If you’re a teen girl, or you used to be a teen girl, or maybe once upon a time you dated a teen girl, or mothered one, then you know it can be a terrifying, isolating experience, full of mixed messages and fumbling boys undone by a bra snap. Sometimes you just want to feel like you’re not alone, and that’s where PaperDolls Magazine comes in.

With an admirable mission statement that pledges to not use girls “to sell products,” the ad-free online magazine aims to cover “everything from health and sex, to media and art, to fashion and DIY projects.” It was started by locals Jordi Finlay, Erin Gentry, and former Austinite (and much-missed Chronicle proofreader) Sofia Resnick.

Two-thirds of that equation will be at the PaperDolls launch party on July 26 at Ruta Maya from 6-9pm. They’re advertising bands, a craft table, and free haircuts (really? ’cause that’s kind of awesome). Event info can be found here, and you can check out the first issue of PaperDolls here when it goes live in August.

PaperDolls is also hosting a summer film series at PaperDolls Headquarters (1610 Nickerson): A Queer Night doubleheader happens Aug. 6 with screenings of All Over Me and But I’m a Cheerleader, followed by A Dance Off! night of Shag and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun on Aug. 20. See their myspace page for more info.

This article appears in July 18 • 2008.

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A graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Kimberley has written about film, books, and pop culture for The Austin Chronicle since 2000. She was named Editor of the Chronicle in 2016; she previously served as the paper’s Managing Editor, Screens Editor, Books Editor, and proofreader. Her work has been awarded by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for excellence in arts criticism, team reporting, and special section (Best of Austin). The Austin Alliance for Women...