A zine is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very small group, and are popularly photocopied into physical prints for circulation. A fanzine is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest. The term was coined in an October 1940 science fiction fanzine by Russ Chauvenet and popularized within science fiction fandom, entering the Oxford English Dictionary in 1949.
Queercore is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifically society's disapproval of the LGBT community. Queercore expresses itself in a DIY style through magazines, music, writing and film.
Tobi Celeste Vail is an American independent musician, music critic and feminist activist from Olympia, Washington. She was a central figure in the riot grrl scene—she coined the spelling of "grrl"—and she started the zine Jigsaw. A drummer, guitarist and singer, she was a founding member of the band Bikini Kill. Vail has collaborated in several other bands figuring in the Olympia music scene. Vail writes for eMusic.
A punk zine is a zine related to the punk subculture and hardcore punk music genre. Often primitively or casually produced, they feature punk literature, such as social commentary, punk poetry, news, gossip, music reviews and articles about punk rock bands or regional punk scenes.
Bitch is an independent, quarterly magazine published in Portland, Oregon. Its tagline is "a feminist response to pop culture". Bitch is published by the nonprofit Bitch Media feminist media organization. The magazine includes analysis of current political events, social, and cultural trends, television shows, movies, books, music, advertising, and artwork. It has about 80,000 readers. Its editor-in-chief is Evette Dionne.
Bust is a women's lifestyle magazine that is published six times a year. The magazine is published by Debbie Stoller and Laurie Henzel. Bust covers music, news, crafts, art, sex, and fashion from an independent ("indie"), third wave feminist perspective. The magazine's slogan is "For women with something to get off their chest."
A video vixen is a female model who appears in hip hop-oriented music videos. The video vixen image has become a staple in popular music, especially within the genre of hip hop. Many video vixens are aspiring actors, singers, dancers, or professional models. Women from various cultures have been portrayed either as fragile, manipulative, fetishistic, or submissive within contemporary music lyrics, videos, concert and movie soundtracks.
Shameless is a Canadian magazine with a feminist and anti-oppressive practice perspective for girls and trans youth. It is published three times a year and also maintains a website featuring a blog, web stories and audio content. Shameless is a registered not-for-profit.
Gothamist LLC was the operator, or in some cases franchisor, of eight city-centric websites that focused on news, events, food, culture, and other local coverage. It was founded in 2003 by Jake Dobkin and Jen Chung. In March 2017, Joe Ricketts, owner of DNAinfo, acquired the company and, in November 2017, the websites were temporarily shut down after the newsroom staff voted to unionize. In February 2018, it was announced that WNYC, KPCC and WAMU had acquired Gothamist, LAist and DCist, respectively. Chicagoist was purchased by Chicago-born rapper Chance the Rapper in July 2018.
Spare Rib was a second-wave feminist magazine in the United Kingdom that emerged from the counter culture of the late 1960s as a consequence of meetings involving, among others, Rosie Boycott and Marsha Rowe. Spare Rib is now recognised as an iconic magazine, which shaped debate about feminism in the UK, and as such it was digitised by the British Library in 2015. The magazine contained new writing and creative contributions which challenged stereotypes and supported collective solutions. It was published between 1972 and 1993. The title derives from the Biblical reference to Eve, the first woman, created from Adam's rib.
Christina Billotte is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, known for her involvement in the punk music scene in Washington DC, as a performer and organizer. She is included in Venus Zine's list The Greatest Female Guitarists of All Time.
The feminist art movement in the United States began in the early 1970s and sought to promote the study, creation, understanding and promotion of women's art. First-generation feminist artists include Judy Chicago, Miriam Schapiro, Suzanne Lacy, Judith Bernstein, Sheila de Bretteville, Mary Beth Edelson, Carolee Schneeman, Rachel Rosenthal, and many other women. They were part of the Feminist art movement in the United States in the early 1970s to develop feminist writing and art. The movement spread quickly through museum protests in both New York and Los Angeles, via an early network called W.E.B. that disseminated news of feminist art activities from 1971 to 1973 in a nationally circulated newsletter, and at conferences such as the West Coast Women's Artists Conference held at California Institute of the Arts and the Conference of Women in the Visual Arts, at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C..
Marnie Stern is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and guitarist. She has garnered acclaim for her technical skill and tapping style of guitar play. Stern is also a current member of The 8G Band from the show Late Night with Seth Meyers.
ROCKRGRL was the first national publication for female musicians in the United States. Created by Carla DeSantis, the magazine purely focused on women in music and highlighted the artistic diversity of women musicians, often overlooked in mainstream culture. The magazine ran for eleven years, and the strength of its message inspired two pioneering ROCKRGRL conferences that showcased, celebrated, and addressed the state of the music industry for female artists.
Melisa Young, better known by her stage name Kid Sister, is an American rapper based in Chicago, Illinois, known for her single "Pro Nails", which features Kanye West.
Maxine Hammond Dashu, known professionally as Max Dashu, is an American feminist historian, author, and artist. Her areas of expertise include female iconography, mother-right cultures and the origins of patriarchy.
Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultural movement that combines feminism, punk music and politics. It is often associated with third-wave feminism, which is sometimes seen as having grown out of the riot grrrl movement and has recently been seen in fourth-wave feminist punk music that rose in the 2010s. The genre has also been described as coming out of indie rock, with the punk scene serving as an inspiration for a movement in which women could express themselves the same way men have been doing all along. To quote Liz Naylor, who would become the manager of riot grrrl band Huggy Bear:
There was a lot of anger and self-mutilation. In a symbolic sense, women were cutting and destroying the established image of femininity, aggressively tearing it down.
The Wanton Looks were a pop punk band from Chicago whose music has been described as reminiscent of Joan Jett's early 80's work. They were called one of the best underground bands of 2011 by the Chicago Tribune and one of the best unsigned bands of 2012 by The Jivewired Journal. They have also been a featured artist on WXRT's "Local Anesthetic" program.
Women have made significant contributions to punk rock music and its subculture since its inception in the 1970s. In contrast to the rock music and heavy metal scenes of the 1970s, which were dominated by men, the anarchic, counter-cultural mindset of the punk scene in mid-and-late 1970s encouraged women to participate. This participation played a role in the historical development of punk music, especially in the US and UK at that time, and continues to influence and enable future generations. Women have participated in the punk scene as lead singers, instrumentalists, as all-female bands, zine contributors and fashion designers.
Quimby's Bookstore is an independent bookstore located at 1854 W. North Ave in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. In addition to the main location, Quimby's NYC opened in 2017 at 536 Metropolitan Ave in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Quimby's specializes in selling independently published and small press books, zines, comics, and ephemera, describing its collection as favoring "the unusual, the aberrant, the saucy and the lowbrow". The Chicago Tribune has described Quimby's as "a treasure" and "an unofficial clubhouse for zine lovers", and Inc. magazine has featured it as "Chicago's weirdest bookstore".
