trades wanted!

- collaborative queer feminist zine with Rachel called hoax. and each issue has a different theme.

issue #4's topic is hirstories! essays include: issues of bias & falsified neutrality in using a pen name; girlhood and influences from community and parents; questioning riot grrrl’s contemporary survival; combating gendered notions from parents and coming to learn about feminism; storytelling and transnational feminist theory; comparing the position of women in ancient rome and contemporary united states; jane addams & the hull house; standing up to a teacher who was a perpetrator of sexual assault; community, art, and media autonomy in slovenia; calling out the HRC/liberal gay agenda for perpetuating heteronormativity and assimilation; being a “drag hag”; exploring the idea of living a past life as a witch; being a queer, male-bodied/male-identified pro-feminist; being influenced by a grandmother’s inadvertent feminism; sylvia plath and the feminist inversion of mythology; a brief history of witchcraft; heterosexual brasilian sex tourism; FBI infiltration of the second wave feminist movement; learning about feminism through a father; reflections on working in a women’s shelter; the achievements of jeanette howard foster; coming to be a feminist man & questioning restrictive masculinity; the alchemy of the “caucasian”; in-depth exploration of one’s first triggering experience; becoming a christian feminist; and the radical feminist history of mother’s day. also includes original artwork & comic exerpts, feminists we love, and vegan recipes! ½ size, 80 pages, b&w, and super text heavy! asking $3/4 or trade!

issue #5 is about feminism & community! essays include: core requirements for a “safe space”; a manifesta written as the basis for the mother ourselves bootcamp for queer folks of color; supporting those who are new to feminism; notes from a trans*feminist; queer land movements; community in the punk scene; environmental consciousness and ecofeminist policy; a comic about food co-ops; looking to create community for one’s child; a coming of age story about radicalization through queer internet forums and punk rock; thoughts on collectives; wanting a more intersectionary feminist community; rethinking personal feminist politics; a comic about the cons of “women’s space;” reflections of a soon-to-be community organizer; a short introduction to the amish community; an intersectional feminist library short list; girl-on-girl crime & the need for unity amongst women; a reinvestigation on sexual assault; the effects of a family member’s suicide; reflections of zine release party that implemented as “safer space” policy; and how the labor movement has helped feminism! also includes an interview with the editors, original art/comics, prose, feminist we love, and vegan recipes! 1/2 size, 72 pages, b&w, and super text heavy! asking $4 or trade!

issue #6 is about feminisms & communication! essays include: the power & privileges of academic language; feminist reflection on self-care; comedy & comics as an exercise in visibility; re-thinking “righteous anger”; challenging the unspoken commandments of punk; empowerment through getting a tattoo; communicating anger in a subdued manner; feminism & disability on campus; white-washing and the trouble with “people of color” as an umbrella term; scholarly journals & achieving accessibility; the privilege of “progress”; trans* identity & expressing anger; exploring the waves of US feminism; blackness & perceived education; false exposure and “confessional” writing; communicating trans feminine experience; why the n-word is not for white people; recovering from intimate partner violence; rape denial & the cops; “ally” as a false identity; slutwalk & false individualism; handling suicidal thoughts; gay capitalism & the pink dollar market; conscientious language vs. political correctness; women & learned shyness; reframing anti-semitism; survivorship, zine-writing, and disabilities; and the women’s land army!  also includes original art/comics, prose, feminists we love, and vegan recipes! ½ size, 76 pages, b&w and super text heavy!

issue #7 is about feminisms & change! essays include: western feminism’s relationship with Islamic feminism and notions of “visibility”; the concept of a “real” name; zine-making as a feminist process; the importance of daily change for trans*/queer folks; a father’s death and recollections of childhood; creating “life lists” and engaging in active positivity; recovering from an eating disorder; how a haircut released personal baggage and changed social interactions; identities in zines; examining discussions of consent in workshop settings; the “love your body” concept and chronic illness; the Vagina Monologues and questioning the concept of “accessible” feminism; handling a daughter’s self-harming; an interview with fat-positive activists Tasha Fierce & Hanne Blank; white activism as a social performance; questioning sexuality as a young teen; dealing with the loss of a friend; how family history and sexual assault influenced one to stop drinking; pregnancy and parenting while genderqueer; fourth-wave feminism and the incorporation of trans women; the potential of poetry to induce personal change; exploring new models of accountability and forgiveness with an alcoholic friend; reflections from a former CNN journalist about why corporate journalism is not conducive to social change; never before printed interview with lawyer dean spade. also includes original art, feminists we love, vegan recipes, and current feminist heroes! ½ size, 72 pages, b&w and super text heavy!

issue #8 is about feminisms & mythologies! accepting submissions until december 15, 2012!

[hoaxzine@gmail.com or message me for more info!]

- perzine called you've got a friend in pennsylvania.
issue #1 features part 1 of my diary entries from a trip to slovenia, a final letter to an ex-girlfriend, and writings about queer (in)visibility, menstruation in theory and praxis, talks with my mom, a memory, a story from a friend and DIY tips. 1/2 size, 24 pages, b&w, and text-heavy. asking $1 US / $2 international, or trade.

issue #2 features part 2 of my diary entries from a trip to slovenia, a playlist, an entry on my name, an essay on illegal immigration, love/hate for pennsylvania, feelings on being an older sibling, a conversation with my perpetrator (potentially triggering), a story about a racist friend, an essay about my rat, DIY tips for winter & making a sweet treat and zine/book/music recommendations. 1/2 size, 36 pages, b&w, text heavy. asking $1 US/ $2 international, or trade.

issue #3 is a 1/4 size zine about zombies (story about a dream // discussion on the game humans vs zombies & how to make it more female-inclusive), girl hate (being a perpetrator of girl hate // seeing girl hate in a young woman // the fluctuation of a relationship with a particular girl // a note on girl hate in general & reminiscing about it in a local punk scene), body hair (10 reasons why i don’t shave // telling off a dude about making fun of a woman with a mustache // essays on four major areas of my body that i’ve wrestled with shaving (armpits, legs, face, & pubes) // discussing the divide between feminists and the decision to shave or not // a short reflection on seeing a female-assigned person with body hair for the first time), and a name change (discussing the decision to legally change my last name (trigger warning)). 48 pages, b&w, super text heavy. $2 US / $3 international, or trade!

issue #4 is about actively staying single while queer and reflections on coming out as trans* (particularly in the zine community) . 1/4 size, b&w, 20 pages, super text heavy. may 2011. $2 US / $3 international (includes shipping), or trade!

issue #5 was influenced by working in a "boys' club" atmosphere in a warehouse for just over a month and a half. the zine is about resisting militant masculinity on the job, learning how to more effectively call out shitty behavior, and how i have created a safer space for myself (and hopefully some others) at work. b&w, 1/4 size, 20 pages. july 2011. $2 US  / $3 international (includes shipping), or trade!

issue #6 includes my attempt to investigate the traces of anxiety, depression, suicide, and alcoholism in my family's history as well as my own difficulties with these issues. eight sections discuss: the secrecy surrounding my family’s history of suicides, a recent suicide in my family, my issues with anxiety and pushing emotions aside, my reoccuring suicidal thoughts and how my identities intersect with them, talking with a fellow queer/trans* friend struggling with suicide, assessing my tumultuous relationship with alcohol and deciding to become consciously sober, what i can do to manage and deal with things, and what i plan to do in the future. there is a trigger warning for the zine relating to depression, anxiety, suicide, self-harm, alcoholism, sexual assault, and abuse - please take care of yerself before you read this. it is intense. extremely text heavy, b&w, 1/4 size, 46 pages. february 2012. $3 US / $4 international (includes shipping), or trade!

[youvegotafriendinpa@gmail.com]

neither doll houses nor tree houses: on living outside of the gender binary

finished in under 24 hours for the chicago zine fest, this zine focuses on the ups and downs of finding myself outside of the gender binary and attempts to both de- and re-construct various questions about my own gender as well as gender in general. three separate sections discuss feeling pushed out of femininity, how masculinity is viewed as inherent and femininity is viewed as a fictitious performance, how striving for the “perfect balance” of two genders is not plausible nor an adequate solution, acceptance or tolerance (or neither) that i feel in specific spaces, how my radical friends misgender and disrespect me more often than my non-radical ones, the (non-) accessibility of queer jargon and language, how coming out has garnered me the most intense gender assumptions yet, dealing with friends who don’t “get it”, my desire to validate my own identity without stepping on the identity of others, and checking white privilege. march 2012. 32 pgs, ½ size, b&w. $2-3 or trade.

thou shalt not talk about the white boys' club: challenging the unwritten rules of punk

Touted as being a home for society's rejects, outcasts, and 'alternative' political stances, punk unfortunately often ends up reinforcing oppressive mindsets and ideals by setting up numerous unwritten rules for dress, behavior, personal choices, identifications, and so much more. This zine aims to direct conscious attention to the nuances of being a marginalized person, namely a Gender and Sexuality Minority (GSM), in the punk community. Includes questions intended to incite dialogue among readers and their friends as well as a short list of recommended resources concerning marginalized experiences in punk. B&W, 34 pages, & text heavy. US$2.50

as for me personally, i am a 24 year old queer & trans*/gender variant pennsylvania native currently trying to get by in baltimore and i go by they/them/their pronouns. i am into trans*feminism, harry potter nerdery, reading, pen pals, traveling, learning things, music, making awesome vegan food, and DIY. i am interested in trading for any & all kinds of zines, just get in touch! i will also accept heartfelt handwritten letters, packets of tea, vegan recipes and pretty much anything else enjoyable in place of zines. :)