On Girl Zines as Feminist Alternative Media (Article)

神奈川県茅ヶ崎市This paper considers girl zines as feminist alternative media. Girl zines were participatory media produced through grass roots feminist movement in US in 1990s. In following discussion, I review American girl’s cultural creating activities in relation to the history of modernization and industrialization in US and gender norms. In so doing I examine the difference between consumer oriented girl’s “bedroom culture” and girl zine’s culture. Through these considerations, this paper tries to understand the problematic posed by this young feminist movement in the 1990s. Following the study of Stephen Duncombe, Chapter 2 discusses the defi nition of zines, their origin and their main concerns. Chapter 3, following the study of US girl culture by Mary Celest Kearney, locates girl ziens within US history of girl’s cultural creating activities. Chapter4 and 5 analyze the relation between girl zines and feminist movement in US since 1970s. This paper suggests that girl zines don’t simply mean zines made by girls. Rather, they are alternative media for women who demonstrate the unconformity against dominant values in modern society, such as male-centrism, hetero-sexism, white-centrism and consumer capitalism. Based on punk’s DIY ethos and feminism, girl zines challenge mainstream girl culture, “bedroom culture”, which is lead by corporate culture industries. At the same time girl zines are the site where girls explore what does it mean to be an American girl or American woman