I have to say that watching something evolve from an idea to a full fledged zine was really awesome. In the words of Jaime "These zines are like my children" and they really are. I am so proud of them and everyone should be. They are simply fantastic. So fantastic that I caused quite a stir in my Stat 151 class on Friday (That's right ladies and gentlemen, I, a fifth year student, am taking a 100 level class). I was reading the four zines whilst my prof was lecturing on the importance of AVONA calculations. The group of chatty ladies behind me saw what I was reading and they started giggling, "What is that chick reading?", so I turned around and told them it was a zine that my WST 320 class had created, I then offered my personal copy of Paper for their viewing pleasure. This caused an outburst of laughter to which the prof stopped the class and asked the girls to be quite. So did this zine interrupt public space? Yes, I think it did. The girls read the zine, reacted to it and were told by the ruling bloc (the prof) to shut up.
Does any of this sound familiar? Women creating something beautiful, original, radical and unusual and when it is reacted to, we get told to shut up.
The zine was quickly returned to me, like the girls did not want to be caught with it. Is this a typical response? If something is radical, does that mean it is wrong and we should not be involved with it? These girls sure thought so, not me. I would have admitted to it.
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3 comments:
Can you scan some pages and post them here? I'm a sucker for a cool 'zine.
I think that is largely the reaction feminism in general receives. Try surveying any 100 level course to find out how many of the eager first-years consider themselves feminists. You will be lucky to find a small handful. Most will shift uncomfortably in their seats and perhaps giggle with their friends about the horrors of unshaven legs. The situation doesn't improve much by third year.
What do you figure is the optimum level of radical-ness? If we are too radical we land ourselves in the category of the crazy, bra-burning feminists. If we are not radical enough, we are ignored. Kipnis says we need to develop cultural forms that are inassimilable, political strategies that cannot be reabsorbed back into dominant narratives. But if we create the truly inassimilable, we risk being written off altogether, which in turn re-inserts us back into the dominant narrative in the role of the crazy radicals to be ignored. Where is this line and how do we navigate the surrounding area?
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