Status
Publication
Description
Both a literary magazine and a chronicle of girl culture, Bust was born in 1993. With contributors who are funny, fierce, and too smart to be anything but feminist, Bust is the original grrrl zine, with a base of loyal female fans--all those women who know that Glamour is garbage, Vogue is vapid, and Cosmo is clueless. The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order contains brand new, funny, sharp, trenchant essays along with some of the best writings from the magazine: Courtney Love's (unsolicited) piece on Bad Girls; the already immortal "Dont's For Boys"; an interview with girl-hero Judy Blume; and lots of other shocking, titillating, truthful articles. A kind of Our Bodies, Ourselves for Generation XX, The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order is destined to become required reading for today's hip urban girl and her admirers.… (more)
User reviews
Having started out as a hand-stapled zine, BUST swims with an in-your-face, grrrl power attitude that alternately taunts, encourages, and calls readers to battle. Contributors range from mysterious authors with names like Betty Boob and Scarlett Fever to such famous femmes as Courtney Love. Karp and Stoller organize the pieces into sections labeled "Sex and the Thinking Girl, "Men Are from Uranus," etc., offering introductions for each that provide humor, insight, and cultural context. And with selections like "Sex, Lies, and Tampax," "How to Be as Horny as a Guy," and "Bitch on Heels," this is not your mother's ladies' journal. Also included are such hilarious explorations of pop culture as "The Mysterious Eroticism of Mini-Backpacks," "My Keanu, A Fantasy," and "Bring Me the Head of Melanie Banderas." Whether you're intimidated or intrigued by such an irreverent approach to redefining the feminine, there's only more to come--and there's no place to hide. As the editors warn, "Wake up and smell the lipgloss, ladies: the New Girl Order has arrived." --Brangien Davis
This was a fun read, as a college student, but I wouldn't buy a copy for my younger sister until she's better developed her ability to read critically.