Slight Change of Direction (post tutorial)

Today I had one of my first tutorials with Pete. I discussed the idea of tackling how fem-zines are empowering women but that I'm not sure how to go about it. It's a tricky subject to tackle and I feel as a question it still might be something a bit vague. I was discussing how Fourth Wave feminism is using zines differently to Third Wave feminists to get their point across, and we began discussing the notion of focusing my essay less on femininity and more on the relationship between zines, the internet and feminism.

I feel a lot better about this as a focused area of investigation! The utilisation of the web by contemporary fem-zine creators is something I've already began researching, and the effects the internet has had on female zine culture has been huge.

From this I believe my three main areas of focus are; Feminism, Zine Culture and Globalisation.

Zines, Femininity and Empowerment

 Looking at the links between zines and feminism, I've started narrowing down my project as to what it is within that I really want to focus on. 

I still like the idea of the portrayal of femininity within feminist zines, however I'm not sure if that's what I want the bulk of my dissertation to be about. At this point, I'm also considering how these portrayals empower women through their subversion of traditional femininity. A lot of the reading I'm doing at the moment is concerned with Third Wave and the zine world's connection with Riot GRRRL. Perhaps I need to step away from that a little so as to not get distracted from my contemporary zine focus.

A lot of these issues within femininity (being explored and challenged within these zines) arise from Fourth Wave feminists concerns. Theory is leading me to start investigation Intersectional feminism as well as Fourth Wave. The two often work together and share very similar beliefs. While Fourth wave feminists are defined by their constant use (and perhaps reliance) on the internet, Intersectional feminists are more defined through their morals and ideals (further inclusivity, equal rights for WOC, trans-women, women of different sexualites, cultures ages etc). 

The two often work together, with Intersectional feminists using the web to promote and discuss their concerns and opinions. Zines are still a mode of communication many are using to do this, but now with the inclusion of e-zines through platforms such as Issuu the reach of their messages are often a lot greater than those of their Third Wave predecessors. 

Moving on from this I'm going to consider how these zines are being used to empower women. Although this is something I'm interested in, I'm aware there may be issues with this regarding what is 'empowerment'. It's a difficult subject to tackle and this is something I must bare in mind.

Drawing from Zines

So far I feel I've done a lot of reading for this module and not much image making. Though I know I want to focus on Fourth Wave feminist zine culture, I'm unsure which aspect of this to explore within my practical work. I thought I would begin then by drawing from some images within Fourth Wave zines I'd found through my research. I wanted to get a feel for the honest and open attitude these publications communicated when discussing women's issues.

Though I like the rawness of these images, I'm a little concerned they're beginning to border or the 'cliche'. I don't merely want to regurgitate overworked issues, and I don't want to make a project on how women are perceived or pressured to be. I want my work to encompass the honesty these publications put across, but I feel as though I'm struggling with that at the moment as I don't feel my practical work has a real purpose.

Though I discussed the notion of considering process (from analogue to digital) as a means to explore the relationship between handcraft and e-zines, I feel as though I need a subject matter in order to do this. I really don't want to do mindless drawing of women at this point. Personally, I enjoy doing work that is informed and has a purpose. At the moment the lack of that is stopping me, I feel, from making practical work.

Moving on I feel as though more research may help kickstart my practical investigation. At the moment it feels a little stale, and while looking at contemporary fem-zines gets me excited and feeling inspired, when it comes to creating my work about them I feel as though I don't really have an angle to explore right now. I'm hoping further indepth research will aid my in developing and opinion or original line of enquiry. 

Femzine Research

 I've been looking at a range of contemporary fem-zines as part of my practical investigation. The more I'm reading about contemporary Fourth Wave feminism the more I'm finding intrinsic links between it and contemporary zine culture. Many of the publications featured above are available partially, or in full, online through hosting platforms such as ISSUU. This works hand in hand with Fourth Wave feminism, which occurs almost exclusively online. Most of these zines also explicitly state they're feminist publications; perhaps my focus should be on Fourth Wave feminist zines and how they're using technology? 

Group Tutorial Feedback & Practical Thoughts

Feedback from Group Crit & Initial Practical Proposal 

MAIN THEMES FROM TUTORIAL TO FOCUS ON

Zines

Authenticity

Global

THOUGHTS POST-TUTORIAL

Focus in on how technology is bringing back female // feminist zines

The fourth wave of feminism > largely based on the web, how has this brought back the production of zines

Communication is global with the net, faster too, easier to find like minded communities

People still crave authenticity despite the web, want something tangible; zines

The web creates a very big double edged sword in terms of feminism, zines are a way to get away from that and just express yourself

Different issues facing women // girls now compared to third wave of feminists

STEPS TO BE TAKEN

Look at how technology is bringing back female zines

What are these zines saying? What issues do fourth wave feminists face now?

Is fourth wave beneficial or overly complex? Look into more fourth wave feminist theory ect

Get in touch with some of the zines I've pulled up in my presentation?

PRACTICAL STRUGGLES

I feel as though, at this point, my practical is a little behind my focus now

Femininity is huge issue, and it needs to be much more focused

Something to do with technology and femzines?

Needs further exploration and discussion

More image making required.

Essay Focus

Building on from the notion of female zine collectives, I've began looking at some key points of interest. One of the ideas I'm finding particularly interesting at the minute is the way female zines are being used by women to talk about women's issues honestly and openly.

Through theoretical research into zine culture, I've found that one of the ideals at the heart of original Riot GRRRL zine culture was that women were allowed to speak freely without censorship. 

I really like this point that through zine culture women can open up a discussion about things that mean a lot to them personally. Zines as a platform for open communication is something I may wish to investigate further in my research. 

I know fem-zines were started initially during the Third Wave of feminism. However the zines I'm really interested in studying are contemporary fem-zines. Perhaps I should start looking into Fourth Wave feminism in it's relation to current female zine cutlure.

Initial Presentation

I found this presentation rather useful to put together. I feel as though, at this point, my research and focus has been a little muddled, and through the creation of this presentation I've been able to iron out and explicitly detail some of the finer points of my research project.

It's also allowed me to review my project in it's entirety, seeing how it's evolved from the start of summer as well as where and how my project focus has shifted.

I still feel as though there is a long way to go before I reach my final dissertation question. Although I've narrowed down and organised my research, the notion of women and zine culture is still very broad. I need to further investigate what aspects of these overall themes I really want to explore within this module going forwards.