Welcome! a note from the Founder

It is with huge pleasure, excitement, and nervousness I say, “Welcome to Brown Girl Magazine!” Brown Girl has been a dream of mine for quite sometime now and actually seeing it come alive online is kind of astonishing to me. Way back when I was 14 years old, as I was battling with trying to fit in my preppy suburban town and trying to be remotely cool, it hit me. I’m not alone. My South Asian girlfriends had the same fights with their parents, same questions about their place in social ladder, the same self-esteem issues. (Not that this realization made life any easier). In college, I learned something more. As similar as we may be, we all had different dreams for ourselves, different tastes in fashion, music, and pop culture. But still, there was that overwhelming force that kept us all such good friends. It gave us some common ground, something to base our issues off of and work through our problems with.

Being a South Asian woman, whether I like it or not, is a huge part of me. It affects my social life, my loves and hates, my dreams, and my place in the world. Yet for the most part, it’s only till now I’ve completely accepted that fact.

I’ve always felt a void when it came to journalism and communications for South Asian women. When I was in high school I was obsessed with Seventeen and Comso. They were definitely good reads, but of course there was one apparent flaw. I couldn’t relate to the stories, the pictures, and the advice. Secondly, I realized that my South Asian girlfriends were battling with some crazy issues (self-esteem problems, dealing with overbearing parents, dating complications), and there was no form of targeted advice. And that’s when I got the light bulb moment. I wanted to start one of the first women’s magazines targeted towards South Asian women growing up in the US.

And that’s exactly what Brown Girl is. Brown Girl is for that smart, hip, beautiful girl looking for something fun to read or learn about, something to get advice from, and somewhere to belong. So, feel free to explore the magazine. There are plenty of goodies everywhere. Send in your comments and suggestions. Sign up for our newsletter. Are you a writer? A photographer? Join our staff! Most of all, tell your friends about us! Without your support, Brown Girl cannot be all that it can be!

This magazine could not have been possible without the help of some wonderful people! Special thanks to Asma Hassan, Pooja Patel, Sathish Arya, Ronak Patel, and of course my parents!

Enjoy!

Aditi Mehta,

Founder and Director

Brown Girl Magazine