Sit at any table in the dining hall, and you’ll noticed the newest publication on campus: a feminist magazine called Misstique. Misstique’s main goal is to raise awareness about the accomplishments of girls on campus in any field, from academics to the sports and the arts. The magazine supports the idea that boys can support women’s rights as feminists and that conservative women can be feminists as well.
Editor-in-Chief of Misstique, Abigail Drummond ’18, said, “I started Misstique because the idea of having an all girls publication that we produced is really cool and really important. I wanted Misstique to be a platform where everybody could speak his or her mind to the greater Choate community and to the world at large.”
The magazine, which consists of artwork, photographs, op-eds, short stories, narratives and essays, started at the middle of spring term. Drummond said, “The magazine took about three full weeks to publish from the moment I shared the idea of creating Misstique to the actual distribution of the magazine. The time span was brief, as I had to get it out by the end of the year.”
Zara Harding ’18, who submitted a personal narrative to Misstique, said, “Both Misstique and feminism are important to me because I don’t think complacency is enough. I know that one of the submissions was about menstruation for girls in developing countries, and it opened my eyes to something that I did not know much about. I think it is really important to have a publication that is dedicated to the issue so that people can see that it is a problem and so that more people will feel passionate about these issues in order to uplift women around the world.”
Donessa Colley ’18, another Misstique contributor, helped capture many of the photos that make up the magazine, including the cover photo and a photo-article depicting the lives of women of color. Colley said, “I contributed to Misstique because feminism as a whole is really important to me. I think the magazine is a really great way to portray how I feel through art and to show people a different way of looking at some of the same issues.”
In addition to the contributors, Choate students shared their opinions on Misstique. Krystal McCook ’20 commented, “I think the magazine is so important and impactful, since, instead of just talking about feminism or sexism, the magazine creates an outlet that allows people to see and read about these issues. By putting it on the dining hall tables with such an interesting and mysterious design, I feel it will really attract people’s’ attention.”
Zachary Mothner ’18 said, “I read Misstique the day it came out, as it was on my dining hall table. I think it is a really cool concept to have a magazine created by girls, and I thought that it was really good read. There is definitely a sense of empowerment that comes from doing something like this, and the message about intersectionality and feminism is just something that has a good presence on campus.”
Harding said, “I feel that a lot of people who agree that, yes, men and women should be equal, realistically don’t see where the inequalities lie. I think a magazine like Misstique certainly brings these issues to life, and hopefully to the forefront of a deeper and ongoing campus-wide conversation.”
