Letter From the Editor

Get Hooked on Heroine

When I was a kid I found a section in our school library that had biographies of extraordinary women. Mother Teresa, Cleopatra, Florence Nightingale, Georgia O’Keeffe, Amelia Earhart. I read every book hungrily and then read them all again. These women were having adventures, creating beauty, making a difference–and this seemed like the very best kind of life to live.

Thus was born my tendency to idolize. As a grownup I know that heroic people are imperfect, like the rest of us, but the impulse to idolize is a stubborn one, one that seems to me to be the root of our celebrity-obsessed culture. We seek inspiration for our own lives in the lives of others, and I look to the culture and the media for heroes and heroines to worship.

But it can be difficult for a heroine-worshipper to get a break. Magazines about women have some great articles in them, but those articles are surrounded by words and images that reduce women to their bodies, their wardrobe, their spending habits. I wanted a place to go to find my heroines straight up. So …

Welcome to Heroine Magazine. What you will find in these pages: Extraordinary women who will inspire you–and ways to follow that inspiration with action. Educated opinions–and a place to respond with thoughts of your own. Women’s artwork–and a different way to think about a woman’s "beauty." What you won’t find are quizzes about your consumer habits/demographic, advice on losing that last ten pounds, or features on this season’s must-have clothes. (There’s nothing inherently wrong with glamour, but I’m happy to cede that territory to the thousands of other publications that want it.)

I hope that Heroine will be more than a magazine. I hope that it becomes a community that is interesting and useful to you. Please have a look around, have some fun, and let us know what you think. (I’ll be logging on myself to take part in the discussion, and I can’t wait to hear what you have to say.)

Thanks for visiting Heroine. I hope you get hooked.

Joan Osborne