Milkin' It a Feature by Phip (Phip Murray) Elisa Berg, the twenty-three year old editor of Milk, talks about her feminist pop culture mag that 'cuts loose of grrlpower propaganda and images of fiesty femmes who bare all and say little'. milk mag cover (submitted by Phip.) Elisa initiated the entire project, and so far two editions of Milk have hit the streets of Melbourne. About twenty women were involved in the production of each, from sub-editors and graphic designers to writers and photographers. Milk is currently available at various outlets in Melbourne including Polester Books, Readings and Dangerfield stores. Why call your magazine Milk? It's wholesome but not too wholesome, cool but not too cool.Milk is really just a kitsch reference that leaves room for bad puns and a lot of ambiguity? Is it a Lactose supplement? A Dairy Corporation newsletter? Or perhaps a fresh pop culture magazine? I like that. Did you like milk as a child? No, I hated it - irony? Why was it important to you to initiate a project such as Milk? I was frustrated by existing women's magazines that credit us with little imagination beyond wanting the latest in lime green, a nice set of hooters (the choice is now yours) and a good man to please. Thankfully, beyond these stereotypes life is more confusing, complex, elusive, independent and exhilarating. I knew heaps of talented chics in design, journalism and on the Web who had lots to say but strangely, and somewhat predictably, weren't being tapped or sourced. Basically, Milk is a pop culture mag written and produced by women that cuts loose of grrlpower propoganda and images of fiesty femmes who bare all and say little. Milk satisfies a need for a funky, well-designed, ironic, and streetsmart mag - one that presents an alternative world view outside mainstream mix'n'match realities. What sort of material does Milk cover? It's really a mix of local and global pop culture, wacked out and mainstream, schlock and cyber. Last edition we had an article about Oceania - a capitalist paradise that a thirty-something-US tycoon-gone-mad plans to build on a floating pentagon in the Caribean Sea. There's a feature on Debutante balls in country Victoria where school kids and their parents, 'drink, dance, fuck and stuff', and a look at Larry Flynt, the pornographer-as-hero aka free speech hustler. There's also music, TV, Film, Net, video sections and a trČs sexy tactile dimension. Looking back on what we've done, it's very hyper-real particularly in its view of Melbourne. How do you feel about mainstream press? Well, it's doing nothing new, is it? The same editors, the same hack journos and the same bland formulas. I'm bored of its nostalgia for the heady '60s and '70s, its pompous apolitical posturing, its parochialism and arrogance in not attempting to find out what's really going on. The media is not freeing up any space for young commentators or people of different political outlooks or experiences. If you're Asian, Koori, queer, female or under 35, you don't get much of a look-in, except that is as a ėmarginal' voice representing a ėmarginal' issue. Ultimately, a small elite posse of fifty-somethings are able to preserve their monopoly on culture and what defines it. My answer (although only a small concession) is - get rid of the cowboys and bring on the dames. Milk features feminist content. How do you feel about the way women are featured and marketed in mainstream press? This one's worth a manifesto. If you've seen Ralph magazine you'll know why it isn't going on my coffee table. All I'm going to say is that if we do live in the kinda 'postfeminist age' with 'equality' (as a bunch of small ėl' liberals would have us believe), then why are women's bodies still being used to sell magazines, cars and telephone companies? And why does the economy still operate around our commodification? At the same time, there are heaps of media savvy women out there challenging the way that they are being represented, subverting the medium and are presenting alternatives. That's where mags like Milk come in and that's exciting. Some enlightened advertisers are catching on. But I'm not holding my breath . . . Do you want to be Rupert Murdoch and own everything? I don't dream of becoming a fat, balding man ń no. All I want is a cappucino machine, some more RAM for my 'puter and the time to hoon around the countryside. This might change tomorrow. Which other magazines do you admire? Paper - the New York mag has some very sexy design. Bust, a feminist mag again from NY, does satire brilliantly with a bunch of busty femmes, and Colors - the Benetton mag is great conceptually. And of course The Face for creating a completely fictious image of London and beyond - (pretentious) genius. But I'm still waiting for something to rock my world. If you could edit any paper in the world which one would it be? My next adventure is launching a female satellite for world domination. Who do you admire? RosieX - the innovator behind the e-zine Geek Girl. You gotta love this tough-talking techno-savante. Also, anyone who puts themselves on the line, has anxiety attacks, thinks they're going crazy and does something excellent. Interview by Van and Phip Related Web Site Created on Thu, 18 Sep 1997 and last modified on Sat, 25 Oct 1997.

LOUDonline - http://www.loud.net.au - Fri, 10 Apr 1998