We know, we know. Where the hell have we been? Well, we’ve been redesigning a new website thanks to the lovely Kickstarter cash you guys provided us with (and it will be ready soon), but we’ve also been FINISHING OUR BOOK. Behold its magnificent cover, which we love.
(We’ve also been having media training, which involves doing a mock interview and watching yourself back on a screen. If you fancy being made acutely aware, in high definition, of all the physical flaws of which you were previously ignorant, you should totally try it. Just kidding, David. It was super-helpful)
It’s been just over two years since we launched this site, and literally millions of you have graced it with your presence, which is why we’d like to use today, International Women’s Day, to say a massive thank you for all your support and letters and emails and hilarious input. It’s been real.
We’d also like to use International Women’s Day as a naked marketing opportunity (not literally naked, I am wearing a No More Page Three T-Shirt that could probably do with a wash) to ask you to buy our book. We’ve worked really hard on it. This meant not just trying to make it as funny as possible, but also going through all its hundreds of pages and changing every incidence of ‘cum’ to ‘come’. That’s dedication. There are quite a few spaffs, too.
You can pre-order it on Waterstones here (it’s released on May 1), and on the Vintage website.
For updates, you can follow us on Twitter, as well as the lovely people at Vintage Books, who have just been fucking spectacular for the whole year and a half that we’ve been working on this.
Now, I must get back to my main Saturday morning activity, which is trying to keep the rising cornershop-wine-flavoured nausea at bay until my boyfriend wakes up to make breakfast, but we hope you like the cover and much as we like YOU. Big love, ladybros, and look out for the new site soon.
Preordered already!!!
Yay thank you!!
So cool you have a book coming out, but im sure ive seen that cover already on some other feminist book, which is a shame because we could do with less objectifying images of woman used to sell stuff, shock people. Surely u can tackle sexism and objectifucation issues without that ladys lower end on the front?
It’s meant to be a comment on that kind of thing (it has a bum on the back). Was inspired in part by subvertising. I think the fact that we’ve ripped half the page off shows we’re not cool with airbrushed depictions of female beauty!
Is there any chance this will be available on Kindle? I would love to have a look.
Hello!! Yes it will be available on Kindle x
1st Thought: Hurrah ! The Vagenda is back !!
2nd Thought: Ah, the book is ready – that is why they have been away and the quality dropped a little of late. Good luck with it ladies, based on the work on this site they certainly deserve some financial success.
3rd Thought: Why on earth on IWD did they want to launch with such an image ?? Especially since on this same day they were supporting the No More Page 3 group at some event on Twitter. Tad hypocritical to support the group against sexualised images of women in everyday publications… to then use one on their own book launched the same day ! The saddest part is that The Vagenda team find some great graphics on 90%+ of their articles, why on earth use this ?
4th Thought: Good Lord…. What the hell has the photoshop artist done to this womans legs below the knee ?? Is this some new fashion where you glue your legs together and have them slowly meld into one single leg ?
See above comment! We love the cover and have always been vag-heavy on this site. Most people have interpreted it as a comment on women’s depiction in the media, which is how it is intended x
so awesome !!!!! will there be an e-version ? I’m not from UK, so the best way for me to get it is on the Internet
Hello yes there will!
awwwww, can’t wait~! (and thx for the reply) x
I, too, am extremely confused by the state of the cover woman’s legs. Is it meant to be an optical illusion, like ,you’re not meant to know which one is in front?
The cover is quite similar to Natasha Walter’s ‘Living Dolls’… it would be nice to sit down to read a book like this in public and not be asked which porn star’s memoirs I’m reading. That said, I’m still gonna buy it! =]
HAHA there’s always Kindle for that!
We loved Living Dolls and wanted something that would be a pun on the ‘vag’ part of the Vagenda but would also be shocking and humorous and we think the cover designer has achieved that. We looked at lots of covers for inspiration, such as the original Female Eunuch (which could also be said to be ‘objectifying’ – but then that’s the whole point) and Wetlands, with its vaginal avocado (love). We love our cover and think it perfectly conveys our frustration with idealised images of female beauty. Also one of our friends said to us: ‘you’re totally gonna end up with a pink vaginal flower on your cover’, but our publishers are better than that and thank God they are!
Pre-ordered! You gals are fucking amazing and I’ve missed your updates of late. Rock on x
I think the cover says it all. It’s vagenda. Its ripped pages over the fanny area of a plasticised image of an objectified woman. spot on.
I’m just marking mag journalist student work currently and I have a pitch to cosmo, bucket list: 10 things to do before settling down: still waiting for Mr Right?
I slightly gagged and immediately sought solace in vangenda mag, and was thrilled to see the latest post about the book. I think I’m going to put it on essential reading for the mag journ students I work with. I know some of them read Vagenda and follow on twitter. I need to help them see the light! I’m hoping the book will be available via kindle as soon as possible. will it be on Kindle at the same time as the release may 1st?
Hello! Thanks for your comments. Yes it will be available on Kindle- hope you enjoy it
x
Image reminds me of Natasha Walker’s ‘Living Dolls’ – http://natashawalter.com/Living%20Dolls%20lo%20res.jpg