Bust bills itself as the magazine for “women who have something to get off their chests.” Now far be it from us to even think of women’s chests, but since they started it…
Actually, Bust is one of the few women’s mags that is intelligible to men. It’s “independent,” which means it’s not owned by one of the big publishing houses. As such, its pages are filled with features that seemingly appeal to women who might have more on their minds than just clothes, makeup, and men. If you look at the staff listing, you’ll note that the entire staff is women. Same for all the freelancers who write the stories. (We hope that some poor guy at least gets to empty the wastebaskets.)
You’ll find too that the stories are about women–particularly accomplished women, or at least interesting women. Musicians, designers, writers, business women, and heavy metal fans are all profiled intelligently. There’s not a paean to Colin Farrell to be found. And we like that because we find women interesting, too. Especially those who don’t give a damn about Colin Farrell.
Another thing we like about Bust is its earthiness. Its recent holiday gift guide was full of imaginative economical gifts picked by their staff, whom we’ve come to trust to be insightful at the same time as being reasonable. Almost all the gifts were under $100, but all of them would reveal the thoughtfulness of a giver much more than his current recession-emptied wallet. Bust’s advertising reflects this sensibility as well. Lots of independent designers of clothing and jewelry advertise here. Neither Dolce nor Gabbana are to be found in its pages.
More evidence of Bust‘s style is its not-so-tacit admission that women are interested in sex. There are the expected advice columns, of course, but they tend to assume the reader is already having sex. The thrust (pardon the pun but we couldn’t resist) of the columns is how to get more out of it. We like that. Our favorite, though, (hey, we are men, after all) is the back-of-the-book “One-Handed Read.” You figure it out.
Gift subscriptions to Bust
