zine reviews

here. in my head. #4 by catherine elms contact@catherineelms.co.uk

this zine is divided up into sections that focus on particular issues: friendship, grrrl jealousy, things that make catherine happy and sad, casual sexism and creativity. it is text heavy, introspective, brave and well written. catherine looks at her life with a political lens. she examines the importance of friendship (something i’ve been thinking a lot about myself) and writes about the barriers she has trying to make friends and what she’s doing about it. she looks at the jealousy she feels towards other girls and takes it apart and looks at it in the context of sexism (and she quotes me in the process!). rather than blaming herself for feeling jealousy, she deconstructs it. she closely examines things that people often dismiss as natural or personal. instead of accepting hateful sexist comments disguised as jokes, she thinks about them deeply and addresses them. she wants to make feminism accessible and approachable and does a good job of it. catherine has totally come into her own as a zinester. highly recommended.

motor city kitty #11 by bri motorcity_kitty@yahoo.com

i’ve heard a lot about motor city kitty and recently got my hands on #11. the zine pulled me in right away with bri’s story of her long solitary bike ride to and from cleveland, and getting caught in the rain on the way back. i loved the way she wrote about the adventure. as a new bicyclist i was truly inspired and took a long long bike ride to the other end of my city as a result. she goes on to write about her queer identity, her sexuality and her experiences with sexual violence. she writes about why she identifies with the word ‘queer’ and about being a queer grrrl who has relationships with guys. i could totally relate to this. i also related to her experiences of having sex because it was expected of her, rather than for her own desires. i think this happen to a lot of grrrls, but isn’t talked about much, and her words are really brave and inspiring. she writes “this happened: i found myself unable to deny the use of my body for sex because i loved someone.” those words wrung through my whole being, because i remember when that was my life and how hard it was for me to get out of it. i love this zine so much because i know it will give a lot of grrrls the courage to find their way out, towards a sexuality based on their own desires. bri is smart, unashamed and decorates her zine with cute drawings. check it out.

cats teeth #4 by ele wintermuse@gmail.com

i love ele’s zines because they have such a sensory element to them. the visual aspect is as important as the written. it brings to mind being in a forest at night amongst wild animals moving in the darkness. this issue opens with an excerpt from “the woman’s encyclopedia of myths and secrets” by barbara g. walker (a feminist writer i love). the zine is full of scenes of sexuality, spirituality, desire and emotion. she writes about having both a lover and a boyfriend and what she likes about each of them. she writes about working out her polyamorous relationships and the difficulties and pleasures they bring. one of the pieces in here also appeared in the second issue of my compzine “i knew a motherfucker like you and she said…” ele is a talented writer who easily pulls you into her world. anyone interested in polyamory and sexuality or anyone who just likes good poetic writing should definitely get their hands on this.