I wrote in a zine in my little suburban town put out by arguably the most punk rock kid in our county. It was a glorious exercise and felt like a mini-rebellion. I was dis/heartened when he found me on facebook - he is about to get married and he is all "growns up." It happens to the best of them. I miss that zine. I miss zines in general. #zines
It's funny that I got into zines primarily because of the Internet (I mean, I'd heard of them through Sassy but I never really knew how to get them until I could go online and order them using Paypal) but that the Internet has really taken the steam out of the zine community. The community still exists, but the creative energy once used to put them out has become so diffused by the technology that is so readily available online.
Even so, the zine community - particularly the feminist perzine community of the early 2000s - played such a huge role in my political, personal and artistic development. (I even put out a few of my own.) I would order huge packages of them, then sit in the bathtub and read them, one right after the other. I had no friends who shared my politics or my tastes, and it was wonderful to know that there were people like me out there somewhere. Plus, some of the zines were so good, so smart and well-written that reading them over the years has been like earning a graduate degree in cultural studies. I learned about Judith Butler, Urvashi Vaid, Dorothy Allison, Amber Hollibaugh, bell hooks and about eighteen thousand other artists, critics, academics, writers and activists through the world of zines. My life is that much richer because of them.
I was a zine addict back in the mid-late 90's (I still have a dozen, yellowing Factsheet Five issues), and what mainly attracted to them was their often fearless content. Many zine editors couldn't care less about ad revenue and they just ran whatever they damn well pleased (one favorite was "Murder Can Be Fun," a zine dedicated to real-life freak accidents). I agree that the Internet and blogging killed off the zine as well as the overcrowded zine market that had too little retail distribution. Yet, a zine always has a great sense of being a product of much blood, sweat and tears. #zines
I think that in the age of electronic mass dissemination zines serve the pretty awesome purpose of being local. Blogs can be read anywhere, by anyone, but don't usually feel tied to a specific community or place. Zines can be a really good way for a small community to have its own media, home brewed, specifically tailored, and in a way kind of intimate. To me its sort of like the distinction between recorded and live music- its awesome that my friends record EPs and that I can listen to their music everywhere, and its certainly convenient, but its also really important to me that they play shows and create occasions where we all come together and listen to them. #zines
maybe zines are still alive and kicking and relevant in certain communities, but i can say that being at the right age and target demographic (diy feminist young person) during even the peak of zine culture, i've never read one, never seen one, and wouldn't know where to find one if i were looking, both at the time, and in the present. #zines
@browngirlinthering: really? when i was in high school i feel like every other girl i knew had one, and a lot of the more popular ones were sold or given away at book and record shops in my town growing up. i definitely see blogs as having displaced zines, but I definitely think there is room for both. #zines
@browngirlinthering: How old are you? I feel like zines were distinctly "Gen X." They are certainly not as prolific now as they were when I was in high school but they're around if you look for them. Generally comic book stores, head shops and record stores. #zines
@J.D.Regent: I never really read zines either (although I read ABOUT them in Sassy) I think I was just a tad bit young when they really had their heydey. Or maybe it was growing up in a midwestern suburb. #zines
@J.D.Regent: @winner: i was in high school in the mid 90's so i would assume i was in the right demographic! i think either i just didn't live in a big enough city in the right region, or just didn't know the right places to look. i kind of feel like i missed out!! i love the aesthetic #zines
@browngirlinthering: I can see that. I was and am continue to be one of a handful of people I know who knows anything about zines, and I even came into the community after the peak of it passed in the early-to-mid 90s. #zines
mmm, as someone who tends to not really care how i dress too much because i have, well, other things to think about, my reaction is whatever. you judge me on my clothes, i'll judge you on your pretentious attitude. we'll meet in the middle!
@linnyt is a walking cliché: Class with the Countess comes out tomorrow, but is already #2 in the Etiquette section on Amazon in pre-orders. But only #693 overall.
I was really into the Riot Grrrl music scene in high school. I still have all my KRS vinyls and sometimes get down with my Bratmobile and Bikini Kill MP3's. The manifestos that were written by Kathleen Hanna inspired me to an almost sad degree back then. I used to have my own "personal website" in the late 90's (way before blogging was even called "blogging" hahaha) and I'd totally bite off her style so hard. I loved her. Once, my mom saw a photo of her and said I looked like her. I was ecstatic. Good times.
ohhhh i am so late to this discussion, which is sad! i was in several punk and metal bands when i was in high school and college (and still want to start another!), and being female in the scene, even nowadays, is still really tough. everyone should read pretty in punk. the end.
2. I was crazazy about Courtney and Hole and the riot grrl movement, probably more when I was 15 and 16.
3. I had a bit of Hole bootlegs and whatnot from back in the day and they had a song with lyrics that went something like "riot grrls think you can catch me? I'm forever in your debt". I can't name the song because it has been a while.
4. I love this site for posting this. I was alone on this movement. I'm still close friends with with the ladies I was friends with during this time and if I said the words "riot grrl movement" now they would say "unmolded what the hell are you talking about.?" I enjoyed my music in private I suppose.
5. Polly Harvey is fucking awesome.
6. Patti Smith is too ( I know not a riot grrl but worth mentioning).
This was only in 2003, but I got into bands like Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, L7, and Babes in Toyland (and other female musicians like Liz Phair - not sure if she's really considered "Riot Grrrl") right when I was on the cusp of puberty - it was so empowering and good to know that there was music like that, women like that. As a black girl though, I was always a little bit sad that there seemed to not be a lot of (any?) women of color in the Riot Grrrl movement. But I still love the attitude, sensibility, and music of Riot Grrrl.
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11/12/09
Even so, the zine community - particularly the feminist perzine community of the early 2000s - played such a huge role in my political, personal and artistic development. (I even put out a few of my own.) I would order huge packages of them, then sit in the bathtub and read them, one right after the other. I had no friends who shared my politics or my tastes, and it was wonderful to know that there were people like me out there somewhere. Plus, some of the zines were so good, so smart and well-written that reading them over the years has been like earning a graduate degree in cultural studies. I learned about Judith Butler, Urvashi Vaid, Dorothy Allison, Amber Hollibaugh, bell hooks and about eighteen thousand other artists, critics, academics, writers and activists through the world of zines. My life is that much richer because of them.
In short, I must read this book. #zines
11/12/09
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11/12/09
11/12/09
11/12/09
11/12/09
11/12/09
11/12/09
11/12/09
10/01/09
10/01/09
10/01/09
06/28/09
I recognize those "LGBT for Bloomberg' signs
04/15/09
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04/15/09
[www.amazon.com]
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04/09/09
I highly recommend:
Issue #19 - Gov. George C Wallace on Segregation (1962)
Issue #27 - Two Faces of Communism (1961)
Issue #28 - Homosexuality: Legitimate Alternate DEATHSTYLE (1986)
- they are mind-blowing.... They are history.
(Also, 1962 Planned Parenthood comic, etc...)
04/09/09
03/06/09
03/06/09
03/05/09
2. I was crazazy about Courtney and Hole and the riot grrl movement, probably more when I was 15 and 16.
3. I had a bit of Hole bootlegs and whatnot from back in the day and they had a song with lyrics that went something like "riot grrls think you can catch me? I'm forever in your debt". I can't name the song because it has been a while.
4. I love this site for posting this. I was alone on this movement. I'm still close friends with with the ladies I was friends with during this time and if I said the words "riot grrl movement" now they would say "unmolded what the hell are you talking about.?" I enjoyed my music in private I suppose.
5. Polly Harvey is fucking awesome.
6. Patti Smith is too ( I know not a riot grrl but worth mentioning).
7. I can't spell.
03/06/09
03/06/09
03/05/09