Every day for the last five years, Google Chrome has reminded me that one of my all-time, top visited websites is Rookie Magazine. I distinctly remember the mid-Sunday afternoon during my freshman year of high school when one of my closest friends emailed me a link to the website, telling me it was worth my perusal. Eager to procrastinate, I jumped at the distraction and was soon led to a colorful page listing the articles of the day and a number of others in the archive. After reading a short story by a contributing author, I was hooked. I began checking the page hourly, waiting for more articles to be posted (it took me several days of constant refreshing to realize that the articles were posted on a timed schedule). Since then, I read Rookie on a near-daily basis and spent countless hours poring over past stories.
Rookie is an online curation of articles by a variety of staff and contributing authors, all meant for teenage girls. However, it is far cry from the typical glossy teen magazines found in the grocery store checkout aisle. Articles range from short fiction to photo diaries to political pieces. There are interviews with authors, musicians, artists, celebrities, and friends. Some pieces cover the typical teen magazine content (articles on relationship advice, fashion and beauty tips, etc.), while others stray away from the stereotype of the teen girl magazine (articles on reproductive rights, political correctness, race, etc.). Above all, the constant thread among all the articles is of female empowerment and feminism. It provides both light hearted content and more serious pieces, but all with more depth than the average gossip magazine.
Rookie Magazine was founded in 2011 by style blogger Tavi Gevinson. At age 12, Gevinson started a blog called The Style Rookie, where she posted her musings and unusual outfits. Her blog received a surprising amount of attention from various news sources (including the New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, and more). This is how she made her entrance into the professional fashion world. After several years of blogging solely about fashion, Gevinson decided to expand her focus and eventually started Rookie Magazine at age 15. The website started as a small publication with three daily articles and a tiny writing staff, but has since expanded to five to seven daily articles and a much larger writing staff, in addition to hundreds of contributing readers. Gevinson now attends NYU and is involved in a variety of other projects including a number of Broadway and Hollywood productions, all while remaining Editor-in-Chief of the website.
As a high schooler, Rookie served as both a source of bonding and of inspiration. Once I got a number of friends hooked on the site, we would spend our free time perusing the links or making crafts inspired by recent articles. Some of our favorites included painting saddle shoe sneakers or making flower crowns (which Rookie debuted before they were the primary staple of every festival-goer). To this day, my friends and I will comment on creative styles by deeming them to be “so Rookie.” Rookie also acted as a source of inspiration for developing my sense of style and individuality in high school. As it presented a variety of styles and views that weren’t prominent in my rural hometown, it was a source of comfort that there was a like-minded community of girls out there, even if they weren’t nearby.
To this day, I would assert that Rookie served as the most shaping force on my worldview as a high schooler. It broadened my range of thought and understanding, in addition to serving as the most accessible and applicable introduction to feminism. Since my initial introduction to the website, I have quite possibly recommended the website to every single friend I have made since freshman year of high school. And besides, where else am I going to find step-by-step instructions on how to bitchface?