Teen Vogue magazine has always impressed me with their journalistic quality, overall design, and somehow relatable profiles jammed between perfume ads and couture fashion. The young people’s magazine has, in my eyes, always had a voice in the magazine world and speaks to greater ideas than simple fashion.
Sadly, Teen Vogue will do away with their print edition at the end of this year, according to the New York Times. But on December 5th, Volume IV hit newsstands, causing quite a wave in their journalistic style. Volume IV which screams “nevertheless WE RESIST” across the cover complete with an American flag background and a picture of Hillary Rodham Clinton, has been guest-edited by HRC herself. The entire issue is dedicated to telling Clinton’s story about what happened in this past year as she calls the issue “a celebration of resistance and resilience”(12).
The issue is divided into chapters: Chapter 1 - On Unfinished Business, Chapter 2 - On the Power of Image, and Chapter 3 - On a Personal Note. While each chapter brings a new idea to the forefront, the main idea holds true throughout the magazine, that HRC is a strong woman who wants the voiceless to have a voice, her main focus being young women and minorities.
Positive quotes from Clinton line each page. Across from a Prada perfume ad sits a page called, “Run for Something,” encouraging young women to in fact, run for something. Following this is an article by a “former bro turned feminist in training” and then a section that speaks about DACA and its effect on a 22-year old from Honduras. Then, a few more beauty ads. This issue of Teen Vogue is especially unique because it is an entirely different experience reading the magazine. Usually focused on fashion, the magazine takes a turn with an issue dedicated solely to the ideas of HRC. I really enjoyed reading this issue and the way that the ads sort of dissolved into the atmosphere around me. Between articles and chapter changes, I did not feel distracted by the perfume or eyebrow lifts, but rather, I was interested in seeing what was on the other side.
Chapter 2 emphasizes the power of image. This is the section that really ties the entire issue into Teen Vogue’s normal setting, it incorporates hair, fashion, and persona. I wasn’t sure how this section would flow but it works well within the issue. It highlights iconic hairstyles of iconic women like Jackie Kennedy and Gloria Steinem.
The most enticing and fascinating part about the HRC-edited issue comes along in Chapter 3 – On a Personal Note, in an article titled “Meeting of the Minds.” This article talks about “five trailblazing talents from this year’s 21 under 21” who talked with HRC to “tackle the issues facing women and girls around the world”(59). Inspiring stories like 19-year-old Muzoon Almellehan’s, who fled Syria and now works in the U.K. to advocate for girl’s education or 19-year-old Nadya Okamoto who works through her company, Period, to provide menstrual products to those who can’t afford them.
Volume IV is overflowing with the terms resist, strong, feminist, and persistence. Words that are necessary for our country’s vocabulary during this presidency. But most importantly, words that are necessary within all of us. This issue left me thinking, and when a magazine does that, it's important to have others read it too. It's strong, it's sensitive, and it applies to all of us. Whether you voted for Hillary or not, this issue is worth your time and it is worth hearing what she has to say.
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