the magazine:

Eve’s Back is a feminist magazine and the collective aims to:

  • keep women in touch with one another
  • inform women of events and resources in and around Manchester
  • encourage debate around issues of interest to women
  • encourage contributions
  • entertain and stimulate
  • respect one another’s differences
  • include articles of relevance to disabled women, black women, working class women, lesbians and women of all ages

We will not accept anything racist, sexist, ablest, homophobic, ageist, or anything promoting violence against women, and we will not advocate s&m.”

Eve’s Back is a magazine for women in the Manchester area, produced quarterly. It contains a variety of articles and a comprehensive and useful listings pull-out, including details of events, nightlife, meetings, groups, clubs, campaigns and contacts. For women in the Manchester area, this is an excellent resource.

The magazine is A4 size, approx. 25 pages long, and it has the style of a 6th form college magazine (don’t take that the wrong way – I was editor of my 6th form magazine!). What I mean by this is that there are several contributions from different women, of varying length and quality: from full length feature articles to short rants, poetry, reviews, news, and even a crossword. It has an informal layout and style, and like my 6th form mag, there seems to be one particular person who writes a lot of the stuff (in the issue I got anyway)!

The magazine includes black & white illustrations, cartoons and photos

The articles in the issue I read, to give some examples, included a special feature on chocolate; an article written by an ex-labour MP about her experiences of New Labour; an article about lone women walking in the country; rants on sexist advertising and homophobia; and a report from International Women’s Day celebrations in the Nepal Foothills! The magazine also includes black & white illustrations, cartoons and photos. In general it is a light read. The articles are generally short, not too heavy going, and many of them have a chatty feel.

The magazine is good because it enables any woman to contribute. They don’t have to be academic, they aren’t required to expound feminist theory – the magazine respects and allows ‘ordinary’ women to have a voice. I think this is a good thing and very worthwhile. I’d recommend it for women in the Manchester area; it would be a good way to make contacts and to keep informed of events. It is particularly good for lesbians and disabled women.

[Update, July 2004: Eve’s Back is no longer published.]