When you hear the word FEMINISM, what do you think? Personally, I feel proud. Women are effing amazing, but many of you don’t need me or even Nicholas Kristof to tell you that. The truth though, is the word feminism still holds negative connotations or unflattering labels. And yes, it’s 2015, and yes, that’s depressing, but that just means we need to do something about it (and regramming empowering quotes don’t count).
The women behind Top Rank magazine (shop it here) aren’t accepting this “truth” anymore and have set out to change the way people think about feminism. “Do you want equal rights? Do you want ultimate authority over your own body? Bottom line shit. Feminism is not anti-man, men can be feminists too. It’s about empowerment, sisterhood, and respect,” says Creative Director and OC-alum Christelle De Castro. Amen.
Issue No. 1, released today, is proof dreams that start at a Beyoncé concert really do come true. On a train ride home from Barclays Center, friends Alice Grandoit and Marquita Harris came up with a plan to empower women in the creative world. Grandoit, who works as a music producer, had noticed that most magazines always interviewed the same group of women who all looked the same. Like many of us, she wanted to read some real-talk: What are the challenges women face? How did they actually get to where they are?
The Brooklyn-based print publication does all that and more by profiling women of diverse backgrounds who are challenging the world around them. Its first coverstar is Janet Mock, who recently sat down with Oprah to discuss the complicatedness of being labeled a transgender woman. The issue also features interviews with multimedia artist Maggie Lee and Staten Island women protesting Eric Garner and Mike Brown.
"We try to break down the complexities of feminism. It’s also a lot about diversity. Racially, sure, but it expands to even diversity in one’s interests,” explains Harris, Top Rank’s Editor in Chief who previously helped found cult zine Qlix. What unites them, then? Grandoit continues: “They all fight for these basic human rights in their own ways. You would never see these women together anywhere else, but they are united because they truly own themselves and what they do.”
The breathtaking image of Mock was photographed in the old New York Times building, which is where the team spent its summer preparing for today’s launch. Top Rank received a grant from Brooklyn 1834, a collective that provides the historic space to new media companies. Whether you’re a paranormal-fanboy or not, there’s got to be some serious juju flowing through that place. “I felt like I was in a ‘90s movie, like this was Big and I was Tom Hanks,” said de Castro of the moment when the elevator doors first opened.
That energy lives in every single Top Rank team member. Get to know them by scrolling through the above slideshow and reading who thei
The women behind Top Rank magazine (shop it here) aren’t accepting this “truth” anymore and have set out to change the way people think about feminism. “Do you want equal rights? Do you want ultimate authority over your own body? Bottom line shit. Feminism is not anti-man, men can be feminists too. It’s about empowerment, sisterhood, and respect,” says Creative Director and OC-alum Christelle De Castro. Amen.
Issue No. 1, released today, is proof dreams that start at a Beyoncé concert really do come true. On a train ride home from Barclays Center, friends Alice Grandoit and Marquita Harris came up with a plan to empower women in the creative world. Grandoit, who works as a music producer, had noticed that most magazines always interviewed the same group of women who all looked the same. Like many of us, she wanted to read some real-talk: What are the challenges women face? How did they actually get to where they are?
The Brooklyn-based print publication does all that and more by profiling women of diverse backgrounds who are challenging the world around them. Its first coverstar is Janet Mock, who recently sat down with Oprah to discuss the complicatedness of being labeled a transgender woman. The issue also features interviews with multimedia artist Maggie Lee and Staten Island women protesting Eric Garner and Mike Brown.
"We try to break down the complexities of feminism. It’s also a lot about diversity. Racially, sure, but it expands to even diversity in one’s interests,” explains Harris, Top Rank’s Editor in Chief who previously helped found cult zine Qlix. What unites them, then? Grandoit continues: “They all fight for these basic human rights in their own ways. You would never see these women together anywhere else, but they are united because they truly own themselves and what they do.”
The breathtaking image of Mock was photographed in the old New York Times building, which is where the team spent its summer preparing for today’s launch. Top Rank received a grant from Brooklyn 1834, a collective that provides the historic space to new media companies. Whether you’re a paranormal-fanboy or not, there’s got to be some serious juju flowing through that place. “I felt like I was in a ‘90s movie, like this was Big and I was Tom Hanks,” said de Castro of the moment when the elevator doors first opened.
That energy lives in every single Top Rank team member. Get to know them by scrolling through the above slideshow and reading who thei