Project Zine!

There's nothin' like making a zine!

What's a zine, you ask? Why, I think you'll find this video helpful in explaining them (and teaching you how to start one of your own)!

We here at ABQFeminsts have put together a wee lil' zine -- in addition to this blog, which i feel is like an ever-growing eZine.

Though forms of zines have been around since the Printing Press, the contemporary, non-digital DIY-version we think commonly about has some deep ties to the Riot Grrl movement of the 90s, (and the punk era of the late 70s and early 80s). The tie between zines and feminism, is explained in Melanie A. Ferris' article Resisting mainstream media: girls and the act of making zines. That link might not work, so let me do some summing up for you:

• Basically, Ferris examines "how young women in North America have resisted mainstream media through the act of making zines." (Ferris, 2001)

• She ends the article by explaining that zines are "important in the lives of young women because they act as a form of resistance to dominant messages about how a girl is supposed to define herself. Zines serve not only as a forum for self-expression, but also as a way of creating a community and promoting communication amongst young women." (Ferris 2001)
  

Woo, empowering! Hand me the scissor and glue stick!

One of my favorite steps in the zine creation process is distribution, so, expect to see some pictures in the coming days of where we dropped off our zine around town.

Have you found one of our zines? Tell us your story in the comments section.

SK