There were few publications that defined girlhood in the 2010s as distinctly as the online magazine Rookie. Rookie felt like the public diary of a whole generation, taking the stories and artwork of thousands of teens across the world and consolidating them into what now feels like a time capsule of an era I hadn’t quite realized had ended.
In addition to serving as an important resource for many teen girls, Rookie fostered community in a way reminiscent of national riot grrrl zine culture of the 90s, but in a contemporary, internet-mediated form. Through Rookie meetups—both official and unofficial—and book signings, the site brought readers together and created a global network of collaboration that will undoubtedly outlive the site itself.
