Feminist media in Ukraine changed the notion of a women’s magazine. How did they do it? 

Until recently, the women segment in Ukrainian media was represented mainly by glossy magazines sharing advice on dating men, picking the right outfit, and choosing the trendiest beauty products. It was only in the 2010s that the idea of a feminist take on womanhood visibly entered the scene. 

The approaching turnover coincided with a steadily growing popularity of LGBTQ+ prides in the country and a call to rethink attitudes towards domestic violence, equality, and objectivisation, reaching both public opinion leaders and the legislative sphere. 

It’s also the growth of independent journalism instigated by two Ukrainian revolutions and enabled by foreign donors’ investments that have given impetus to projects of that kind.

At a global level, though, the local market managed to catch up with the amplifying trend in Europe and North America. Western women’s magazines have started to bring issues of pernicious standardisation, taboos, and even controversial social policies to their agenda, providing an example for Vogue Ukraine, Marie Claire, and a few more Ukrainian publishers.

Despite the general tendency, a few years ago, editors and publishers in Ukraine felt the egregious lack of platforms to address a modern woman’s issues that no longer matched the 2000s audience profile.

It has resulted in two media projects openly discussing health and sexuality, making delicate topics less stigmatised. 

Wonderzine: A new birth to the brand in Ukraine 

The new outlet for women was launched by Mykola Balaban, a publisher of The Village Ukraine, in partnership with Mark Livin and Andrii Bashtovyi, editors of the same outlet, in 2020. The two brands publicly highlighted their bond: Wonderzine Ukraine was the lifestyle publication’s side project that would leverage the promotion resources of its bigger partner.

(There was one more essential thing they shared: both started their operations as franchises of Russian brands – the publishing house Redefine, formerly Look At Media, had run The Village and Wonderzine in Russia first. Years into the Maidan Revolution and the annexation of Crimea, it was a big elephant in the room: although the publication declared free top-notch coverage as its goal, the franchise was considered a dubious move and became a moot point for many. Later, Ukrainian studio Zdatni, which possesses ownership of the two publications, cut all ties with the Russian company, ensuring that all the ultimate beneficiaries are Ukrainian citizens). 

Inspired by the outlet’s perspectives and mission, Anna Khaetska, a current chief editor, and Sophia Pylypyuk, a former deputy editor of Wonderzine Ukraine and editor of The Village Ukraine, stepped on a challenge and joined the team in 2020.

According to Khaetska, in the first three months, the outlet quickly built a readership that some other media would work on for years, thanks to its to-the-point thematic choices. “There wasn’t that many media that would talk about homosexuality, coming outs, queefing, and domestic violence back then. Even today, we don’t have many”, says the editor.

However, the biggest shift in the common perception of feminism and LGBTQ+ can be attributed, according to Khaetska, to the all-out war in Ukraine rather than the outlet’s work, even though it has a significant readership. Since 2022, the chief editor pointed out, homophobia as well as violation of women’s rights have begun to associate strongly with the core features of authoritarian Russia, alongside the rest of the human rights breaching. “As for [our] media’s contribution, we rather help to create a safe environment where people can tell their stories and be accepted,” says Khaetska.

Divoche.media: A one-person blog grown into an independent outlet

In 2013, Ukrainian journalist Oksana Pavlenko launched The Devochki website to raise awareness about the issues women in Ukraine are grappling with. As a founder and editor-in-chief, she started the project by personally paying for the website domain and offering her enthusiastic colleagues to contribute to the outlet for free. At that time, the platform allowed many women to share their pet peeves and conduct frank conversations. In 2014, an editor Lesia Mazanik joined the team and the project started offering honorariums to its contributors.

Exemplifying a risky bootstrapping approach, the blog gave rise to Divoche.media in March 2022, when Pavlenko decided to expand her initiative. 

The founder claims that for both projects, the keystone was to remain an independent publication that neither operates as someone’s franchise nor is part of a media holding company. 

Before the all-out invasion, according to Pavlenko, the almost 10-year-old outlet relied mainly on advertising. Today Divoche.media is learning how to fundraise through grant projects, with some of their main current supporters being The Fix Foundation and Lviv Media Forum. (Editor’s note: The Fix Foundation is a non for profit organisation that was created last year to institutionalise the work done by The Fix Media and partners to keep Ukrainian media going amidst Russia’s invasion). Having secured its resources until the end of 2023, the project seeks opportunities to resume native advertising and work with other donors.

As a publisher and editor addressing feminism long before it reached the public eye, Pavlenko has a broader outlook on Ukrainian society developments. In her viewpoint, the common perception of gender issues has evolved significantly since 2013, and her project somewhat contributed towards these changes. “Sometimes I am approached by girls that started reading the website in high school. Today they are students or young professionals, and they share how The Devochki affected their mindset“, says Pavlenko.

Sometimes I am approached by girls that started reading the website in high school. Today they are students or young professionals, and they share how The Devochki affected their mindset

Oksana Pavlenko

In 2013, the blog was finding its audience easily, mainly because it was a pioneer project in the niche. However, even a few years ago, Pavlenko says, there were fewer ways to distribute their coverage, and the readership of Divoche.media, particularly in the war period, has outpaced the figures of its predecessor. 

Today the outlet covers Ukrainian women’s activism, body stereotypes endorsed by the media, health issues, unspoken aspects of maternity, women’s role in the war, and many more.

In the summer of 2022, the team also launched a volunteer project called Pidmoha to highlight free services that help women heavily affected by the war, with severe health conditions or the recollection of trauma. 

What to deal with in today’s Ukraine

In June 2023, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology released figures showing that 67% of residents agree that LGBT people should have the same rights as the rest of citizens. According to similar research done by the Institute of Sociology NAS of Ukraine, only 33% would put up with LGBT marriages in 2013. The data demonstrates the tendency, and media coverage plays its part, helping people to share their stories and be visible. 

In hindsight, the emergence of feminist publications in independent Ukraine was a matter of time. It’s no surprise that once the country embraces its European path, the EU’s stance on equality and gender freedom is being fostered and promulgated by the media. 

A lot of coverage, however, is dedicated to the war and the way women deal with it these days, challenging the notion of gender roles and questioning the already existing rubs. Both chief editors interviewed by The Fix noted that topics such as sexism and domestic violence remain divisive and triggering for the readers, evoking lots of reactions. They also noted that the war has somewhat alleviated the pressure, making intolerant citizens more willing to accept, for example, queer or LGBT people who volunteer or serve on the frontline. 

Will the tendency be preserved when the conflict ends or comes to a stalemate? It’s something feminist projects should keep an eye on.

Editor’s note: this article was updated to include more context on Divoche.media’s early history.

Source of the cover photo: courtesy of Anna Khaetska

---