Karen Hawkins got an incredible birthday surprise this year when her feminist publication Rebellious Magazine won the NLGJA Jeanne Córdova Award from the Association of LGBTQ journalists.
Karen Hawkins got an incredible birthday surprise this year when her feminist publication Rebellious Magazine won the NLGJA Jeanne Córdova Award from the Association of LGBTQ journalists.
“I got the message on my birthday,” said Hawkins, a Homewood native. “When I saw the email from the president of NLGJA Jen Christensen I cried. Because I know Jen and she had such kind things to say, and it also included testimonies from the people that had nominated me.”
The award from the Association of LGBTQ Journalists recognizes the achievement of an LGBTQ woman for a current body of work in journalism with an emphasis on issues of importance to the LGBTQ community.
Hawkins was thrilled when the award was announced on July 30.
“The award came as such a great affirmation for the work Rebellious has been doing,” she said. Winning the NLGJA Jeanne Córdova award means that we are part of a larger legacy, a larger narrative for amplifying women’s voices. We are part of a larger legacy of centering women’s voices, marginalized voices, LGBT voices, voices of people of color, and the voices of people with disabilities.
“Even as the mainstream media seeks to become more diverse, it’s still important to have media specifically dedicated to these communities.”
Hawkins founded Rebellious Magazine in 2012 as an explicitly feminist centered magazine for Chicago. After graduating from Homewood-Flossmoor High School in 1993 she received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University, and began working for the Associated Press. It was meaningful work, with great reach. But she was compelled to support journalism that could truly center feminist issues and ideas.
The name Rebellious crystallized in her mind after an older white male editor used the term to disparage her request for paid time off. Incredulous but motivated, Hawkins adopted it for her alternative magazine.
Rebellious began as a volunteer venture, but beginning in 2015, all contributors are paid freelancers.
“I have been incredibly lucky to find these writers. Many of them simply responded to an ad seeking contributors for a feminist magazine.”
Writers contribute on a range of topics including current events, literature, music, art, sex, style, real estate and food, all through an explicitly feminist and LGBTQ lens. Recent articles have highlighted women running for office in Chicago. During Chicago’s Restaurant Week, Hawkins featured businesses that were managed and owned by women.
“Everything Karen does with the magazine is meant to empower us,” Christensen said. “The publication’s profiles of the women who run popular restaurants and successful businesses are inspiring. Its queer-focused sex column gives advice readers won’t find elsewhere.”
Through the years, Hawkins has learned to embrace what she describes as the creative chaos of managing a startup.
Rebellious has contributors who are members of the magazine. This allows them perks, like special access to events, and the co-working space she supports at 405 W. Superior Street. The magazine’s monthly Feminist Co-working and Cocktails networking event is a great venue to learn more about its diverse commitment to feminist-centered work, Hawkins said.
Founded in 1990, NLGJA is an organization of journalists, media professionals, educators and students working from within the news industry to foster fair and accurate coverage of LGBTQ issues. NLGJA opposes all forms of workplace bias and provides professional development to its members.