top of page
Mini Issue 04 - JOY!
December 2024
Issue 19: Editors' Note
So, I was watching Dirty Dancing for the first time.
Toni Desiree
Sep 13 min read
5 Safe Sex Practices for a Sexy Summer
Safe sex tips to keep in mind as you dive into your sexual endeavors this summer (and all of the time!).
Madison Everlith
Aug 254 min read
5 Things You Have to Wear on the Dance Floor This Summer!
Looks to spark your next best going-out fit.
Sarah Emilia Harris
Aug 252 min read
4 hot spots you need to be at this summer
Coolest places to escape the heat this summer.
Lucy Geldziler
Aug 252 min read
When scrolling isn't enough
Tired of seeing the problem but not having any solutions?
47 Magazine & Media
Aug 254 min read
Movie Theaters Around New York City to Beat the Heat that Aren’t AMC or Regal
A movie watcher's guide to NYC Theaters.
Ana Marks
Aug 255 min read
Reclaiming red.
Jokingly, we called it "The last summer". But as the days grew hotter, it started to become a warning.
Meredith Franklin
Aug 257 min read
But, why AI?
The widespread use of artificial intelligence has raised concerns about its potential impact on literacy and artistic development among younger generations
Jai Leprince
Aug 255 min read
I think you should be watching love island
In times of depression, people look for an outlet. Love, partying, entertainment. Reality TV...
Taylor Moss
Aug 254 min read
Everything is Getting Hotter (Except Us)
How do we actually enjoy our city without just consuming it?
Arushi Sen
Aug 254 min read
The Democrats of New York City: A Tale of Two Parties
A Look Back at Last June. Written by Kristi Yang and Madeline Reilly
Kristi Yang
Aug 259 min read
The Drama and the Limits of Movie Marketing
A TikTok video revealed the film's major twist before I had a chance to see it myself. Suddenly, the conversation shifted to something much heavier.
Sarah Emilia Harris
Aug 254 min read
When Therapy is Your Favorite Crowd Work
Why do I enjoy making my therapist laugh more than the open mic crowd?
Ann Tankersley
Aug 252 min read
And We Can’t Even Go to Fiji
Why Love Island feels different this year.
Arushi Sen
Aug 255 min read
I'm over it.
I'm not sure what level of fatigue this is. But I hate it.
Toni Desiree
Aug 255 min read
Lucky Break brings it home.
Lucky Break plays Night Club 101 (June 11, 2026)
Ann Tankersley
Jun 203 min read
No Sleep Till (After) Brooklyn
FTP #1 - I entered Maison Nur, and the first person I was greeted by was Nur himself.
Lucy Geldziler
Jun 1617 min read
Bacteria, Burlesque, and Bathhouse Baptisms.
FTP #2 - I left with sweaty hair, a high BAC, and a full heart.
Lucy Geldziler
Jun 169 min read
I Love Boosters Film Review: Anti-Capitalism Meets Satire, Crime, and Fashion
I Love Boosters Film Review: Anti-Capitalism Meets Satire, Crime, and Fashion.
Jessica-Joy Hampton
Jun 65 min read
Is Our Online Data Really Safe?
Online, new threats arrive for big corporations more and more, but what does that mean for those in the crosshairs?
Jessica-Joy Hampton
Jun 12 min read
Could TMZ Bring Accountability to American Politics?
TMZ is branching out from the Hollywood Hills to Capitol Hill.
Jessica-Joy Hampton
May 294 min read
The Devil Owns Amazon and Now… Fashion?
Money may not be able to buy you taste, but it sure can get you close to it.
Arushi Sen
May 285 min read
Electrix Vintage Builds Community and Defines Character at New Brooklyn Storefront
An Interview with Founder and Owner Danny Colon
Ann Tankersley
May 273 min read
Fandom Spaces Have a Boundary Problem
At the end of February, amid the ever-persisting Heated Rivalry craze, an article was published for New York Magazine called “The Great Fujoshi Awakening: Why Do So Many Women Love Men Who Love Men?” In the article, the author made very specific references to works of fanfiction online, going so far as to link one of the works within the article. There was immediate public outcry by fans on Twitter...
Alec Conwell
May 16 min read
From Novels to the Silver Screen: AI and the Future of Creativity
At first, AI couldn’t generate images that were realistic enough to be taken seriously. Now it can make images and videos of people that look more real by the day.
Jessica-Joy Hampton
May 13 min read
This Dark Comedy is Unnerving and Unraveling Identity: The Iguana Becomes Marco Review
There’s nothing that makes you more inspired (and slightly spooked) than a story about identity, the self unknown, regret, and unrequited love (my personal favorite “big three” for delightful nightmare topics). Leaving La MaMa theater after watching The Iguana Becomes Marco in its short run was just like that: a delightful nightmare. Maybe one that you want to end at times but you’re too invested in the rich content of its plot to wake up, definitely one you won’t forget.
Ann Tankersley
May 13 min read
Consume Everything, Synthesize Everything, Make Art: The Ideology of Zola Simone.
Zola Simone is a name you’re going to want to know in 2026. A Boston native turned Brooklyn local is bringing a completely new vibe to the queer music scene in New York City. Zola considers her genre of music to fall into the “Queer Pop” category, yet carries heavy notes of RnB in everything she creates.
Katelynn Herrera
Apr 293 min read
How “The Ugly Stepsister” Painfully Explores the Need to be Beautiful
I’ve watched the trailer for Emilie Blichfeldt’s The Ugly Stepsister over 5 times now. It all started when my best friend sent me the trailer on Instagram and I was immediately intrigued. The idea of reworking Cinderella into a horror movie from the perspective of one of her stepsisters sounded like an excellent way of embracing the story’s grim (pun very much intended) roots.
J.D. Valdepenas
Apr 296 min read
You, Me & Tuscany: Black Films and The Myth of Profitability in Hollywood
Nina Lee, award-winning filmmaker and creator of The Girls Room and Sorry About That, recently posted a thread on X (formerly Twitter) where she revealed that the sale of two of her romance film projects depends on how well the new romantic comedy film You, Me & Tuscany does in theaters. She said in the thread, “A film that has nothing to do with me could quite literally change my life.”
Jessica-Joy Hampton
Apr 293 min read
Awards Season: Stan Twitter's Super Bowl
Everything has become stan twitter, and stan twitter has become sports fandom. Here’s how it’s affecting awards season.
Ana Marks
Apr 294 min read
Re-Visiting Andrea Arnold’s 2011 Filmed Adaptation of Wuthering Heights: A Conversation About Adaptations
Emily Brontë’s sole published work, Wuthering Heights, is not a beautiful story. It’s barely even a love story, much less “the greatest love story of all time” as the tagline for Emerald Fennell's upcoming adaptation goes. Brontë wrote this story to showcase the brutal ugliness of humanity by exploring the devastating fallout of generational abuse, racism, and classism.
J.D. Valdepenas
Apr 294 min read
Bring Back My Girls: RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 11 Promo Looks Ranked by K. Pereira with Collin Killoran
The RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 11 promo just dropped this past Wednesday, and it’s already shaping up to be a sickening season. We’re excited to see Mystique Summers, an OG queen who has left a permanent impression on the franchise, return for their first time in years. Veteran queens like Silky Nutmeg Ganache, Morgan McMichaels, A’keria C. Davenport, and Kennedy Davenport are coming back to All Stars with a vengeance and an opportunity to finally receive a crown.
47 Magazine & Media
Apr 266 min read
Having a Boyfriend Isn’t Embarrassing if You Aren’t.
To be fair, optimization under patriarchy is exhausting. Last October, Vogue put out its ever-relevant “Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?” article, which made the rounds on practically every media site that exists. CNN interviewed the author, The Guardian did a follow-up article, and every short-form and long-form content creator gave their two cents and then an extra penny. Most reactions correctly assessed the magnitude of how women’s dating history and romantic decis
Arushi Sen
Apr 63 min read
Female-Led Media Needs More Whimsy
Camaraderie has been an enduring element in female friendships throughout history. Whether in medieval convents or as newly working women in the past century, sisterhood and female solidarity have helped women fight against all kinds of bigotry, or at the very least, make persisting through it just a little more tolerable. Women have typically been underdeveloped, if at all developed, characters. For the longest time, entertainment media in particular have represented the int
Arushi Sen
Apr 64 min read
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF THE PINK TAX
Have you ever heard of the pink tax? No, I’m not specifically talking about the color pink or your actual taxes, but an extra cost that’s often added to products and services marketed toward women. It’s basically gender-based pricing, where items marketed toward women are more expensive than the same or very similar items marketed toward men. This directly impacts women’s buying power, with studies showing personal care products can be roughly 13% more expensive than men’s, c
Sarah Emilia Harris
Apr 62 min read
The Connection Between Diet Culture and Purity Culture
Trigger Warning: brief mentions of SkinnyTok, thinness, assault, restricting food, dieting, body image, and referenced articles mention eating disorders The standard of beauty is always changing. One minute, everyone wants to be thin, then they want a Brazilian butt lift. One minute it’s body positivity, the next it’s #SkinnyTok. From childhood, women are constantly made aware of their physical appearance. We’re told what food to eat or avoid so we don’t gain weight. We’re to
Jessica-Joy Hampton
Apr 14 min read
Deeper than sex: we need to talk about intimacy.
When you hear the words intimacy and desire, what do you think of? In many cases, people tend to associate these words with sex: sexual desire, sexual intimacy. But what happens when we start to reshape the way we think about these words? Dating and relationships are complex. There's a wide range of emotions and feelings that occur, and as we’re evolving in the realm of dating, we more often than not end up viewing certain aspects of romantic relationships through a sexual, o
Madison Everlith
Apr 14 min read
I Wanna Be A Star: How Famous Can A Woman Be?
What goes up must come down, and for women in Hollywood, the turnaround is worse than the ruthless law of physics.
Ana Marks
Mar 305 min read
A Letter to Virgil
Dear Virgil Abloh, I wish this was a letter I could actually send you. Maybe it would end up somewhere between sketches, playlists, and the endless ideas you always seemed to have. But since it can’t, this is just my way of saying thank you. Not just for the clothes, and not even just for the moment you became the menswear artistic director at Louis Vuitton. What I’m really thankful for is the way you helped people see culture differently. You showed the world that the things
Chloe-Kaleah Stewart
Mar 112 min read
Why Music Means So Much to Us.
The word “ Superstar ” as defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary is “a star (as in sports or the movies) who is considered extremely talented, has great public appeal, and can usually command a high salary”. I associate traits like talented, undefeated, and unique with Superstars . Who in the music industry do you consider a Superstar ? Think Beyonce and Micheal Jackson. I admire the growth of artists like these because of the inspiration they've given to the world. Music
Amina McDowell-Dihang
Mar 114 min read
The Mind of an Angry, Black Woman: Rest in Peace Assata Shakur
Black women matter. Black women in history have always been seen as “other,” or the other. She can’t be both a woman and Black. With that, she is placed at the bottom of the oppressed. As a woman, she’s expected to learn her home before her mind, find her husband before her heart, and have children—completely hindering her childhood to give new life what she couldn’t have. She does it all with what she has and what she works her ass for. All in silence. Determination. And au
Tayja Whyte
Mar 113 min read
Bad Bunny Was Always Projected to Win the Super Bowl
Team Benito was awarded spectacle and earnest passion amidst a foreshadowed game and political diversions.
Ann Tankersley
Feb 163 min read
Devotion through Fashion
There’s an evident tug of love and hate from both ends of the spectrum of belief. What lies within the grey area, however, is fashion.
Ana Marks
Jan 246 min read
Truth Over Perversion: Following Christ v. Christian Nationalism
Christianity sits as America’s predominant religion. As much as I’d love to believe it to be purely out of discipleship, the truth is quite the opposite.
Carmen Reeves
Jan 244 min read
CommUNITY
Many people struggle to connect to religion because of the judgment that is intertwined in many religious structures.
Amina McDowell-Dihang
Jan 242 min read
LIFE AFTER THE FLESH VESSEL
Death, does not have to be terrifying, and faith can be an incredible extension that leaves people tender-hearted and kind.
Angel Carreras
Jan 243 min read
Atheism: The Lack of a Belief
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines atheism as “a lack of belief or a strong disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods”. And it is just that the lack of a belief, or in simpler terms, the lack of a religion.
Clark Gérôme
Jan 243 min read
“JOY!” CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Mark Bluemle
EDITORIAL STAFF:
Editor in Chief: Mark Bluemle
Editorial Director: Sophia Querrazzi
Editor at Large: Lucy Anderson
Production, Casting Director: Jazzi Almestica
Print Director: Nico Diaz
Asst. Editor at Large: Toni Desiree
Asst. Print Director: Fiona Mackey
Movement Director: K Pereira
Asst. Movement Director: Jai LePrince
Entertainment Editor: Ashley Murphy
Music Editors: Amy Kapel, Veronica Anaya
Fashion Editor: Katelynn Herrera
Fashion Media Director: Diamond Durant
MUA: Marlie Capuano
mini 04 WRITERS:
-
Kayleigh S.
-
JD Valdepenas
-
Chloe Kaleah Stewart
-
Grace Bradley
-
K Pereia
-
Ana Marks
-
Kat Reed
mini 04 PHOTOGRAPHERS:
-
Francesca DiMiceli
-
Roberto Meadows
-
Rose Miller
-
Mark Bluemle
mini 04 PHOTOSHOOT CREATIVE DIRECTORS:
-
Lucy Geldziler
-
K Pereia
-
Jazzi Almestica
-
Marlie Capuano
-
Rose Miller
-
Mark Bluemle
mini 04 PHOTOSHOOT PRODUCTION:
-
Jazzi Almestica
-
Mickayla Davis
-
Lauren Crivelli
-
Diamond Durant
-
Mark Bluemle
mini 04 STYLING/MUA:
-
Marlie Capuano
-
Diamond Durant
-
Caroline Slafka
-
K Pereia
-
Danny Colon
mini 04 ZINE TEAM:
-
Nico Diaz
-
Fiona Mackey
-
Mark Bluemle
-
N. Mauve
-
Chloe Simpson
^ Back to All Issues ^
bottom of page