Dorothy's Lip Lives On

In Hilary Term 2025, Wadham’s feminist magazine, Dorothy’s Lip, was revived in celebration of 50 Years of Women at Wadham. Prior to this come-back, the magazine that was founded in 1994 had been dormant since 2018.

The return could have been a one-off novelty made to mark a milestone, but the new SU Women’s Officers are determined for Dorothy’s Lip to live on. Annabelle Wortsman (Human Sciences, 2024) and Jasmine Shackman (History of Art, 2024) are planning an issue for Hilary 2026. We caught up with them to hear how they are engaging with the legacy of Dorothy’s Lip.

Jasmine: We are witnessing the resurgence of the far right and increased attacks on women’s communities and feminist communities. It’s important in this moment that we step up and make our voices heard.

But also, the thing about a magazine is that it’s not a top-down thing. It’s different opinions, it’s a conversation. It’s like feminism itself; there’s no board saying what feminism means. It’s grassroots, it’s a community.

Having a magazine that’s small and local builds the community at Wadham and gives people space to talk about their specific experiences at Wadham.

Annabelle: Politics starts in the home, and this is a fun way of getting people here to think about current events. It’s important to have a feminist voice within Oxford, which has been very male dominated. Wadham has a history of being progressive and liberal, and this is a great way to honour that legacy.

Jasmine: The fact that Dorothy’s Lip ever stopped in the first place is incredibly sad! The goal is to turn that period of inactivity into a blip.

Annabelle: One thing this magazine does is connects the alumni to the staff to the students. These groups can be quite separate in the spheres in which they interact. Our hope is that in having all three contribute and connect can bring us closer and unite us.

Annabelle: Going through issues from the 2000s and the 90s has been super interesting. There was one article I read from the early 90s that was on pornography. Because the landscape of pornography was so different back then, prior to widespread internet access, the arguments in the piece were really different from what I’m used to.

Jasmine: On the other hand, there was another piece from a similar time period about the tutorial system and how men get more firsts at Oxford than women, which felt very familiar and relevant. These are the same issues we want to talk about.

Jasmine: I’m really pro physical media. The real value of physical print is that it’s tangible, people can hold it. If I don’t buy a copy, I can borrow a friend’s, which creates a connection between us. It’s not just all of us individually looking at our phones. You can put a Dorothy’s Lip in your attic, find it in 50 years and then remember and talk about those experiences.

Annabelle: In print you can appreciate the graphics so much more. In stands out in a different way than seeing it on a screen. In person it stands out in different ways. Also, with print media, you can put it down, pick it back up again. You can take your time and digest it. A physical magazine sets a different pace for the user experience than something online.

Annabelle: We’ve received a good number of submissions already. Definitely be ready for some interesting takes! There is a lot that’s ‘out of the box’ – very eclectic! And that’s great, we don’t just want predictable material. We’re encouraging people to articulate feminism in different ways and to apply it to varied parts of life.

Jasmine: I see feminism more as a tool rather than a set of fixed parameters and the submissions so far definitely reflect that!

Annabelle: We’d really love alumni to address the question, “How did your time at Wadham shape your views on feminism?” Even very short, sentence-long answers are welcome! We hope to compile those answers and make a spread from them in the magazine.

Jasmine: Other submissions from alumni are welcome too. Submissions from alumni are always welcome, one hundred percent!

Many thanks to Annabelle and Jasmine for their time.