“Femininomenon” isn’t just a Chappell Roan song, but it’s also the name of San Diego State University’s first female-run magazine.
Avery Joy, an english and comparative literature major, created a final project, which ended up being a blueprint for a magazine, in her creative editing and publishing class (ECL 576B) with Meagan Marshall. This magazine could be any topic of choice, so Joy chose to highlight how central women have been in her life.
“I come from a single mother and most of my friends are women. I currently live in a house with all women. And so, I was just feeling like there needed to be a space to celebrate that”, she said.
Joy acknowledged that creating a club without guidelines or steps to follow is challenging. She recognized that a leader not only has to ensure that their club is running smoothly, but also be certain they are representing and including everyone’s voices.
Another challenge Joy encountered was collaborating with other clubs on campus. “A lot of times, people haven’t taken us completely seriously just because we’re women and because they’re co-ed groups, and they don’t necessarily want to work with us,” she explained.
Since Joy started “Femininomenon” by herself, she utilized her connections. She asked herself, “Who’s a great photographer? Who’s a talented artist? Who’s a skilled writer?”
She began to unite the team when two of her friends joined the magazine: Jadyn Jacquez, the event coordinator, and Jacie Foster, the treasurer and head of styling. When Joy was a part of “The Look” magazine, she met the remaining members of the, now executive board for “Femininomenon”: Ella Bentley, managing director and co-head of writing; Sara Corrado, head of art and graphics and Katie Flores, head of photography. Joy herself is the editor-in-chief, founder and co-head of writing.
Once the executive board came together, the writing, photography, art teams soon followed suit, with the modeling team joining most recently. Members are allowed to submit one entry into any team they are interested in. For example, a member can only submit a writing piece and an art piece, but not two art pieces or two writing pieces.
“Femininomenon” is released biannually, every fall and spring semester. Last semester, they released their first issue, themed “Girl On Fire,” featuring emotional and impactful stories.
While Bentley serves as the managing director and co-head of writing for “Femininomenon”, she is also pursuing a major in psychology with a minor in counseling and social change- something reflected in the magazine’s content.
She explained, “Some creatives wrote about family experience, their upbringing or their background. Whereas other creatives spoke about the idea of women being fed up with years of injustice and a lack of proper treatment.”
“Femininomenon” is not just for women— non-binary individuals, men and creatives alike, are welcome to join the mission of women empowerment. This magazine encompasses fiction, short stories, interviews, personal stories and social commentary. As well as other forms of art like full photography shoots, painting, and textiles.
For example, last semester they collaborated with the female band Girls Got Nerve. Corrado and Joy were invited to the band’s recording studio, where they wrote an article and did a photoshoot on the band. These photos were used in the band’s first EP.
Not only serving as an outlet for female artists, but through social events and club meetings, “Femininomenon” has fostered a community that allows for friendships to be made. Corrado, an art education major, highlighted how this community has evolved into great friendships and how the meetings grow into social activities for every member to interact and get to know each other.
“I learned how important female friendships are. Like from this magazine Avery and I have grown a lot closer, it’s been great. I think because you just meet so many people, and we’re creating a safe space for everybody, and every club meeting is different,” said Corrado.
It has also gotten the attention of professors and school faculty alike, who have said the quality of the magazine, the page layout, the formatting and the powerful message and mission statement are impressive. Especially since this magazine was a concept just one year ago, with its second issue already coming out.
Now, for their second issue, the theme is “Still I Rise” inspired by the poem of the same name written by Maya Angelou, which is about being resilient and strong in the face of adversity, particularly concerning the challenges African American women have faced.
“Femininomenon” has made its mark at SDSU. By working with other women on campus, they have grown a safe space for women to feel welcome, to share their art and to build friendships. They have shown, despite the odds, there is no obstacle that women can’t face. This magazine has become a beacon in the community not only for women at SDSU, but for women outside of SDSU as well.
Bentley highlighted how important having a magazine ‘for women by women’ on campus is: “There are many aspects of life and just in this world where women are underrepresented and their voices aren’t heard. This magazine amplifies our voices and it gives us a space to feel heard and that we are communicating our emotions and our feelings and our takes on different things. It’s a step in the right direction.”
