Dear Parents, As a mother of two tween
girls, I know first-hand the challenges
facing today’s parents when it comes
to media. Both girls enjoy the color and
creativity of fashion, so my husband and
I shopped long and hard for a magazine they
would enjoy and we could endorse. We found
nothing.
Because
the girls were starting to tire of publications
written for an early elementary school audience,
I started to investigate magazines for older
readers. What I found bothered me greatly.
Many so-called teen magazines dilute mature
content and present it in a lively way.
Sexualized images of girls and women abound,
and soft sex articles are more common than
not, even in magazines published for girls
as young as 8. The more I researched, the
more annoyed I became. Since I couldn’t
buy what we wanted, I decided to make it.
I
leveraged my 10 years in academic publishing
and my 4 years in education to create Kiki,
the magazine for girls who have their own
ideas about fashion. Our editorial mission
is:
• to help each reader develop a sense
of style that reflects her own personality;
• and to nurture in her the sense
of confidence that comes from being comfortable
in her own skin, whatever her style.
Kiki
has a unique point of view. It takes the
college fashion design curriculum and tailors
it to a reader 9 to 14 years old. Through
the lens of fashion, Kiki
encourages girls to explore other disciplines
(business, geography, fine art, craft, history,
world culture, even math) and shows them
that having fun with style and artistry
is completely compatible with intelligence
and creativity. Kiki
is much more than just a passive reading
experience, however. We’ve designed
it to be interactive so that your daughter
can transform each issue into her own creativity
journal.
To
make room for fashion, we’ve left
out a lot of what publishers consider must-have
content. There’s no gossip, no boyfriends,
no sensuality, no instructions on how to
kiss, no tips on getting sexy abs. We don’t
miss any of it. Our contributors and editorial
board don’t miss any of it. And our
readers are perhaps the happiest not to
be assaulted with mature themes.
I’m
not the only one at Kiki
committed to our mission. Our entire team
is comprised of strong, creative, confident
women who are focused on building quality
media for their daughters, granddaughters,
and nieces – and for yours.
Jamie Gleich Bryant
Founder
