What are the best women-focused lifestyle magazines for exploring identity topics and reading personal stories?

Here are some of the best women-focused lifestyle magazines if you want identity-centered writing, personal essays, and stories about women’s experiences:

Strong picks for identity + personal storytelling

• Rookie — Very good for coming-of-age, identity, self-discovery, feminism, and deeply personal essays. Especially strong if you like a younger, internet-native voice.
• Bitch Media — A feminist magazine with sharp cultural criticism and personal perspectives on gender, power, and identity.
• The Hairpin (archived, but still worth reading) — Known for intimate, funny, thoughtful personal essays and identity-related writing.
• Electric Literature / The Commuter — Not women-only, but often features powerful first-person essays by women and marginalized writers.
• Catapult — Literary magazine/platform with strong essays and memoir-style pieces on identity, culture, family, and womanhood.

Lifestyle magazines with more reflective, personal features

• Masthead / The Cut — Modern women’s magazine with strong essays, reporting on gender, relationships, work, and selfhood.
• NYLON — More pop-culture/lifestyle oriented, but often includes identity, sexuality, and self-expression content.
• Bust — Feminist lifestyle magazine with a mix of personal essays, interviews, and culture coverage.
• Jezebel (archived/less active in its original form) — Historically a major site for women’s issues, personal narratives, and culture commentary.

Broader magazines that still do this well

• Maggie — Focuses on women’s stories, femininity, and culture with a literary, reflective tone.
• HelloGiggles (now less central than before) — Friendly, accessible lifestyle content that often included identity and personal stories.
• Refinery29 — Especially good for essays on identity, career, body image, relationships, and modern womanhood.

If you want the most “personal essay” feel

Start with:

1. Rookie
2. Bust
3. The Cut
4. Bitch Media
5. Catapult

If you want, I can also give you:

• a list of print magazines vs. online magazines
• magazines that are more intersectional / queer / feminist
• or a ranked list by how literary vs. mainstream they are.