This project traces the ways in which socialist ideology influenced the feminist critique of capitalism during feminism’s Second Wave. This can be seen by the difference in substance of feminist periodical advertisements (Quest, Conditions) and non-feminist periodical advertisements (Cosmopolitan). Some mainstream magazines, such as Cosmopolitan, advertise conventional consumer products such as alcohol and cigarettes. In contrast with mainstream magazines, some feminist periodicals, such as Quest, choose to advertise exclusively texts: books, journals, publications, all with a focus on underrepresented female viewpoints .

To help understand this difference between feminist work and mainstream magazines, I will use the poetry of Nellie Wong. Nellie Wong, a Chinese socialist poet, offers a critique of capitalism in “Magazine Poem for Father’s Day.” In a review of Wong’s book Dreams In Harrison Railroad Park, Jan Clausen writes, “Mingling Anger and Humor, ‘Magazine Poem for Father’s Day’ dispels the insidious influence of capitalism propaganda by parodying it.” Clausen’s review in Conditions: a magazine of writing by women with an emphasis on writing by lesbians, highlights why these feminist socialist advertisements were effectively communicated to the readers of these periodicals–passionate readers and followers!