The founding editors of Columbia women's magazine Auntie Bellum wrote in 1977 that "this kind of publication is long overdue. Women here have lacked some necessary tools for examining what experiences they have in common with those of other women." Thirty years ago, the publication was created for South Carolina women and their art, ideas and experiences.
Today, Auntie Bellum has been revived by a new group of forward-thinking Columbia women. The original four issues of the magazine featured women of all different backgrounds and covered a wide variety of subjects, from feminism to poetry to beauty advice. The new editor Meeghan Kane is making sure the publication pays homage to its original issues while growing a contemporary community for southern women.
Though the magazine was first published 30 years ago, a lot of the issues it discussed are still relevant to women today. “Equal pay, sexual harassment and domestic violence are all, unbelievably, still hotly debated topics,” Kane said. Its main mission being to amplify southern women's voices, Auntie Bellum is an all-inclusive publication, inviting anyone to speak regardless of age, gender or sexuality.
Another mission of Auntie Bellum's is to not forget where it came from. As something resurrected from the past, the new contributors are working to preserve southern women's voices from history, especially the voices that were usually silenced, such as minority women. As the climate today is more open-minded than in 1977, Auntie Bellum publishes articles one might not find in mainstream publications, like what name children can call a transgender parent.
Auntie Bellum has a website and active social media presence, but has yet to release its first print issue. They are looking for submissions here: http://auntiebellum.org/mag/