This
month's Stack is Ladybeard, (this one, not this one), a feminist
magazine with themed issues. This issue is focused on the mind.
To
be honest, I held off on starting this for a while. It's a massive
magazine and the very first article, 'Losing My Mind', is a series of
short personal reflections about mental breakdowns. The thought of
ploughing through page after page of other people's mental health
problems seemed like more a challenge than I wanted right now. In the
end I did overcome my trepidation and sit down with it, and I was
glad I did. It wasn't heavy-going at all – the articles are
relatively short, (I could have done with some of them being longer),
and wildly varied. There is some serious content, (institutional
racism in mental health treatment, eating disorders, the use of
psychiatry for political ends), but there's plenty of cheerful
oddities mixed in as well, (art, transhumanism, twins, the history of
emotions, LSD). The writing's good, the design is great, the content
is interesting. It's just a shame it weighs so much – it was a
nightmare to carry around for a week!
Would
I buy it again? Maybe?
It seems to be priced at £6.50, which is shockingly low considering
how big and beautiful it is. I guess it would probably all depend on
the theme.
