ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we examine the webzine Wonderzine as a case study of Russian neoliberal feminist media. Our analysis relies on three data sets: interviews with journalists, website archive, and netnographic observations. This data allows us to create a polyphonic and non-reductionist approach to understanding neoliberal feminist media in the Russian context. More specifically, we argue that Wonderzine positively contributed to the development of a feminist media ecology in Russia by normalising and destigmatising feminist discourses, promoting gender equality, and providing a platform for feminist activists and their audiences. However, we also highlight that Wonderzine’s neoliberal feminism was aligned with Russian internal colonial dynamics. This problematic confluence led to the underrepresentation of the voices and experiences of women from working-class and non-Moscow backgrounds within the webzine’s representational strategies. The concluding section provides a reflection on Wonderzine’s transformation after the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in order to assess how neoliberal feminist media is responding to the ongoing military and political crisis.
