Riot Grrrl Lives!: 28 Zines
Edited by Jenna Freedman, Barnard Lib., New York Aug 19, 2010The Riot Grrrl Archives at NYU opens this month, and next month writer, musician, and riot grrrl zinester Sara Marcus's book Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution comes out. While it's been nearly 15 years since the last Riot Grrrl Convention in the United States, the spirit of riot grrrl lives on, evolving with the times. Clementine Cannibal, who is 23 years old and one of the authors reviewed in this column, explains, "I sometimes call myself a riot grrrl. More accurately, I see myself as part of the grrrlVIRUS, a long running infection that included riot grrrl and that continues to mutate."
When discussing anarchist movements, identifying leaders is inappropriate, but it is easy to identify people who put their souls into them. Cannibal, who identifies herself as a "zinester rockstar bitchgoddess" on her website banner, was my go-to person for information for this column.
Early 1990s review zines and distros connected young women from suburban and rural America to the riot grrrl movement. Today, a notably international crowd of feminist print culture enthusiasts network on Facebook, which is where much of the girlVIRUS/grrrlVIRUS international organizing takes place. If you're not on Facebook, Clementine's girlVIRUS page is a good reference for 21st-century grrrl zines.
The women whose zines are reviewed below all identify with or were inspired by riot grrrl. They are from or living in Australia, Canada, England, Finland, Israel, the United States, and the former Yugoslavia. Their ages range from 21 to 32, so most of them were young for riot grrrl's early 1990s heyday. The oldest three (of eight) were involved in riot grrrl and share their experiences in their zines. Four of the five who responded to a mini survey identify as queer. One of them is a person of color, and three of them talked about how their immigrant status makes them feel "other." Zines offer them all the opportunity to feel community.—Jenna Freedman
Ben-Ari, Hadass S. Fallopian Falafel. Nos. 11 & 12. Spring 2010. 47p. ½ size. $3.50. Distros: free PDF | Marching Stars (UK)
Fallopian Falafel is a colorful, confessional anthology of women's voices from a fairly diverse range of backgrounds and ages. Editrix Ben-Ari is based in Jerusalem, and many of the authors ground their experiences in being Jewish. Some of the pieces stray into inspirational, "exclamatory women's mag" mode, à la Cosmo or Seventeen, but keep in mind that while they lack the snotty punk rawness of old school riot grrrl, these unadulterated and unashamedly feminist pages are the zinely aftershocks of the dirty cut-up graphics, the scowling punk rock, the fierce expression of girl love that we knew in the 1990s. Nearly 20 years later, the name is still claimed by this zine that unifies themes of motherhood, public nudity, religious tradition, nipple piercings, and mammograms.—Torie Quiñonez, Santa Barbara, CA
Cannibal, Clementine. Licking Stars off Ceilings. Nos. 10 & 12; I Knew a Motherfucker Like You and She Said... No. 2.. ¼ size. $3.
Canadian riot grrrl Cannibal calls for a 21st-century grrrl insurrection. In their invocation of a movement seen by many as dead, Cannibal's zines are self-consciously retro: cut and paste with photos of stars like Nancy Spungen, Courtney Love, and even Paris Hilton (whom Cannibal considers punk rock). More consciously sexual than many of her predecessors, Cannibal is at her best when writing about sex. Engaging pieces in Licking Stars are about bisexuality, pornography, and her active sex life. Her newest project, I Knew a Motherfucker... is a compilation of sex writing and addresses issues as diverse as BDSM, assault, and menstruation. However, a celebratory spirit is what Cannibal wishes to express in her work; punk rock grrrl love will prevail, guitar in one hand and a zine in the other.—Jennie Rose Halperin, Barnard Coll., New York
Elizabeth, Maranda & Miss Tukru. Telegram Ma'am No. 18 / Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell! No. 9. Split Zine. 2009. 70p. $3. Distro: Etsy | Vampire Sushi Distro
Although the authors were writing with an ocean between them (Elizabeth from Canada; Finnish Tukru in the UK), it feels appropriate that these two zines are bound together. When you hold both pieces-stapled together at the spine-you feel that each grrrl's endeavors complement the struggles of the other. Originally intended to be a thematic work about friendship from afar, this split zine evolved into many things: a love letter to a bicycle, an exploration of family and relationships, and an examination from both women of their own anxieties, mental health, and loneliness. My favorite snippet is Elizabeth on the library: "Sometimes I hide little fliers with small town manifestoes and riot grrrl manifestoes between the books or tucked away in their pages."—Alycia Sellie, Brooklyn Coll., NY
Hope, Kisha. A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Life. Nos. 1 & 2. 2008 & 2010. 16p. & 32p ½ letter. $3. Distros: Microcosm | Stranger Danger
This confessional perzine from Chicago touches on queerness, body image, race, and socioeconomic status from the perspective of an overweight and awkward African American girl coming up in the New York City projects. Despite feeling shame at the hand she was dealt, Hope (Fort Mortgage #1: Punx Buyin' a House), invites the reader to relate and laugh with her as she navigates fitting in at school, early sexual exploits, and self-acceptance. Hope maintains a brutal honesty, recounting numerous embarrassing situations in her zine, giving the reader a raw sense of her childhood. Issue 1 is structured like a short story. Issue 2 includes visuals, with vignettes pasted over dark and grainy photographs and Sharpie sketches. It is in the sophomore issue that we encounter Hope's discovery of punk and riot grrrl.—Nicole Pagowsky, El Centro Community Coll., Dallas
Nuñez-Noggle, Jolie & Hannah Neurotica. I'd start a revolution but I don't have time / Riot grrrl! split zine. 2007. 32p. ½ size. $3. Distro: Click Clack
This split zine contrasts the perspectives of two women who found riot grrrl in their teens, how their young lives progressed through music and zines, and how punk feminism helped them to cope. For Nuñez-Noggle's part, pictures of the author as a teen coupled with vivid descriptions of becoming part of a larger riot grrrl community give tribute to the movement. Neurotica's account of discovering riot grrrl speaks more to the political-cultural evolution that took place in her adolescence. While both women grew up in different environments (Nuñez-Noggle in a small town, Neurotica in New York City), their stories perfectly complement each other and give the reader a broad view of the politics, music, and culture of riot grrrl.—Adam Davis, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., Boynton Beach, FL
Stab, Ivana. Watch Him Bleed. No. 1. 24p. ¼ size. Distros: Bird in the Hand | Etsy | Take Care
Zines aren't censored—that's the point of self-publishing. In Watch Him Bleed, Stab goes one step further, attacking even self-censorship: "This zine is me now and I want it to be as honest a representation of myself as I can give." In a way it offers standard perzine fare—sharp-edged criticism of society's mores, free verse, and pop-culture references, illustrated with the expected black-and-white photocopied images culled from mass media, but the bulk of this issue deals with a romantic breakup and with Stab's unwillingness to kowtow to the mainstream standard of monogamy. Her writing shows real freshness and insight. Watch Him Bleed is energetic, angry, and thoughtful and should prove an essential read for disaffected young women and anyone who empathizes with them.—Emily-Jane Dawson, Multnomah Cty. Lib., Portland, OR
A one-shot column like this one can't cover all of the active zines and zinesters even in a genre subset, so I leave it to you to check out some others (recommended by the above zine creators) on your own:
- Maranda Elizabeth's twin sister, Amber Forrester: Culture Slut and Fight Boredom
- Hoax zine by Sari and Rachel
- Not Lonely by Hannah, out of Scotland
- Your Secretary by LIS student Jami Thompson
- Truckface by LB
- Laura Paisley's Pillow Talk
- Cooking Hearts up at the Stove by Cherry
- Love Letters to Monsters by Ciara Xyerra, who has been making riot zines since 1994
- Cocoa/Puss (reviewed November 2009) by LaMesha Melton
- Kira Swales's Exploding the Myth
- Tempest in a Teacup by Louise Viner
- Bitch Theme by Charlotte Lee
- From Germany, Trouble X genderqueer minicomics
- Motor City Kitty by Bri Zine
- Daisies and Bruises by Erin Schulthies
- Echo! Echo! by Keet
- Riot Wife by Kate Pinchdog
- Little Gardens for Invalids by Clara Bee Lavery
- Punkasaurus by Elise Graham
- Shotgun Seamstress (reviewed November 2009) (shotgunseamstress@gmail.com)
