Shea's Zine Journal!

hello 7cups friends! This is shea here :> Do we have any zine lovers/creators here?

I'm thinking of starting a little mental health/wellness related zine- I have a few unformed thoughts but I would love to discuss this idea with anyone interested

ZINES, A SHORT INTRO

First off, what is a zine?

The word zine takes up half the word of magazine. In some aspects, zines and magazines are similar. They share a resemblance in qualities like catchy covers and somewhat unified page layouts, coherent to an overarching aesthetic. (though admittedly, zines are more creative and artistic than your typical commercial mag) But other than that, they are vastly different–in their intent, content, publishing methods, creative community and creative process.

With that said, let me define zines–a truly undefinable, tightknit, genuine piece of artistic expression. Zines are DIY, self published, small-circulation works, made by a single/ or a small group of creators. Ofc, as seen in many expanding zines today (especially in social media) the line of commercialization is hazy to define.

Content wise, zines may be dedicated to art, fanfiction, political protest (see Riot Grrls), and personal reflection. ZInes can be made out of pure interest, out of passion for a cultural subcommunity. The artistic medium is very diverse. It could be in the form written word: poetry, journal entries, short stories, editorials, essays. It could be artworks: physical/digital, collages or sculptures. It could be as simple as a piece of folded A4 paper with doodles drawn or cut out images, scanned and reproduced by a copy machine.

Bonus**A small history: Zines first made their appearance in the 1930s as a way for sci-fi fans to discuss pulp fiction. Thereafter, zines rose with third wave feminism in the 1990s, developing into the Riot Grrrls , an underground punk feminist movement.