I'm Not Like Other Girls

[incurable hippie]

I'm looking for submissions for a one-off zine called I'm Not Like Other Girls.

What I want women and girls to do is to complete the sentence,
"I'm not like other girls because..."

I will make a zine of the responses.

The sentence will appear randomly placed, with all credits at the end, so your sentence and your credit aren't linked. This may help you to be more open, and the zine will flow much better too.

They may be categorised by theme, but that will depend on the submissions.

If you want to contribute, email me at [e-mail]

1) Put 'I'm not like other girls' in the subject line.
2) Email me your sentence (I'm not like other girls because...)
3) Tell me if you want to be anonymous.
4) If you want to be credited, tell me how (name / pseudonym, name of zine, etc)
5) If you want to receive a contributors' copy when it's ready, tell me your address too.

I can't guarantee your words will be put in the zine, but it's very likely. I only want submissions from women and girls.

Thanks!

[incurable hippie]

What fab submissions I've been getting!

It's time to create a deadline, so I need all I'm Not Like Other Girls submissions in by Sunday 25th October.

So if you've not sent me one yet, do so now! Details in original post of how etc.

[Amy]

I don't know if it's too late. If it's not, then I'm not like other girls because I auctually care about things that don't involve me.

[Erica S.]

Wow, it's pretty early in the year for such a blizzard of special snowflakes.

[Amy]

?

[sandy]

LOL!! erica, the S in your name obviously stands for 'shit-stirring'. teeheehee...

Erica S. said:

Wow, it's pretty early in the year for such a blizzard of special snowflakes.

[helenomicon]

Okay...I don't really know how I feel about this. I get that it's kind of a bummer sometimes to be a lady who doesn't meet certain gendered expectations (not dressing the "right" way, not having the "right" kind of cultural tastes), but framing it as "I'm not like other girls because..." seems to me like it's just reinforcing gender stereotypes. Like, "I'm DIFFERENT, not like the rest of those shoe-shopping, Sex-and-the-City loving airheads!" Amy's reply above me here is exactly the kind of thing I'm worried about. You think "car[ing] about things that don't involve [you]" makes you an anomaly among females? I'm sorry, but what the hell? How is that not a misogynist statement?

I used to be really into thinking that I was special because I didn't wear makeup, dressed kind of tomboyish, and listened to metal, and I used to put other girls down all the time for being stereotypically feminine in their dress and cultural tastes. Then I got out of middle school and realized that talking shit on "girly girls" just reinforces a system in which markers of femininity are considered bad/weak.

There have been some good zines written in part about being a lady-identified person who doesn't fit neatly into the "feminine" box - Truckface and Emergency are two I can think of that have dealt with these issues in an engaging way that didn't involve putting down other females. I think a comp zine that deals with ways that people defy gender stereotyping definitely has the potential to be awesome, but I really can't get behind the concept of this one.

[incurable hippie]

That's a really interesting point. I'm not using Amy's comment because it was past the deadline, and the majority of the contributions weren't so dismissive of other women.

I found a huge number of the contributions really empowering and encouraging, and there is a wide range of subjects covered.

I'm in the process of putting the zine together now and I'm excited about it. Hopefully it will help women and girls feel less alone, in some areas, and show the diversity of women and girls around the world, as well as making people smile, feel sad and nod with recognition :)

helenomicon said:

Okay...I don't really know how I feel about this. I get that it's kind of a bummer sometimes to be a lady who doesn't meet certain gendered expectations (not dressing the "right" way, not having the "right" kind of cultural tastes), but framing it as "I'm not like other girls because..." seems to me like it's just reinforcing gender stereotypes. Like, "I'm DIFFERENT, not like the rest of those shoe-shopping, Sex-and-the-City loving airheads!" Amy's reply above me here is exactly the kind of thing I'm worried about. You think "car[ing] about things that don't involve [you]" makes you an anomaly among females? I'm sorry, but what the hell? How is that not a misogynist statement?
I used to be really into thinking that I was special because I didn't wear makeup, dressed kind of tomboyish, and listened to metal, and I used to put other girls down all the time for being stereotypically feminine in their dress and cultural tastes. Then I got out of middle school and realized that talking shit on "girly girls" just reinforces a system in which markers of femininity are considered bad/weak.
There have been some good zines written in part about being a lady-identified person who doesn't fit neatly into the "feminine" box - Truckface and Emergency are two I can think of that have dealt with these issues in an engaging way that didn't involve putting down other females. I think a comp zine that deals with ways that people defy gender stereotyping definitely has the potential to be awesome, but I really can't get behind the concept of this one.

[Erica S.]

Then I got out of middle school and realized that talking shit on "girly girls" just reinforces a system in which markers of femininity are considered bad/weak.

Yes. Thank you. That's exactly what I meant.

Face it, people, when you say "different" in this context, what you really mean is "better." Caring about issues? What the fuck? (And I'm a little disturbed that the only reason that won't be included is because it's past the deadline.) There are ways to express yourself without tearing down other girls/women/feminine people. Because that's what this is. IMO.

[kit feral]

yeah, I do really like the concept of this zine, but I can see where it could cause problems. I mean, who are these "other" girls? Power to being different, but I can see where this could go wrong. Some people could get kinda... anti-sisterhood about it.
For example, saying "I'm not like other girls because I don't wear makeup" is fine, good for you for being proud of your natural beauty, but does it make me LESS if sometimes I wake up and feel blotchy and gross and I put on some makeup?
anyway.
I still think it's a great project, I can just see how it could easily go wrong. I hope it doesn't, I'm looking forward to reading it :)


Erica S. said:

Then I got out of middle school and realized that talking shit on "girly girls" just reinforces a system in which markers of femininity are considered bad/weak.

Yes. Thank you. That's exactly what I meant.

Face it, people, when you say "different" in this context, what you really mean is "better." Caring about issues? What the fuck? (And I'm a little disturbed that the only reason that won't be included is because it's past the deadline.) There are ways to express yourself without tearing down other girls/women/feminine people. Because that's what this is. IMO.

[incurable hippie]

Not necessarily. Some people's submissions clearly do think they mean 'better', but others really do mean different. And some are very self-effacing.

And yeah, I was trying to be a bit tactful, but even if that particular submission had been within the deadline it would have been turned down. You were right to pick me up not being clear on that.

Erica S. said:

Face it, people, when you say "different" in this context, what you really mean is "better." Caring about issues? What the fuck? (And I'm a little disturbed that the only reason that won't be included is because it's past the deadline.) There are ways to express yourself without tearing down other girls/women/feminine people. Because that's what this is. IMO.

[incurable hippie]

I had some of the same concerns that others are mentioning here. That it could end up being as woman-bashing as it is woman-positive. I was so pleased with the submissions coming in, and am sure it will end up a positive, empowering zine.

But I totally understand the concerns expressed. And hopefully the resulting zine will be able to reassure, rather than confirm your fears.

[Erica S.]

But see, why even bring other women into it, if that's the case? We ALL have things that make us different/special/unique, and it's definitely not cool nor is it feminist to set up womankind as a monolith. I guess my problem is that the entire stated purpose of this project seems to be the false dichotomy between the writers and "other women." It's not "tell me about the cool/unique stuff you do," it's "tell me about the stuff you do IN CONTEXT OF how it separates you from those that share your gender, who have clearly not thought through their horrible decisions (like wearing makeup or watching SATC) or else they would see how very wrong they are!" In our culture, femininity is seen as a weakness, something that women need to cast aside in order to compete or be taken seriously. I just feel like this project perpetuates that, along with making "girls" into a false monolith.