a little talk i gave at a zine fair in southsea.

1. zines ;
an informal presentation

2. disclaimers
I am not an authority, just a fan!!!
This show contains nudity, far out ideas and personal opinion
why I lik e them 
Mostly, this is abo ut zines I’m into and

3. zines Vs main
stream media
• Short for “fanzine“ not “magazine “
• Have always represented the marginalised &
underrepresented
• Positive flipside to dark side of internet democracy ?
• Pre-internet era of the ‘pen pal’ (meeting new people was
less creepy then)
• Creative, not consumptive!
• Choose your own agenda, define your own terms

4. People need to know that freedom of expression on the printed page is
something we can all do and something that is fulfilling and necessary in a
world where everything is mediated and more and more of it by companies with
more power than governments! because all information has an agenda, right,
especially profit-making media.!!

5. Fanzines; for the common people!
Pre internet global A direct link with the band
! !!

6. queer zining!?
Not just for the gay and lesbian community!
- d-i-y ethics aligned with punk
- “where radical politics are never sidelined for an easier ride,
where good times are never in doubt and where subsumed experiences are
revealed as real… “
1985 to 1991, J.D.s zine - prototype of
homemade, unstylized, d.i.y
photocopied queer zines.
1989+ 90s - unapologetic pushing of
boundaries and de-intellectualised
music journalism (rollerderby, riot
grrrl, etc)
Now – vampire sushi, shotgun
seamstress, vaginas in turmoil,
distros, active scene in the uk
Here are some that rly inspire me:

7. Rollerderby zine
Started by lisa carver of the band SUCKDOG
originally a zine
by bill callahan
of smog but sh
e kind of took ov
er

9. Tukru – runs an excellent zine distro called
vampire sushi, and plays in a band called sean
bean death scene! I read her zines for 6 years
before I decided to make one of my own.
Yes darling, but is
it art or arse?
Your pretty face is going straight to hell

10. femme barbe – a zine not just for
bearded ladies and gender outlaws
Zines like this are so
vital, because?
A counter to the illogical gleaming hairless
legs in every women’s gillette advert
Media has us incapable of handling the
sight of body hair on a woman.
However I think it’d be easier for us to if it
was as normal in the media as it is on
many of us.

11. It hink we need!
• More public access to decent photocopiers!
• More events like this
• More calls for collaboration/contributions
• More discos to dance at that aren’t in expensive bars full
of binge drinkers, as well as more d.i.y gigs and nights
and venues
• More lady djs and bands
• More sun. C’mon Its April!

12. finally…
I dedicate this presentation to Lucy Meadows, who was persecuted by the Daily
Mail and as a result took her own life.
Popular media breeds hatred for a reason. Transphobic rhetoric is just another word for
hate.
Richard Littlejohn accused the popular teacher of “putting his (sic) own selfish needs
ahead of the wellbeing of the children”
But I think that that Lucy understood the needs of children, because children need
acceptance, whereas Richard denied her the same.
I JUST HAVE TO SAY! Children are lied to often by people who are ignorant or don’t
understand. It is so easy to explain these things are nothing to be scared of, it’s just
different. Without this information, they may feel threatened and that can lead to
prejudiced views. The kind that tabloid culture supports and RELIES on.
Heres to independent media and zine culture, and screw you Rupert Murdoch!

13. finALLY ACTUALLY fi
nally……