Brian Braithwaite and Joan Barrell say it appears as drab and colourless, not jolly or a good read. Winship says jolly it is not, but definitely a good read. pg 123. Spare Rib is more about ideology than aesthetic, it 'strives to meet a high standard but it isn't going to feel it's failed if it doesn't manage it' - Sue O'Sullivan page 129. It's more focused on communicating a strong feminist message.
'Unlike commercial magazines it expresses less a fragile contentment with woman's lot than a critical discontent.' pg 123 It resonates with strong feelings sometimes exuberance, sometimes pain, sadness and anger. Could this be the characteristic of 80s feminism and less so for current feminism? pg 124
The magazine has a recurring issue of trying to appeal to an audience within the feminist movement and an audience outside of it. The problem is 'how to be popular, accessible and reach more woman without toning down what we want to say' (April 1977, no.57.) They have a contradicting policy that means the never assume the reader is familiar with the women's movement and therefore has to seem welcoming but also consistent. pg 123 Although, Winship seems to think that the cheaper more experimental feel of the magazine means that it's not try to acquire a readership from commercial magazines, but really only targets their steady feminist readership. pg 129
Spare Rib doesn't need to appeal to advertisers and therefore doesn't need to have the desired sexual/domestic look that advertisers invest in. It rejects the idea of visual imagery related to women's capitalist consumption. pg 128-129 This however does mean that it's an austere production, it spurns glossy advertising so has to rely on subscriptions and sales which means it is in constant financial crisis. Without being able to afford a team of designers though it means it doesn't have a straightforward house style, which in many ways leads to more experimentation. pg 129
Although, it is important to consider that feminists, like other women, get caught up in capitalist consumption and the 'visual fix'. Spare Rib has a wholesale policy of rejecting consumer/capitalist culture and 'as a consequence of this politics Spare Rib's practices on the one hand give it space to be editorially flexible and make it 'the readers' magazine in a way commercial magazines cannot be, and on the other restrict it financially and tend to shape it as primarily a magazine to be read by 'insiders' but arguably, less for enjoyment than as a 'duty'.' Perhaps this suggests that to an extent magazines should tap into our consumerist desire as this is, to a extent, is what draws people towards them. pg 130
Feminist Magazine Research:
'The personal is political' it's considered consciousness raising and 'by sharing and making public was seem individual and private experiences, woman begin to understand the social roots to these experiences, they muster from a common oppression a supportive strength to help each other transform their lives.' pg 125
'Many women are less attracted to feminism than intimidated by what it seems to stand for: a wholesale rejection of all the personal and institutional baggage associated with femininity, whether it be consumer culture which seeks and nurtures 'false' images of womanhood or marriage.' pg 125-126
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