Cover image: Hot Chicks with Big Brains Issue 2.
Hot Chicks with Big Brains began as an online interview series in 2014 with editor Bri Lee at the helm. Since then it has expanded into new areas, such as podcasts and events, and has become an inclusive feminist community based in Brisbane but at its core it was always about the self-representation of female identifying and non-binary people.
Last year editor Bri Lee decided to remove the longer interviews from the website into print form, with Issue 1 of the Hot Chicks with Big Brains magazine selling out almost immediately.
Issue 2, the subject of this review, is an intersectional feminist magazine that is reminiscent of zine culture with its (cultivated) hand-made feel. But it is one in which content is queen. The tone is conversational and celebrates a body positive, non-binary and diverse ethos that is key to moving feminist discourse forward.
The best part of this magazine is that Lee and her team have kept the interview format at the centre. With these interviews comes the huge cultural benefit of people speaking for themselves about their own experiences. A definite highlight for example is the interview between housemates who live in an inclusive LGBTQIA+ home – “It’s wholly by, and for, queer people”, as the intro to the interview states.
Another highlight is the moving interview between Melbourne based writer Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen and her mother Mrs. Nguyen (Mrs. Nguyen’s first name is not mentioned). This interview explores the intergenerational experience of migrancy.
Occasionally the magazine becomes less reader friendly with pages in full caps, lines suddenly in a larger font and a few small typos. This formatting is part of the overall charm but does become distracting at times. I did however think the design worked very well in the short work by Nayuka Gorrie where, as a non-fiction piece rather than an interview, each line is impactful and the string of personal images Gorrie weaves together reads almost like poetry. Here the format and type works really well with the content.
If Hot Chicks with Big Brains keeps putting together such well considered content for its intersectional and feminist audience, I won’t be surprised if the magazine continues to sell out quickly.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Hot Chicks with Big Brains Issue 2
Contributors include:
Nayuka Gorrie
Clementine Ford
Amy Gray
Giselle Nguyen
Allie Speers
Grace McCarter
Bri Lee
Anna Apuli
Elise Lawrence
Alana Potts
Emma Kate Lewis
Jaala Alex
Yippywhippy (Nicole Casella)
Phoebe Paradise (Phoebe Sheehy)
Mel Stringer
Multicultural Boob Revolution
Golda Guido
Lamisse Hamouda
Featured Artist: Ayaka Soga (from QArt)
Editor: Bri Lee
Art Director: Anna Apuli
Sub-Editors: Allie Speers and Damian Maher
