Adults are boring. Interviewing Remi Riordan, the 16-year-old founder/editor-in-chief, contributing photographer and writer for Crybaby Zine is refreshing, but maybe it has nothing to do with age—Remi, as well as the material she curates on her blog is just candid and confident. “I hate that I don’t have more followers on Instagram,” she says. “My family is great. We are just a normal middle class family in a New Jersey suburb. I have no siblings, just two cats,” she says. In the 2015 internet culture, everyone can start a blog, but not everyone does. Or some people do, and they’re not very good. Remi posts the musings, photographs, and collages of her friends, a couple of girls from Montclair, New Jersey. More so than the quality of the work, Crybaby’s strength lies in the ambition of the teen girls—one young girls’ perspective seems to be more valuable than a bunch of adults.
Galore: What’s your favorite subject in school?
RR: I do! I love learning. My favorite subject is probably history but I also love math. I like how there is only one right answer.
What’s your favorite book?
RR: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. The Strand has it on their “Must Read” table, so I’m not the only one recommending it!
What do you want to be when you grow up? How will you make it happen?
I’m actually not sure what I want to be. I love photography and would love to pursue a career in that, but I also would love to work for magazines. I’m just going to continue writing and taking photos and see where it all takes me.
What’s the hardest thing about running Crybaby? How do you choose what to put on your site?
RR: The hardest thing is probably responding to emails. I read them but I can be so lazy and I just forget to respond sometimes. I decide if it fits with the website and also take into consideration how much photography, writing, and illustrations I’ve been posting at that time.
Do you identify as a feminist? How have you learned about feminism and/or sex?
RR: Yes, of course! I learned a lot through the internet and reading articles.
Can you give us some love advice?
RR: I wish! I’ve never had a relationship but I guess my advice would be to not take shit from your partner.
Who’s your role model?
RR: My role model is Chloë Sevigny. She is so amazing and beautiful, and I love how she an it-girl and was a club kid in the 90s, but has gone on to do so many amazing, creative things.
What do you hate most about social media?
RR: I hate that I don’t have more followers on Instagram and Twitter. I hate how I’ve met so many cool people online and still haven’t met them in person. But I guess I love that too.