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An Introduction to Zines and Their Definition
Ianto Ware
Discipline
of English
Presented as part of Critical Animals, October 2003
When introducing the subject of zines the first question is invariably one of definition. For the uninitiated, which presumably includes the majority of those reading this article, the question is difficult to answer. I usually explain a zine as something of a cross between a personal letter and a magazine, similar in appearance to a booklet, usually printed on a standard office photocopier using minimal resources, distributed on a small scale and operating 'under the radar' of the wider publishing industry. For those well versed in the area the question holds much greater complexity. The nature of zine writing and publication is inherently fragmentary, functioning on pockets of activity rather than a uniform collective understanding. One person's definition of a zine can vary wildly from anyone else's. For one reader, a zine may be the small press of a specific subculture, for another it may include certain types of websites, and for a third it may exclude any publication, regardless of the format, with commercial links or a sizable budget. The purpose of this article is to consider the question of definition for both the beginner and the veteran. My aim is to present an introductory response to the query 'What is a zine?' that both provides a foundation for the novice and a point for the construction of further debate amongst the more experienced.
As a working definition, I use the word zine to imply a means of publication characterised by low print runs produced primarily with office photocopiers, relying on small budgets and distributed in small numbers, usually of well under five hundred copies per issue. My emphasis is on the manner in which this genre is effected by an amalgamation of technological factors, ideological and identity groups, available resources, and patterns of writing and reading. In effect, I use 'zine' as something more akin to a roughly held culture of literary production and consumption, rather than a set object or a specific style of writing. This differs from the more common approach evident in the limited degree of scholarship on zines available. Most notable is Stephen Ducombe's Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture, which tends to view the genre as inherently entwined with specific subcultures, beginning with the publications of science fiction fans in the sixties and seventies, and the localised music journalism of the primarily US punk scene in the late seventies and eighties. These early publications went under the name of 'fanzines', a classification stemming from their nature ' fan magazines. They provided fans, according to Thomas McLaughlin, with 'the opportunity to articulate and circulate their own sense of popular culture' (54). While these early fanzines developed patterns of publication still in use today, I argue that it is naive to assume the history of the genre follows such a linear path or owes its existence to any set cultural group. In part, my own definition is built in reaction to this approach. While particularly the punk and riot grrrl subcultures are a definite influence in the shaping of the current understanding of zines, I argue that zine publication functions in a manner too broad to be accurately tied to a specific identity group.
What I want to suggest is an alternate methodology based on a definition from literary historian William Warner. Talking about the early phases of the English novel in his 1999 book Licensing Entertainment, he uses the phrase 'media culture' to describe the relationship between 'objects in circulation ' novels on the market in the early modern period ' and an interrelated set of cultural practices, readers, authors, printers and so on.' (27) The theory originally applied to the early phases of the English novel, suggesting literary history owed as much to technological and social reading habits as it did to specific class interests and individual writers. The application of this mentality towards zines provides a definition capable of examining their role not just in representing subcultures or specific identity models, but in providing new ways of writing and reading in general, influenced by the ideology and resources available to publishers, writers and readers. Thus the purpose of this paper is to develop a definition of zines not as a style of writing, but as a media culture; a roughly related set of reading, writing and publishing practices.
This definition probably doesn't provide any greater clarity for those entirely new to the area. Fortunately, a number of other publications have been produced with the aim of bridging the gap, although their actual success is variable. Such attempts are usually aimed, perhaps unwittingly, at people who already have their own idea of what a zine is, and thus have an occasional tendency to be more self congratulatory than introductory. Never the less, looking collectively at the definitions provided by such publications does provide a relatively stable starting point for the beginner. Additionally, it raises a number of key themes within zine writing and its surrounding mentality. For instance, the first edition of Chimp Frenzy, an anthology released with government funding alongside Melbourne's free Beat magazine, offers an apt beginning with the following;
This shares common features with the majority of other definitions in its assertion of an autonomous publishing force behind each zine, rather than the usual separation between writers, editors, publishers, designers and so forth. Certainly the likelihood of one person being responsible for the majority of facets involved in zine production is much higher than in other genres. Also of interest is Chimp Frenzy's reference to the importance of photocopiers as the primary means of printing. This assumption appears frequently and holds implications beyond the mere mechanics of replication.
Another Australian source, The New Pollution, introduces the topic in a related style, drawing particular attention to the independence of the zine publisher in comparison to other modes of publication;
Thomas McLaughlin provides a similar image, remarking, 'A zine is a magazine produced by amateurs on the fringe of journalism and the publishing industry' (53). The remark doesn't really take the point far enough. While some zine writers do, or at least intend to, take part in the wider publishing industry, the genre as a whole exists less on the fringe, and more as a separate entity governed by its own patterns of access, publication and consumption.
Zine World, published in the USA and probably one of the most widely read infrastructural forces on the genre as a whole, begins each edition with an introduction containing similar sentiments. They assert;
Again, the emphasis is on the autonomy of the zine publisher in comparison to other means of literary activity. Sarah Dyer, author of the independent comic Action Girl, follows suit, writing 'If you do a zine, you're the editor and you can do what you want' (website).
The recognition of publishing autonomy links to a wider belief that zine writing should remain free of links to exterior financial institutions. As Brandi Leigh-Ann Bell comments, 'Typical definitions of zines focus on their tendency to be non-commercial and amateur'' (2). The Quiz Catalogue, an online resource for independent publishers base in Queensland, proclaims;
The Quiz Catalogue definition differs considerably from most others in that it includes websites, videos and CD-R releases under the wider zine umbrella. While the boundaries of format can be easily bent, and one does occasionally encounter zines on CD-R, or with cassette, video tape or internet counterparts, the majority remain in hardcopy, paper format. Hence, while I don't disagree with The Quiz Catalogue's wider definition, when I use the word 'zine' in the course of this paper I am not including their digital counterparts and offshoots. This disclaimer holds specific relevance to e-zines, a name given to certain internet sites during the late nineties and increasingly confused with zines at large. I am joined in this approach by Zine World, who remark;
These differences impact on everything from the perceived audience, the means of distribution and the accessibility of technology. Additionally the claims made over the last few years suggesting the e-zine would replace the print zine have proven largely unfounded, and the genre as a whole still appears to function with the belief that zines are predominantly a hardcopy medium.
The primary element I wish to stress in the above definitions is the fixation with the independence of zine publishers, especially in comparison with the mainstream media. As Stephen Ducombe comments 'do-it-yourself is the prime directive of the zine world' (11). This is a feature evident in both the practical and ideological considerations of zine publishing. The path towards zine publication has been significantly influenced by the increase in available resources, most notable in frequent references towards office photocopiers contained within three of the four definitions listed above. Likewise Zines: The Small Press Conspirators, a booklet released as part of the Noise Festival in 2003, reaffirms this approach, commenting 'There are two main design options: cut'n'paste or desktop publishing. Either way you go, you end up photocopying' (2). The development of these machines during the late sixties provided a relatively cheap, immediate means of printing. As copying costs have lowered, currently as cheap as five cents (Australian) for black and white pages, they have become far more flexible for small print runs than even the most inexpensive offset printers.
The presence of this immediate means of reproducing one's work plays heavily into the psyche of zine writing. For instance, Kelli Callis, author of That Girl zine, writes in issue 11;
Likewise Stolen Sharpie Revolution: A DIY Zine Resource devotes a chapter to the subject, entitled 'How Do I Make Cheap Copies'. This not only details relative prices and concessions, but provides a practical guide to scamming free copies. They advise readers;
In the same vein, Shannon Kelsey, publisher of Mister Ken Clean Air System, comments that photocopiers actually provide part of the aesthetic of her zine making. She remarks 'I like photocopiers. A lot. Purposely now I design my zines in such a way that I know will look good when photocopied, or that will have high contrast and thus copy well' (interview).
Recent discussion on the message boards for the large online distributor Pander, based in Massachusetts, indicate that the process of handing one's work over for someone else to print can, in itself, be an unsettling experience. Under the login name tarynhipp, one zine publisher reports 'when I first started making zines i did [have printing done professionally] but i quickly realized i would never be happy with the results. now, i do it all myself.' (post 6) Marlatiara writes '' the last time I went' the woman wasn't nice and the price was ridiculous (although I did get many extra copies ' I guess the folks doing the copying were still hip) so I never went back.' (post 10) Ciaraxyerra adds;
Similarly, the second issue of the independently published comic Buckets of Bile devotes a seven page story, in comic form, to recounting the difficulties in having issue one professionally printed. The author, Ben Hutchings, took his work to three printers. The first gave him a $700 quote, a total of $390 more than the printer he eventually used. The second refused to print his work on moral grounds, later asking him to attend a church youth group. Hutchings describes the experience by writing 'I'm shy around strangers, especially older 'uns' to have such a weird confrontation with a guy who thought I was evil made me feel like a total shit!!' (79) The third misquoted him by thirty dollars, and eventually produced the work three days late.
While there are positive aspects of paying for large print runs, and zines produced through more professional methods do appear, the combination of cost, decreased control, and unreliability can make it a dubious experience. Financially, it is rarely worthwhile to utilise professional printing unless the print run is considerably larger than the usual 250 copies estimated as standard for any individual edition of zines. (Ducombe 12). The New Pollution advises beginners 'When making 500+ copies of your zine, it's worthwhile to get quotes for a more professional, 'offset' print of your zine. Asides from stepping up the quality of reproduction, it could also be cheaper.' (10) However, in practice few zines attain this level of production, and most are photocopied using standard office machines.
Having printed their work, the zine publisher then faces the issue of distribution. In variation from the usual technique of publishers using distributors to stock retail outlets zine distribution is made possible predominantly through personal networks and small scale distribution groups, usually working through mail order or online distributors. Traditionally zines appear to have been carried predominantly by music mail order catalogues, notable examples in South Australia including Spiral Object and Alphaville, both of which are now defunct. Their primary emphasis was on stocking records for an existing audience of music fans. Zines were included as a secondary element, following through from the correlation between zines as the small press of punk rock subculture. Contact across geographical borders was predominantly through laboriously developed snail mail networks between individual zinesters. This factor has changed significantly with the rise of the internet, allowing for distributors to place their catalogues on line and make them available to a much larger audience. Additionally, the internet has resulted in the development of more widespread infrastructure, and the possibility for writers and readers to gather and communicate in a fashion previously impossible. Michelle de Caen, author of the long running Adelaide based zine A Show of Hands, reminisces over this change in her paper entitled 'You Can't, You Won't and You Don't Stop.' She notes;
The rise of the internet thus didn't replace zines with e-zines so much as provide a means for the culture surrounding the genre to develop itself beyond the original confines of specific geographically positioned subcultural groups. It provided a system of infrastructure for publishers and participants with very few financial or professional barriers.
The combination of these methods of publishing and distributing ensures that, comparative to other means of publication, the overhead costs for producing zines are virtually non-existent. It would be perfectly feasible to produce a print run of between 50 and 150 copies, depending on page length, with less than fifty Australian dollars. In theory this could mean that zine writing did little more than mimic the wider media, but on a stricter budget. Certainly this could be considered true of many music zines, which appeal to an established audience and, for the most part, replicate the existing discourse of music criticism. As Robert Runte writes, 'Many zines originate in the writer's frustration with having their submissions to mainstream newspapers and magazines rejected.' (2) While this is true in some cases, the practice of zine writing works on a greater level than simply allowing rejected authors the chance to create their own replication of the conventional media. The implications of a medium so readily accessible in nature extend beyond the mechanics of its publication. The limited finances and audiences ensure people are more willing to take chances and make mistakes. If the work is poorly edited, or poorly written it can be produced safe in the knowledge that the publisher has lost very little money and the audience can be either small enough or tightly controlled enough to garner only a small quantity of negative feedback. In this respect large sections of zines resemble the style of personal letters far more than the polished and theoretically objective writing favoured in other genres. A zine publisher can write a thousand word text detailing the nuances of their mundane office job, produce fifty copies using their local Officeworks, Copyfax or Kinko's and then hand copies out only to their friends and acquaintances. The final product may be ready within a day of first setting pen to paper, and the total cost could be little more than pocket change.
Compare this to publishing a novel or even an article in a magazine. The writer produces a text, which is then sent to an editor. The text is then subjected to proof reading, design, printing by an entirely different company, and distribution by another company again. It could take years for the original text to reach print, the financial costs include all of the companies involved with publishing, printing and distribution, and the author has little control over anything other than the initial stages of writing. Naturally a publisher will only put their finite resources into the limited number of texts they feel most likely to return their investment, which means rejecting a considerable portion of submitted works.
The ideological impact of these differing experiences results in the kind of pride in autonomy evident in the above definitions. A zine writer is able to produce their work in its entirety, creating the meaning they wish, regardless of how tepid or poorly researched, through an otherwise unknown degree of control in writing, editing, publishing and distribution. Accordingly, it becomes possible to produce work of a nature considerably different from many other genres. While initially the area remained somewhat limited by the available paths for dissemination, the rise of internet based distributors of zines, and the ability of these distributors to cater to specific types of zines with a certain assumed readership, has created a greater possibility for publishing communities functioning in a distinctly different way.
This is most evident in the trend towards specifically personal zines, frequently abbreviated to perzines, with a collective emphasis on subject matter relating to identity, gender, class and race. Distributors aiming to stock zines specifically of this nature have thrived on the internet, accumulating a surrounding readership and gradually building a culture working separate from music or any other influence. The emerging result is a relatively defined literary environment with a surprisingly stable audience and collection of styles. The most obvious feature is the predominantly autobiographical and personal nature of the content, devoid of the record reviews, band interviews and publicity common in the fanzines of old. In turn, the nature of the content and the style in which it is presented relies heavily on the autonomy of the publisher. The use of the cut and paste aesthetic, brief bursts of writing varying in genre, theme and style, the lack of a linear narrative and the frequent absence of discernable structure, either in design or writing, would make many perzines unpublishable via any other means. Additionally the overtly personal, frequently confessional subject matter requires an assumed receptive audience, a presumption supported by the small print runs and relatively defined audience circulating through the limited channels of distribution. This effectively equates to a public version of private writing, dependant on a surrounding web of literary conventions.
The most striking example that springs to mind is Timtum: A Trans-Jew zine, written, as the name would suggest, by a transsexual Jewish writer. In sixty four A5 pages the author changes from linear narrative historical pieces, disjointed prose, poetry, personal letters, short political pieces, along with cut and paste and photocopied art. The subject matter relates predominantly to the personal experience of female to male transsexualism and Jewish ethnicity, while the tone varies from relatively clinical educational explanations of transsexualism to angst riddled, handwritten scrawls either reproduced direct from a diary, or making an allusion of that nature. The maximum length of any one piece is around four pages, and there is no segue from one section into another.
It is difficult to imagine a work of this nature attaining publication in any other medium. At sixty four pages it is far too short for a conventional book. The brief and disjointed nature of the individual pieces rule out the possibility for the publication of individual articles. Similarly the subject matter, and the occasional lapses in literary quality resulting from publishing specifically personal writing, relies in part on the assumption of a receptive audience. The discourse surrounding perzines provides this, particularly as it relates to Queer identity, in a far more obvious way than any other avenue of publication. Most notable was the distributor Xerox Revolutionaries, run by the transsexual Hank, which categorised its stock based on subsections of Queer identity. Marie Abbondanza advertises her Paper Explosion Distro in Laburnam zine (which she also publishes) by writing 'I sell personal zines with a queer, feminist and political slant through mail order' (63) Moira Cluney's Moon Rocket distribution runs a similar policy, featuring a collection of links designed in protest to the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival's controversial decision to ban trans-women from attending. In proxy of her politics Cluney writes;
The comment is designed in protest against the binary logic held accountable for second wave feminist distrust of transsexual identities. The issue is possibly more complex than it may appear, but Cluney's approach signals a support for wider Queer identity and ideology.
The same sentiment was expressed in Ciara Xyerra's 2001 A Renegade's Handbook to Love and Sabotage, part of the much applauded Bone Dancers double zine package. She comments that the Festival's intent was to provide 'not only a 'safe space for women, but specifically for 'womyn born womyn.' She argues
Considering the above, it can be stated that the discourse surrounding perzine writing provides a medium capable of supporting otherwise incompatible styles, a ready access to publication, and a surrounding readership prepared for the autobiographical nature of the writing as well as being ideologically sympathetic to particularly Queer and Third Wave feminist subject matter.
The subgenre thus becomes a politically fertile environment, a place in which it becomes feasible to produce and expect a positive, or at least accepting, audience interested in concerns difficult to present in other genres of literary activity. This is evidenced by the high degree of writing engaged with re-writing identity. Again, Timtum contains an excellent example. In a hand written piece, the author inspects their identity thusly;
A similar theme repeats in Rocket Queen, written as an autobiographical account of working in the sex industry in New Orleans. The author prefaces the zine with a brief essay entitled 'The Whore is an Easy Symbol; A Rant', in which she writes;
Stylistically Rocket Queen holds little in common with Timtum. Its narrative is predominantly straight forward, written in a unified style of well edited prose. While the layout does involve cut and paste style art, it functions in a similar way as the background of a conventional magazine, rather than Timtum's blurring between text and image. Yet both produce a remodelling of identity, and rely in part on the perzine genre's ability to function effectively as a forum for this sort of publication.
Of particular interest in relation to this is the gendered nature of the majority of perzine participants, both writers and readers. The Melbourne based online zine distributor Smitten Kitten contained (as of October 1st 2003) thirty six zines out of a total of forty two, or eighty five percent, written by young women. Moon Rocket contained a similar figure of 85% female authorship for its perzine collection. Pander listed the same figure in its Winter/Spring catalogue for 2003.
Finding some reason for this demographic is a difficult task. The common convention seems to involve drawing connections to the US Riot Grrrl movement of the early 1990's. Stephen Ducombe certainly supports this assumption, crediting the movement as a primary force in the foundations of what can now be recognised as perzine style. He is, however, reluctant to draw the lines too tightly, arguing that the genre wasn't specific to that group, nor was the group homogenous in the process of definition. He writes;
Thus, from Ducombe's perspective the 'personalization of politics within zines' (31) is adapted by Riot Grrrl and, on the wider level, Third Wave feminist writers to produce specifically personal writing aimed at a politicised community.
Austrian academic, zine writer and editor of the Grrrl Zine Network website, Elke Zobl, has conducted the most significant recent research into this field. Writing for Off Our Backs, she introduces the style of predominantly female written zines by writing;
In another article, written for the journal Women in Action, she begins 'As a creative form of resistance, zines reflect the unfiltered personal voices of young women and queer youth fighting against the societal and patriarchal corset' (1) The article concludes 'Zines produce an alternative to the capitalist mainstream media' and 'As creative cultural producers, grrrl zinesters take an active role in shaping their media environment and start the revolution.' (6) The comments position zines as a political tool held by a defined subcultural group in reaction to an equally defined, and negative mainstream media.
This mirrors Ducombe's reading of zines as a whole. He argues that 'zines are the products of individual dissenters who have set up volunteer networks of communication with one another' (35). In his introduction he writes that zinesters are 'defining themselves against a society predicated on consumption, zinesters privilege the ethic of DIY, do-it-yourself: make your own culture and stop consuming that which is made for you.' (2) He continues, setting the tone for his work by asserting that 'Zines are speaking to and for an underground culture.' (2)
Again, we see the emphasis on the accessibility of zine writing and publication, the strong sense of anti-corporate ideology, combined with what could be generally described as a leftist political agenda similar to that contained within the definitions mentioned earlier in this article. This is certainly reflective of a widely held belief within zine circles pertaining to the ideological forces driving the genre. However, from a critical perspective the boundary is far less clear cut. Ducombe's belief that 'zine writers are self-conscious losers' (18) conflicts with his later statement that 'For zine writers, the authentic self is not some primal, fixed identity that precedes them; it is something flexible and mutable that they fashion existentially' (38). The assertion that zines function as a medium for the construction and debate of identity clashes with his underpinning assertion that all zinesters are, at heart, part of a defined underground, oppositional culture.
There are, of course, those who favour the opposite position. Discussing the theme of zine culture on the Yahoo forum Zine Geeks, Eric Lyden responded 'I don't think there really is a zine culture and in a way that's the point of it all ' zinedom is just a loose connection of people doing what ever they feel like' (post 6). Don Fitch replies;
He continues, stating that;
Fitch raises a valid point. When an author's access to their genre relies on little more than access to a photocopier and some means of creating text or pictures, any consistent element between thousands of people partaking of similar activities is going to be either too broad to pinpoint, or to unstable to be workable.
The same criticism could be levelled at Elke Zobl's belief in the concrete presence of a Grrrl zine community. Certainly the assumption is muddied by interviews with several well known female zine distributors and writers who express ambivalent sentiments to the idea of a specific Grrrl zine ideology behind their work. Ericka Bailie, manager of Pander zine distro, answers questions regarding the impact of 'Grrrl Zine Community' on her relationship to the genre by writing;
While supporting the idea of perzine community, Korinna Irwin, publisher of the US based zine Rock Star With Words, comments 'i don't really know how many 'grrrl' zines are out there anymore, or what 'grrrl' even means to me anymore' (website). Ariel Clemenzi, publisher of Women's Self-Defence: Stories and Strategies for Survival, provides a more positive but also more fragmentary approach to the issue. Asked to 'describe a little bit the grrrl zine community in your country' she responds;
Her specification that the networks exists in print, but not face to face, is interesting. It conflicts with Don Fitch's belief that zines are 'too lacking in encompassing contact and focal point' to be such a unified entity as a culture' by suggesting the presence of an entirely textual network of communication; effectively a culture of access and practice to a certain type of media production, rather than what is conventionally understood by the word 'culture'.
Geographical factors are also worth taking into consideration, especially given the primarily US nature of the Riot Grrrl movement. For instance Michelle de Caen answers the question 'What does the zine community mean to you?' by saying;
Asked about the grrrl zine community, she comments 'Australia is a large country and to my knowledge there is no established grrrl zine community, although there are young women with feminist beliefs chaotically and sporadically trading zines with one another all over the country.' When asked the same question, Smitten Kitten distro manager Kristy replied;
Moira Cluney writes;
Such responses indicate that the image of a defined and unified presence of a subcultural identity within gendered zine writing is not entirely supported by the practical experience of its participants. Additionally, sections of the Riot Grrrl movement would conflict with much of the content of many perzines, regardless of their compatibility with Third Wave feminism, Queer ideology or the gender of the author. Riot Grrrl, for instance, is not always been regarded as positive towards transsexualism. Quintessential Riot Grrrl musician Kathleen Hannah performed at the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, and chapters in the US have been noted for actively objecting to the inclusion of transsexual and transgendered interests within their agenda. This would effectively rule out Timtum and question the place of Queer writing and identity within certain sections of zine writing. Likewise, the author of Rocket Queen would face hostility for taking part in an industry reliant on many of the key political themes within the movement, especially given her refusal to reject it as a form of employment.
Of course, none of this necessarily devalues the presence of defined subcultural zine communities in certain geographical locations, or overwrites the presence of Ducombe's 'loser' identity, or punk or Grrrl zine communities as forces within zine publishing. However, it does indicate that the idea of zine writing as an activity practiced by people belonging specifically to some outsider subculture is a somewhat unreliable approach.
To this end, trying to track a linear history of zine writing, or support the idea of a defined or quintessential 'zine' mentality is more complicated than can be adequately grasped by conventional cultural studies approaches. Of course, it would be wrong to disregard the research of these areas, and thus I disagree with Eric Lyden's belief that 'zinedom is just a loose connection of people doing whatever they feel like.' I am inclined to agree with Evan Smith's comment in She Cheated On College Exams, which reads;
I would add to this the possibility of developments emerging separately across multiple spheres of practice simultaneously, the disjointed nature of parts within the whole, and the presence of correlation brought about by external forces (such as technical developments), as well as the interrelationship of separate sections of zine publication. The attempt to chart zines as a unified entity tells, at best, only part of their story. It is for this reason that I return to the definition built upon Warner's media culture theory.
For the beginner, this equates to understanding zines on the basis of what they can do and what impacts upon them. Instead of asserting that the study of zines goes hand in hand with the study of the marginalised or the cultural underground, it becomes possible to view zines as a genre of writing driven by unique and interrelating forces, fragmentary in nature and woven into the histories of technology, politics and identity. One becomes aware of the nuances of a genre devoid of the usual complications posed by the mainstream publishing industry and can consider this not only in relation to the practical impact on publishing, but on the subject matter being produced. Thus it is possible to make an initial approach towards zines with an eye towards their relationship to culture at large and its interplay with zine writers, without believing this must be related to a specific or uniform stream of that culture.
For those already involved with zines my approach to definition emphasises the necessity of a methodology extending beyond the study of specific cultures in isolation, and argues the influences of multiple factors across a broad pattern of literary production and consumption. Hopefully I've avoided giving the impression that this counteracts earlier scholarship approaching the subject from a cultural studies perspective, and instead recognised that such work represents an integral part of what a zine is, but doesn't equate to the whole story. Our understanding of zines should begin with an interest in styles of writing, opportunities for publication, surrounding infrastructure and ideology, patterns of reading and writing, and the relationship these elements have to each other. Having considered this process of interaction it becomes possible to consider the wider political implications and relationship of zines to identity and subculture.
Thus my definition of zines revolves around an understanding of them as a media culture. I argue that a zine is the result of a complex interrelationship between an array of forces, being enacted by a variety of people from a variety of backgrounds. It provides a means of speaking, building community, transgressing geographical boundaries, reshaping identity, engaging in active cultural production and doubtless any number of other features. It contains not one history but many, and the relationship between its parts is fragmentary and heterogenous. Yet there are common themes uniting these parts, and these appear in the form of a roughly continuous culture of literary activity devoted to readily accessible publication and a forum for a large number of people to become engaged within their culture in a way unheard of in other means of publication.
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