Elke Zobl, Ricarda Drüeke (eds.) Feminist Media Band 9 Elke Zobl, Ricarda Drüeke (eds.) Feminist Media Participatory Spaces, Networks and Cultural Citizenship This book was funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) within the research project P21187-G20 (»Feminist Media Production in Europe«) which has been conducted at the University of Salzburg, Department of Communication and the Program Area Con- temporary Arts & Cultural Production within the Focus Area Art & Science, a coopera- tion between the University of Salzburg and Mozarteum University. An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative ini- tiative designed to make high quality books Open Access for the public good. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 (BY-NC-ND). which means that the text may be used for non-commercial purposes, provided credit is given to the author. For details go to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbiblio- grafie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or re- trieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. © 2012 transcript Verlag, Bielefeld Cover layout: Kordula Röckenhaus, Bielefeld Cover illustration: Elke Zobl, Salzburg Layout & typeset by Brigitte Geiger, Wien Proofread by Jason Heilman, New York Printed by Majuskel Medienproduktion GmbH, Wetzlar Print-ISBN 978-3-8376-2157-0 PDF-ISBN 978-3-8394-2157-4 Table of Contents Foreword ........................................................................... 9 Introduction: Feminist Media: Participatory Spaces, Networks and Cultural Citizenship ..................................... 11 Ricarda Drüeke and Elke Zobl Chapter 1: Feminist Media Production and Alternative Economies Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Research Report ... 21 Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer (with Stefanie Grünangerl) Feminist Media as Alternative Media? Theorising Feminist Media from the Perspective of Alternative Media Studies .... 55 Jenny Gunnarsson Payne Archiving Feminist Grassroots Media ................................. 73 Brigitte Geiger and Margit Hauser Hand-Made Memories: Remediating Cultural Memory in DIY Feminist Networks ....................................................... 87 Red Chidgey GENDER JAMMING. Or: Yes, We Are. Culture Jamming and Feminism ......................................... 98 Verena Kuni Making Feminist Media: Feminist Media Activists Share their Views with Jessica Hoffmann/Daria Yudacufski (make/shift, USA), Sonja Eismann (Missy Magazine, Germany), Jeanna Krömer (AMPHI magazine, Belarus), and Jenni (Emancypunx, Poland/international) ................................................................... 110 Compiled by Stefanie Grünangerl Chapter 2: Participatory Spaces, Networks and Technology Streetwise Politics: Feminist and Lesbian Grassroots Activism in Ljubljana .......................................................... 123 Tea Hvala “It’s a Hard Job Being an In dian Feminist”: Map ping Girls’ Fe min ist Identities and “Close Encounters” on the Feminist Blo gosph ere .............................................. 136 Jess al ynn Kel ler Cho reo graphi ng Coalition in Cyber-Space: Post Na tyam’s Politico-Aesthetic Negotiations .................... 146 Sandra Chat ter jee and Cynt hia Ling Lee On the Aesthetics of Self-Representation: Mustached “Fe male” Youth on Flickr.com ........................... 159 Mar cus Recht and Bir git Rich ard Strugg l ing for Feminist Design: The Role of Users in Producing and Constructing Web 2.0 Me dia ................................................................... 170 Tan ja Car stens en Us ing New Technologies to En ter the Public Sphere, Sec ond Wave Style .............................................................. 182 Linda Steiner Chapter 3: Cultural Citizenship and Social Change Cul tu ral Cit iz en ship. Par tic ip a tion by and through Me dia ... 197 Elis ab eth Klaus and Mar greth Lünen borg Onl ine Cultures and Future Girl Citizens ............................ 213 Anita Harr is Re think ing Political Communication and the In tern et: A Perspective from Cultural Studies and Gender Studies ..... 226 Ri card a Drüeke Digi tal Storytelling to Empower Sex Workers: Warn ing, Relieving and Liberating ...................................... 238 Si grid Kan neng ießer Peda gogy of Hope: Fe mi nist Zines ..................................... 250 Ali son Piep meier From DIY to Collaborative Fields of Experimentation: Feminist Media and Cultural Production towards Social Change – A Visual Contribution .......................................... 265 Elke Zobl Appendix Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects .................................................. 272 Compiled by Stefanie Grünangerl Author Bi og raphies ............................................................ 288 Foreword This anthology grew out of a research project and has gone through many different visions, stages, and forms of collaborations. The idea of this book was developed within the research project “Feminist Media Production in Europe,” which was started at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and then moved to the Department of Communication at the University of Salz- burg, Austria. A warm thank you goes out to Elisabeth Klaus, the depart- ment head in Salzburg, who has been very enthusiastic about the project. The project was funded by the Austrian Science Fund (P21187) from De- cember 2008 until November 2012. The study was conducted by a team: Elke Zobl, as the project leader, post-doctoral researchers Rosa Reitsamer (2009–2011) and Jenny Gunnarsson Payne (2008–2009) and doctoral student Red Chidgey (2008–2010), with research support from Stefanie Grünangerl (2010–2012). In the context of this project, we have been interested in such questions as: What are the content, forms, processes, and functions of fem- inist media production in Europe today? How far are these media used as sites of feminist news, activism and engagement? How can media pro- duced by women at the grassroots level be a means to foster participation and civic engagement? What are the implications of women as active me- dia producers for civic society? What is the potential of feminist grassroots media in Europe for cultural, social and political changes? Discussions of these and other questions can be found in this book (esp. see the research report by Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer). At first, an open call to contribute to this anthology with academic e ssays and case studies, as well as activist reports, practitioner interviews and visual commentaries, was issued in 2008 by Red Chidgey, Jenny Gunnarss on Payne and Elke Zobl. We received many contributions from various countries for which we have been very grateful, and we would particularly like to thank everyone who contributed at this stage. How- ever, due to the difficulty in finding a publisher willing to publish a mix of theory and practice, as well as project personnel changes, we had to make the decision to focus the current volume on academic essays. At that stage Rosa Reitsamer and Elke Zobl were able to secure transcript Verlag as the publisher. We thank the editors of the Critical Media Studies series for their immediate enthusiasm for the book and their productive collaboration. As Rosa Reitsamer le the project for another job posting, Elke Zobl teamed with Ricarda Drüeke at the Department of Communication in Salzburg to edit the present anthology. As the project leader, Elke Zobl would like to thank all team members warmly and deeply! 10 | Foreword The information that has been collected during the project has been continuously documented at the digital archive Grassroots Feminism: Trans- national archives, resources and communities (www.grassrootsfeminism.net), which was set up in December 2008. By providing an interactive network portal and research platform for researchers, activists and media produc- ers, this Web 2.0 archive makes contemporary feminist, queer and antira- cist media and cultural practices more broadly accessible. The site is orga- nized and maintained by Elke Zobl in collaboration with Rosa Reitsamer, Stefanie Grünangerl and Red Chidgey. Above all, we would like to thank everyone who continues to contribute to a diverse, engaging and critical feminist media landscape – and consequently to this website. At the end of this book you will find a selected list of feminist media projects in Europe for further consultation. Another important impetus for this book were the annual Civil Me- dia Conferences organized by Radiofabrik in Salzburg, where from 2008 to 2011 we invited feminist media producers from various countries to present their work and engage in discussions around media, social change, participatory culture, networks and cultural citizenship. We are deeply in- debted to everyone who accepted our invitation and came to Salzburg, as well as to Radiofabrik! Such an anthology is dependent on the help and enthusiasm of many: It would have not been possible without the patience of the contributors who revised their articles according to our input. For the detailed proofreading, we thank Jason Heilman (USA), and for the layout, we are greatly indebted to Brigie Geiger (Austria). At transcript Verlag we would like to thank Anke Poppen for being our competent contact person. In short: the development of this book has involved many people in vari- ous countries. We cannot name them all, but we would like to thank them from our deepest hearts! We are looking forward to feedback and further discussions! Elke Zobl & Ricarda Drüeke Introduction Feminist Media: Participatory Spaces, Networks and Cultural Citizenship Ricarda Drüeke and Elke Zobl Feminist Media Women have always played an important role in movements for social jus- tice. Using media to transport their messages, to disrupt social orders and to spin novel social processes, feminists have long recognized the impor- tance of self-managed, alternative media. In the past two decades an in- creasing number of women have taken the tools of media production into their own hands. With the rise of new media and communication technolo- gies, women have started to use these technologies for the production and distribution of feminist media. These demographics are oen described as part of ‘third wave feminism’, ‘pop feminism’ or ‘do-it-yourself-femi- nism’. We understand feminist media as any self-identified feminist and/ or women’s media project engaged in processes of social change. Feminist media – in this broader understanding – encompasses text production, e. g. zines, magazines and flyers, as well as practices of performance, graffiti and art. For this reason, we are interested in how feminist media producers create and engage in participatory spaces, networks and cultural practices, and how they assume a cultural citizenship and initiate processes of social change. Questions arise such as: What kinds of processes, strategies and mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion are at work in feminist media pro- duction? How does one assume a cultural citizenship within feminist me- dia? How do feminist media producers engage with feminism, anti-racism and social change? Can we identify a ‘new feminism’ in feminist media – one that creates a new participatory culture? The present volume offers several components for the analysis of feminist media in relation to participatory spaces, networks and the theoretical con- cept of cultural citizenship. The articles in this volume clearly illustrate the complexity and diversity of the issues that arise in this constellation con- cerning the character of the involvement and participation by feminist pub- lic spheres as well as reinterpretations of the hegemonic gender relations. In doing so, the articles incorporate approaches and findings from various humanities and social science disciplines, thus showing at the same time 12 | Ricarda Drüeke and Elke Zobl the productiveness of interdisciplinary openness. By problematizing the existing power-political configurations, changes in hegemonic practices as well as alternative paths for appropriating media and culture become evi- dent. At the same time the articles have a theoretical as well as an empirical orientation. The common objective of all of the contributions is to analyze the broad topic of media and gender from a social-theoretical – but above all, feminist – perspective. In different ways, the articles pose questions concerning the specific production conditions of feminist media, the inter- play between art and gender, the options for opening up new participatory spaces as well as for the creation of feminist public spheres. From a theo- retical viewpoint, the articles are based for the most part on feminist theo- ries of the public sphere and on the concept of cultural citizenship. Starting from different perspectives, the empirical analyses in the individual chap- ters place the focus on feminist activism. The book is organized in three main sections: Feminist media production and alternative economies, Participa- tory spaces and networks and Cultural citizenship and social change. Feminist media production and alternative economies Feminist movements make use of their own media for information and as a means of mobilization. In addition, the media form a platform for criti- cizing the dominant structures and the contents of the mainstream media. The feminist media landscape is at the same time extremely diverse. Small- scale alternative media share a low level of professionalization, which is marked by a do-it-yourself culture. Thus, an alternative (and sometimes gi-based) economy is developed by media producers and consumers that distinguishes itself from the global media conglomerates. Their primary aim is not to commodify media; rather, alternative economies focus on the exchange of knowledge and information, the spread of emancipatory con- cepts and activism, and they envision social change. The six articles in the book’s first section dealing with feminist media production and alternative economies examine the effects, potentials, and limitations of grassroots women’s and feminist media production from dif- ferent perspectives and disciplinary viewpoints. The reflections focus on such questions as: What kind of mechanisms are at work in the production and distribution of feminist media? How do feminist media producers de- velop and engage in alternative economies? In which ways do these alter- native economies make low-threshold feminist media possible? The diversity of feminist media production in Europe becomes clear in the article by Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer (with Stefanie Grünangerl). Based on the findings of a research project, the authors show what com- mon and distinguishable features are evident in feminist media production in Europe, making visible the varied modes according to which feminists produce and use media. This feminist media production forms the basis for the emergence of a new social movement in the context of third wave feminism, one which appropriates the discursive and participatory spaces Introduction | 13 of the public sphere. Underlying these production processes is the negotia- tion of feminist discourses in relation to a do-it-yourself (DIY) feminism, intersectional perspectives of feminism, and pop feminism in the context of the German-speaking debate on “new feminisms”, leading to the devel- opment of alternative feminist media practices. Alternative media are also the focus of the contribution by Jenny Gunnarsson Payne, who discusses the fundamental issue of the extent to which feminist media can be consid- ered alternative media at all. Based on this, the author develops a concept linking poststructuralist approaches to alternative media together with conceptualizations of political subjectivity in order to carry out empirical analyses of the users and producers of feminist media. The subsequent three articles are devoted to distinct areas of feminist media production. On the basis of a history of the archiving of feminist grassroots media, Brigie Geiger and Margit Hauser show how from the very begin- ning these activities played a significant role within the women’s movement in order to make visible its history and politics. In particular, magazines result- ing from feminist media production form a significant part of such archives. Nevertheless – as the authors’ analysis shows – the history of this archiving is not linear: individual feminist magazines were discontinued and new media are increasingly being used. Thus it remains to be seen how the print media landscape will evolve in the future. Continuing the theme of do-it-yourself culture in feminist media, Red Chidgey’s article deals with the practices and forms of collective memory in DIY feminist networks. On the basis of two examples from the Riot Grrrl movement, the author elaborates the concept of feminist cultural memory. Other feminist practices become evident in the contribution by Verena Kuni, who introduces the concept of ‘gender jamming’. Gender jamming is in the tradition of ‘culture jamming’ and looks mainly at the relationship between gender, queer and ‘post-gender’ in order to make clear that one’s chosen identity does not depend on such externals as a beard, one’s sexual preferences or biological sex. The concluding article in this chapter features a discussion involving feminist media activists Sonja Eismann from Missy Magazine (Germany), Jenni from Emancypunx (Poland/international), Jessica Hoffmann and Daria Yudacufski from make/shi (USA), and Jeanna Krömer from AMPHI maga- zine (Belarus), conducted by Stefanie Grünangerl, which again illustrates that the common objective of many media producers is the creation of net- works and participatory spaces. It becomes clear from this discussion that feminist media producers have to confront numerous challenges in their work – challenges that have just as much to do with involving young femi- nists in media production as they do with the lack of financial resources. Participatory spaces and networks The contributions in the book’s second section are concerned with the crea- tion of the participatory spaces and networks that were already thematized in the previous chapter. A participatory culture has been described as of- 14 | Ricarda Drüeke and Elke Zobl fering low-threshold access, support to each other, informal mentorship to pass on knowledge, meaningful exchange and an acknowledgement of one’s own creation (Jenkins et al. 2006). Hence, the focus lies on participa- tory processes in community involvement and civic engagement. How do feminist media create, engage in and negotiate spaces that are character- ized by such participatory practices? In which ways are feminist media producers involved in such spaces that envision social change? Can we identify a ‘new feminism’ in feminist media that creates a participatory cul- ture? How do feminist media producers engage in and create local, tran- snational and virtual networks? Which kinds of networks are developed in relation to the production, distribution, geographic spread, content and aims of their media? The six contributions in this section deal with the topic of feminist ac- tivism and the role of media users from different theoretical perspectives. With this, the focus of the empirical studies is just as much on political actions as it is on theoretical reflections on the possibilities and limits of feminist participation. The article by Tea Hvala thematizes the ways in which feminist and lesbian activism can occupy public spaces in concrete terms. Through the streetwise politics of feminist activists, the possibilities and the limits of alternative norms of public speech and of political expression in the public space are tested. Referring to the theoretical conception of counter-public spheres, the author shows how these spheres in Ljubljana, Slovenia, prove themselves to be sporadic, fleeting and mostly anonymous interventions in the public sphere. In historical terms, feminist public spheres mostly constituted counter-public spheres which sought to reach the hegemonic public by articulating alternative positions (Fraser 1990). The women’s movement which created these public spheres was not, however, homoge- neous. Black feminists in particular pointed out the differences within the women’s movement, because they did not see themselves as adequately represented within a white feminism that remained captive of the middle class (hooks 1990). Feminist postcolonial theory opened up additional per- spectives on the relation between gender and race (Rodríquez 2008). At the same time the categories of gender and race are understood as social con- structs and discursive productions constructed through processes that go hand in hand with structural and identitary effects. Postcolonial theorists thematized especially the ambivalent role of marginalized women, who in feminist discourse oen remain invisible and voiceless (Spivak 1988). In the context of these theoretical debates, Jessalynn Keller’s article examines the identity constructs of non-Western feminists. The negotiations concern- ing different identity positions are shown in India especially on the website the ‘omb’. Feminist blogs of this type play a decisive role in the participa- tion of girls as well as in feminist activism and in the end are responsible for the emergence of a feminist blogosphere. Sandra Chaerjee and Cynthia Ling Lee also raise the issue of the net- working of feminists through the internet. On the basis of the Post Natyam Collective, these two authors investigate how transnational collaboration is Introduction | 15 made possible. Through a joint critical examination of South Asian dance by activists scaered across different countries, specific networks and par- ticipatory spaces come into being. Alongside the neglect of the category of race, queer theory points out another blank space in the early women’s movement. Particularly by not thematizing the topic of sexuality this cat- egory ended up becoming a category of difference. At the center of the women’s movement was for the most part an inexplicit heteronormative matrix. Mustached female youth on the platform flickr.com call into ques- tion this heteronormativity, as the article by Marcus Recht and Birgit Richard makes clear. These individual cases of self-depiction admiedly remain initially at the level of self-presentation but they have considerable political potential. Without the advent of new technologies – including the so-called Web 2.0 – such participatory spaces and networks would be hard- ly conceivable. In a study on the role of users in the production of Web 2.0 media, Tanja Carstensen highlights the fact that their role still remains am- bivalent. Thus, on the one hand, one struggles with a feminist design of the internet while, on the other, numerous anti-feminist tendencies manifest themselves on the internet. One example of this can be seen in the German Wikipedia website, where suggestions were regularly made calling for the deletion of the entries for such topics as Ladyfest or Riot Grrrl. In the con- text of second wave feminism, Linda Steiner discusses the use dimensions of old and new media by the feminist collective New Directions for Woman to show how users make use of different technologies in order to make their goals and agendas visible. Cultural citizenship and social change The political potential of feminist media and the emerging public spheres are in the focus of the book’s third section. One concept that theoretically captures the ongoing processes of social and cultural transformation is ‘cultural citizenship’. T. H. Marshall described three main categories of citizenship rights: civil rights, political rights and social rights. Subse- quently, the concepts of cultural citizenship (Hermes 2006; Lünenburg and Klaus 2004) and DIY citizenship (Hartley 1999) have been added and discussed. Alternative feminist media offer and constantly negotiate productive spaces to express opinions, experiences and political views – to actively construct meaning and make sense of the world – in which a critical and self-reflexive political education and a cultural citizenship could take place. Which expressions of citizenship can we observe in fem- inist media? How is cultural citizenship articulated in feminist media? How and under which circumstances and in which contexts does cultural citizenship take place? And what kind of processes of social change are intended and initiated? This is the focus of the articles gathered here, which deal with social change as well as with theoretical reflections on the shaping of cultural citi- zenship. The article by Elisabeth Klaus and Margreth Lünenborg provides 16 | Ricarda Drüeke and Elke Zobl a fundamental introduction to the concept of cultural citizenship; here, the authors explain how cultural citizenship can serve as a key concept in ex- amining cultural production. As Fiske (1986) argues, cultural studies are both an intellectual and a political project. Culture is the site of political critique and intervention. Therefore the concept of cultural citizenship is part of the circle of meaning production, which is located between fact and fiction, information and entertainment, privacy and public or political dis- course, rationale and emotional debate. The authors clarify the complexity of the concept using the example of reality television – especially talent shows – and its portrayal of migrants and queers. Furthermore, participa- tory spaces for social change are increasingly being created online, as the article by Anita Harris shows. Through the use of online DIY culture and social networking sites, new participatory communities are being estab- lished for young women, which in turn open up new forums for negotiating citizenship identities in the confrontation with the increasingly neoliberal tendencies of society. These new forms of activism do not, however, lead automatically to a strengthening of political activism, which is also contin- ued offline. The article by Ricarda Drüeke is based on the assumption that the underlying theoretical concept is the determining factor for analyzing political communication via the internet. Based on a theoretical approach combining the insights of gender studies and cultural studies, this article explores how questions of participation and the public sphere are linked to online political communication. Participation and, above all, the empower- ment of women can take place in a variety of ways, as the article by Sigrid Kannengießer makes clear. The method of digital storytelling illustrated in her article serves as a tool for narrating the life stories of sex workers in South Africa in short films, and for thus opening up the opportunity for contributing to the visibility of different individual life plans. The focus of the article is on the meanings of such films for the producers with respect to possible empowerment. Feminist zines, as it becomes clear in the article by Alison Piepmeier, can perfectly well develop into alternative strategies of political interven- tion. Based on the example of the zine Doris, the author works out the cul- tural and political aspects of zines in general. In doing so, forms of political intervention become evident which can transform the subject position of the female reader and thus open up a moment of resistance. A pedagogy of imagination then becomes a pedagogy of hope, which has an inherent po- litical character. Finally, Elke Zobl deals with the concept of participatory spaces in a visual contribution. The collection, which ranges from DIY to collaborative fields of experimentation, shows on the one hand the changes of feminist media, while demonstrating on the other hand the diverse pro- duction of feminist blogs, print zines and e-zines. The subsequent appen- dix encompasses a selected list of feminist and women-led media projects from all over Europe including links to print media, blogs, e-zines, radio and TV shows as well as to networks, databases and visual material. It aims to provide a first insight into the variety of feminist media production in Europe without claiming to be exhaustive and thus also shall function as a Introduction | 17 reference list or starting point for the reader’s own encounter with feminist media. The present volume covers a broad spectrum of topics. In the variety of the problems that are discussed here and the distinctiveness of the ap- proaches and perspectives, essential dimensions of feminist media and of the resulting participatory spaces and networks emerge. At the same time, however, the articles also reveal the increasingly pressing issue of the social and societal conditions which are necessary to share in the public sphere and its cultural resources. The diversity of feminist activism as well as the variety of feminist forms of involvement and theoretical reflections none- theless provide hope that contributing to social and societal change will continue to be the main objective of feminist media production. References Fiske, J. 1992. Understanding Popular Culture. 2nd Edition, London: Routledge. Fraser, N., 1990. Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Cri- tique of Actually Existing Democracy. Social Text 25–26, pp. 56–80. Hartley, J., 1999. Uses of Television. London: Routledge. Hermes, J., 2006. Citizenship in the Age of the Internet. European Journal of Communication 21(3), pp. 295–309. hooks, b., 1990. Yearning: race, gender, and cultural politics. Boston, MA: South End Press. Jenkins, H., Puroshotma, R., Clinton, K., Weigel, M. and Robison, A. J. 2006. Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Educa- tion for the 21st Century [online]. Available at: hp://www.newmedia- literacies.org/files/working/NMLWhitePaper.pdf Klaus, E. and Lünenborg, M., 2004. Cultural Citizenship. Ein kommunika- tionswissenschaliches Konzept zur Bestimmung kultureller Teilhabe in der Mediengesellscha. Medien und Kommunikationswissenscha 52(2), pp. 193–213. Rodríquez, E. 2008. Postkolonialismus: Subjektivität, Rassismus und Ge- schlecht. In: R. Becker and B. Kortendiek, eds. Handbuch Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung. Theorie, Methoden, Empirie. 2nd edition. Wies- baden: VS-Verlag, pp. 239–247 Spivak, G. C., 1988. Can the Subaltern Speak? In: C. Nelson and L. Gross- berg, ed. Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture. Basingstoke: Mac- millan Education, pp. 271–313. Chapter 1: Feminist Media Production and Alternative Economies “Zines can function as a participatory alternative medium to give alternative views on the society that can’t be found in the mainstream media.” Nina Njisten (Belgium) “I hope to be able to show people how anyone can share ideas and feelings without needing much money or without having to use the traditional ways of communication, which in most of the cases are ruled by influences and power.” Editor of Dos Chicas zine (Perú) Drawing by Nina Nijsten (originally published in Missy Magazine, Germany, no. 7, 2010) “Every girl out there should take some photos or write some poems or rants or essays or short stories and start her own true, passionate, heartfelt zine.” Editor of Persephone is Pissed (USA) Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Research Report Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer (with Stefanie Grünangerl) Introduction: Feminist media in the context of new social movements Throughout history, feminists have used media individually and collective- ly to inform, motivate, and mobilise political action on behalf of women, as well as to critique the structures and content of dominant media. As Linda Steiner aptly puts it, alternative feminist media suggest “a model for oppo- sitional media” (Steiner 2000: 1331) as they document women’s aempts to improve themselves and remake the world. Chris Aon ampions alter- native media in general as “counter hegemonic” because they allenge he- gemonic structures in society “whether on an explicit political platform, or employing the kinds of indirect allenges through experimentation and the transformation of existing roles, routines, emblems and signs” (2002: 27). What makes media “alternative” to the mainstream of corporate media conglomerates are the processes of production, the content and the inter- pretive strategies of its audiences (Atkinson 2010: 22). Grassroots media projects “are fundamental in breaking the fear of speaking and in allen- ging the myth of women’s silence” (Riaño 2000: 1335), the dominant meta- phor used to refer to the marginal position of women in the communica- tions industry. While allenging the absence of women’s voices in public space, women media producers develop creative, analytical and literary skills within this cycle of analysis, reflection, and action. James Hamilton (2000) argues that three general principles underpin alternative media pro- duction, namely de-professionalisation, de-capitalisation, and de-institu- tionalisation. These three principles speak of how alternative women-led and feminist media are usually accessible to women without the necessity of professional training and expensive capital outlay, and how they take place outside of institutional or formalised seings. Alternative women-led and feminist media offer participatory forums for debate and the ex ange of politically, socially and culturally engaged ideas by those who are mar- ginalised within mainstream political debates. In her book Changing the Wor(l)d: Discourse, Politics and the Feminist Movement (1997), Stacey Young conceptualises feminist publishing as discursive politics and activism. Starting from a thesis that enduring social ange is possible according to 22 | Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer (with Stefanie Grünangerl) anges in people’s awareness of their situations and their prospects for ange, she argues that “progressive anges in consciousness come about through discourses that allenge oppressive constructions of social phe- nomena” and that language acts, su as publishing, “can play a crucial part in bring ing about individual and collective social ange” (ibid. 25). Taking this theoretical framework and research findings as a starting point for our empirical study, we will explore the following questions: So how does a younger generation of feminist media producers in Europe participate in society by producing print magazines, weblogs (“blogs”) and electronic magazines (“e-zines”) in grassroots, alternative contexts re- lating to “new social movements”? How do they engage in discourses on feminism(s), challenge the status quo and effect social change? In this ar- ticle we will suggest a few answers to these questions. We will refer to the empirical data collected throughout the “Feminist Media Production in Eu- rope” research project, which was affiliated with the Department of Com- munication at the University of Salzburg from 2008 to 20121. Drawing upon theories of alternative and activist media as well theories on new social movements (NSMs), we understand alternative feminist media projects as part of and contributions to “new social movements”. “New social movements” emerged in the late 1960s and marked “an important cultural shi away from the hierarchical social relations and bureaucratic control structure of industrialism, and toward a new ‘postin- dustrial’ or ‘programmed’ society built on the foundations of networked information technologies, media culture, and an emerging class of highly educated, creative ‘knowledge workers’” (Lievrouw 2011: 46). Suzanne Staggenborg (1995) has identified three main outcomes of social move- ments, namely political and policy outcomes, mobilization outcomes and cultural outcomes. Whereas changes in policies and practices, and the crea- tion and sustaining of organizations are the more visible successes of social movements, cultural change is perhaps the longest-lasting form of social change. In the context of feminist media production, the cultural outcomes are of special interest because they “include changes in social norms, be- haviours, and ways of thinking among a public that extends beyond move- ment constituents or beneficiaries, as well as the creation of a collective consciousness among groups such as women” (Staggenborg 1995: 341). In her book Alternative and Activist New Media (2011), Leah Lievrouw identi- fied several characteristics that distinguish new social movements in the postmodern era from previous social movements of the industrial age such as the labour and the anti-war/peace movements: NSMs are seen to be of smaller scale, tackling a wide range of issues or focused on group identities, 1 The study was conducted by a team, encompassing project leader Elke Zobl; post-doc- toral researchers Rosa Reitsamer (2009–2011) and Jenny Gunnarsson Payne (2008–2009); doctoral student Red Chidgey (2008–2010); with research support from Stefanie Grünangerl (2010–2012). This article has benefited from contributions by Red Chidgey and Jenny Gunnarsson Payne in the beginning of the project as well as from comments on this report, for which we kindly thank them. For documentation of the project see Grassroots Feminism: www.grassrootsfeminism.net. Contact: elke.zobl@sbg.ac.at. Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Research Report | 23 oen supporting cultural or symbolic (rather than for example economic) values and causes. NSMs are focused more on “the shared identities, pro- fessions, interests, values, and experiences of individual actors” (ibid. 47) who are mostly well-educated, articulated, creative knowledge workers, and their participants are primarily concerned with forming their own identities while avoiding the domination of formal institutions (ibid. 49). As a result, they “are more likely to identify with and organise around their youth, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, language, or professional back- ground than with abstract categories like class”, and NSMs are profoundly cultural rather than economic in nature, focusing instead on their symbolic capital (ibid. 50–51). Feminism – both as a movement and a p lurality of feminist discourses in general – and contemporary feminist media in par- ticular are profoundly cultural and represent these characteristics of new social movements. In the first part of this article, we apply Lievrouw’s genre framework for alternative, activist new media (2011) to the feminist media projects in Europe which we have identified in our empirical research. We present the scope (1.1) and the stance (1.2) of the feminist media projects as well as the action and agency of the feminist media producers (1.3). In the second part of the article we discuss how feminist media producers in Europe relate to and adopt feminist theories and activism and develop their own agenda and standpoints. Drawing upon theories on third wave feminism and our own empirical findings, we introduce three interrelated discours- es: do-it-yourself feminism (2.1), intersectional perspectives on feminism (2.2) and pop feminism in the context of the German-speaking debate on new feminisms (2.3). In the conclusion we take up the central questions of this article and situate feminist media production within a larger social context. Methodological approach Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss 1967) served as the basis for the methodological approach for our study, as it allows for a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. In particular, the archival documentation of women-led and feminist media projects, a quantitative online survey of consumer habits and in-depth interviews with feminist media producers provided us with the empirical data to contextualise and analyse feminist alternative media production in Europe. In a first step, we conducted virtual ethnographic fieldwork (Hine 2000) to identify as many feminist media projects in Europe as possible, whereby the self-identifi- cation of the media producer as “feminist”, their relation to the women’s movement, feminist theory and (media) activism as well as the chosen me- dia format (print and/or online) were essential selection criteria. In total, our sample includes 425 women-led and feminist media projects which are produced in grassroots and alternative on- and offline contexts in Europe, and which were analysed in reference to country, founding year, publish- 24 | Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer (with Stefanie Grünangerl) ers, publication language, frequency of publication, main content and use of social media. On the basis of this descriptive statistic of feminist media projects, we identified feminist media producers for in-depth interviews and selected case studies to explore the meaning, vulnerabilities and sig- nificance of feminist grassroots media products (step 2). We conducted 47 in-depth interviews with feminist media producers from 19 European countries as well as five in-depth case studies on Plotki Femzine, a post- Soviet Central and Eastern European feminist print and online zine project (Chidgey, Gunnarsson Payne and Zobl 2009), several German-speaking comic producers (Reitsamer and Zobl 2011), feminist zines (Chidgey 2009a; Zobl 2009, 2011a, 2011b), the feminist music network Female Pressure (Reit- samer 2012) and feminist blogs (Reitsamer and Zobl 2012). The in-depth interviews lasted between 30 and 60 minutes and were conducted face- to-face in different European cities as well as online via Skype or email between 2009 and 2011. The interviewees, who included producers of web- logs, fanzines and other print media, were mainly white and middle class, and the majority studied at universities or already had a university degree. They were able to give detailed information on the access to alternative media production, their media projects and their feminist education. In a third step, a quantitative online survey was conducted to explore the habits of feminist media consumers in Europe. In total 230 persons par- ticipated in this survey from January 2009 until April 2012. Additionally, all collected data was continuously documented on the digital archive Grass- roots Feminism: Transnational archives, resources and communities (www.grass- rootsfeminism.net), which was set up in December 2008. The website hosts three digital archives – “Grassroots Media in Europe”, “Festivals: Lady- fest & Queer-Feminist” and “Zines” – and offers a chronological and geo- graphical map of grassroots feminist media across Europe from the 1960s onwards, embracing digital and analogue media forms. By providing an interactive network portal and research platform for researchers, activists and media producers, this Grassroots Feminism Web 2.0 archive makes con- temporary feminist, queer and antiracist cultural practices more accessible to researchers and the general public. Image 1: A screenshot of Grassroots Feminism: Transnational archives, resources and communities Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Research Report | 25 1 Scope and stance of feminist media projects In Alternative and Activist Media (2011), Lievrouw describes the artistic and political practices of Dada and the Situationist International and other new social movements as central influences for today’s alternative and activ- ist uses in particular of new media. As such, activist art movements, new social movements and online activism, which emerged with the develop- ment of and access to the internet, are linked by three major themes: first, the scope or size of alternative and activist new media projects; second, the stance of movements and projects relative to the mainstream society and culture; and third, the nature of projects as action and activists as agents of social change (Lievrouw 2011: 59).2 Lievrouw explores these three themes – scope, stance, and action and agency – as a “genre framework for alter- native and activist new media.” We have taken this distinction in scope, stance, and action and agency as a flexible toolbox and applied it to our em- pirical research. The analysis of the empirical data was oriented on the cod- ing paradigm of Grounded Theory whereby Lievrouw’s genre framework guided the identification of codes and concepts in the empirical material. In the following we will apply this framework to feminist media projects in Europe, beginning with their scope. 1.1 The scope of feminist media projects in Europe According to Lievrouw’s genre framework, scope includes two related fea- tures: the small-scale and the collaborative nature of alternative and activ- ist new media projects. As “micro media” (Perei 2001) or “tactical media” (Garcia and Lovink 1997), new media projects tend to be relatively small, low-cost projects with a do-it-yourself aesthetic as access to resources (e. g. in terms of funding and staff) is limited and a critical aitude towards dom- inant mass and consumer culture is taken. Moreover, compared to “main- stream” media, the outreach of alternative and activist media projects is relatively small, but as such they can provide their audience with a sense of familiarity and intimacy as they address their readers as insiders (Liev- rouw 2011: 62). We have identified the following features to illustrate the small-scale nature of feminist media projects in Europe: media types, the number of media by European country, publisher, publishing frequency, and the use of language and social media platforms. Media types: The 425 women-led and feminist grassroots media projects, which we have recorded in our survey, encompass 150 print media, includ- ing zines, magazines and journals, 140 blogs, 70 e-zines, 35 radio shows, five community TV shows, 17 archives, networks and databases, as well as eight artistic or visual interventions (posters, stickers, adbusting, subvertising). During the course of this survey, we found that some media projects distrib- 2 For an application and analysis of Lievrouw’s genre framework in relation to partici- patory feminist interventions into cultural production, see Zobl forthcoming. 26 | Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer (with Stefanie Grünangerl) ute their content through multiple different media channels, such as by op- erating a blog or an e-zine in addition to publishing a print zine or magazine. For example, the British feminist art journal n.paradoxa has been published as a print magazine since 1998; its website has since 2010 provided an online archive of previously published magazines and articles and an extensive bibliography on feminist art and feminist art theory. The Czech riot grrrl zine Bloody Mary, combining punk and riot grrrl feminism, was founded in 2000 by a collective, and in 2005 added a Bloody Mary blog. While each zine edition is dedicated to a specific theme, the collective blog is used for the an- nouncement of feminist-queer events and the publication of feminist-queer news and articles about LGTBQ issues. The publishers of the Belgian blog De Tweede Sekse decided in 2010 to publish selected articles in a zine format with the aim of reaching a wider audience for their feminist-queer and anti- racist content. One of the editors explains the extension of the blog to a zine as follows: “We made the zine because we didn’t want to limit ourselves just to people who have a broadband internet connection. A zine is easy to dis- tribute and people can read it anywhere – on the train or at your home, even if you don’t have internet.”3 Another example of the publication of content in both blog and zine formats is the Ukrainian anarcha-feminist Svobodna blog, edited since 2007 by a collective. In 2010 they published a zine on the issue of domination and violence in activism and the anarchist movement, and distributed it also as a download via their blog. In addition to the use of varying media channels, we also observed changes of media format. In 2010 the Swiss magazine l’émiliE stopped pub- lication as a print magazine and now appears as an e-zine, expanded to include a digital archive in which all the back issues since 1912 can be ac- cessed. The Slovak print magazine ASPEKT (1993–2004) was discontinued in 2004 due to a reduction in funding; a smaller version of the magazine has been published on the internet since then. Media by country: Of the total of 360 print media, blogs and e-zines, 56 are located in Germany and 51 in the UK, followed by 25 feminist media projects in Spain, 19 in Poland and 18 in Italy. In Austria, Belgium, France and Sweden we could identify 17 media projects per country. The reasons for the varying geographic distribution of feminist media projects in Europe were not inves- tigated more specifically; in the interviews, however, the media producers point out that the relative lack of feminist media in their country is based on the country's size, the political orientation of the government, the state fund- ing situation for feminist (media) projects and the influence of feminist theory and activism on a younger generation of women. (Table 1) Publishing frequency: Of the total of 150 print media, 39 were issued quar- terly, 33 semi-annually and 34 were published at irregular intervals; in ad- dition, 17 print media were published yearly, 12 published three issues per 3 All quotations in this article (unless otherwise indicated) stem from face-to-face or online interviews with feminist media producers conducted throughout our research. All quotations from other sources are marked as such. Quotes in the original German language of the interviews and other sources have been translated by the authors. Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Research Report | 27 Table 1: Media by country Country Print Blogs E-Zines Total Germany 21 25 10 56 UK 16 30 5 51 Spain 8 10 7 25 Poland 6 5 8 19 Italy 3 11 4 18 Austria 11 2 4 17 Belgium 11 6 – 17 France 7 9 1 17 Sweden 10 4 3 17 Switzerland 8 1 3 12 Croatia 3 1 5 9 Russia 3 4 2 9 Czech Republic 5 1 2 8 Netherlands 4 2 2 8 Slovenia 2 5 1 8 Portugal 3 3 1 7 Romania 3 4 – 7 Denmark 2 2 2 6 Hungary 1 4 1 6 Ireland 3 2 1 6 Serbia 4 1 1 6 Ukraine 2 3 1 6 Norway 3 1 1 5 Finland 4 – – 4 Belarus – 1 1 2 Bulgaria 2 – – 2 Georgia – 1 1 2 Macedonia 1 1 – 2 Slovakia 1 – 1 2 Turkey – – 2 2 Albania 1 – – 1 Estonia 1 – – 1 Greece 1 – – 1 Iceland – 1 – 1 150 140 70 360 28 | Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer (with Stefanie Grünangerl) year, eight were monthly and seven bimonthly. Sixteen print media were founded before the year 1980, 20 between 1980 and 1989, 47 in the 1990s, and from 2000 to 2010, an average of six new print media were founded per year. In 2006 a high point was reached with 13 start-ups. Unlike print media, which have longer lead times for their publications, the publishers of blogs and e-zines are frequently able to make new content available to their readers. 44 blogs and 27 e-zines provide new content daily, 28 blogs and 12 e-zines offer weekly updates, and 21 blogs and seven e-zines update their content monthly. The first e-zine recorded in our survey was founded in 1995; the first blog was launched in 2001. 32 of the 70 e-zines were found- ed between 2006 and 2009, with a peak in 2006 with 11 new e-zines; 2008 was a high point in the creation of blogs with 33. Language: The vast majority of the content of a total of 360 print media, blogs and e-zines is published in the native language of the editors; 30 me- dia products are offered in two languages, whereby the second language is usually English. The collective that publishes the Romanian zine Love Kills (Dragostia Ucide), for example, publishes both a Romanian and an English edition. While the Romanian zine edition is dedicated to local events and gives insight into international anarchist texts, the aim of the English zine edition, partially with other content, is to raise money for the activities of the collective. Other examples of a multilingual orientation are the Spanish technology blog Dones i noves (since 2006), with content in Spanish, English and Catalan; the Belgian Scumgrrrls magazine (since 2002), with content in English, French and Dutch; and the Georgian e-zine CaucAsia (2005–2009), which has published its issues in Russian, Georgian and English (becom- ing a Russian-speaking blog in 2009, however). A few media projects make use of four or even more languages to disseminate their content, such as Trikster – Nordic Queer Journal (Denmark, since 2008), with content in Eng- lish and three other Nordic languages (Swedish, Norwegian and Danish), or Migrazine (Austria, since 2006), with content in a variety of languages, such as German, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish. In their use of various languages they aim to transcend language barriers by ad- dressing readers with differing language skills and knowledge as well as an international community. Table 2: Language Language Print Blogs E-Zines Total Monolingual 131 125 57 313 Bilingual 9 12 9 30 Trilingual 6 2 1 9 Multilingual (≥ 4) 4 1 3 8 150 140 70 360 Use of social media platforms: Contrary to our assumption that feminist media producers would use social media platforms to a large extent, only 110 pro- ducers of online and print media used one or more social media platforms Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Research Report | 29 to a great extent. In other words, two-thirds of feminist media projects went without the use of social media platforms. The most frequently used social media platform is Facebook, followed by Twier and MySpace, and feminist online media (blogs and e-zines) use these services more frequent- ly than feminist print media. Table 3: Social Media Social Media* Print** Blogs** E-Zines** Total** no social media 121 82 47 250 social media 29 58 23 110 Facebook 21 37 19 77 Twier 9 27 9 45 MySpace 10 6 7 23 flickr 0 12 3 15 YouTube 2 7 4 13 * multiple matches possible ** Print: n = 150; Blogs: n = 140; E-Zines: n = 70; Total: n = 360 The range of feminist media projects in relation to media type, publishing frequency, the use of social media platforms and publication language illustrate to the heterogeneity of small-scale, low-cost “micro-media.” The second aspect of scope that Lievrouw identifies for alternative and activist new media is their specific form of organization. The majority of these projects are not produced individually but in collaboration. They are the product of cooperation by individuals and groups and as such they are group efforts. This “new collectivism” (Lievrouw 2011: 62) is based on community building, interactivity and participation in the design of the media as well as the organization of the working and operation processes, and is associated with postmodern artistic practices and activism. The “new collectivism” of feminist media producers becomes clear when we researched the publishers of the media in the sense that they are mostly collaboratively produced. Publisher: The majority of feminist media is published by independent collectives and groups (129), followed by independent women’s organiza- tions and NGOs (102), individuals (74), independent editors in the academ- ic context (37) and small independent, self-founded corporate-structured publishers and editors as part of larger corporate publishers (13); in ad- dition, five feminist media projects are published by public institutions, labour unions and political parties. While print media (53) and e-zines (30) are edited mainly by NGOs or independent women’s organizations, blogs are overwhelmingly produced by groups (61) and by individuals (56) rath- er than by NGOs or women’s organizations (19). The collaborative, shared and volunteer efforts of feminist media pro- ducers are illustrated by the co-editor of the queer print magazine Hugs and Kisses. Tender All Your Gender, which has been published in German twice a year since 2007: 30 | Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer (with Stefanie Grünangerl) Hugs and Kisses has many supporters. There are people for the distribution; we have several proofreaders and graphic designers. That’s a good thing, as not everyone can allow themselves at any time to be part of a non-profit project, even if they want to. We have a webmaster who only aends to the homepage. The co-editor of Hugs and Kisses points to the decisive group effort of femi- nist media projects as well as to the constraints these projects face due to access to resources in terms of time, funding and staff. Another example for a collaborative effort is Plotki Femzine, a post-Soviet Central and Eastern European (CEE) feminist print and online zine project that is part of a larger youth generated media project called “Plotki”. Plotki Femzine was launched by a group of young women as a response to what they saw as increasing hierarchical and patriarchal aitudes within the network. Through collaborative acts of discussion, experimental art, auto- biographical essays, and critical fiction, the Plotki Femzine project brings to- gether women living and working in CEE countries to create an emerging, collaborative space for feminist discussions and an articulation of feminist identities and connections (for a further discussion of Plotki Femzine see Chidgey, Gunnarsson Payne and Zobl 2009). The scope of the feminist media projects, as well as their small-scale and collaborative nature, says lile about their relationship to the “main- stream” media and hegemonic culture, however. In what follows, there- fore, the stance of feminist media projects is described in more detail, as well as what they share with alternative and activist new media projects, namely their heterotopic nature, their subcultural quality and their use of irony and humour (Lievrouw 2011). 1.2 The stance of feminist media projects in Europe Feminist media producers describe their projects oen as countersites to “mainstream” media because they offer a space where people can experi- ment with ideas, express themselves and describe their experiences. The Belgian editor of such zines as Flapper Gathering and (Different Worlds) Same Heartbeats and organizer of The Feminist Poster Project articulates such an approach: “Zines can function as a participatory alternative medium to give alternative views on the society that can’t be found in the mainstream media.” In this respect feminist media projects reflect what Lievrouw identi- fies as characteristics in relation to the stance of alternative and activist new media projects. Firstly, these projects are heterotopic because they “act as ‘other spaces’ or ‘countersites’ for expression, affiliation, and creativity apart from the dominant culture” (Lievrouw 2011: 63). We see this hetero- topic stance especially in feminist zines which oen function as a hetero- geneous, “culturally productive, politicized counterpublic space” (Nguyen 2000) for feminist networking and reflection by a younger generation of women in different parts of the world (Zobl 2010). Zine makers discuss topics – oen taboo issues – that are le out, marginalized or underrepre- Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Research Report | 31 sented in dominant media, culture and politics, such as abuse, incest and complex interactions of sexism, homophobia, transphobia and racism. In addressing and critically discussing such issues, they not only point to the challenges and conflicts of their societies but they also bring “new, alternative, ‘other’ values and practices for the rest of society” (Lievrouw 2011: 64) to the table. Second, the heterotopic nature of feminist media projects is associated with their “subcultural quality” (Lievrouw 2001: 65), which is rooted in shared insider knowledge and a “hyper self-reflexivity about the nature of pop culture” (Collins 1995: 2; quoted in Lievrouw 2011: 66). Accordingly, feminist media producers require a certain access to and knowledge of (sub) cultural codes, language and symbols. The co-editor of Hugs and Kisses em- phasizes the strong connections to queer-feminist scenes and their shared “subcultural capital” (Thornton 1995): Hugs and Kisses shows the plurality of the queer movement by reporting about this movement. That’s the reason why the contacts to subcultural initiatives and organisations that follow a political claim are very important. We know many of these organisations and we try to extend our networks further. Similarly, the Love Kills Collective from Romania, whi publishes the Love Kills zine and translates anar ist literature into Romanian, notes: Since four years we are also organizing an anar a-feminist festival in Romania with international participation. The aim [. . .] is to establish and strengthen the bounds and links between activists involved and interested in anar a-feminism and to develop a network. [. . .] But we know that our work is visible mostly in our own small scene and not on a large social scale. But as we are aiming to- wards anar ism, and as we see anar ism as an ongoing emerging occurrence, we strongly believe that even the slightest effort has its own meaningful impor- tance and contribution. The collective is aware of the specific local embeddedness of their activities in the feminist-queer scenes in Romania, but they assume that their work feeds into broader translocal cultures of social ange. Zine makers like the Love Kills Collective oen speak about the advan- tages of networking with alternative media producers and media activists who share the same or similar (sub)cultural, social and political interests. A common feature of the analysed media projects is that they refer to net- working discourses through which the affiliation of feminist groups and positions as well as collectivity is established. Networking occurs on a local, transnational and virtual level. In fact, this aspect of networking across na- tional borders using the internet proves to be a major difference compared to the more restricted (in terms of geography, time, etc.) communication exchanges that took place during the era of second wave feminism. Net- working among contemporary feminist media occurs over a wide range: from linking to other media projects (where further interactions between media producers do not occur) through editorial references to other femi- nist media projects with similar orientations in content and perspectives (with cluster-building in regards to content), to a pooling of online and 32 | Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer (with Stefanie Grünangerl) offline activities of feminist media projects which oen share the same spo- ken language (with cluster-building in regards to geography). Zines, for example, circulate within a transnational peer-to-peer net- work that can be characterised as a system of online and offline exchange, dissemination and distribution outside of the mainstream (Zobl 2009). This network includes not only print and e-zines but also mail-order catalogues, so-called distros, online resources, mailing lists, message boards as well as zine meetings and conferences, exhibitions, workshops, libraries and ar- chives. In this decentralized network, zine producers not only trade their zines via the mail – and virtually via email and social networking sites – but sooner or later they frequently become acquainted personally through zine picnics, festivals or workshops. Many of the zine editors we interviewed stress that they got to know similar-thinking people in other countries via the internet and got to know new and different perspectives by exchanging zines with them. Embedded in local and transnational contexts, zines can function as “a kind of backbone to subcultural feminist activism, allow- ing zine makers to link personal experiences to larger political activist work” (Schilt and Zobl 2008: 187). However, the oen subcultural quality of feminist media projects also has its drawbacks and has been criticized by media producers for its struc- tural and individual mechanisms of exclusion. Misster Raju Rage (for- merly known as Misster Scratch), producer of the English-speaking zine Masculine Femininities (UK), points to the underrepresentation of people of colour and of certain topics as well as to the limitations of access and demographics: I enjoy the variety and creativity of what there is out there but [. . .] I would like to see more people of colour, more about issues of race and sexuality, more about gender and surviving violence and things that don’t get discussed mu in our communities or from certain perspectives. The limiting thing about zines is geing access to them. Oen they are distributed at events that are mainly white and middle class dominated, in specific scenes, whi is problematic. As su , by employing certain cultural codes, symbols, language, style and aesthetics, an orientation and associated affiliation toward a specific – subcultural – community occurs that involves overwhelmingly a white, middle-class and well-educated demographic. Whilst constant failure is inscribed in processes of media production and in building networks and coalitions, the distribution of subcultural capital (Thornton 1995) is essen- tial. Feminist media producers su as Misster Raju Rage point to the fact that these allenges need to be further negotiated and interrogated within feminist media networks and subcultural scenes. The third characteristic Lievrouw (2011: 66) describes in relation to the stance of alternative and activist new media projects is the use of irony and humour. In feminist media projects, especially zines, humour and irony manifests itself in cut-and-paste collages to subvert and deconstruct the he- gemonic representations of femininity as beautiful, successful and young and to challenge the commodification and sexualisation of women’s bodies Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Research Report | 33 as a dominant advertising and marketing strategy. Janice Radway (2002) describes such playful experimentations with subject positions as “narra- tive gleaning” and “insubordinate creativity” in the lives and cultural prac- tices of girls and young women. Producing zines and using the format of a collage, Radway argues, becomes a means for young women to express in- tertextuality and multiplicity as well as their resistance to dominant modes of femininity. The collectively produced zine Riot Grrrl London, for example, over- writes in a black-and-white collage an image of a face of a young, beauti- ful woman – as oen used in advertising – with a cut-and-paste typeface declaring “boring meaningless crap”, and juxtaposes it below in small leers with the question: “How many skinny airbrushed models can you stand?” Image 2: Collage in the Riot Grrrl London zine (issue 3, 2003) The culture jamming actions by street artist Princess Hijab (Paris) are a further example of the appropriation of advertising images to create new meanings in unexpected ways.4 4 For a discussion of the culture jamming activities of Princess Hijab, see the article by Jenny Gunnarsson Payne in this volume. 34 | Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer (with Stefanie Grünangerl) 1.3 Action and agency of feminist media projects The third theme of Lievrouw’s genre framework connecting activist art movements, new social movements and online activism is action and agen- cy – “that is, the extent to which projects are conceived and executed as action, by participants who see themselves and their projects as agents of so- cial change” (Lievrouw 2011: 68). Activist art, social movement theory, and alternative/activist new media projects are characterized by being interven- tionist – as their creators aim to interrupt or alter existing conditions, oen by direct action – and by being perishable – that is short-lived, nomadic, ephemeral, temporary, with rapid response (ibid. 60, 68–69). In our study, the interventionist and perishable features of action and agency are clearly exemplified by media producers who situate themselves in a do-it-yourself context of queer-feminist scenes. In the following we will describe the social practices of the two German comic producers The Artist of Trouble X Com- ics5 and Ka Schmitz to give a more precise picture of their self-organized participation in the media landscape and their activist and interventionist practices (for a detailed discussion see Reitsamer and Zobl 2011). The Artist of Trouble X Comics and Ka Schmitz consider their draw- ings as an activist practice, intended to break heteronormative notions of gender and sexuality in their interplay with other categories of social dif- ferentiation, and situate their comics generally outside the mainstream in a queer-feminist do-it-yourself culture. The two illustrators use varying publishing formats (such as comics, zines, blogs, games) and distribution channels and address heterogeneous topics. With their critique of social power relations, they share the interventionist aim of breaking open and changing hierarchical gender relations. The distribution of their comics takes place primarily through decentralized networks of queer-feminist scenes such as alternative bookstores, Ladyfest music and art festivals, exhibitions, workshops, online distros, mailing lists or message boards. Within the “network turn” in New Social Movement theory, such a dis- semination of information and the building of temporary communities has been termed “networked activism” (Atkinson 2010: 10). Ka Schmitz and The Artist of Trouble X Comics are part of this “networked activism” and they contribute to “new social movement networks” (Atkinson 2010: 10) by circulating their comics at copy/print cost or completely free. Access to the comics is ensured primarily by the internet, where they can be found on blogs, MySpace, Flickr and Facebook and can be downloaded. As a result, Ka Schmitz and The Artist of Trouble X Comics describe the free distribu- tion of their comics as “a kind of queer action” which aims at minimiz- ing social inequalities. Consequently, they aempt to break through the boundaries between consumers and producers by actively involving comic readers, supporting individual initiatives with “how-to” instructions and passing along knowledge away from traditional educational institutions 5 At her/his express wish, The Artist of Trouble X Comics will not be mentioned by name, but will be represented in the text anonymously and ambiguously. Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Research Report | 35 in self-organized workshops. In the “how to DIY a comic” zine,6 The Art- ist of Trouble X Comics describes her/his approach to drawing, which she/ he does not wish to have understood as formal guidance, but rather as an encouragement to begin on one’s own through this “DIY practice”. In the context of DIY culture, drawing queer-feminist comics becomes, through the interconnection of feminist self-empowerment strategies with a leist critique of capitalism, an interventionist practice in social power relations. The focus is on emancipatory boom-up processes through “learning by doing” and “skill-sharing”; the established standards and guidelines for “perfect” drawings are nullified, deconstructed and ignored. For example, Ka Schmitz holds comics workshops for girls, women and trans youth. In these workshops, a low-threshold opportunity to enter into comic draw- ing and a platform for informal learning is accelerated by Ka Schmitz into a collective self-empowerment process. The execution of instructions by the workshop participants and an orientation to results takes back seat. An artistic practice is mediated that rejects individual authorship and the established topos of the “artistic genius” through collective ways of work- ing. Drawing comics is, in the workshops, dialogically and collectively conceived; it serves a tool for individual and collective agency and action. Therefore, comics, comic zines and comic workshops can be understood as an interventionist – though short-lived and ephemeral – medium for local and translocal dialogue, community and network building, and exchange of experience and knowledge. In the context of the riot grrrl movement, which emerged in the 1990s out of the post-punk music scene in the Unit- ed States, zinester Mimi Nguyen (2000) speaks of an informal educational project as a “punk rock teaching machine”, whose basic principle is that every reader is potentially a producer who can play all positions from the production to the distribution of her/his cultural artefacts. The focus of the social practices of the DIY culture is not on success in terms of the number of zine readers. The heterogeneity of voices, which is expressed in a variety of media, is crucial, as well as becoming an agent of social change by en- gaging in and producing media that is interventionist. 2 Negotiating feminism as a discursive space “Feminist identities are usually achieved, not given. [. . .] Feminist identities are created and reinforced when feminists get together, act together, and read what other feminists have wrien” (Mansbridge 1995: 29). How do feminist media producers in Europe relate to feminist theories and activism? And whi feminist discourses, standpoints and identities do they develop with their interventionist and activist practices? Drawing upon theoretical concepts of third wave feminism and our empirical fin- dings, we will introduce in this section three interrelated discourses arti- 6 See the visual contribution by Elke Zobl in this volume. 36 | Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer (with Stefanie Grünangerl) culated by feminist media producers in Europe: do-it-yourself feminism, intersectional perspectives of feminism, and pop feminism in the context of the German-speaking “new feminisms” debate. Third wave feminism is a neologism coined in 1992 by Rebecca Walker, the daughter of literary feminist Alice Walker, in an article published in the US Ms. magazine heralding a new generation of feminist activists who are not “postfeminist feminists” (Heywood 2006; for a discussion on postfemi- nism, see Genz and Brabon 2009). However, there is no easy agreement that a third wave feminism actually exists, not least because activists and schol- ars have been divided about the usefulness of heralding a new wave. While some see “third wave” as a useful label for a new generation’s feminism (Baumgardner and Richards 2000; Dicker and Piepmeier 2003; Heywood 2006), others consider it as a false distinction further promoting division between different generations and subsuming differences/nuances under epochal monoliths (Berger 2006). Agnieszka Graff (2007) argues that in the national, geo-political and historical context of Poland feminism resists the Anglo-American wave chronology but is also in part conditioned by West- ern and third wave feminism’s influences (such as its preoccupation with pop culture). According to Genz and Brabon (2009) third wave feminism situates itself in the field of popular culture and continues to understand a critical engagement with pop culture as a component of political struggle. Feminist youth (sub)cultures and networks, such as riot grrrl, began using the internet for networking, organising local music events and producing websites, e-zines and blogs; such networks are generally considered an expression of third wave feminism (Reitsamer 2012). In the course of her investigation of riot grrrl in the United States, Garrison (2000) argues that the use of new media technologies for communication, cultural production and political activism, as well networking between women of different age cohorts are defining features of third wave feminism. Whilst links can be made to the consciousness-raising strategies of the previous feminist generations, the rhetorical style of self-disclosure and personal politics has led many critics to label contemporary feminists as a “weakened form of feminism”, too individualistic and lacking systemic critiques: “There are hints of good old second wave collective activity in the websites, the zines and the concerts such as Ladyfest . . . but [third-wave feminism] has a more individualist edge, reflecting among other things a radical suspicion of the politics of identity, and a marked shi to ‘lifestyle politics’” (Pilcher and Whelehan 2004: 171). Tracking the path of the “per- sonal is political” brand of feminist politics in North American, Deborah Siegel positions the latest “wave” of confessional testimony-based feminist publishing – found in zines, magazines, books, and online – as “light on the details for a program for external change” (Siegel 2007: 150–151). The overwhelming majority of the media producers interviewed in the course of this study position themselves and their media projects in relation to second wave feminism. The publisher of the AMIW – All My Independent Women blog (since 2005), talks about her encounter with and (re)appropriation of the book Novas Cartas Portuguesas (“New Portuguese Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Research Report | 37 Leers”) by Maria Isabel Barreno, Maria Teresa Horta and Maria Velho da Costa (the “Three Marias”), which is considered to be a landmark text of 1970s Portuguese feminism. I knew about the importance of this book, that it was very radical, very sexual, but I had no idea about the content. This is prey mu what every Portuguese knows about the book but they have never read it. Finally I read the book and it was an absolute wonder. I’ve never imagined that it is really a piece of literature whi manages to cross times. It is not so mu rooted in the 70s, but it talks a lot of Portugal in the 21st century. How women still construct their identity and their sexuality, their relationship to their family, their friends and to political institutions. It had su an impact on me. I emailed everyone in the AMIW net- work and said: Guys, Girls, let’s read this book collectively, let’s talk about it, let’s produce work that relates to it. The AMIW editor further explains how tiring it sometimes is to conv ince people that feminism is not an outdated and ana ronistic ideology. Fem- in ists today, she argues, deal with different issues; they have a different agenda and use different strategies than did the feminists of the 1970s. Several feminist media producers develop strategies to relate their me- dia projects to second wave feminism such as the reference to key think- ers of the women’s movements. The Belgian blog De Tweede Sekse named their publication aer Simone de Beauvoir’s groundbreaking book “The Second Sex” (Le Deuxième Sexe, 1949); the Belgian magazine Scumgrrrls re- fers to Valerie Solana’s SCUM Manifesto (1967–68); and the Swiss maga- zine l’émiliE is named aer the suffragee Emilie Gourd who founded the magazine in 1912. A further strategy for media producers to underline the necessity of feminist politics and to express one’s own standpoint is the publication of manifestos and manifesto-like declarations. The French activist group La Barbe note in Le Manifeste de la Barbe that “it’s time to revive feminism and to set out to conquer all fields of power, in all its different forms” (2008, au- thors’ translation)7. Similarly, the French activist network Osez le féminisme (2009) speak about the aims achieved by the women’s movements and argue for the need of feminist activism, especially in time of economic crisis and instability. In the declaration “Why Pro Feminism” (Za Feminizm n. d.) the Russian activist group ЗА ФЕМИНИЗМ – Za Feminizm (Pro Feminism) situ- ate themselves in the tradition of feminist struggles for equal rights and the advancement of women’s living conditions worldwide. The author of the Russian blog Feminisn’ts takes up the common phrase “I’ m not a feminist, but . . .“ to reflect upon feminist writing, including a variety of texts dealing with feminist history and theories in Russia (Feminisn'ts n. d.). However, the media producers interviewed also explain that second wave feminism should be “updated” due to neoliberal changes in society. While in North American the term “third wave feminism” is frequently discussed in feminist media, the feminist media producers in our study 7 In the french original: "Il est temps de remere le féminisme en selle, et de partir à la conquête des territoires de pouvoir, sous toutes ses formes." 38 | Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer (with Stefanie Grünangerl) (with a focus on Europe) hardly mentioned this expression. As a result, they frequently use the adjectives “new”, “queer”, “postcolonial”, “pop” or “do-it-yourself” to specify their feminist self-understanding. 2.1 Do-It-Yourself Feminism The beginnings of do-it-yourself culture are rooted in the avant-garde art movements of the 1950s and the emerging new social movements of the 1960s. In the late 1970s, punk ro , media and style revolved around the DIY ethos with self-produced fanzines, independent record labels and al- ternative distribution networks, with the result that DIY as an organizing principle gained a greater currency in alternative cultures. George McKay defines the 1990s DIY culture as a “youth-centred and -directed cluster of interests and practices around green radicalism, direct action politics, new musical sounds and experiences” (McKay 1998: 2). Marc Calmba sees DIY culture as aracterized by “self-empowerment, self-organization, im- provisation and initiative” (Calmba 2007: 17). DIY culture participants evidence a dedicated interest in the use of new te nologies (computers, video, the internet, etc.); they position themselves against hegemonic ideologies through, among other things, art and music production; and they try to produce and market their cultural productions as independent from commercial structures as possible (Kearney 1998; McKay 1998 and 2010; Spencer 2005). DIY culture and its networks place value on varied, processual social relations and communication processes with respect to established standards of professionalization, the acquisition of expertise and intellectual property (anti-copyright) (Aon 2002: 27). In the context of feminism, the 1990s riot grrrl scenes and the subsequent feminist-queer Ladyfest music and arts festivals developed a cultural activism based on doing-it-yourself, whereby music and skill-sharing is fused with political resistance and celebration, and the boundaries between organizer, partici- pant and audience are blurred (Chidgey 2009b; Kearney 1998; Reitsamer 2008; S ilt and Zobl 2008; Zobl 2011c). Doreen Piano (2002) notes that w omen as cultural producers oen act within a community that functions as a learning environment for tea ing DIY practices, as trading of infor- mation has always been a part of (sub)cultural production. In the UK, in activist contexts and among feminist zine producers we have noted an in- crease in the use of the term “DIY feminism”. Red Chidgey has stated that DIY feminism is used as “an umbrella term fusing together different types of feminism” whi draws “on genealogies of punk cultures, grassroots movements, and the te nologies of late capitalism” (Chidgey 2009b). The Belgian maker of the Flapper Gathering (among many others) zine describes DIY feminism as follows: DIY feminism is about everyone doing feminism ourselves and making anges, however small they may seem at first sight. It means not waiting for others, for “professionals” or politicians, to make the world more women-friendly and to solve problems related to sexism. Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Research Report | 39 Most oen, DIY feminist actions in their many forms take an anti-capita- list stance: “self/collective produced culture, politics, entertainment, and work are held as ideals, and not-for-profit voluntary/activist labour is the movement’s lifeblood” (Chidgey 2009b: n. p.). This is illustrated by the Ber- lin-based Make Out Magazine (MOM), whi a nowledges in its first issue (November 2011) their contextualisation in anti-capitalist DIY culture and feminism: We don’t exactly identify as capitalists. That’s why you might notice our publi- cation isn’t polluted with ads. D.I.Y. zine culture was an integral part of queer politics and third-wave feminism in the 90s, but now that blogs have become the weapon of oice for spreading propaganda, we wanted to revisit this tactical, timeless format with international relevance a bit of grown-up sheen. Not too polished, though – we like it rough! (Sona, Krus e, Spilker and Hansom 2011: n. p.) Similarly, Emancypunx – an anar ist feminist group running a record label, festival organizer, tour manager and host of a zine library – was founded in the mid 1990s in Warsaw to promote feminism and women’s issues within an underground DIY distribution network. They also point to their strong anti-corporate and alternative DIY stance: One of the main goals is to foster the diy hc punk network and to keep our crea- tivity, spaces, creative products far from corporate business. [. . .] Emancypunx is and always was a non-profit, non-commercial initiative run on voluntary and D.I.Y. basis. (Emancypunx n. d.) Media producers who sympathize with a DIY ethos and understand their media projects as “independent” and “autonomous” oen revert to dis- courses that are critical of society and its established and continuously re- inforced gender relations. They build “alternative economies” (Aon 2002; Chidgey 2009b) or a “DIY industry” (Peterson and Benne 2004: 5) whi are based on small collectives, fans-turned-entrepreneurs and volunteer la- bour for the non-commercial ex ange of their media and as alternatives to commercial media corporations. Feminist media is circulated in the “DIY industry” in the context of a feminist and anti-commercial agency as well as in the wider alternative (sub)cultural feminist scenes and networks. This process of media production (and networking) aims to establish horizon- tal, non-hierar ical structures. As a result, for the overwhelming majority of feminist media producers who describe themselves as “DIY feminists”, social ange can only take place through a radical critique of a neoliberal system and through alternative economies outside of neoliberal exploita- tion logic. 2.2 Intersectional perspectives of feminism The development of intersectional feminist discourses is directly related to the debates about the difference between women since the 1980s, whi were initiated by lesbian women, “women of colour” and postcolonial 40 | Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer (with Stefanie Grünangerl) fem inists. They question the category of “woman” as the universal guid- ing category for the creation of feminist theory and call aention to the interconnections of the various axes of difference that inequalities can con- struct. An initial critique of the patriar al concept of white middle class feminists and the idea of “global sisterhood” was formulated by the Com- bahee River Collective (1982), a coalition of bla lesbian women. The coll- ective drew aention to their life realities, including how they had faced discrimination on the basis of race, class, gender and sexuality, and carved out alliances between women on the basis of their different social posi- tions. Patricia Hill Collins explores the discrimination of women of colour; she draws on the concept of intersectionality and proposes understanding race, class and gender as “interlo ing systems of oppression” (Hill Collins 1990: 221) and analysing the resulting social inequalities as part of an over- all “matrix of domination” (ibid.) in order to avoid an additive analysis for the explanation of complex forms of oppression. Additive models of inequality resear focus on gender category and add additional categories su as age, sexuality, race, class and religion; moreover, the di otomy of being bla or white, male or female, etc., in these models have their basis in Western thought. Following the critique by bla women, postcolonial feminists also began to question the feminist theory project on the basis of its “Euro-centric universalism” (Mohanty 1988). They held that white Western feminists, without any regard for the particularities of race, class and the geopolitical situatedness of women, construct representations of the “Third World woman” as a victim (Trinh 1989; Mohanty 1988) while the experiences, struggles and theories of women from the global South and minority women in Western societies are suppressed (Gümen 1998). Only through these discourses and negations could the white Western woman be constructed as a modern emancipated subject. Several of the media producers interviewed embrace the critique raised by women of colour of the homogenisation of the category “woman” by white feminists of the second wave and acknowledge the anti-essentialism and multiculturalism associated with postmodernism. The British zine Race Revolt, for example, describes itself as “an inter- vention into the silences around race in the queer, feminist and activist communities” (Saeed n. d.) and as a result, it focuses on issues of racism, ethnicity and identity. In the introduction of the first issue, Race Revolt’s editor notes: “This is a beginning. A beginning of a much needed conver- sation that considers and addresses race within feminist, queer and diy communities and beyond. That considers the whiteness of these communi- ties, that finds ways for us to move forward” (Saeed 2007: n. p.). The editor points to the fact that in feminist media projects, whiteness oen appears to be unmarked, invisible and a dominant construction of identity (for critical whiteness studies, see e. g. Frankenberg 1993). One blog in particular pursues a broader focus in its themes and con- tent. The Italian activist collective Fikasicula, which runs the blog Femmin- ismo a Sud, aims to create a virtual space to share experiences and opinions and to write openly about the Italian conservative government. Aer the Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Research Report | 41 blog was set up, one of their very first steps was to provide a so-called “ABC of technological feminism” (Fikasicula 2008), which is a manual on how to use the internet in general and weblogs in particular for feminist, anti-racist and anti-fascist action. In their self-description, Femminismo a Sud espouses a postcolonial and an intersectional perspective towards so- ciety, culture and politics in order to understand how sexism, racism and fascism are related to one another: Our blog is called Femminismo a Sud because the whole blog has a postcolonial view on reality. We locate ourselves at the South of the hegemonic bio-territo- riality. We think that in our society, particularly in Italy, there is a use of power which controls women, immigrants and all persons who don’t want this type of system and its use of power. We think that sexism, racism and fascism are different aspects of the same hegemonic situation. And therefore we can’t fight against sexism if we don’t understand how sexism is interwoven with racism and fascism. Although the term intersectionality is not mentioned in the quote, the collective sees a necessity in engaging with the many different forms of oppression that people experience in their daily lives, including violence against women and ildren. Therefore, their blog offers many personal stories about experienced violence, complemented by a variety of advice and strategies for self-empowerment. A much nuanced standpoint is articulated by the editors of the multilin- gual Austrian e-zine Migrazine. Online Magazine by Female Migrants for All (G erman: Migrazine. Online Magazin von Migrantinnen für alle), which has been published by MAIZ, an autonomous migrant organisation in Linz, since 2006. The initial idea of Migrazine is to produce a feminist alternative online media in which women with migrant backgrounds are responsible for the whole process of production. According to their website, Migrazine is “self-organised participation in the media landscape, intrusion into the dominant discourse, democratisation of information” (n. d.). In the centre of their feminist and anti-racist self-conception stands the category “female migrant”, which is understood as a political identity taking an oppositional position in society and pointing to feminist and anti-racist partiality. This self-conception, however, does not necessarily mean that all articles pub- lished on the website discuss migrant-specific issues; nor does it suggest that Migrazine aims to speak for women with migrant backgrounds. Rather the editors of Migrazine position the experiences and knowledge produc- tion of women with migrant backgrounds at the centre of their alternative online media. In the February 2011 issue, the term “Second Generation” (“Secondo”/“Seconda”) is taken up to refer to the life realities of people “who are not migrants, but are constructed as ‘the Other’ by members of majority societies” (Migrazine 2011). Several writers address the self-un- derstanding of a “post-migrant” generation which calls traditional identity conceptions into question and introduces a new vocabulary of belonging. Hence, Migrazine can be understood as an elaborated response to the he- gemonic discourses on the “First” and “Second Generation” of migrants in 42 | Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer (with Stefanie Grünangerl) Western societies by demanding political rights for migrants, such as the right to vote, and by intervening in the violent stereotypical representa- tions through which people with migrant backgrounds are construed as “the Other”. Femminismo a Sud and Migrazine question traditional identity constructions and national identity, especially with regard to the strict Eu- ropean immigration laws, and propose how one’s individual identity exists at the intersection of multiple identity categories. In addition to these intersectional feminist discourses of media pro- ducers, which have set their focus on racism and “whiteness” in feminist- queer communities (Race Revolt), the conservative policies of their country (Femminismo a Sud) or European migration policy (Migrazine), some media producers also make use of the term queer and queer theory in the context of intersectionality. Queer theory postulates that gender and sexuality should be understood as social and cultural constructions, without biological de- terminism. Hence, “queer” should not be conceptualized as an identity, but instead as a critique of identity and an “identity under construction, a site of constant becoming” (Jagose 1996: 165). As a critique of identity, queer theory does not relate representations and social practices of gender and sexuality to the hierarchical gender differences and heteronormativity, nor does it seek the dissolution or the duplication of the sexes (Engel 2002). A queer-feminist intersectional standpoint is represented, for example, by the editor of the webmagazine Trikster – Nordic Queer Journal: Definitely we try to promote an intersectional perspective of queer feminism. I think some of the most important thinkers working in feminist and queer and critical race studies today are those who are able to see the ways in whi gen- der, sexuality and race are folded into ea other in different ways. Especially in our current political situation, I think the ability to work intersectionally with these different terms is so crucial if we are to formulate a kind of coalition poli- tics that could really, really work. We are talking about intersectionality and the need of to continue to develop queer and feminist and anti-racist politics that looks sideways and not only towards one vector of suppression. The editor of Trikster opposes a reception of queer theory, gender and se- xuality that sees itself as the central axis of difference, and thus loses sight of other categories of social stratification. For an intersectional perspective of queer feminism, the impetus of the critique of racism by women and queers of colour is important, because these critiques point to the entangle- ment of sexuality with other categories su as gender, race, class and age. 2.3 Pop Feminism in the context of the German-speaking new feminisms debate While in the US, the term third wave feminism dominates the discussion about a new generation of feminist actors, the term “new feminism” spar- ked similar debates about the feminist self-understanding of a younger ge- neration of women in German-speaking countries. The starting point for this “new” discussion of feminism was the “demography debate” (Klaus Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Research Report | 43 2008), as well as the moment when the debate that arose when the “third” wave of feminism swept over (however with mu less public reception) from the US to Germany. This was followed by the publication of numerous popular books under the buzzword “New Feminism”, su as Die neue F- Klasse (“The New F Class”, 2006) by the novelist Thea Dorn; Wir Alphamäd- chen (“We Alpha Girls”, 2008) by the journalists Meredith Haaf, Susanne Klingner, and Barbara Streidl; Neue Deutsche Mädchen (“New German Girls”, 2008) by novelist Jana Hensel and journalist Elisabeth Raether; the edited collection Das F-Wort (“The F-Word”, 2007) by Mirja Stöcker; as well as the novel Feuchtgebiete (“Wetlands”, 2008) by Charloe Ro e. Among them were several publications that explicitly speak of a “Popfeminismus” (“pop feminism”) or were connected with it in some way, like Hot Topic. Popfeminismus heute (“Pop Feminism Today”, edited by Sonja Eismann, 2007); the novel Zuckerbabies (“Sugar Babies”) by Kerstin Grether (2004); or the academic treatise Popfeminismus! Fragezeichen! (“Pop Feminism! Ques- tion Mark!”, Kauer 2009). But why the talk about “new” feminisms? While there are different viewpoints, researchers “concur that the new feminisms represent the views of a homogeneous and privileged group of women (most authors are white, well-educated and heterosexual), are neoliberal in outlook and characterised by a fierce repudiation of second-wave feminism, which is dubbed the ‘old’ women’s movement” (Scharff 2011: n. p.). Only a few pub- lications take a more critical and reflective stand towards this repudiation of second wave feminism and incorporate academic work and queer per- spectives, such as the edited collections Hot Topic (Eismann 2007), Female Consequences. Feminismus. Antirassismus. Popmusik (Reitsamer and Wein- zierl 2006) and New Feminism: Worlds of Feminism, Queer and Networking Conditions (Gržinić and Reitsamer 2008). In particular, the New Feminism anthology takes a distinctive approach to the term “new feminism” com- pared to the mainstream rejection of 1970s feminism and critical feminist and queer theory and politics: here it is used to revitalize the continuity of the women’s movement by making new opportunities for action through various perspectives and viewpoints visible. In stark contrast to the main- stream neoliberal popular approach, the term “new” is taken up in order to address the effects of casualization, migration and the exploitation of the post-communist countries and the countries to address the South, which leads to a new type of social inequality between those who live within the “new Europe” and those outside this territory. The aim is to open up a productive field to describe, discuss and critique contemporary feminist debates around diverse living conditions and cultural and theoretical pro- duction by women from various parts of the world, as well as to strengthen political agency. However, such a critical and intersectional standpoint represents a lonely perspective in the mainstream reification, homogenisa- tion and stereotypical portrayal of feminism with underlying homopho- bia, sexism and exclusionary norms (see Scharff 2011). In fact, Elisabeth Klaus found that nonfiction “new feminism” publications reveal a “strong conservatism that borders on and sometimes touches antifeminist posi- 44 | Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer (with Stefanie Grünangerl) tions” and are characterized “first by distancing itself from an older and presumably outdated feminism, secondly by a neoliberal self-celebration, thirdly by the lack of a critical social analysis and finally by an invariably heterosexual orientation” (Klaus 2008: 328). This begs the questions: Who can be, is allowed to, and should be an “alpha girl”? And who is extending this invitation? (See Hark and Villa 2010: 11). In The Aermath of Feminism (2009), Angela McRobbie suggests an “undoing of feminism” in that femi- nist elements are taken up and are integrated into society and politics and a well-informed and well-intended approach to feminism appears to take place. However, by using the tropes of freedom, choice and empowerment in new ways in media and popular culture as an (empty) replacement for feminism, the real aim is to prevent the development of a new women’s movement, and instead today we find “movements of women”, she argues (see Hark and Villa 2010: 13). This can be clearly seen in the German debate on “new feminisms”, as Hark and Villa indicate in the introduction to the German translation of McRobbie’s book (entitled “Top Girls”, 2010). As has been mentioned, in the context of this “new feminisms” debate the term “pop feminism” is claimed by a few – such as Sonja Eismann or Kerstin Grether – who also have been criticized for its use. The term has also been used in connection with actors in the field of popular culture, such as Peaches or Lady Bitch Ray. Additionally, we have also found in our research that some feminist media producers in the German-speaking Eu- rope make use of and see their projects in connection with a “pop feminism”, such as Missy Magazine (since 2008). In the academic book Popfeminismus! Fragezeichen!, Katja Kauer argues that “pop feminism has to be considered as a new manifestation of feminism, which not only carries derogatory cat- egorisations such as feminism light, but also such labels as ‘postfeminism’” (Kauer 2009: 133, authors’ translation). In Hot Topic the term “Popfeminis- mus” is used to describe a critique of popular culture using feminism as an instrument; furthermore, Eismann argues that the current generation has been socialized with popular culture to a much greater extent than previ- ous generations. This, however, does not mean that (popular) culture is not a negotiated field; popular music, TV or advertising needs to be criticized with feminist methods just as much as laws legislation (Eismann 2007). The blog Mädchenmannscha is an example for “pop feminism” and a call for an update of a second wave feminism. Run by a collective of eight women and two men, who are all based in Germany, the blog was founded by the three authors of the book Wir Alphamädchen. In this book, we find a particular feminist self-conception of the Mädchenmannscha collective. As one of the interviewed editors explains: Our aim is not to complain about the status quo in society; rather we want to point out to particular developments in society, no maer if they are positive or negative. But certainly, pop feminism is very important for us. [. . .] Second Wave Feminism really made things beer for us as a younger generation but there is far too mu the aitude of being a victim and of complaining and ex- cluding men. Men are not perpetrators in general, they can be also feminists. We are very positive and we think that feminism makes life more beautiful. Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Research Report | 45 The feminist self-conception of Mäd enmanns a a nowledges that their feminism stands on the shoulders of the second wave feminist movement but that it cannot be based on separatism. Rather their feminism has to adopt what Genz and Brabon (2009, 158) call a “politics of ambiguity” that embraces tolerance, diversity and difference, breaking free from the identi- ty politics of second wave feminism and rejecting any notion of a so called “victim feminism” whi is aributed to second wave feminists. For Genz and Brabon a “politics of ambiguity” allenges the identity politics and the anti-popular and anti-feminine agenda of second wave feminism and so, they argue, it is one of the aracteristics of third wave feminism. The bloggers of Mäd enmanns a adopt some of the manners of third wave feminism, but they have not discarded the discourses of the second wave (for a discussion of further examples see Reitsamer 2012). They strongly lo- cate themselves in the field of popular culture and understand themselves as powerful young actors who make feminism “more beautiful”. Conclusion: Feminist media thriving towards social change In this article we have presented an overview of our empirical findings from the resear project “Feminist Media Production in Europe”. Taking Lievrouw’s genre framework for alternative and activist new media as a guideline, we have analysed feminist media projects that are produced in on- and offline, grassroots and alternative contexts in relation to scope, stance, agency and action as well as to three discourses of feminism (see table 4). We have expanded her framework and applied it to feminist media produced specifically in a European context. In general, our study confirms previous resear on alternative media and feminist media in particular in that they aim to allenge power structures and to transform social roles by producing “alternative” content and by reverting to a DIY-organized, alter- native economy. While we were able to confirm the features of alternative and activist new media in Lievrouw’s model in relation to feminist media in print and online – in that they are mostly small-scale, collaboratively pro- duced, heterotopic, based on subcultural literacy, ironic, interventionist and perishable – we have added a particular feminist perspective and European perspective to this model and generally to the discussion on alternative and feminist media. While in our study most feminist media producers today position themselves in relation to second wave feminism, their strategies and the discourses they are involved in have anged: On the one hand networking occurs now on a mu more virtual – and therefore transna- tional – level with the use of new and social media, whi marks a major difference to the more local networks during second wave feminism. On the other hand, we have found that in the European context feminist media producers rarely refer to a third wave feminism – as it is widely discussed in the US – but are engaged in discourses on do-it-yourself feminism, in- 46 | Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer (with Stefanie Grünangerl) Table 4: Features of feminist media Leah Lievrouw’s genre framework for alternative and activist new media (2011) extended to feminist media production on- and offline Scope small scale: collaborative: • media types: mostly print media, blogs, • publishers: most published by collectives electronic magazines; notable: use of and groups, NGOs and independent various media types simultaneously and women’s organizations, individuals changes of medium • tendency towards “new collectivism” • media by country: most published in Germany, UK, Spain, Poland, Italy, Austria, Belgium, France, Sweden • publishing frequency: Most print media quarterly, followed by irregular and biannual; online media irregular updates or frequent publishing mode • language: most monolingual, followed by bilingual, a few trilingual or more languages • use of social media platforms: most oen Facebook, followed by Twier and MySpace Stance heterotopic: subcultural literacy: ironic: • feminist media as counter-sites to the • feminist media producers require certain • especially in visuals (bricolages, mainstream based on solidarity, exchange access to and knowledge of (sub)cultural collages) use of humour and irony of ideas and experiences otherwise codes, language and symbols • transportation of political messages and ignored by mainstream media • certain awareness and self-critical subversion of original meaning (oen in reflection of limitations in terms of zines and culture jamming) access, distribution and audience Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Research Report | 47 Action & interventionist: perishable: agency • interventionist aim either within • short-lived, temporary, ephemeral the project itself or by encouraging interventions by others • media production as activist practice and “productive interventions” into social power relations • interventions on content and visual level and in relation to non-commercial DIY culture with a focus on boom-up processes through “learning by doing” and “skill-sharing” Discourses DIY feminism: Intersectional perspectives of Pop feminism (“Popfeminismus”): on feminism • discourse esp. in English-speaking feminism: • specific discourse in German-speaking countries and among zine makers • taking up critique by women of countries in the context of a “new • feminist cultural activism based on colour and postcolonial feminists on feminisms” debate doing-it-yourself and self-empowerment the homogenisation of the category • situating feminist media in the field of “woman” by white feminists of the • central: anti-capitalist stance, building of popular culturesecond wave; acknowledgement of the an “alternative economy” with the aim anti-essentialism and multiculturalism of establishing horizontal, non-hierar- associated with postmodernism chical structures; social change should be achieved through a radical critique • frequent drawing on the term “queer” of the neoliberal system and through and on queer theory in connection with alternative economies outside of a intersectionality neoliberal exploitation logic 48 | Elke Zobl and Rosa Reitsamer (with Stefanie Grünangerl) tersectional perspectives of feminism, and pop feminism (in the context of the German-speaking “new feminisms” debate). In their negotiation of (interrelated) feminisms, feminist media production becomes a discursive, interventionist space that is constantly re-negotiated, re-invented, and re- appropriated under neoliberal social, cultural and economic circumstances. Hence, in sum the most important contributions of our study to the field are (a) to provide a comprehensive overview on the diversity of feminist media production in Europe, (b) to give insights into how a younger generation of feminist media producers negotiate neoliberal anges in society and (c) how they take up existing feminist discourses and practices and connect them with their own experiences in different geographic contexts. (Table 4) In this conclusion, we would like to take up the questions we have rai- sed in the introduction: How does a younger generation of feminist media producers in Europe participate in society by producing print magazines, blogs and e-zines in grassroots, alternative contexts relating to new social movements? How do they engage in discourses on feminism(s), allenge the status-quo and effect social ange? Zine maker Nina Nijsten thinks that “zines are significant on both the individual level (for example a girl who finds empowerment in reading a grrrl zine or expresses herself in making one) and for social movements. They can and do play important roles in DIY feminist and anti-capitalist movements.” In the context of media production, scholar Annabelle Sre- berny-Mohammadi has found that “almost by dint of their existence alone, autonomous media controlled by women with women-defined output of- fer a challenge to existing hierarchies of power; when these media take up specific issues and campaigns, and align themselves with larger social movements, their political potential is significant” (1996: 234). Herein lies the biggest potential but also the biggest challenge for the larger feminist movement: feminist media (and activism) represent one of the most direct aempts “to change fundamentally the way people think” (Young 1997: 3). As Young has argued “Feminist publications seek to effect social change through propagating feminist discourse” (1997: 12–13). The aim of social transformation is well illustrated by Tea Hvala, blogger, zine maker and co-organizer of the Red Dawns festival in Slovenia: Whether you speak about individual acts of resistance, about organised struggles, about art projects, about self-managed social experiments, even about the invisible day and night dreaming that expand the mental space, all these things, in my view, are re-envisioning and transforming society (quoted in Chidgey 2009b). We argue that feminist media need to be considered in a larger socio-eco- nomic and cultural context as they are an intricate part of feminist move- ments as new social movements. In the articulation of experiences and the struggle over symbolic control and maintenance of independence, a coll- ective consciousness and identity can grow and emerge around common projects, as has been the case with the Love Kills collective in Romania: Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Research Report | 49 By advocating revolution, by raising awareness, by questioning authority, by breaking the silence, I think that zines can have a meaningful effect. And maybe it has to be first in the individual, the one who is holding the zines in her/his own hands and starts rebelling her/himself against the oppressors; later on you can find other individuals who are rebelling and can “ally” and plot together. We started, for example, by publishing a zine a few years ago; later on the edi- torial group formed itself into an anar a-feminist collective, and we were able, together, to put ideas into practice. Su a process of personal and collective consciousness-raising and criti- cal opinion-building can be a step toward community and political invol- vement and, ultimately, can initiate and lead towards cultural and social ange. As Stephen Duncombe has pointed out, “the very activity of pro- ducing culture has political meaning. In a society built around the principle that we should consume what others have produced for us, [. . .] creating your own culture [. . .] takes on a rebellious resonance. The first act of po- litics is simply to act” (2002: 7). This takes us ba to the strong interven- tionist aim of feminist media projects. As we have shown in relation to queer-feminist comics, they can be considered “productive interventions” in social power relationships thriving for a transformation of society. Overall, feminist media production online and offline is characterized by a critical reflection of mainstream culture and society as much as an in- tervention into them. Feminist media is strongly embedded in the feminist movement as a new social movement, on the one hand, through its actors: the well-educated and creative participants as well as a collective, shared identity and meaning and symbolic production; and on the other hand through its action: informal, anti-hierarchical, social networks, the integra- tion into everyday life, the widespread use of media and ICTs and “un- conventional”, creative, small-scale, decentralized action repertoires, and permanent, transnational campaigns (see Lievrouw’s overview of charac- teristics of new social movements 2011: 48–49). 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Theorising Feminist Media from the Perspective of Alternative Media Studies Jenny Gunnarsson Payne Introduction: Feminist movements and feminist media Forms of media – in the broadest sense of this term – are an invaluable part in furthering the determinate goals and specific demands of a given poli- tical movement. This might seem a harmless enough contention; for what would a political movement be without any means of dissemination and circulating its ideas to a wider political constituency? If winning support and forging alliances are necessary prerequisites for a movement to gain what is colloquially regarded as “critical mass”, then with what means is political momentum (whi a movement thrives off) possible other than through the effective (meaning the affective) transmissibility of ideas bet- ween a movement and what is outside of that movement? At its most basic level, the delivery of a political message between the sender and recipient entails a “medium” that shules between addresser and addressee. Consi- der the array of possible media forms that function as a transmier of poli- tical content: more oen than not the forms of delivery are associated with strictly textual output (newspapers, bulletins, zines, flyers, leaflets, etc.). This, however, is not exclusively the case. The mode of delivery could just as well be “performative”, including street theatre or musical performance, graffiti or other art forms. Today, with the development of Information and Communication Te nologies (ICTs), the platforms open for the transmis- sion and dissemination of political agendas have multiplied greatly (for example, e-zines, blogs, Facebook, Twier, etc.), providing the possibility for more immediate and responsive media output, whi are in a synerge- tic relation with a movement that anges in accordance with the anging times and terrains of its struggles. This chapter takes as its starting point two related observations about feminist political struggles:1 First, the history of women’s and feminist 1 This chapter is a slightly reworked version of the article “Feminist media as alterna- tive media? A literature review”, originally published in Interface: A Journal for and About Social Movements volume 1(2), pp. 190–211. It has been reprinted with the kind permis- sion of Interface. Work on the original version of this chapter was conducted as part of 56 | Jenny Gunnarsson Payne struggles have demonstrated time and again the central role that media production has played in the dissemination of political ideas, political mo- bilisation and the constitution of political identities. Second, this essential connection remains largely under-theorised. Historicising feminist media: From cartes-de-visite to newspapers to Twitter Already since the laer half of the previous century, suffragist and anti- slavery activist Sojourner Truth (born Isabella Baumfree) sold photo- graphic cartes-de-visite of herself as a way of disseminating her politics and supporting herself financially (Irvin Painter 1994: 482–488; Downing 2001: vivii). More generally, the suffrage movements in various countries were known to be avid producers of their own press, cartoons, postcards, and posters (cf. Israels Perry 1993; Di Cenzo 2003; Di Cenzo & Ryan 2007). This rich and multifaceted feminist publishing tradition was to continue well into the twenty-first century, and has over the years taken on multiple formats, genres, modes of expression and political agendas. Publications such as the British Votes for Women and Swedish Tidevarvet both constitute notable examples of print media in the decades around the turn of the twentieth century – and feminist publication was to peak once again during the so-called “second wave of feminism” which in many coun- tries prospered in the spirit of 1968, with titles such as the North American news journal Off Our Backs (since 1970) and the long-lived and influential UK feminist magazine Spare Rib (1972–1993). The 1980s witnessed the birth of significant media contributions: the internationalist UK feminist news- paper Outwrite (1982–1988) and the self-proclaimed first ever feminist ra- dio station RadiOrakel (since 1982) in Norway. In the mid 1980s, the world’s first known unlicensed women’s radio, Radio Pirate Women had its inau- gural broadcast in Ireland. The 1990s saw the emergence of Nicaraguan feminist quarterly La Boletina (since 1991; also available online since 2005) and the Iranian independent feminist journal Zanan (subsequently banned in 2008). The decade of the 1990s also witnessed what has oen been re- ferred to as the transnational “girl zine revolution” – young women be- coming involved in feminist politics through the development of feminist zines (see for example Harris 2003; Zobl 2004a; 2004b; Schilt and Zobl 2008; Kearney 2006; Chidgey 2007). Today, feminist media continue to flourish. New titles of magazines (such as the Norwegian FETT and Swedish FUL_, both since 2004) and broadcast media such as the Swedish community and online television programme HallonTV (2008–2009) and an.schläge tv – the sister project (since 2005) of the long-established Austrian feminist maga- the project Feminist Media Production in Europe (supported by the Austrian Science Fund, P211-G20). For feedback and support, I would like to thank my colleagues within the project, Elke Zobl and Red Chidgey. Many thanks go also to David Payne for his thor- ough in-depth commentary on the essay. Feminist Media as Alternative Media? | 57 zine with the same name appear alongside “new media” and hybrid genres such as the UK e-zine The F-Word (since 2001), such blogs as the Romanian F.I.A. (since 2005) and the extension of the queer feminist FUL magazine with a monthly podcast (Sweden since 2008). Given this rich history of feminist media production, it is surprising that – despite the recently growing interest in the phenomenon – the terrain is still somewhat uncharted, both empirically and theoretically (cf. Riaño 1994; Steiner 1992; Byerly and Ross 2006). Specifically, this chapter shall at- tempt to rectify the theoretical inaention to the constitutive role that media production has for feminist and women’s movements more generally. To this end, my particular focus for this chapter will in the first instance be a trend in media research captured under the appellation “alternative media studies”. The purpose of this intervention is to examine the existing litera- ture in this field and to offer an assessment of the tools that this literature makes available for the specific treatment of feminist media production. With these broad intentions outlined, the structure of this intervention shall take the following form: I will first begin by addressing the strand of theorisation which emphasises alternative media mainly as oppositional, or counter-hegemonic, in their relationship to the state and the market. This strand of alternative media theory shall mainly be represented by media scholars John Downing and Chris Aon. Second, I will discuss a number of critiques that have been raised against these former approaches, and via these introduce alternative conceptualisations such as the notion of “citizens’ media” (Clemencia Rodriguez) and the more recent idea of “rhi- zomatic media” (Olga Bailey, Bart Cammaerts and Nico Carpentier). Defining alternative media: Between formal specificity and historical complexity Still suffering from being largely under-researched, the field of alternative media can be characterised by the continuous aempts made by research- ers to find and refine suitable frameworks as a way of, first, complementing existing media theories which have proven insufficient at understanding the specificity of these media forms in opposition to dominant mass media, and, second, in a way that takes into account the vast complexity within this subset of media production. These overarching – and occasionally con- flicting – aims oen pose a dilemma in distinguishing “dominant” or “he- gemonic” from “alternative” media, while at the same time avoiding the reductive and inflexible binary oppositions drawn between “mainstream” and “alternative”. The field is characterised by what I see as a somewhat problematic tension between formal specificity and historical complexity. At its most anodyne, alternative media is defined as any form of media which constitutes an alternative to, or positions itself in opposition to, widely avail- able and consumed mass media products (Waltz 2005: 2). A very general and formal definition, the inclusivity of it is only a strength for as long as it is used as an intuitive, “commonsensical”, umbrella term. Here, the problem 58 | Jenny Gunnarsson Payne is that the terminology contributes very lile to any sustained and rigorous study of these phenomena (cf. Comedia 1984: 95). Indeed, at this, the most basic definitional level, many have questioned the utility of the appellation “alternative”, claiming that its nebulous nature means that what counts as an instance of “alternative” media is easily abused by personal predilec- tion and self-definition (see Abel 1997). John Downing – who is known to prefer the term “radical media” – has argued that “alternative media” is a term that is nearly oxymoronic: “Everything, at some point, is alternative to something else” (Downing 2001: ix). The most commonly deployed solution within alternative media schol- arship to the vagueness of the term has been to denounce vague definitions and conceive of “alternative media” not only as “alternative”, but more specifically as media positioned in opposition to dominant mass media – as counter hegemonic. This has the merit of excluding “apolitical” media forms such as niche special interest media such as sport club newsleers) (see Downing 2001: xx). More specific still, Michael Traber defines alternative media as media which aims to effectuate “change towards a more equitable social, cultural and economic whole in which the individual is not reduced to an object (of the media or the political powers) but is able to find fulfil- ment as a total human being” (Traber 1985: 3; also in Aon 2002: 16).2 The definitions so far surveyed all make the same assumption, namely that “alternative media” breaks free from the status quo, presenting alter- native resources antagonistic toward “mainstream” and “official” channels. The work of James Hamilton is in this regard conspicuous in the aempt he makes to complexify the prevailing way that “alternative media” is under- stood. Notably, Hamilton sees congruence in the ends of media production, whether alternative or mainstream. Both tend to educate and mobilise a general public in the sense of a particular movement or political cause. If seen simply as a technological process of manufacture, distribution and consumption, Hamilton argues, media/communication then simply names the use of media products. The resulting implications are that com- munication is functionally equivalent to any other consumerist practice and that it is an optional add-on to society – at best, a means of conveying ideas about more basic and important processes – rather than essential to it (Hamilton 2000: 361). Instead, he wishes to make a distinction between “media” and “communication”, defining the former as “physical tech- niques of amplifying and making durable the expressions of individuals, thereby making them available to many more people than would other- 2 Within the category of alternative media Traber advances a further distinction between advocacy media and grassroots media. Alternative advocacy media is any media project and product embodying values other than the established ones and which in the process in- troduces “new” social actors (such as the poor, the oppressed, the marginalised etc), but is nevertheless produced “professionally”. Grassroots media is a more “thorough” version of alternative media, according to which the media is produced by the people whom it aims to represent. Professionals may (or may not) be involved in these publications, but if so, only as advisers to support non-professionals to produce their own independent media (Traber 1985: 3; ibid., Aon). Feminist Media as Alternative Media? | 59 wise be the case” (ibid.). The laer, he argues, is “related to and dependent on technical processes of reproduction, amplification and fixing (making durable)”, but not equivalent to them. Instead, communication is described in terms of cultural processes, as the “creative making of a social order” (ibid.). Hamilton thus argues that alternative media must enable “alterna- tive communication” that, in turn, facilitates “an articulation of a social order different from and oen opposed to the dominant” (ibid. 362). The work of Downing, more contextual and descriptive than Hamilton, offers instead an improved definition of “alternative media” which avoids both the risk of vacuous generality on the one hand and a specifiable purity as to what “alternative media” ought to be on the other, which rarely if ever exists in reality other than in the books of normative theorising. Thus, and in an aempt to offer a more workable terminology, Downing defines “al- ternative radical media” as any “media, generally small-scale and in many different forms, that express an alternative vision to hegemonic policies, priorities, and perspectives” (2001: v, emphasis added).3 Apart from this definition, which positions radical media (or, radical alternative media) as distinctive from the merely “alternative”, Downing steers clear of any clear-cut definitions. Instead, he argues that: There is no instantaneous al emy, no uncontested socio emical procedure, that will divine in a flash or with definite results truly radical media from the apparently radical or even the non-radical (Downing 2001: vii). This is already a step further than Hamilton and other alternative media theorists. Instead of resorting to simple binaries, Downing argues that con- text and consequences should be the key to demarcating the radicality of a specific medium (Downing 2001: x). To give an example, Downing high- lights the contextual importance of Truth’s cartes-de-visite depicting her as a “lady”, a respectable women of her times, most oen siing down with her kniing placed on her lap, and oen dressed in glasses and with a book strategically placed on her side table (Downing: vi-vii; Irvin Painter 1994; Israels Perry 1994). While, when measured by contemporary standards, this representation of femininity could hardly be considered revolutiona- ry, in the context of the mid to late nineteenth century, it is to be read as a radical refusal to identify with her previous status of enslavement. This historical example, therefore, represents a potential rearticulation of bla femininity. 3 In a related manner, Waltz has stressed the need for further terminologies to comple- ment the notion of alternative media, using instead the overlapping (but not equivalent) distinction between “alternative” and “activist” media. The laer would, she argues, in- volve encouraging readers to “get actively involved in social change” (Waltz 2005: 3). Similarly to Downing’s definition of radical media, activist media can include media promoting any ideological strand, ranging over the whole scale from “le of le” to far right extremism (ibid.). In addition to this, however, Waltz’s concept of activist media can – when the additional label of “alternative” is le out – also include media which ad- vocates views that support what would generally be understood as “mainstream” (such as voting) (ibid.). 60 | Jenny Gunnarsson Payne Chris Aon, author of the book Alternative Media (2002), has celebrated Downing for his nuanced and theoretically eclectic approach of drawing together theories of counter-hegemony, counter-publics and resistance, but sees at the same time his approach as overemphasising the collective dimension of radical alternative media production, thereby constructing a theory suitable mainly for the study of the media production of social movements. By doing so, Aon argues that Downing ignores the fact that hybridity and purity as problematics of alternative media are certainly acces- sible through an examination of new social movement media, but they can also be approa ed through media that accommodate themselves rather more cosily with mass media and mass consumption (Aon 2002: 21). Aon (2002), therefore, proposes a theory of alternative media that is con- siderably more far rea ing than those assessed thus far. Building and expanding upon the work of Downing (1984; 2001), Stephen Duncombe (1997) and Robert Di inson (1997), Aon constructs a theory whi in- cludes not only the more politically radical variants (or the so-called “re- sistance media”), but one whi includes also media forms su as zines, video, mail-art and creative writing, and “hybrid forms of electronic com- munication” – forms of media production whi are not necessarily in themselves aiming at any radical social ange. This theoretical perspective stresses “the transformatory potential of the media as reflexive instruments of communication practices in social networks” and focuses therefore on the processual and relational aspects of these media forms (Aon 2002: 7–8). Drawing on a wide range of discussions on alternative and radical media, Aon has constructed a “typology of alternative and radical media” (re- produced below): 1. Content – politically radical, socially/culturally radical; news values 2. Form – graphics, visual language; varieties of presentation and binding; aesthetics 3. Reprographic innovations/adaptations – use of mimeographs, IBM typeseing, offset litho, photocopiers 4. “Distributive use” (Aon 1999b) – alternative sites for distribution, clandestine/indivisible distribution networks, anti-copyright 5. Transformed social relations, roles and responsibilities – reader-writers, collective organisation, de-professionalisation of e.g. journalism, print- ing, publishing 6. Transformed communication processes – horizontal linkages, networks (Aon 2002: 27) These six elements form the basis of Aon’s model, with ea element re- presenting a dimension of alternative media. The first three elements in this typology specify “products”; the last three specify processes of com- munication (i. e. distributing, writing, printing) (Aon 2002: 27). Aon’s procedures allow, in principle, for a more refined study, sen- sitive to the inconsistencies of a given media project. Broken down into its composite dimensions, various aspects of a specific media form can be Feminist Media as Alternative Media? | 61 judged specifically as to the extent to which its constituent dimensions break with established practices, modes of representation and organisa- tional relations respectively. For example, there could be inter-dimensional discord: the same medium can be “radical” in terms of its distribution, but “conservative” with regards to political contents. There could also be intra-dimensional ambivalences, so that within each dimension there are complexities to take into account that preclude easy categorisation: if, for example, a media form only allowed professionals to write, but had a col- lective process of decision making (2003: 28). One also needs to weigh up both historical and geographical contingencies, and appreciate that the ab- sence of radicality (at least according to the properties listed in the typolo- gy) need not necessarily prevent its overall radical/revolutionary potential. For a certain dimension might not be available for radicalisation in certain cultural and historical contexts. Aention to all this would enable an analysis of the “mixed radicalisa- tion” of alternative media – looking at hybridity rather than a set of char- acteristics to determine “purity” of these publications (2003: 29). Aon’s model thus tries to capture the contents of these media, as well as their sociocultural contexts and modes of organisation. In this manner, he wishes to provide a definition which includes not only their critical reactions against cultural stereotypes circulating in the mainstream, but also to create an al- ternative space which builds on different values (Aon 2002: 10). These media, he argues, provide forums for the “direct voices” of “subjugated knowledges” in the Foucauldian sense (cf. 1980: 81–82), offering spaces for what Raymond Williams would call democratic communication, the “ori- gins” of which are “genuinely multiple”, affording the possibility of “true” communication and “active response” between all participants (Aon 2002: 9; Williams 1963: 304). In the context of feminist media production, such a possibility might hold true for media forms using easily accessible and cheap technologies such as zine production and blogging. However, it would be more difficult to sustain the argument for, for example, non- commercial but established feminist cultural magazines (e.g. the Swedish Bang) that might, which might not be free of a certain exclusionary agenda- seing (even if, indeed, this “agenda” might be based on different, and perhaps even more democratic, principles than the ones generally found in the mainstream media). Aon states that the ultimate “test” of a theory of alternative media would, in addition to its explanatory value, be its aptitude to capture diver- sity in the phenomena under study (Aon 2002: 9). The question is whether Aon’s theory itself passes this test: Despite its break away from a rigid dichotomisation, Aon remains faithful to the basic grammar of “alterna- tive media studies”, which as a consequence imposes certain restrictions on both the plasticity and durability of his proposed theory vis-à-vis concrete instances of media production. Focussed, still, on normative judgements and evaluative criteria between radicality and non-radicality, Aon himself reintroduces the binary opposition he wishes to avoid, preventing, ulti- mately, the analysis of the complex relationships of interconnectedness be- 62 | Jenny Gunnarsson Payne tween various media forms. Even though much feminist media has indeed managed to fill the various criteria as stated by above mentioned authored (see DiCenzo and Ryan 2007), such a dichotomous logic cannot capture the diversity of these practices. Instead, study of feminist media produc- tion needs to take into account a varied range of practices. In other words, analyses of feminist media production needs to show an ability to capture media which, to paraphrase Clemencia Rodriguez, are: . . . legal, a-legal . . . illegal, pirate, commercial, amateur, local, regional, diaspo- ric, moni-lingual, bilingual, daily, weekly, monthly, once-in-a-while (1992: 64). Connecting feminist media: The rhizomatic alternative Instead of, and in a response to, the aforementioned aempts to distinguish between more oppositional, radical or activist media forms, Olga Bailey, Bart Cammaerts and Nico Carpentier have formulated a theoretical frame- work that seeks to further the move from a rigid economy of oppositions. Building on Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guaari’s conceptualisation of the rhizome, whi juxtaposes the rhizomatic (non-linear, nomadic, connective) with the hierar ical tendencies of the arbolic, or tree-like, systems (linear, unitary, with fixed points of origin and sub-divisions) (Deleuze and Guat- tari 1988: 3–25), Bailey, Cammaerts and Carpentier argue that this meta- phor does beer justice to “alternative” media systems by accenting their contingent aracter in contrast to the more “arbolic” and rigidly organised mainstream media (Bailey et al. 2008: 29). Similarly, the notion of the rhizo- me has previously been employed as a perspective to shed light on the riot grrrl movement, arguing that their zine networks, websites and distros are typically rhizomatic, stressing their aracter of an “underground culture multiplying via lines of connection that are not controlled from a primary location”, but rather as a polymorphous de-centralised movement without leaders, spokeswomen or a unified political agenda aa ed to its name (Leonard 2007; see also Piano 2002). In Bailey, Cammaerts and Carpentier’s understanding of rhizomatic media, however, the emphasis lays not pri- marily in the “subterranean” nature su rhizomatic networks. Rather, I would argue that its analytical strength lies in its ability to explore their elusiveness and contingency as well as possible interconnections and linka- ges with the state and the market (2008: 27). As su , this approa has pro- ven useful to understand also alternative media whi do not easily fit into models of counter-hegemony (su as certain zines or blogs, for example). Feminist zines and rhizomatics Although the majority of existing feminist zines may subscribe to the ant- agonistic ethos of anti-commercialism, anti-elitism and anti-professiona- lism, far from all of them do. A recent case study by the Central and Eastern Feminist Media as Alternative Media? | 63 European Plotki Femzine provides an instructive example of a media project whi , while motivated partly by the knowledge of existing “grrrl zines”, also have employed non-prototypical strategies of media production. While the first edition of Plotki Femzine was a eaply produced photocopied zine, the editorial team later successfully applied for funding from the German- Polish Youth Foundation in order to print a somewhat more magazine- like second edition, thereby negating the widespread assumption that zine production is inherently anar ist and anti-state (Chidgey et al. 2009). Si- milarly, the Swedish feminist magazine Ble initially employed the DIY format of the zine, only later to be re-laun ed as a more costly magazine, whi in turn assisted the editor Linna Johansson in establishing herself as a well-known columnist in one of the major national tabloid newspapers (cf. Gunnarsson Payne 2006). In light of these ambivalences, the concept of rhizomatic media has the asset of steering clear of simple oppositions between “mainstream” and “alternative”. As Deleuze and Guaari argue, the relationship between the rhizomatic and the arbolic is not one of mutual exclusiveness, but, A new rhizome may form in the heart of a tree, the hollow of a root, the crook of a bran . Or else it is a microscopic element of the root-tree, a radicle, that gets rhizome production going (Deleuze and Guaari 1988: 15). The analytical value of this statement is one whi should not be under- estimated – but one whi has yet been downplayed in both the work of Leonard and in the alternative media theory of Bailey, Cammaerts and Carpentier. This calls for further investigation, as it offers a mu -needed analytical possibility whi manages to avoid romanticised ideas of alter- native media as inherently democratic and radical, as well as demonising and simplified meanings of the “mainstream” as completely devoid of any potential for the production of counter narratives. Thereby, the rhizomatic approa may offer a potentially fruitful solution to the aforementioned tension between specificity an historical complexity in alternative media theory. Although I agree that the former tend to be more rhizomatic in a- racter, and the laer more arbolic, this impasse allows for analyses of, for example, the ways in whi arbolic hierar ies can and do form also within alternative media frameworks and, subsequently, how journalistic practi- ces occasionally manage to subvert meanings and instigate social ange. Tactical media and hegemonic appropriations: Culture jamming as rhizomatic media The term tactical media has been coined as a way of expressing a position outside of both mainstream and alternative media, or, as David Garcia calls it, . . . a no-man’s land on the border of experimental media – art, journalism and political activism – a zone that was, in part, made possible by the mass availabi- lity of a powerful and flexible new generation of media tools (2007: 6). 64 | Jenny Gunnarsson Payne As su , the recent developments of tactical media have been inextricably linked to the expansion of new ICTs. The growth of tactical media should, however, not be understood as a simple adaptation of movement strategies into the “information age”. Instead, their positioning is one of refutation in relation to not only the presumed objectivity of journalist practices and the elitism and personality cults of the art world, but also of the disciplinary an instrumentalist strategies of traditional social movements (Garcia 2007: 6). Importantly, the term tactical alludes to Mi el de Certeau’s distinction between strategy and tactics, the laer referring to the art of the subordina- ted, as opposed to strategies being implemented from a locus of domina- tion. Tactics, in this sense, consists of parasitic appropriations, subversing the meaning of signifiers, whi makes te niques su as “subvertising” – the practice of parodying commercial or political advertisements by for example altering their texts or images – prime examples of tactical media. Exemplary of feminist tactical media would be the work of Princess Hijab, whose provocative street art includes “hijabising” adverts – paint- ing black hijabs on commercial adverts for products such as jewellery and make-up. In her manifesto she states, albeit obliquely, what could be inter- preted as a feminist statement: Princess Hijab knows that L’Oréal and Dark&Lovely have been killing her lile by lile. She feels that the veil is no longer that white. She feels contaminated. (Princesshijab.org, quote no longer accessible online, archived at “Princess Hi- jab: Hijabizing Advertising”, Grassroots feminism) She declares her influence by “movements su as Adbusters”, but argues also that “since 9/11, things have anged” and that she therefore has osen to subvert images in a non-American way. She claims to “know all about visual terrorism” (emphasis added), and rearticulates thereby the dominant cultural stereotypes of the Muslim terrorist, as well as the hijab, whi so oen in Western contexts has served as the signified of women’s oppression per se. Her street art manifesto subverts the meaning of the ca- pitalist beauty industry by pointing its messages out as “lethal”, as a threat to her life in a symbolic sense (“killing her lile by lile”), as well as the epithet used by dominant culture to demonise the Muslim Other. Despite these strong political statements, Princess Hijab does not position herself within any political or religious movement, but states quite clearly her in- dependence and dedication to art only. And don’t forget, she acts upon her own free will. She is not involved in any lobby or movement be it political, religious or to do with advertising. In fact, the Princess is an insomniac-punk. She is the leader of an artistic fight, nothing else. (Princesshijab.org, quote no longer accessible online, archived at “Princess Hijab: Hijabizing Advertising”, Grassroots feminism) The brief example of “hijabising” makes a strong case for the rhizomatic approa to tactical media, particularly with its use of the Deleuzo-Guaa- rian concept of deterritorialisation, shedding light on the process of under- mining the authority of corporate advertising by tactically turning its own Feminist Media as Alternative Media? | 65 rhetorical tropes and imagery against it, and thereby destabilising their meaning. Cultural and political jamming, however, should not be understood as inherently radical modes of operating.4 On the contrary, what is used as tactics of subordinated groups and oppositional movements can also be used as “strategies” of the dominant. Processes of deterritorialisation, in this sense, are always inextricably tied to reterritorialisation, a process dem- onstrated by Bailey, Cammaerts and Carpentier’s discussion of the ways in which corporate companies deploy jamming techniques for marketing purposes, and political parties appropriate techniques of jamming in their election campaigns as a way of mocking their political competition – in a way that presumably functions as an effective strategy in appealing to younger and “trendier” sections of the electorate (2008: 143–147).5 In a fem- inist context, the conceptualisation of de- and reterritorialisation would be particularly useful in understanding the reciprocity between would-be “al- ternative” and “mainstream” socio-political messages. To give some brief examples: the ways in which the Riot Grrrl slogan “Girl Power!” has been reterritorialised by postfeminist commercial products such as women’s magazines and popular music (e.g. the Spice Girls) and feminist jamming tactics such as “Revolution. Because you’re worth it!” (an adaptation of the cosmetics company L’Oréal’s slogan employed by Swedish zine Radarka). I argue that a rhizomatic approach to alternative media shows a flexibil- ity in its theoretical apparatus that is otherwise lacking in much of the liter- ature that comprises the field of alternative media studies. The perspective offers a compelling framework for the study of the tactics, processes and connections within and between feminist media production. However, this is not to say that the approach is without its limitations. Its strength resides in its understanding of the processual dimension of media production – and an understanding that furthermore does not reduce the complexity of such processes. It is therefore particularly informative in obviating the “how” of these connections. What it does not offer is an explanatory pur- chase on the “whys” of these connections and processes. Devoid of any notion of the subject as it is, this mode of theorisation consequently also lacks any notion of political subjectivity and the more “strategic” aspects of the building of alliances between struggles. It might even be said, then, that the gains of expunging “alternative media stud- 4 Although tactical media is predominantly discussed as a 1990s phenomenon, the tactics of cultural and political “jamming” are not entirely new. Their genealogy can be traced back to, for example, techniques of détournement (Debord 1959/2006) and the radi- cal bricolages (Hebdige 1979: 103) of the Situationist and punk movements, both of which involve re-using and re-articulating elements of the dominant culture so as to subvert their meanings, thereby rendering their contingent character visible and showing how “things could be otherwise” (see Bailey et al. 2008: 138–9). 5 Åsa Weergren has defined culture jamming as a “symbolic form of protest located within a field of anti-corporate activism where tensions between democratic principles and the undemocratic principles of the ‘free’ market are articulated as pivotal contempo- rary political conflicts” (Weergren 2009: 2). 66 | Jenny Gunnarsson Payne ies” of the dichotomies implicitly or explicitly present in the more counter hegemonic approaches has carried with it the loss of explanatory value as to how these media function as crucial sites for the constitution of po- litical identification. In the study of feminist media production, this laer aspect cannot be underestimated. On the contrary, any rigorous analysis of feminist media production needs to take seriously the ways in which gen- dered identities are transformed into feminist identities. I would now like to sketch out a further contribution to the field that at least begins to make incursions into these questions. Feminist media and political identification: From citizens’ media to sites of antagonism Rodriguez’s starting point is the supposition that social subjects identify in multiple, contingent and heterogeneous ways, constituted by an assembly of subject positions (Mouffe 1992: 372). Social categories su as “women” are produced through complex intersections of various discourses and in- stitutions, and the subordination of women cannot be understood to be constituted by a single cause or underlying essence. From this destabilised notion of the subject it follows that one can no longer view any member of a historically subordinated group as belonging to a certain “interest group” with predetermined interests and needs (Rodriguez 1992: 18). Media repre- sentations therefore cannot be said to represent the “true” interests of any certain groups. Rather, from this perspective, interests do not precede political action, but are constituted in political acts. As su , alternative media plays a crucial role in the constitution and negotiation of political interests and collective identities. Mediated representations of “interest groups”, then, are seen as a con- stitutive practice, actually producing the very interests that they claim to represent. Instead of risking to reproduce essentialist notions of “women’s writing”, this perspective allows for feminist identities not to be revealed by feminist media production, but the laer to be part of producing them. It is telling that Rodriguez dismisses the terminology of “alternative me- dia” altogether, arguing that it problematically predetermines these media as necessarily in opposition to the mainstream media, and thereby “limits the potential of these media to their ability to resist the alienating power of mainstream media” and claims that this “approach blinds our under- standing of all other instances of change and transformation brought about by these media” (Rodriguez 1992: 20). In its place Rodriguez proposes the formulation of citizens’ media, an idea entailing three fundamental proper- ties: i.) that it would be a collective enactment of citizenship through active interventions and transformations of dominant media; ii.) that these col- lective practices of citizenship take place through the contestation of so- cial codes, legitimised identities and institutionalised social relations; and, iii.) that these interventions have an empowering – and, as a result of this Feminist Media as Alternative Media? | 67 empowerment, transformative – effect on the community in which they are located (2001: 20). In her notion of citizens’ media, Rodriguez stresses Chantal Mouffe and Kirstie McClure’s extensive understanding of “the po- litical”, extending the political from the narrow definition of “juridical de- mands upon the state” to also include a quotidian politics – a politics which extends the terrain of political contestation to the everyday enactment of social practices and routine reiterations of cultural representations (McClure 1992: 123). In feminist terms, this “everydayness” of politics have been long known and articulated in the famous slogan “The personal is political!”, so oen reiterated in feminist political manifestations, relating to crucial feminist issues such as sexual violence, heteronormativity, reproductive rights and issues concerning body images. Contemporary feminist media production can be said to embrace this quotidian dimension of politics, not least in relation to media forms such as zines and blogs. The value of feminist media production such as zine writing and blogs would not necessarily lie in its potential to affect political policy, but rather in the contestation of symbolic codes and rearticulation of everyday experiences. Many feminist zines, for example, offer personal accounts of negative feelings towards one’s own body, thereby de-natural- ising the beauty standards of commercial girls’ and women’s magazines. why do i cry when i look in the mirror? why do i look at stupid magazine ads wish that i look like that? why is there so much fucken emphasis placed on look- ing “prey” and i dont know what i want to be. just don’t want to hate myself anymore for not being the delicate lile flower that i am told to be. why does the media try so hard to dictate to us what is and what isnt beautiful . . . I am so sick of hating myself. i don’t want to cry in the mirror anymore. (Revolution Rising #1, in Kearney 2006: 181, spelling in the original) This quote demonstrates a tendency displayed by many feminist zines, na- mely that capitalist and patriar al mainstream media is articulated as the constitutive outside of feminist zine culture. That is, this “outside” would not only be different from feminist media, but it would constitute its “ra- dical other” and thereby be positioned in an antagonistic relationship to feminism as su . I argue that this antagonistic relationship takes us back somewhat, showing us, as it were, the loss of an analytical strength of the counter hegemonic approaches surveyed in the first part of this chapter. From the post-Marxist approach of Chantal Mouffe and Ernesto Laclau, there is no inherent opposition between even the most unequal subject positions (e. g. “men”, “women”). Rather, the antagonistic relationship occurs only if the subordinated group opposes the unequal relationship by construing it as a relationship of domination and subordination (Laclau 1990: 6; Laclau and Mouffe 1985: 122; Mouffe 1993: 77). With its strong anti-essentialist ontol- ogy, Laclau and Mouffe’s perspective avoids any pitfalls of reproducing any metaphysical ideals of any inherent “female” way of writing, or of any 68 | Jenny Gunnarsson Payne determinist idea of universal interests of “all women” (cf. Rhodes 2005: 10–23). Instead their theoretical approach makes possible theorisation of the ways in which feminist identities are actually constituted through the practice of media production, and how these identities – on both an in- dividual and a collective level – are necessarily contextual, relational and processual. The explanatory value of this is that it offers a way to study not only the “hows” but also the “whys”, the conditions of emergence for feminist identification and the construction of “chains of equivalence” be- tween collective identities that are articulated in opposition to one another, between a collective identity and its “oppressive other” (e.g. “sisterhood” vs. “patriarchy”) (cf. Gunnarsson Payne 2006; 2012). Understanding this process is crucial in order to understand the role that feminist media pro- duction plays in producing spaces where gendered identities and relations are transformed into sites of antagonistic struggle. Concluding reflections: Current developments and future challenges There has been something of a blind spot in alternative media studies to date. The limited numbers of sustained engagements with the rich and variegated history of feminist media is surprising given its historical prom- inence over the last two centuries. The question that I wished to raise in this chapter was that given the lack of aention to feminist media produc- tion, can it be said of the conceptual tools available that there is an essen- tial difficulty in teasing out the specificities and nuances of instances of feminist media? The intention was not necessarily to propose that there is something “different” about feminist initiatives, which set them apart from other modes of media production, as if an engagement with feminist media projects requires a specifically feminist theoretical perspective. Rather, the aim was to move away from theorisations of alternative media with too broad and formal conceptions, under which too many concrete examples can be subsumed and made identical to one another, to the detriment of paying aention to the differences between instances of alternative media as well as the tensions and inconsistencies internal to a particular media project. A more dynamic (less static) understanding of media production was sought. An assessment of alternative media theories reveals a wide ranging set of theoretical engagements. Ultimately, each can be brought back to a common denominator wishing to give the idea of “alternative media” a conceptual and phenomenal specificity that overdraws the distinction be- tween alternative and mainstream forms of media. The vicissitudes and complexities of actually existing feminist media are not best served by such hard-edged analytical distinctions. Examples abound within the feminist movement itself that would caution against the use of such metaphysically infused distinctions. Both Deleuze and Guaarian and the Mouffe and La- clauian insights might be beer harnessed to provide a more durable, a Feminist Media as Alternative Media? | 69 more empirically responsive theory, far more sensitive to the contingencies of media production. The work of Bailey, Cammaerts and Carpentier as well as Rodriguez was referred to as examples that have actively devel- oped these insights into theories of media production beyond hegemonic mass media. Each departs from the aempt to define what constitutes an instance of “alternative media” (and whether or not we should even use this term) from outside of its particular manifestations, but at the same time brings to bear with it a set of theoretical tools that do not merely set out to describe a particular case of media production but seek to explain the processes by which media comes to be produced in a given socio-po- litical situation. What each of these scholars advance can only be just the start, however. As far as the successes of their operationalisations of certain post-structur- alist presuppositions, further advances need to be made to fully meet the requirements of rigorous study of feminist media production. Importantly, I would suggest aention needs to be paid to the constitution of feminist identities, furthering particularly not only the ways in which alliances and coalitions are made, but also the role feminist media production plays in the constitution of collective feminist identities. A significant but hitherto overlooked dimension of alternative and/or feminist media production is the central role of media production for affective investments in certain feminist vocabularies, aesthetics and political prioritisations. Such explora- tions would need to combine theoretical insights of post-structuralist ap- proaches to alternative media and nuanced conceptualisations of political subjectivity with thorough empirical investigation of both audiences and producers (to the extent such a distinction can at all be made) of feminist media. References Abel, R., 1997. An Alternative Press. Why? Publishing Resear Quarterly 12(4), Winter issue, pp. 78–84. Aon, C., 2002. Alternative Media. London: SAGE. Aon, C., 2004. An Alternative Internet. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Bailey, O., Cammaerts, B. and Carpentier, N., 2007. Understanding Alternat- ive Media. Open University Press. Byerly, K. and Ross, C., 2006. Women and Media: A Critical Introduction. Lon- don: Wiley-Bla well. de Certeau, M., 1984. The Practice of Everyday Life. Los Angeles: University of California Press. di Cenzo, M. & Ryan, L., 2007. Neglected news: Women and print media, 1890–1928. In: Acland, ed. Residual Media. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. di Cenzo, M., 2003. Guer politics: Women newsies and the suffrage press. Women’s History Review 12 (1), pp 15–33. 70 | Jenny Gunnarsson Payne Chidgey, R. and Gunnarsson Payne, J. and Zobl, E., 2009. Rumours from around the bloc: Gossip, rhizomatic media and the Plotki Femzine. Fem- i nist Media Studies 9 (4). Chidgey, R., 2007. Riot Grrrl writing. In: N. Monem, ed. Riot Grrrl: Revolu- tion Girl Style Now! London: Bla Dog Publishing, pp. 100–141. Chidgey, R., 2006. The resisting subject: Per-zines as life story data, Uni- versity of Sussex Journal of Contemporary History 10 [online]. Available at: Comedia, 1984. The alternative press: The development of underdevelop- ment. Media, Culture and Society, 1984; 6; pp. 95–102. Coyer, K. and Downmunt, T. and Fountain, A., 2007. The Alternative Media Handbook. London & New York: Routledge. Curran, J. and Couldry N., 2003. Contesting Media Power: Alternative Media in a Networked World. Rowman and Lilefield. Debord, G., 1959/2006. A user’s guide to détournement. In: The Situationist International Anthology. Berkeley: Bureau of Public Secrets. Deleuze, G. and Guaari, F., 1988. A Thousand Plateaus. Capitalism and S i- zophrenia. London: Athlone. Di inson, R., 1997. Imprinting the sti s: The alternative press outside London. London: Aldershot Arena. Downing, J.D.H., 2001. Radical Media. Rebellious Communication and Social Movements. SAGE. Downing, J.D.H., 1984. Radical Media. The Political Organization of Alternat- ive Communication. Boston: South End Press. Duncombe, S., 1997. Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alter- native Culture. Verso. Foucault, M., 1980. Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972–1977. In: C. Gordon, ed. New York: Pantheon Books. Grassroots feminism, n.d. Princess Hijab: Hijabizing Advertising. [online]. Available at: Gunnarsson Payne, J., 2006. Systerskapets logiker. En etnologisk studie av femi- nistiska fanzines. Umeå: Umeå University. Gunnarsson Payne, J., 2012. The logics of sisterhood: Intra-feminist debates in Swedish feminist zines. European Journal of Women’s Studies, 19 (2), pp. 187–202. Hamilton, J., 2000. Alternative media: Conceptual difficulties, critical possi- bilities. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 2000; 24; pp. 357. Harris, A. 2003. gURL scenes and grrrl zines: the regulation and resistance of girls in late modernity. Feminist Review 75, pp. 38–56. Hebdige, D., 1979. Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London: Methuen. Irvin Painter, N., 1994. Representing Truth: Sojourner Truth’s knowing and becoming known. The Journal of American History 81 (2), pp. 461–492. Feminist Media as Alternative Media? | 71 Israels Perry, E., 1994. Image, rhetoric, and the historical memory of wo- men. In: A. Sheppard, ed., Cartooning for Suffrage. Albuquerque: Uni- versity of New Mexico Press. Kearney, M-C., 2006. Girls Make Media. London and New York: Routledge. Kearney, M-C., 1997. The missing links: Riot grrrl-feminism-lesbian cul- ture. In: S. Whiteley, ed., Sexing the Groove: Popular Music and Gender. London and New York: Routledge. Laclau, E., 1990. New Reflections on the Revolution of Our Time. London and New York: Verso. Laclau, E. and Mouffe, C., 1985. Hegemony and Social Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics. London and New York: Verso. Leonard, M., 2007. Gender in the Music Industry. Ro , Discourse and Girl Po- wer. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing. Leonard, M., 1997. Rebel girl, you are the queen of my world. In: S. White- ley, ed., Sexing the Groove: Popular Music and Gender. London and New York: Routledge. Leonard, M., 1998. Paper planes: Travelling the new grrrl geographies. In: T. Skelton and G. Valentine, eds. Cool Places: Geographies of Youth Cul- tures. London and New York: Routledge. McClure, K., 1992. On the subject of rights: Pluralism, plurality and politi- cal identity. In: C. Mouffe, ed., Dimensions of Radical Democracy: Plura- lism, Citizenship, Community. London: Verso, pp. 108–125. Mouffe, C., 1993. The Return of the Political. London and New York: Verso. Ó Sullivan, T.,1994. Alternative Media. In: T. Ó Sullivan, Duon and Ray- ner, eds. Key Concepts in Communication and Cultural Studies. London: Routledge. Piano, D., 2002. Congregating women: Reading 3rd wave feminist practices in subcultural production, Rhizomes 2004, p. 4. Rhodes, J., 2005. Radical Feminism, Writing, and Critical Agency: From Mani- festo to Modem. New York: State University of New York Press. Riaño, P., 1994. Women in Grassroots Communication. Furthering Social Change. SAGE. Rodriguez, C., 2001. Fissures in the Media Scape: An International Study of Citizen’s Media. Hampton Press. Steiner, L., 1992. The history and structure of women’s alternative media. In: L. Rakow ed. Women Making Meaning: New Feminist Directions in Communication. New York: Routledge. Traber, M., 1985. Alternative journalism, alternative media. Communicat ion Resource 7 (October 1985). London: World Association for Christian Communication. Waltz, M., 2005. Alternative and Activist Media. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Uni- versity Press. Weergren, Å., 2009. Fun and laughter: Culture jamming and the emotio- nal regime of late capitalism. Social Movement Studies 8 (1), January 2009, pp. 1–15. 72 | Jenny Gunnarsson Payne Williams, R., 1963. Culture and Society: 1780–1950. Harmondsworth: Pen- guin. Zobl, E., 2004a. Persephone is pissed! Grrrl zine reading, making and dis- tributing across the globe. Hecate: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Wom- en’s Liberation, 2004. Zobl, E., 2004b. Revolution grrrl and lady style, now! Peace Review: A Jour- nal of Social Justice 16 (4). Zobl, E., 2003. The Global Zine Network: A DIY Feminist Revolution for Social Change. Ph.D. Dissertation, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Archiving Feminist Grassroots Media1 Brigitte Geiger and Margit Hauser Introduction: Documenting women’s history Feminist archives have an important task in passing on women’s history, particularly in documenting and increasing the visibility of the women’s movement and lesbian history and politics. From the 1970s on, a broad infrastructure of feminist archives and libraries has emerged which were designed to be both centers for up-to-date information within the women’s movement as well as an infrastructure to support academic feminist re- search.2 To do this, feminist media, especially magazines, are an important part of the collections of feminist archives and libraries because they are a substantial and dynamic source of current issues, political practices, and theoretical discussions. As staff members of STICHWORT – the Archives of Women’s and Les- bians’ Movements in Vienna, which manages an extensive collection of “independent” feminist media – we will provide an overview of feminist grassroots media in Austria, focusing in particular on the accessibility and preservation of feminist media in feminist archives. We will analyze struc- tures and developments within feminist media production in Austria from its beginnings in the 1970s up to now and give an insight into the thematic developments of the first two decades of the women’s movement. We will also set a special focus on lesbian media. As only a few distinctly lesbian magazines have been published in Austria over the years, we will consider a wider range of lesbian media from German-speaking countries. Feminist grassroots media in women’s and lesbian archive collections Feminist media, particularly magazines, are an important part of the col- lections of feminist archives and libraries. From the perspective of women’s archives, feminist media are a substantial and dynamic source of informa- 1 An earlier and extended version of this paper has been published in Interface: a jour- nal for and about social movements, volume 2 (2) (November 2010) in English and German (www.interfacejournal.net). The data have been updated in 2011 for this article. 2 The umbrella organization of women’s/lesbian archives, libraries, and documenta- tion centers, i.d.a , provides an overview of these feminist archives and libraries, their special collections, and services. 74 | Brigitte Geiger and Margit Hauser tion on current issues, political practices, and theoretical discussions. They reflect the differentiation and developments of feminist movements, strate- gies, and concepts as well as the different societal, political, and cultural contexts. Because of this, feminist media are important as sources of up-to- date information in women’s archives, on one hand, and as valuable histor- ical resources for research on the Women’s Movement on the other. Thus, their preservation and accessibility is a crucial task for feminist archives. (Geiger and Hauser 2008) With the international abundance of feminist magazines and newslet- ters since the beginning of the second-wave women’s movements, feminist movements have been forming spaces and structures of (counter) public spheres. Places for communication and action offer space for the unfolding of feminist discourses while building frameworks for discussions between women, for processing experiences and developing theories, for collective learning processes and self-directed development of feminist strategies and perspectives for action.3 Feminist media serve as both a means to infor- mation, communication, and discussion within the movement, as well as a means to self-determined expression to the “outside.”4 The diversity, difference, and international circulation of feminist print media make it difficult to establish a clear definition of the “feminist maga- zine” genre. The spectrum of feminist magazines reaches from the small group media of individual projects and initiatives for a limited target au- dience to feminist “mass media” with a relatively high circulation and a stronger commercial orientation (such as Emma in Germany or Ms. in the USA), from basic informational pamphlets to sophisticated magazines and extensive scholarly periodicals, from short-lived aempts lasting only a few issues to well-established magazines with over twenty years of history. It includes both the local women’s newspaper and the international newslet- ter, thematically broad and specialist magazines with a narrow focus, and a wide array of lesbian media. In addition to that, newsleers distributed via e-mail – published solely online or in parallel to a print version – and online ezines have been included since the end of the nineties. Their accessibility and preservation is essential to retracing feminist discourses and developments in the movement’s history. At the same time, the documentation of feminist newspapers is highly demanding due to the magazines’ diversity, decentralized organization, high fluctuation, and of- ten independently organized production methods. Only the larger Austrian feminist media – AUF, An.schläge, [sic!] – are archived at the national libraries, while smaller, regional pamphlets are of- ten missing, despite the principle of legal deposit. Foreign feminist maga- zines, including “large” ones like Emma, Courage, or Ms., are only sporadi- cally present.5 In Germany the situation appears to be slightly different. 3 See: Gruppe feministischer Öffentlichkeit 1992, Klaus 1994, Geiger 2002a. 4 On the functions of feminist magazines see Geiger 2001, 2002b, Susemichel et al. 2008. 5 The situation of scholarly periodicals is different; here the university establishment of wom- en’s and gender research has also been reflected in the acquisition policy of academic libraries. Archiving Feminist Grassroots Media | 75 Smaller local media from the autonomous women’s movement are at least partially included in German university libraries. Feminist archives and libraries, however, map the entire spectrum of women’s and lesbian move- ment magazine production in German-speaking countries in their holdings and also maintain the most important titles from other countries. STICHWORT maintains the most extensive collection of independent women’s and lesbian magazines in Austria. The archive of the women’s and lesbian movement currently encompasses a total of over 730 titles and over 60 current subscriptions. The goal of the collection is to maintain the most complete documentation possible of independent feminist magazine production in Austria from the beginning of the 1970s to the present. This also includes small informational pamphlets and periodicals of which only one issue was published. Presently the index holds 204 Austrian titles, 49 of which are current. The international collection (more than 500 titles from 47 countries, 200 of which are from German-speaking countries) provides insight into the diversity of feminist and lesbian magazine production worldwide, in spite of its necessarily cursory character. Gaps in the col- lection are constantly being filled through active exchange between femi- nist archives and private donations. One of the special characteristics of the STICHWORT collection, as well as independent feminist archives in general, lies in the value aributed to “small” media. In order to main- tain the most complete movement documentation possible, spontaneous publications and those produced with simple means are also documented. As many of them were published by short-lived women’s groups active in a small field, they may have only come out once or twice. Significance is defined here through the focus on movement documentation according to criteria different from that of the state facilities. Other feminist publication collectors in Austria are the AUF magazine archives (with almost 50 titles, about half of which are in German, includ- ing many older collections), the ArchFem archives in Innsbruck, and the FEMAIL archives in Feldkirch, all of which are limited to Austrian and German-language titles. The AEP library in Innsbruck and DOKU Graz maintain smaller collections.6 Frauensolidarität has been collecting and documenting magazines and newsleers as a library and documentation center for women and the “third world” since 1993–94. It primarily focuses on countries in the global south, with more publications being produced in Asia and Latin America than in Africa, but also material from the “north” that deals with issues relating to women from the south and international women’s issues. They are recorded in an online database (www.centrum3. at/bibliothek/) and also partially in the catalogue of the Österreichische Bibliotheksverbund, a network of Austrian libraries. The larger Austrian feminist magazines, such as AUF, an.schläge, [sic!], Frau- ensolidarität or fiber are also found in feminist archives outside the country. 6 In 2011 the AUF magazine archive was given to STICHWORT; the magazine collec- tions of ArchFem and DOKU Graz went to STICHWORT and other (feminist) archives and libraries at the end of 2011. 76 | Brigitte Geiger and Margit Hauser The largest collections of feminist publications in Germany are at the Women’s Research, Education, and Information Center – FFBIZ in Berlin (with 924 titles), the Archiv der deutschen Frauenbewegung in Kassel (1,140), the FrauenMediaTurm in Cologne (976), the feminist archive ausZeiten in Bo- chum (816), and the Spinnboden in Berlin (over 1,600), which is focused on lesbian publications. In Switzerland the schema f library in Zurich holds the most significant collection. Cid-femmes in Luxembourg possesses all of the country-specific and regional titles.7 In order to make magazine collections of the lesbian/women’s archives and libraries in German-speaking countries visible and also to document them in traditional catalogues, the data are being gradually entered into the ZDB, the world’s largest magazine database, located at the Berlin State Library, through a collaborative project from i.d.a. Dachverband.8 Many titles are being introduced to a broader public for the first time through this. At the same time, aention is being drawn to feminist archives and libraries as collection centers. In October 2009 more than 2,000 different feminist titles from the first-wave and second-wave women’s movements were recorded in the ZDB, including both grassroots and scholarly publications. Current- ly over half of the magazine collections from the 20 facilities participating in the project have been documented in the ZDB. The plan for the future is that all magazine titles in the i.d.a. facilities will be presented together on the organization’s website. No solution is currently in sight to deal with the growing importance of online media and web 2.0 technologies; both the personnel and technological resources of these feminist archives have failed to meet this challenge. In this field, the central national libraries have to take the lead. Feminist grassroots media in Austria: Structures and developments STICHWORT’S extensive publication database allows a detailed look at the structures and developments in Austria’s feminist magazine landscape. The database includes (as of late 2010) 198 Austrian magazine titles that were founded aer 1970, the beginning of the second-wave women’s move- ment in Austria, whi thereby form the basis for the analysis that follows.9 Originally a collection of print media, today the database also comprises electronic newsleers. In addition to collection data, the database also includes information on the periodicals’ founding and in some cases dis- continuation, publishers, former names, publishing location, frequency of publication, thematic focus, and type of magazine. However, not all details 7 Links to the aforementioned facilities can be found at: www.ida-dachverband.de. 8 www.zdb-opac.de. The holdings can be searched by individual archive in the ZDB under interlibrary loan region “ida”. 9 Six older titles not included here are magazines with a long history published by po- litical or church-related women’s organizations. Archiving Feminist Grassroots Media | 77 are available for all titles; for example, the exact duration of publication is only known for 88 titles. This should be considered below. The first independent feminist magazines begin in the 1970s as organs of the first working groups on women’s liberation and autonomous women’s organizations in Austria. The two oldest feminist magazines in German- speaking countries that still exist in 2010, both founded in 1974, should be highlighted here: AUF – Eine Frauenzeitschri in Vienna10 and AEP Informa- tionen in Innsbruck, Tyrol. Altogether these beginnings of feminist media production in Austria are still very modest with an average of five titles published simultaneously per year and one to two new publications annu- ally, most of which only existed for one to two years. It is only in the 1980s, as the women’s movement spread and the first women’s projects were founded, that the continuous development of a feminist (print) media landscape in Austria began, lasting until the turn of the century. The number of new projects grew annually from five in the 1980s to more than eight in the 1990s; the number of existing titles in- creased from an average of 17 in the first half of the 1980s to an average of 72 in the second half of the 1990s. The high point was reached in 1997 with 76 documented magazine titles (Figure 1). As of 2000 the total number and the annual number of new projects receded again, leveling out at around 50 titles and three to four new projects per year. At the end of 2010 the STICHWORT magazine collection documented 46 current titles. Whether this slight recent decline indicates further reductions in the feminist me- dia landscape or just illustrates delays in the archive’s collection process will become clear in due course. In any case, an exact determination of the current number is difficult due to rapid changes and occasionally unclear classifications.11 However, it is worrying that in recent years the balance between new projects and discontinuations was mostly negative, while in the 1980s and 90s an average of two new titles emerged for each existing title that was discontinued. The expansion was accompanied by an internal differentiation of the magazine landscape, as shown in Figure 2, in which title development is broken down according to the type of publication. The development of titles is relatively stable for general feminist magazines directed toward “all” feminist/lesbian readers with broad subject maer; these play an im- portant role in cross-group multidisciplinary feminist discussion. Aer the 10 AUF was discontinued in 2011. 11 Thus AUF is still included among the current magazines because it only discontin- ued its publication in 2011, whereas LesbenFrauenNachrichten and [sic!] Forum für femi- nistische Gangarten are not included. Neither of these has announced an official halt to publication, but their most recent issues appeared in 2007 and 2009, respectively. For technical archiving reasons, electronic newsleers (eight current titles) are included in the database, but online news portals like ceiberweiber.at (since 1999) or die.Standard.at (since 2000) are not. For comparison, using a very narrow definition of independent femi- nist magazines, Horak (2003) arrives at 18 current titles; Well (2007) lists 44 media in her work, applying a broad definition that includes online media and titles associated with institutions and political parties. 78 | Brigitte Geiger and Margit Hauser Figure 1: Feminist grassroots media in Austria 1970–2010: Title development (all titles/new projects – average) Source: STICHWORT database, authors’ statistics Figure 2: Title development according to type of publication Source: STICHWORT database, authors’ statistics modest start in the 1970s, their number fluctuates between six and twelve titles. The general growth in titles is mainly due to the increasing number of newsleers, which have accompanied the expansion of the broader in- frastructure of specialized women’s projects as well as the facilities and mergers of women’s and gender research since the 1980s. Since 2000 these have been increasingly in electronic form. The number of newsleers has escalated from an average of seven in the 1980s to 30 in the 90s and an aver- age of 39 in the 2000s. The laer rise is mainly due to electronic newsleers, whereas the number of printed newsleers has sunk slightly, most recently to just 24 titles. The emergence of the first specialist journals in the 1980s was connected to the thematic specialization and differentiation of activities in the wom- en’s movement. This type of magazine has been represented by an average of nine titles since the 1990s, for example the art magazine Eva & Co (Graz, Archiving Feminist Grassroots Media | 79 1981–1992); the development policy magazine Frauensolidarität (Vienna, 1982–present), which still exists today and is also widely received in other German-speaking countries; the newsleer of the Austrian Women’s Forum for Feminist Theology, Der Apfel (Vienna, 1986–present); Koryphäe. Medium für feministische Naturwissenschaen und Technik (Vienna, 1986–2008); the literary studies magazine for the Alps-Adriatic region Script (Klagenfurt, 1992–2001); or the most well-established academic magazine, L’Homme. Zeitschri für feministische Geschichtswissenscha (Vienna, 1990–present). The women’s center newsleers (“FrauenZentrums[FZ]-Infos”) were of great importance to the feminist information exchange, particularly dur- ing the 1980s and 90s. Published by the women’s culture and communica- tion centers and ranging from informational pamphlets to general feminist magazines, publications like Zyklotron in Innsbruck (1983–2003), Infam in Linz (1984–2000), Zarah lustra in Salzburg (1985–2001) and Belladonna in Klagenfurt (1986–1996) contributed to the decentralization of the media landscape. All in all, feminist magazine production is heavily concentrated in Vienna. About two thirds of both the total titles and the currently pub- lished titles are based in Vienna. State capitals are the other “centers,” es- pecially Graz and Innsbruck with more than ten titles each. Less than 5% of all documented titles are published outside of these urban centers. When looking at feminist magazine production in terms of length of existence and frequency of publication, a high level of fluctuation can be seen. Almost a fih of the titles exist for only one to two years, a further 14% last between three and five years, and almost a quarter of the titles are published irregularly or only once. On the one hand, this structure is surely a result of the difficult production circumstances of independent feminist media due to limited resources. However, the large rate of fluc- tuation also expresses how dynamic and lively grassroots, self-organized media production can be. Despite difficult conditions (only a few of the feminist magazine editorial departments are adequately financed or even have paid positions; see Geiger 1996, Horak 2003, Well 2007) many of the media proj ects nevertheless have managed to maintain an impressive con- tinuity. Over a quarter of the current magazines have been in existence for more than 20 years, and 35% between 10 and 20 years. In other words, 63% of the current magazines and 43% of the total documented titles have been published for at least ten years. However, limitations in the issue frequency can affect the timeliness of the information. Only 15% of the current titles are published more than six times a year. Currently these publications are Laufschri e (Graz, 1986–pres- ent) and Insel Zeitung (Scharnstein 1992–present) as well as the electronic publications Fiitu%-Newsle er and AEP-Newsle er. an.schläge (Vienna, 1983–present) is the only magazine that has been published monthly since 1994 (with two double issues). Before that it appeared quarterly, like the bulk of feminist media. In total, one third of the documented feminist titles and half of the general feminist magazines are published three to six times per year. The preferred publication schedule for specialist journals is one to three times per year, whereas newsleers oen appear irregularly. 80 | Brigitte Geiger and Margit Hauser Figure 3: Thematic orientation and fields of activity of Austrian feminist grassroots media (n = 150; multiple selections) Source: STICHWORT database, authors’ statistics Figure 3 provides an overview of the thematic orientation of the publica- tions. In such a predominately sophisticated and thematically specialized infrastructure as the women’s movement, three quarters of the recorded titles (over 80% of current publications) fall into one or two subject areas or fields of activity. One focus is clearly academic and scientific, which make up over 15% of the current publications. Included under university and women’s research are mainly student media and information from co- ordination centers and project centers for women’s and gender research at Austrian universities.12 In addition to general gender theory titles, the fields of history, natural science/technology, philosophy, and law are repre- sented.13 The media represented heavily among political parties or move- ments include the activities of institutionalized gender equality policy and 12 The noticeable decline in current publications may be due to the fact that the mate- rial from women and gender-specific courses in the Austrian states included here is only sporadically accounted for. 13 For scholarly periodicals in German-speaking countries, see Hauser and Geiger, 2008. Archiving Feminist Grassroots Media | 81 several titles associated with political parties (such as Brot & Rosen from Vienna’s Green Party). Women’s counseling centers and counseling cent- ers specializing in health, education, work, or violence are very active in media, especially with printed or electronic newsleers and occasionally professional journals. It is striking that migrant (counseling) projects are scarcely represented. The topic of development policy is almost exclusively covered by the magazine Frauensolidarität. The subject areas of art and lit- erature are significantly represented. In addition to the aforementioned art magazine Eva & Co and the literary magazine Entladungen (Vienna, 1985– present), the pop culture magazine projects from recent years such as female sequences (Vienna, 1999–2002), nylon (Vienna, 2000–2001), and fiber (Vienna, 2002–present) particularly stand out. Lesbian or gay and lesbian publica- tions make up 10% of the total. Looking back: Feminist discussions and issue development in the 1970s and 80s As part of the resear project Die neue Frauenbewegung im Spiegel ihrer Medien (1990, Geiger et al. 1992), the first two decades of feminist media production (newspapers, flyers, and posters) in Austria were analyzed by means of the STICHWORT ar ive holdings. This allows a detailed look at the developments in the thematic structure of feminist publications and medial discussions of the second-wave women’s movement in Austria from 1972 to 1990, because the individual articles were entered into a database and indexed according to the STICHWORT system.14 A comparison of the structure and development of issues in the inde- pendent women’s and lesbian publications in Austria during that period with the current thematic orientations of publications reveals both simi- larities and shis. In the 1970s and 80s the key issues were coverage of the women’s movement, literature and language, art, work, and violence against women, followed by the subject areas of political parties and move- ments, lesbians and the lesbian movement, and reproduction policy/abor- tion. The issues of bodies, environment, religion, sexuality, and theory were at the lower end of the scale. The fact that communication within the movement (coverage of the women’s movement in a narrow sense) is decentralized, and not institu- tionally or hierarchically organized, is key to the women’s and lesbian movement. Therefore, it is the task of movement media to guarantee a self-determined (self-)portrayal and a constant exchange of information and experiences, and to convey a cross-regional discussion on the move- ment’s organization, structure, and strategy. Conversely, movement media are received in order to learn the news about groups, activities, and dis- 14 The data pool comprises 4,800 articles and is accessible online through the STICH- WORT website, www.stichwort.or.at. Unfortunately, a lack of resources has impeded the continuation of this bibliographical and systematic indexing. 82 | Brigitte Geiger and Margit Hauser cussions, as well as the latest gossip. (Geiger 1987: 380 ff., 351 ff.) Content covers events, conferences, operations, demonstrations, and other activi- ties. Self-criticism and conflicts within the movement are frequent issues and reached an initial peak at the end of the 1970s; discussions on political strategies and programs are less frequent, and utopian plans and visions are extremely rare. Instead, the image cultivation of individual groups and projects dominate coverage of the movement. Reporting on group activities and events is still important today and mainly occurs through the growing number of newsleers from individual women’s organizations. The thematic focus of the publications shied noticeably from the 1970s to the 80s. In the beginning, abortion issues and violence against women were in the forefront; by the end of the 80s cultural issues took the lead. As in other countries, the fight to legalize abortion played an important role in Austria at the beginning of the second-wave women’s movement. Aer the legalization of abortion within the first twelve weeks in 1975 the issue quickly lost importance. The issue of violence was dealt with differently. Triggered by an international tribunal on violence against women (1976 in Brussels) as well as the fight for the first women’s shelters, concern over sexual assault and domestic violence moved into the spotlight in the middle of the seventies. The issue remains relevant but subsequently became less important. In the mid 1990s the discussion partially moved over to special- ized media and newsleers from the facilities providing protection against violence (Gewaltlos, a leaflet from the Austrian women’s shelters since 1995, or Zeitung der Pla form gegen die Gewalt in der Familie, since 1998).15 It was only at the end of the 1970s that the surprisingly minimal debate on sexuality in Austrian feminist media reached a small peak, focusing on gynecological self-help as a means to the re-appropriation of one’s own body. Traditional women’s issues like health or religion were also hard- ly raised in the period before 1990. Interestingly enough, the psychology boom and the turn toward spirituality in the 1980s are only visible in a few select publications. However, the field of health/body/mind is of growing importance in the current media (about 6% of current publications are ded- icated to the subject). The field of reproduction – i. e. heterosexual relation- ships and marriage, family and children, which are classic issues for con- ventional women’s magazines – occupied lile space in feminist magazines during the first two decades. Readers who were mothers, when surveyed during the 1980s, definitely considered this a deficit (Geiger 1987). In the second half of the 1990s one initiative aempted to take the maer into its own hands with the publication Mu er.mund (Vienna, 1996–1999). The focus of the debate on party politics regarding women’s issues in the beginning of the 1980s was the ambivalent relationship of the indepen- dent women’s movement to the new State Secretariat for Women’s Issues16. 15 For more on the violence debate in the media, see Geiger 2008. 16 Established in 1979. State Secretary Johanna Dohnal was promoted to Minister of Women’s Affairs in 1990. Austria has had a Minister of Women’s Affairs since then, with interruptions. Archiving Feminist Grassroots Media | 83 At the same time, the failing economy and rising unemployment led to a focus on the subject of work. Budget cuts and slashed social services begin- ning in the mid 80s pushed the debate on social and labor market policy and the growing poverty among women. The development of women’s research within and outside of universities and the differentiated women’s culture and art scene in Vienna, in particular, pushed new issues into the forefront. In the mid 1980s a significant growth in book reviews and the subjects of literature and language, art, education, history, feminist research, and the critique of science becomes visible. This new focus is still seen today in numerous publications from the field. In the mid 1980s, lesbian issues also become more present; one third of this presence is borne by Lesbenrundbrief (1983–1993). The subject appears to be non-existent for the western Austrian publications Orgon and AEP Informationen; Viennese titles are in the middle of the scale. Above average numbers appear in the publications of some women’s centers, thanks to a strong local lesbian presence. Lesbian publications The term “lesbian publications” includes magazines that are clearly direc- ted toward a lesbian readership and those that define their target group as “gay-lesbian” or feminist with a lesbian slant.17 “Queer” titles also belong to this group. STICHWORT verifies 21 titles for Austria, five of whi are current. Because this is a relatively low number, and German and Swiss lesbian magazines were and continue to be of great importance to Austrian readers, we include them in this section. It is not possible to determine the total number of lesbian magazines in German-speaking countries – at least at this point. The holdings of the i.d.a. facilities, searchable through ZDB, can be consulted for an overview of the German speaking countries.18 At present, there are about 150 lesbian maga- zines included, but data from archives with large holdings, for example the lesbian archive in Berlin, Spinnboden, are still largely missing. Furthermore, magazine data in the ZDB oen lacks the magazines’ exact publishing du- ration due to incomplete records. An additional problem is that only an extremely limited amount of electronic media, most of which are irregular e-mail newsleers, appears in the ZDB, because they are hardly archived in any facility. 17 Beginning in the mid 1980s, terms like “FrauenLesben” (WomenLesbians) were com- mon in the course of the discussion on the perception of lesbians in feminist contexts. This was also expressed with a conjunction or slash and in many other provocative and humorous heavily debated forms, for example, “women and other lesbians”. Around 1990, Austrian groups and periodicals underwent some name changes. One example is the magazine Frauen-Nachrichten des Frauenzentrums Wien, which was called Lesben/ Frauen-Nachrichten as of the issue 13/1993. 18 Magazines that do not include lesbians in their titles were added from STICHWORT data as much as possible to provide a beer overview. 84 | Brigitte Geiger and Margit Hauser The following can be deduced from the available data: Most of the mag- azines were started between 1986 and 2000, when the direction shied from “lesbian” to “gay and lesbian”. Approximately three quarters of the lesbian magazines have a regional focus (62% for Austria); lesbian magazines and gay and lesbian magazines are equally represented among the cross-re- gional publications. Of the former, we include titles such as Lesbenpresse, Lesbenfront/Frau ohne Herz/Die.Lesbenzeitschri, Lesbenstich, Ihrsinn, Unsere kleine Zeitung (UKZ), the Austrian Lesbenrundbrief, Infobla des Deutschen Lesbenring e. V. and others. The first lesbian magazines aer the beginning of the second-wave women’s movement appeared in 1975: Lesbenfront (Zurich), Lesbenpresse, Partnerin and Unsere kleine Zeitung (all in Berlin). By the end of the 70s, eight more distinctly lesbian magazines had started; these are joined by a gay and lesbian title, Rosa Revue, from Hamburg. Most of the distinctly lesbian magazines emerged in the second half of the 1990s (10); a total of 47 lesbian-focused titles were found. In Austria there are only four: Lesben- rundbrief, which was published from 1983 to 1993 by different groups; Lila Schrien (1995–1999); the magazine from the lesbian student organization at the University of Graz Sappho, which has been documented from 1996 to 1998; and the e-mail newsleer Lebenszeichen (2001–2008). In 1984 the term “Women/Lesbians” appeared, both in the magazine title and the name of the publishing group. Efforts toward the integration of lesbian perspectives and content into the feminist debate are reflected in this name choice. These politics are visible in the available data on new publications prior to the year 2000; aer that, no new titles with such names are found. It is assumed that aer that point, lesbian-focused material was still being integrated into the magazines’ editorial concepts, but no longer named as such. The Austrian magazines [sic!]. Forum für feministische Gang- arten and an.schläge are examples of this. In the first half of the 1980s an increased number of magazines defin- ing their target group as “gay and lesbian” can be found. The number of newly founded publications jumped from five in the early 1980s to 21 in the first half of the 90s. With a total of 71, the number of gay and lesbian titles is approximately as high as the categories of lesbian and women/lesbians combined. In Austria these include Lambda-Nachrichten from HOSI Vienna, Pride from HOSI Linz, RosaLila Buschtrommel from Graz and the gay and lesbian scene publication Bussi. The balance between the representation of gay and lesbian issues present in these magazines as well as the degree of divergence between the editorial stance and the perception of the lesbian audiences of feeling spoken to could be the subject of further research. The Zurich lesbian magazine serves as an example of the changes in po- litical orientation and aesthetic design, and thereby also as an illustration of three decades of lesbian feminism. Founded in 1975 as Lesbenfront, typeset and illustrated with drawings and some photos, it provided typical con- tent for self-organized magazines, such as reports on events and political activities, copies of leaflets, open leers and other political texts, field re- ports, interviews with authors and activists, and reviews. From the 4/1977 Archiving Feminist Grassroots Media | 85 issue it was also distributed in Germany by the Frauenbuchvertrieb in Ber- lin. In 1985 the name was changed to Frau ohne Herz. Zeitschri für Frauen und andere Lesben (Woman without a heart. Magazine for women and other lesbians). Over the course of its ten-year existence, it became increasingly “professional” in its design, for example, regarding typeseing and con- tinuous use of photos as well as paper quality and, lastly, color covers. A complete relaunch took place in 1996 when its name was changed to die. Les- benzeitschri. The new version was introduced with the line, “The era of the woman without a heart is over.”19 The literary content became more impor- tant. In 2004 it was replaced by Skipper, which, as a magazine for lesbian vitali- ty, served the queer generation with its association to recreation, sports, and games and a seriously questionable image of women – aer all, “Skipper” is Barbie’s lile sister. This was clearly meant to reach the “young lesbians”; reports on gay and lesbian events, organizations, and other maers (e. g. partnerships) were in the forefront of the lifestyle and gossip sections. The individual articles did not extend beyond a double-page spread and were heavily illustrated. Skipper was discontinued aer only three issues. Conclusion: The feminist (print) media landscape In summary, a vivid feminist media landscape is as important for the infor- mation needs of all actually interested and engaged in feminist debates and activism as their accessibility and preservation is for historical research. Feminist archives guarantee this accessibility through their collecting and their background knowledge of the movement. The heyday of independ- ent feminist (print) media seems to have ended with the millennium – the discontinuation of one of the oldest existing independent feminist maga- zines, AUF, in 2011 may be considered as symptomatic – but the quality of the current media shows that there is still a readership. Furthermore, new media projects are currently being planned, as represented by the Austrian Platform 20,000women, which, inspired by the centennial anniversary of the International Women’s Day, initiated new feminist politicization and net- working processes. Finally, the future feminist media landscape will de- pend on the further development of feminist activities as well as the local and global politics and challenges. Translation: Emily Lemon References Geiger, B., 1987. Weibli e Identität und Frauenöffentli keit am Beispiel autono- mer Frauenzeits rien. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Vienna. Geiger, B., 1996. Feministis e Presse zwis en Autonomie, Markt und Förderung. In: C. Mast et al., eds. Markt – Ma t – Medien. Konstanz: UVK Medien, pp. 353–362. 19 die. lesbenzeitschri 1/1996, Editorial, p. 5. 86 | Brigitte Geiger and Margit Hauser Geiger, B., 2001. Feministis e Zeits rien. In: H. Klös -Melliwa, et al., eds. kolloquiA. Frauenbezogene/feministis e Dokumentation und In- formationsarbeit in Österrei . Fors ungs- und Lehrmaterialien, Vien- na: Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture – Verlag Österrei , pp. 385–404. Geiger, B., 2002a. Feministis e Öffentli keiten. Ansätze, Strukturen und aktuelle Herausforderungen. In: J. Dorer and B. Geiger, eds. Feministi- s e Kommunikations- und Medienwissens a. Ansätze, Befunde und Per- spektiven der aktuellen Entwi lung. Wiesbaden: Westdeuts er Verlag, pp. 80–97. Geiger, B., 2002b. Mediale Vermilung feministis er Öffentli keiten. In: J. Neissl, ed. der/die journalismus. Ges le terperspektiven in den Medien. Innsbru : StudienVerlag, pp. 91–111. Geiger, B., 2008. Die Herstellung von Öffentli keit für Gewalt an Frauen. In: J. Dorer, B. Geiger and R. Köpl, eds. Medien – Politik – Ges le t. Feministis e Befunde zur politis en Kommunikationsfors ung. Wiesba- den: VS Verlag für Sozialwissens aen, pp. 204–17. Geiger, B., M. Hauser, L. Hirl, R. Rosmanith and R. Ze ner., 1991. Frauen-/ lesbenbewegte Praxis in feministis en Printmedien. beiträge zur femi- nistis en theorie und praxis 30/31, pp. 85–94. Geiger, B. and M. Hauser., 2008. S mökern, Na lesen, Re er ieren: Fe- ministis e Zeits rien in Frauenar iven. In: L. Susemi el, S. Ru- digier and G. Horak, eds. Feministis e Medien. Öffentli keiten jenseits des Malestreams. Königstein im Taunus: Helmer, pp. 115–123. Gruppe Feministis e Öffentli keit, eds., 1992. Femina Publica. Frauen – Öffentli keit – Feminismus. Cologne: PapyRossa. Hauser, M. and B. Geiger., 2008. Feminismus denken. Ein Bli auf femi- nistis e Theorie- und Wissens aszeits rien. In: L. Susemi el, S. Rudigier and G. Horak, eds. Feministis e Medien. Öffentli keiten jenseits des Malestreams. Königstein im Taunus: Helmer, pp. 151–160. Horak, G., 2003. Feministis e Printmedien in Österrei : Bestandsaufnahme und Diskussion von Qualitätskriterien und Überlebensstrategien. Diploma Thesis, University of Vienna. Klaus, E., 1994. Von der heimli en Öffentli keit der Frauen, In: K. Pühl, ed. Ges le terverhältnisse und Politik. Frankfurt am Main: Institut für Sozialfors ung, pp. 72–97. Susemichel, L., S. Rudigier and G. Horak, eds., 2008. Feministis e Medien. Öffentli keiten jenseits des Malestreams. Königstein im Taunus: Hel- mer. Well, J., 2007. Bestandsaufnahme feministis er Print- und Online-Medien in Österrei 2006/2007. Diploma Thesis, University of Salzburg. Hand-Made Memories: Remediating Cultural Memory in DIY Feminist Networks Red Chidgey [A]mnesia about political movements is not only an inno- cent effect of general forgetfulness, but is socially produced, packaged, promulgated, and perpetuated. Rachel Blau DuPlessis and Ann Snitow, The Feminist Memoir Project Introduction: Feminist Cultural Memory in Grassroots Media As DuPlessis and Snitow (1998) recount in no uncertain terms in The Femi- nist Memoir Project: Voices from Women’s Liberation, the State and mainstream media do not typically guarantee collective memories of social justice mo- vements, but subject them to distortion, domestication and erasure. Part of feminism’s cultural bale is thus to secure the role of women’s movements in popular memory (Heller 2002). Feminist media can become discursive ‘weapons’ in this struggle: to contest hostile framings and to put forward counter-understandings of what feminism is, what feminism can do, and who a feminist can be. This chapter considers the practices and mediations of feminist cultural memory within the micro-political sphere of DIY feminist media networks. DIY (do-it-yourself) feminism refers to a loose network of cultural produc- ers who draw their political coordinates from anarchism, anti-capitalism, Riot Grrrl, animal rights and queer cultures. Deploying both residual and emerging media forms, such as analogue and digital technologies, these feminists mobilize low-budget resources to create participatory political cultures and to preserve activist memory. The memory work that they es- tablish – documenting their own social movements, critiquing dominant media representations, and making links to broader feminist praxis – cre- ates much-needed counter-memories (Foucault 1977) and sites of feminist identification. Furthermore, these media channels (such as blogs, zines, videos, and podcasts) enact an archival function: they move feminist mem- ory out of the realm of the institutional and create grassroots memory texts that are mobile, shared and networked. 88 | Red Chidgey Remediating Feminist Memory I define feminist cultural memory here as the ways in whi past feminist movements are discussed and understood in the present moment, through the making and consuming of cultural artefacts. In considering cultural memory it is crucial to think about the practices and contexts of remediation. As conceptualized by David Jay Bolter and Ri ard Grusin (2000), reme- diation analyzes how media content is shaped as it moves across medial forms, and how emerging and residual media and networks historically refashion ea other. The web, for example, re fashions the book, magazine, radio, film, television, diary and personal leer. As remediation is multi- directional, these analogue forms and practices are also remediated by the digital. These refashionings happen through a double logic. As media forms multiply and are linked together, a logic of hypermediacy heightens the forms’ materiality (for example, the user is made aware they are interacting with an interface). Where traces of mediation are erased in order to give a sense of real-time presence, the logic of immediacy is at play (su as in the use of a webcam). Whilst hypermediacy dominates the web – with its au- dio-visual possibilities and hyperlinked information – both logics coexist in digital media. Remediation is an important part of cultural memory practices. As Marianne Hirsch and Valerie Smith (2002: 9) put it, “Unlike the traditional archives of history, the archives of cultural memory consist not only of the stories, images, or documents of the past but also of the ‘acts of transfer’ without which we would have no access to them”. How cultural memories are transmied play an intrinsic role in how these memories are fashioned: cultural memory is socially, culturally, and medially produced. As Astrid Erll and Ann Rigney clarify, “Just as there is no cultural memory prior to mediation there is no mediation without remediation: all representations of the past draw on available media technologies, on existing media pro- ducts, on paerns of representation and media aesthetics” (2009: 4). In this chapter I explore the concept of feminist cultural memory in relation to two empirical examples: First, through a scrapbook produced by Riot Grrrl Pisburgh member Nicole Emmenegger in 1996, which was digitized and published on her UK blog, Jenny Woolworth’s Women in Punk Blog, in 2010. Emmenegger’s cut-and-paste scrapbook is a visual record of mainstream, subcultural and personal framings of the youth feminist Riot Grrrl movement and highlights how remediation plays a key role in DIY feminist media production. My second example is the short animated video We Are Connected by Words and Wires (2009) by Belgian feminist Nina Nijsten. Through articulating feminist identification and action in the “here and now”, I argue, this video breaks with post-feminist logics indicating the aermath of feminism, and re-imagines a historicized and still active feminist movement on a local and transnational level. Hand-Made Memories: Remediating Cultural Memory in DIY Feminist Networks | 89 Riot Grrrl: Disputed Memories An important trajectory within DIY feminism, Riot Grrrl is commonly seen as “a ’90s third-wave-feminist punk subculture” that “spat out the image of girlhood in raw experiments in political activism, music, art, and self- invention” (Fateman 2010). Emerging in the United States in Washington D. C. and Olympia, Washington – and soon spreading to other cities and countries – Riot Grrrl was a decentralized youth feminist movement based around punk ro . Riot Grrrls organized conferences, consciousness-rais- ing groups and street protests, dealing with issues su as sexuality, ab- ortion, rape, harassment, body image, eating disorders, self-harm, sexual abuse, and domestic violence. Beyond mainstream media coverage, Riot Grrrls communicated through their own media and music annels. These independent networks became even more significant once prominent fig- ures within the movement called for a “media bla out” at the end of 1992, following inaccurate and offensive coverage of Riot Grrrl within the main- stream press (Downes 2007; Marcus 2010). Riot Grrrl reclaimed feminism and fostered a girl-positive network that was both personal and political, introducing thousands of young women, men and queers to feminism. Whilst the network’s music output has received the bulk of the journal- istic and scholarly aention, Riot Grrrl was also a scene of writing, art, pro- test, organizing and creativity, with isolated individuals oen finding new groups and support. As Emmenegger tells me, “Riot Grrrl was all about DIY and singular experience within a collective shared moment” (2011). However, multiple instances of unexamined class and race privilege – and blatant classism and racism – wore out the appeal of ‘girl love’ for many by the mid 1990s. As Riot Grrrl historian Julia Downes notes, “Riot grrrl has been understood as a fashion, a phase, as punk, as dead, as violent, as man- hate, and ultimately, as failure” (2007: 12). The movement is commonly assumed to have fizzled out or been abandoned by the mid 1990s.1 From Emmenegger’s perspective, “There was a time aer the ‘movement’ died out, say from 1998–2008, when there was hardly any mention of it [in the public sphere] except in ghostly remnants such as on a Spice Girls T-shirt or as a Halloween costume” (2011). This metaphor of “ghostly remnants” seems particularly apt when think- ing about the workings of cultural memory more generally: how historical moments are cited in increasingly stereotypical, fragmented, divorced trac- es, to the point where media representations, historical truth and cultural fantasy become uerly entangled. The commercially produced ‘Riot Grrrl’ Halloween costume that Emmenegger mentions, for example, is testament to how Riot Grrrl entered public consciousness in North America and how stereotypical assumptions of the “Riot Grrrl look” perpetuated within me- dia accounts helped produce and calcify this awareness. Similarly, ‘Girl Power,’ the radical slogan of girls’ agency and politicization that appeared 1 For an overview of transnational and more recent Riot Grrrl practices in relation to zines, see the Grrrl Zine Network (hp://grrrlzines.net). 90 | Red Chidgey in a Bikini Kill zine in 1991, became internationally popularized as the (commercial) slogan of the manufactured mid-1990s British girl pop band, The Spice Girls. As Downes notes, “Riot grrrls have had their messages and slogans co-opted, diluted and sold back in the form of girl-powered com- modities and all-girl pop groups” (2007: 12). Despite its underground or subcultural appeal, Riot Grrrl has not been altogether forgoen as a political movement. A renewed journalistic, com- mercial and archival interest in Riot Grrrl has erupted in recent years, signalled by the movement’s twenty-year anniversary and its increasing institution- alization.2 This public discourse has prompted reflection, documentation, interventions and counter-memories by Riot Grrrls and ex-Riot Grrrls. Women of colour activists have deconstructed and revisited the raced investments of whiteness and nostalgia surrounding Riot Grrrl appeals (Nguyen 2010).3 Individual disputes concerning the ‘official writing of Riot Grrrl’ continue to take place on blogs, book review sites, and in newspaper articles (Fateman 2010; Wolfe 2010). And participants have deployed Web 2.0 sites to solicit a range of personal memories from others: to coincide with her Riot Grrrl historiography Girls to the Front (2010) Sara Marcus invited people to con- tribute short videos about the influence Riot Grrrl on their lives (hp://www. girlstothefront.com/video.html). Similarly, members of the band Bikini Kill launched a blogging platform to collect and document multiple stories and rare ephemera of their DIY musical career with the help of their fans (hp:// bikinikillarchive.wordpress.com). My Riot Grrrl Notebook: Remediating Feminist Artefacts Inspired by this renewed public interest in Riot Grrrl, Emmenegger created a three-part retrospective on her Jenny Woolworth’s Women in Punk Blog, finding it “the opportune time to dig into my own archives and digitize a few lost bits of my personal riot grrl journey” (Emmenegger 2011). Her three posts include a list of Riot Grrrl archives and her digitized scraptbook (2010a); a digital version of an unfinished zine from 1996 (“with the aid of modern technology, here at last is the Beri-Beri lost edition!” [2010b]); and an interview with Riot Grrrl historian Sara Marcus (who was also Emmenegger’s pen pal during the mid 1990s [2010c]). These posts docu- ment a vibrant, personal and mediatized legacy of Riot Grrrl, which still resonates for Emmenegger today. On uploading (and remediating) her teenage zine, she writes: “Embarrassing as it is for me to share this now, 2 Whilst there are too many instances of newspaper articles, films, exhibitions and books to mention here, see Feminist Memory (hp://feministmemory.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/ riot-grrrl-media-timeline) for an ongoing, interactive chronology. Riot Grrrl has also enjoyed renewed interest in connection with Ladyfest events – transnational arts and activism festivals launched in 2000 by some of the key players of the early 1990s U. S. Riot Grrrl scene. 3 For an analysis of race and class dynamics in DIY feminist networks, see Race Revolt (hp://www.racerevolt.org.uk), Thread and Circuits (hp://threadandcircuits. wordpress. com), and make/shi (hp://www.makeshimag.com). Hand-Made Memories: Remediating Cultural Memory in DIY Feminist Networks | 91 Figure 1: ‘Talking back’ to mainstream media discourses in “my riot grrrl notebook” Image courtesy of Nicole Emmenegger some fieen years later, I have to say I am proud of what I accomplished then and still carry myself with that riot grrrl empowerment in everything I do” (Emmenegger 2010b). Emmenegger created her Riot Grrrl notebook when she was nineteen years old, “to preserve and catalog all these various scraps” (Emmenegger 2011). A thirty-one paged spiral bound scrapbook, the front cover has “my riot grrrl notebook” doodled over strips of white masking tape and is decorated with Riot Grrrl aesthetic codes such as stars, female paper-chain characters, and the women’s symbol (♀). Produced as part of Emmenegger’s ‘Feminist Presses’ course at Antioch College in Ohio, this document enacts a personal ‘talking back’ to dominant discourses, and was originally shared with Emmenegger’s professor, classmates and friends in its analogue form.4 This document is a rich historical resource: articles clipped from main- stream publications such as Newsweek, Spin, and New York Times sit along- side underground magazine offerings like Your Flesh and feminist coverage from Ms Magazine and Off Our Backs. All the articles are deconstructed, with sensationalist and sexist comments highlighted. The Newsweek article, for instance, is discussed as “a carbon copy of every other bit in the press. There are obligatory references to Bikini Kill [. . .] There is a picture of an anony- mous girl with words wrien on her stomach and arms, displaying the grrrl tendency to use our young white bodies as confrontational billboards. And there is mention of messy, raw, angry zines that all grrls do. This article is a mass of stereotypes and misinformation and half truths” (see Figure 1). 4 See Piepmeier (2009: 29–32) for an analysis of suffragee scrapbooks in relation to DIY feminist publications. 92 | Red Chidgey To counteract the inaccurate, sensationalized (and deradicalized) cover- age in these collected media clippings, Riot Grrrl flyers, manifestos and im- ages were also included in the scrapbook, with Emmenegger adding clari- fications to the off-page context and resonance of this cultural ephemera.5 Like zines, which also document ‘the movement’, Emmenegger’s scrap- book acts as an important counter-memory to mainstream media accounts by contesting patronizing frames of teenage rebellion and providing nar- ratives against trend-orientated approaches in the press. As Emmenegger comments, “The mainstream press needed a leader, a manifesto, a clear path and that is just not what it was about” (2011). As a form of feminist memory, it is not only the content of the scrap- book that is significant here, but also the process of digitization. Whilst Alison Piepmeier notes that “zine creators don’t necessarily view blogs as a replacement for zines but, instead, as a supplement, a format that’s doing something slightly different” (2009: 14), I want to emphasize how DIY feminists are using strategies of remediation to bring their hand-made artef acts online, in ways which maintain (to some extent) the ‘feel’ of their cut-and-paste culture. When digitizing her scrapbook, Emmenegger scanned the document in full colour including the visual trace of the spiral binding holding the notebook together. She then uploaded her file onto the digital publishing platform Issuu (hp://issuu.com) in a format which allows the pages to be flipped through in a codex form, mimicking, as far as possible, the experi- ence of holding the scrapbook in one’s hand. This process enacts logics of immediacy and hypermediacy: the digitization of the scrapbook is muted in the interface (the flip-book feel of the viewing medium providing a dif- ferent reading experience to a rigid, downloaded PDF file, for example) whilst the juxtaposition between the yellowing pages of the document and the de-temporalized internet platform hosting it (where documents do not physically age or deteriorate) serves to emphasize the historical materiality and ‘aura’ of the original artefact.6 Through choosing a process of digital remediation which draws on the DIY impulse towards sharing documents and creating embodied media forms (Piepmeier 2009), this act of archiving and transmission is embedded within the “perceptual frames, affective aachments, [and] ideological pre- givens” (Straw 2007: 3) of the hands-on maker culture from which it origi- nates, whilst also embracing the representational and archiving possibili- ties of the digital.7 Such strategies lend legitimacy to the counter-memories being archived on Emmenegger’s blog. 5 Such texts need to be contextualized, interpreted and triangulated with other sources to ensure their historical veracity. 6 Websites can show signs of aging, however, through pages or items no longer acces- sible to the server, as flagged by ‘page not found’ or ‘image not available’ messages. 7 Such remediation techniques illustrate peer-led methods for capturing, storing and transmiing feminist ephemera online, reflecting the embodied, cultural economies be- hind the artefacts’ production and reception. PDFs (Portable Document Format) also have important transmission and archiving roles. As my correspondence with Nijsten Hand-Made Memories: Remediating Cultural Memory in DIY Feminist Networks | 93 We are connected by Words and Wires: Re-Imagining Feminist Histories Figure 2. Remediating cultural memory to activate feminist participation. Slides from We Are Connected by Words and Wires Image courtesy of Nina Nijsten Nina Nijsten’s short animated film, We Are Connected by Words and Wires, similarly takes the themes of legacies and participation as its core message. Consisting of sixteen illustrated slides edited to a self-made soundtrack, this three minute film provides a definition of DIY feminism (“We can do, make, and organise anything. We don’t have to be ‘professionals’”), along- side a visualization of the maker’s personal history within the scene and references to ‘sister’ feminist history actions past and present. This is also a story of activation. The filmmaker is shown surrounded by zines and books, believing “the diy feminist movement was active long ago and far away” (see Figure 2). New media is then depicted as helping to forge cross-border connections between the still thriving movement, as the filmmaker-protagonist finds feminist groups and publications via the internet and starts local actions of her own – learning that she too “can par- ticipate”. Residual (that is, ‘old-fashioned’ and analogue) media forms such as leers, zines, cassees and hand-drawn comics are also shown as com- munication tools between feminists, demonstrating some low-cost entry points for producing feminist media. To rally counter-memories against the myth of post-feminism, Nijsten illustrates an annotated map of the contem- porary feminist network, citing a range of zines, groups and events such as Ladyfest (South Africa), Fallopian Falafel (Israel), Jawbreaker (Philippines), cyber-femin-club (Russia), Mujeres Creando (Bolivia), and Cherry Bomb Com- ics (New Zealand) as examples of a new transnational feminist movement (see Figure 3). aests to, PDFs can be considered “closer to hand-made/printed zines,” being “easier to print and easier to save on a computer,” and therefore “more tangible” (Nijsten 2011b). Digital archiving projects might do well to combine both formats: the presentation aspect of flipbooks and the archival and circulatory strengths of downloadable PDFs. 94 | Red Chidgey Figure 3. Emerging and residual media are used in DIY feminist networks to communicate globally. Slides from We Are Connected by Words and Wires Image courtesy of Nina Nijsten An amateur production, Nijsten’s video documents cultural reference points that opened up DIY feminism for her personally. By citing lile known groups and publications, the filmmaker also creates the seeds of a feminist memory consciousness. This is not straightforward representation, however. The animation showing Nijsten siing amongst her books (Fig- ure 2), name-checks publications like Girl Germs (an early Riot Grrrl zine), Suffrage es To She-Devils: Women’s Liberation and Beyond (a visual history of feminist graphic design), Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture (an academic study of zine networks), The Power of Femi- nist Art (an analysis of 1970s feminist art in the United States), and “Dolle Mina,” which refers to the Het Rode Boekje Van De Vrouw(en) (“The Lile Red Book of Women/Woman”, a liberationist text by the Belgian feminist group Dolle Mina published in the early 1970s). The slide also shows a book about anarchist-feminist Emma Goldman (1869–1940) that was not itself based on any text that Nijsten had read or come across, but was included to pay homage to an inspiring historical figure and to underscore the anarcha- feminist roots of today’s DIY political cultures (Nijsten 2011a). Furthermore, the oversized “Riot Grrrl Herstory” book shown in this slide may have been influenced by a recent publication at the time (Monem 2007), but the title and cover is pure fabrication (Nijsten 2011a). To interpret this further, the “herstory” title (which does not appear on any mainstream books on Riot Grrrl) links Riot Grrrl to radical feminists of the late 60s on- wards, who re-inscribed “history” as “her story” to draw aention to the male bias of the historical record. Furthermore, the cover image of a wom- an of colour tacitly draws aention to hegemonic and repetitive accounts of Riot Grrrl in which women of colour’s voices and participation are rou- tinely marginalized or erased. For example, in the handful of books related to Riot Grrrl that have been commercially published in recent years, many sideline the voices and input of women of colour, and all depict only white women (predominately from the band Bikini Kill) on their covers – evok- ing Emmenegger’s 1996 scrapbook commentary on the Newsweek article, cited above, about the whiteness of Riot Grrrl in its tactics and in the media Hand-Made Memories: Remediating Cultural Memory in DIY Feminist Networks | 95 imagination; a critique long-held by women of colour within the Riot Grrrl movement yet still not secured within Riot Grrrl historiography. We Are Connected by Words and Wires is a mobile text. Nijsten’s video has received close to 800 hits on YouTube at the time of writing and has been screened internationally at grassroots and institutional seings such as the Civil Media UnConference (Austria), Ladyfest Liège (Belgium), Gender Fuck Festival (Czech Republic), London Lesbian Gay Film Festival (U. K.) and the Elles Tournent feminist film festival (Belgium) (Nijsten 2011a). Its title, “We Are Connected by Words and Wires,” not only reflects the techno- logics increasingly associated with third wave feminism (Garrison 2000), but also speaks to the logic of immediacy. As Bolter and Grusin (2000: 226) note with regards to remediation, “the promise of ‘connecting to other people’ suggests transparency – breaking through the medium to achieve h uman contact”. By foregrounding the “happening here and now” aspect of do- it-yourself culture, Nijsten deploys this logic of immediacy as a source of activation, alongside the hypermediality of a mediatized activist culture. This double logic works to promote contemporary feminist identification, participation, and cultural production in the present moment, whilst creat- ing links to an international politicized and historicized feminist past. Concluding Remarks: Feminist Cultural Memory as Political Consequence Activists have greater possibilities for researching, producing, and dis- seminating their own memory texts with Web 2.0 innovations. By deploy- ing emerging and residual media forms via the internet, for example, DIY feminists create personal and remediated cultural memories that serve to reinvigorate feminist engagement in the present through providing links to historical-based resources around suffrage, civil rights, women‘s lib- eration, anarchism and riot grrrl. By sharing personal stories of feminist activation and creativity, DIY feminists also narrate the cultural reference points that signal ‘inclusion,’ ‘authenticity’ and ‘participation’ in these net- works. In Nijsten’s video, Emmenegger’s scrapbook, and countless other femi- nist zines, blogs, and grassroots projects, tentative counter-memories are therefore produced, cited, and circulated, creating new archives of mean- ing whilst also revisiting residual investments. These counter-memories draw on mainstream media accounts, challenge them, and further appro- priate commercial platforms such as YouTube and Issuu to popularize and disseminate personal narratives held in a collectivity. While this chapter has considered the techniques and implications of remediation, it is important to sound a broader note in this chapter’s conclusion. An uneven terrain, feminist cultural memory embraces the ex- periences, artefacts, stories and also silences – from the personal to the institutional, and always mediated – that shape identities, structures of 96 | Red Chidgey belonging, and affective economies. As such, memories have political con- sequences. As third wave feminist histories are still in the making, further doc- umentation and assessment is needed to account for what versions of the feminist past, present and future are being circulated, by which actors, for what purposes, and with what resources. As feminist cultural memory is a site of contestation, it is important to consider how conflicts are narrated and legitimated within these networks, especially when these narratives pass into institutions and are further secured. Challenges ought to be made to DIY feminist narratives around empowerment and participation, for example, whenever celebratory story arcs risk muting antagonism from within. As to the role of feminist cultural memory in activist networks more broadly, mediated memory can help map resistance struggles and offer feminists much needed resources to imagine alternative possibilities. Re- mediating political memory can also help alleviate strains of amnesia and déjà vu under late capitalism, forces which threaten present day mobiliza- tions for social justice by robbing us of our feminist heritage and diverse connections to the past. References Bolter, J. D. and Grusin, R., 2000. Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Downes, J., 2007. Riot Grrrl: The Legacy and Contemporary Landscape of DIY Feminist Cultural Activism. In: N. Monem, ed. 2007. Riot Grrrl: Revolution Girl Style Now! London: Bla Dog Publishing, pp. 12–49. DuPlessis, R. B. and Snitow, A. eds., 1998. The Feminist Memoir Project: Voices from Women’s Liberation. New York: Three Rivers Press. Emmenegger, N., 2011. [email] (Personal communication, 27 September 2011). Emmenegger, N., 2010a. Riot grrrl, part 1: Ar ives, Jenny Woolworth’s Women in Punk Blog [online]. 30 September 2010. Available at: [Ac- cessed 1 November 2011]. Emmenegger, N., 2010b. Riot grrrl, part 2: Me and the ‘Zines, Jenny Woolworth’s Women in Punk Blog [online]. 19 October 2010. Available at: [Accessed 1 November 2011]. Emmenegger, N., 2010c. Riot grrrl, part 3: Sara Marcus Interview, Jenny Woolworth’s Women in Punk Blog [online]. 27 October 2010. Available at: [Accessed 1 November 2011]. Erll, A. and Rigney, A., 2009. Cultural Memory and its Dynamics. In: A. Erll and A. Rigney, eds. 2009. Mediation, Remediation, and the Dynamics of Cultural Memory. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, pp. 1–11. Hand-Made Memories: Remediating Cultural Memory in DIY Feminist Networks | 97 Fateman, J., 2010. Her Jazz, Bookforum [online]. September/October/No- vember 2010. Available at: [Accessed 1 November 2011].Foucault, M., 1977. Language, Counter-memory, Practice: Selected Essays and Interviews. Translated and edited from Fren by D. F. Bou ard and S. Simon. Ithaca, NY: Cor- nell University Press. Garrison, E. K., 2000. US Feminism-Grrrl style! Youth (Sub)cultures and the Te nologics of the Third Wave. Feminist Studies, 26(1), pp. 141–170. Heller, D., 2002. Found Footage: Feminism Lost in Time. Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature, 21(1), pp. 85–98. Hirs , M. and Smith, V., 2002. Feminism and Cultural Memory: An Intro- duction. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 28(1), pp. 1–19. Marcus, S., 2010. Girls to the Front. The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution. New York: Harper Perennial. Monem, N. ed., 2007. Riot Grrrl: Revolution Girl Style Now! London: Bla - dog Publishing. Nguyen, M. T., 2010. Punk Planet 40 (Nov/Dec 2000), Thread and Circuits: an ar ive of wayward Youth [online]. 28 Mar 2010. Available at: [Accessed 1 Novem- ber 2011]. Nijsten, N., 2011a. [email] (Personal communication, 23 September 2011). Nijsten, N., 2011b. [email] (Personal communication, 22 October 2011). Nijsten, N., 2009. We Are Connected by Words and Wires [online]. 6 Mar 2009. Available at: [Accessed 1 November 2011]. Piepmeier, A., 2009. Girl Zines: Making Media, Doing Feminism. New York: New York University Press. Straw, W., 2007. Embedded Memories. In: C. R. Acland, ed. 2007. Residual Media. London: University of Minnesota Press, pp. 3–15. Wolfe, A., 2010. Reconsidering Riot Grrrl, New York Press [online]. 28 Sep- tember 2010. Available at: [Accessed 1 November 2011]. GENDER JAMMING. Or: Yes, We Are. Culture Jamming and Feminism Verena Kuni “We’re Not Feminists” (Lasn 1999) Imagine: A video. A man in his kit en, being interviewed. He’s showing us a jar with jam: “My breakfast consists of a slice of bread, buer, and cy- berfeminist marmalade. That’s how I connect art and life.” However, if this is the answer, what was the question? Imagine: A billboard poster. A woman reclined. She’s naked. Very remi- niscent of well-known paintings, female nudes from art history. However, why is her face covered by a gorilla mask? Imagine: A magazine ad. A model posing with a cigaree. Young, at- tractive, her eyes meeting ours with a perky look. However, is this really – as the text of the advertisement tells us – Ljubica Gerovac, the Yugoslavian revolutionary heroine? We will come back to the magazine ad, the billboard poster, the video later – and of course to the questions as well. But first of all, let us start with jam. 1 Why Jam – And What Is It Good For If we want to think about “Culture Jamming and Feminism”, we must in- deed first of all take a closer look at what “culture jamming” means, and how culture jamming works. The term “culture jamming” is generally associated with strategies, tactics and practices directed at the dominant politics of representation, in order to subvert and thereby fight the laer. More specifically, it is oen used to denote anti-consumerist and/or anti- corporate critical action against advertisements in mass media and public spaces. Both the closer and the broader definition may already seem quite appropriate for bringing feminist critique into practice: Not only have practices – as well as theoretical reflexions – directed at the dominant poli- tics of representation always played a considerable role in feminism, from its early beginnings up until today; we may also assume that, within this framework, critical involvement with commercial imagery in general and especially with advertisments should have its stance as well. GENDER JAMMING. Or: Yes, We Are. | 99 So how come we have to read from a guy named Kalle Lasn that culture jammers are “not feminists”? To answer this question, it makes sense to dig a lile deeper: to further trace back the history of the term and its interpretations. While Kalle Lasn’s book Culture Jam, published in 1999, may have contributed to make culture jamming – both the term and practices it represents – even more prominent in today’s media and pop culture, its first accounts go back to the 1980s, or more precisely: to a record released in 1985 by the U. S. band Negativland. A major part of the release, titled JamCon ’84, is devoted to interviews and recordings from the titular “Jammer Convention”, and the term is not only dropped in the audio itself, but also featured in the second track, “Cros- ley Bendix Reviews JamArt and Cultural Jamming” (Negativland 1985). Negativland, which began as an experimental band working with sounds appropriated from different sources – in its early years, to a considerable amount from radio broadcasts – and, together with live performances, also producing its own related radio broadcasts, had drawn the term from an “info-war” practice known as “radio jamming”: a technique for disturbing transmissions from undesired sources, i. e. “enemy stations” or political opponents. Of course at that time the very practices coined with “culture jamming” had neither been limited to audio, nor were they generally unknown. Strat- egies and techniques of “mixing original materials . . . with things taken from corporately owned mass culture and the world around” (Negativ- land 2012) can be easily traced back to the beginnings of early corporate capitalism and early popular mass media culture. Among the more promi- nent examples are pieces by artists affiliated with the Dada movement (i. e. Hannah Höch, Kurt Schwiers) or political photo-montages like those John Heartfield created for the Arbeiter Internationale Zeitung, as well as many of the media productions of the Situationist International, and for the fol- lowing period from the late 1960s onwards, we can point to activists and groups later subsumed under umbrella terms like “Yippies” (Hofmann 1980; Krassner 2003), “Kommunikationsguerilla” (autonome a.f.r.i.k.a.- gruppe, Blisse and Brünzels 1997), and others. Seen from this background, we may rightly ask what led to the new career of both the term and the related practices in the late 1990s up until today. Obviously Kalle Lasn’s book has contributed to this career – yet it would be naive to think of it as a main cause. Rather, we will have to look at developments in the economical, technological and socio-political field: Not only had this period seen a rise in what is usually subsumed under the umbrella term “globalization” – the expansive strategies of corporate capi- talism fuelled for example by the fall of Soviet Union and other political transformations in communist and now post-communist countries – but also the rise of digital media and information network technologies. In fact, the laer particularly contributed in many ways to bringing a good amount of both the tools and the materials decisive for contemporary practices of culture jamming to those involved. 100 | Verena Kuni 2 The F-word, Again Indeed, Lasn too was looking ba rather than forward when he published his book Culture Jam in 1999, whi is to a large extent based upon his own experiences as a communication designer and creative director having undergone a Saul-to-Paul transformation, leaving the corporate market to found his own “culture jamming agency”, the now-famous Adbusters ma- gazine. Together with a more general definition of culture jamming, the first paragraphs introduce the imaginary community of culture jammers as a “diverse tribe” consisting of “born-again Leies to Green entrepreneurs to fundamentalist Christians who don‘t like what television is doing to their kids; from punk anar ists to com- munications professors to advertising executives sear ing for a new role in life. Many of us are longtime activists who in the midst of our best efforts suddenly felt spiritually winded. For us feminism had run out of steam, the environmen- tal movement no longer excited, the fire no longer burned in the belly of the Le, and youth rebellion was looking more and more like an empty gesture inspired by Nike. We were losing.” (Lasn 1999: xii) The statement – mainly conceived as a ba ground to let the light of culture jamming shine even brighter (“Then we had an idea”) – contains already mu of what we’ll later be confronted with whenever Lasn mentions the f-word. While the eager reader will also find an a nowledgement of the merits of 1970s feminism, this is only the reverse side of the very same coin: for Lasn, feminism is something outdated – an aitude to be overcome if we seriously want to look towards positive future perspectives. The smart cultural jammer is already ahead in terms of socio-political consciousness as well as in creating more appropriate tools for fighting the “real enemy”, global corporate capitalism. Yet, there is one notable exception Lasn is mentioning in the very chap- ter starting with the already quoted bland statement, “we’re not feminists” (Lasn 1999: 117) – which is for reasons to which we shall come back later also worth mentioning here: the “insightful audacity of a few eco- and cy- berfeminists – Suzi Gablik, Donna Haraway and Sadie Plant among them” (Lasn 1999: 117–18). It may be added that this is perhaps also because his writings seem to owe more than the author may admit to these three. However, when digging his book for related perspectives brought into practice, our basket will remain empty. Neither the case studies nor the Adbusters campaigns introduced give any hint of a conscious acknowledge- ment of gender-sensitive issues or strategies for fighting for example ongo- ing sexisms in marketing and advertisements. Bad enough perhaps, but it gets even worse. For while we may or may not consider Lasn’s book as a reliable source, we can hardly ignore that it is kind of representative indeed of most of the prominent resources usually recommended to those interested in the field. This includes some of the more prominent books dealing with similar maers and looking at strate- gies of resistance against global brands – such as Naomi Klein’s No Logo GENDER JAMMING. Or: Yes, We Are. | 101 (2000), Paul Kingsnorth’s One No, Many Yeses (2004), or Ma Mason’s The Pirate’s Dilemma. How Youth Culture is Reinventing Capitalism (2008), in none of which can we find “feminism”, “feminist” or “gender” as issues worth mentioning in the index. Which does not necessarily mean feminism and gender would remain untouched throughout; however, they are not close- ly examined as forces of cultural jamming practice. Also tracing several of the prominent websites and blogs featuring news about and examples of cultural jamming – i. e. Rebel Art or Wooster Collective – will likewise lead to poor results: “feminism”, “feminist” or “gender” are not to be found in the tag list, so to speak. Yet, as so oen, it would be wrong to conclude from these prominent publications that gender issues are not on cultural jammer’s agendas, or that there is no feminism in cultural jamming. What remains invisible is not necessarily “not there”. 3 Why Have There Been No Great Feminist Culture Jammers? A rhetorical question, of course, because there have been, and there are quite a few examples worth mentioning here. Nevertheless, the question is osen not only to ki the indeed somewhat strange ignorance of gender issues in the sourcebooks and sites mentioned above in the ass, but also to point out there are structural reasons for the later, whi are at least parti- ally similar to those discussed by feminist art historians like Linda No lin, and others (No lin 1971; Jones 2003). At the same time, it should also be a nowledged that in the case of culture jamming there is another, more general reason why heroes and heroines alike are difficult to be t ra ed and listed in books: first of all, many of the practices and actions are, at least in part, illegal – and thus it is not really adequate to carry them out under one’s real name, for simple reasons of unnecessary personal risk. Secondly, a critique against the politics of branding and labelling can for good reasons also include “personal brands”, heroism and the sanctuaries of authorship. However, if we want to put some meat on the bones, it is of course pos- sible to mention exemplary positions and examples of culture jamming that can be rightly coined as feminist – and, at the same time, also to point at publications dealing with issues of culture jamming and hereby including feminism in their discussion as well, like Joseph Heath and Andrew Pot- ter’s generally recommendable book Nation of Rebels: Why Counterculture Became Consumer Culture (2004). Plus, there are also other sources, such as zines, webzines and blogs, usually run by groups or individuals affiliated and/or sympathizing with feminist ideas, where examples of feminist cul- ture jamming may pop up from time to time. And last but not least, there are also a few websites with related information about artists and groups who might indeed be related to the fem jam we’re looking for. 102 | Verena Kuni But before going into details, we should perhaps first ask for criteria: what would we expect from a project to be subsumed under a category such as “feminist culture jamming”? While a focus on critical action against misogynist advertisements in mass media and public spaces may be a precise match, we might claim that – seen from a feminist standpoint – it would be all too narrow as well. This is for the very reasons that feminist critique of visual culture and pre- dominant politics of representation (Jones 2003) has shown: misogynous, derogative or “simply” misleading politics of representation and percep- tion are generally woven so neatly into the texture of our culture that fight- ing against the obvious can only be one issue among others. Thus when watching out for feminist cultural jamming we will also have to include projects and strategies directed toward other areas of visual culture and other aspects of politics of representation as well. Considering this broader scope the probability of encountering artistic projects is likely to rise: Together with art directors and other creative pro- fessionals working inside the visual and media industries, artists are cer- tainly among the best educated and are prepared not only to analyze exist- ing visual languages, but also to bring adequate strategies of critique into visual and media practice. In contrast to the former, who are likely to work for corporate clients rather than to start campaigns biting the hands that feed them, the laer are perhaps more likely to get involved into critical engagement – simply because the ideology of (post-)modern art includes the expectation of artists-as-critics and thus usually rewards a related at- titude, at least when kept within the framework of what society usually would accept as “art.” Plus (and also for the last reason) we will usually get to know simpler and more reliable information about artistic interventions, for these are more likely to be covered by the media in a professional way – and in contrast to activist’s interventions, they are also in the majority of cases connectable to a real person with a real name. If this applies to cultural jamming projects (and their authors) in general, it is even more important when it comes to feminist culture jamming, because of its generally low visibility in public media, for the very reasons stated above. At the same time, we should not feel tempted to shi our aention from feminist critique to female actors – not every person of female gender (and/or sex) engaged in culture jamming is necessarily into feminist culture jamming. Likewise, not every action dealing with representational critique – and again this is true for representational critique in general as well as for feminist representational critique – should be automatically dubbed “culture jamming”. Rather, one will have to decide from case to case. 4 Fem Jam, Getting a Taste of This being said, it may be the right time to take a look at some of the very few practical examples. If advertisements on billboards or posters in public spaces, in magazines, and in other media from TV to the internet, global GENDER JAMMING. Or: Yes, We Are. | 103 acting corporate companies and major brand could be considered as core targets of culture jamming, keeping these targets in focus will of course be most appropriate. However, as argued above, widening the angle from time to time should be allowed as well. Thus, why not start with the images we invited to imagine in the first paragraphs of our text – like the magazine ad, showing a young, arac- tive model posing with a cigaree? As soon as we translate the text lines accompanying the picture translated, we will realize there’s been a shi. Otherwise we might ask our preferred search engine about the name Lju- bica Gerovac. We learn from the text, however, that Gerovac was “charged with anti-fascist activities. Commied suicide while being arrested. Died at the age of 22.” The piece is part of a series of similar “ads“ launched in magazines, each combining the reproduction of a top-model shot with the dry record of Yugoslavian women who were active in the anti-fascist move- ment and killed, died or held in prison and who later become recognized as heroines in communist times. The name is not only placed where in the original ad the brand’s name would appear, but also set in the appropriate typeface (Eiblmayr 2001). When the Croatian artist Sanja Ivecović published her series Gen XX (1997) for the first time, she could be sure that the ex-Yugoslavian public would recognize both the models (all of them at that time appearing of- ten in fashion magazines) and the names (all of them known as national heroines, closely associated with the country’s communist past). However, due to the aesthetic strategy chosen, the intended shi can be easily un- derstood by nearly anyone familiar with the visual language of fashion advertisements – indeed, it is also reported that the fashion industry it- self reacted against what was initially perceived as appropriation by a Croatian “concurrent agency”. Even if we consider the laer is obviously a misinterpretation failing the main intention of the artist, it may still prove the visual reading of the series as an example of successful culture jam- ming. It might be added that Ivecović is not the only artist from the former Yugoslavia making use of related strategies and producing works that can be aptly read under the auspices of culture jamming. Serbian artist Milica Tomic, for example, placed manipulated photos showing her in aractive clothes and make-up on the covers of glossy magazines. Only a closer look at the details will reveal she was not standing under a lamppost, but hanging from it, just as members of the anti-fascist resistance who were hung in public spaces in the 1940s (Belgrade Remembers 2001). Indeed, the work is not only considered to be a memory of German soldiers’ cruel- ties, but also of Belgrade’s citizens who would try to ignore these in order to proceed with their daily lives (Stokić 2006). Yet if we’re looking for a clear feminist standpoint, Ivecović – who already in 1975 produced a series based on appropriated magazine ads, in this case juxtaposed with private photographs of herself sporting the same poses, and presented as unconscious mimicking of a set of learned (female) behaviour rather than as a conscious re-enactment of role models – is sincerely among those literally standing in. 104 | Verena Kuni From here let us switch to the next image we were invited to imagine: the billboard poster showing a reclined nude with a gorilla mask. In this case, the rather dreadful animal’s head combined with what seems to be a scene all too familiar from art history – an educated visual memory will even identify the famous source, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres’ Grand Odalisque (1814) – is rightly pointing us to a critical reading. The same goes for the text, with its bold black and pink leers on the poster’s yel- low background yelling at our eyes the question: “Do women have to be naked to get into the Met.Museum?” Below what can be read as a telling answer: “Less than 5% of the artists in the Modern Art sections are women, but 85% of the nudes are female” – accomplished with the signature: “Guerrilla Girls. Conscience of the Art World” (Guerrilla Girls 1995). The precision of the piece may be debatable (Ingres’ Odalisque is not in the Met’s collection, but is owned by the Louvre; the quota may be put in doubt for it is relating of a portion of the artworks – those depict- ing nudes – with the sex of the artists), yet both the juxtaposition and the strong visual rhetoric are convincing. The language is for sure not sub- lime, but we get the message – and that’s what is important here. Plus the piece has its own precision indeed, considering the fact that art museums themselves actively use very similar marketing strategies to advertise their collections and their blockbuster exhibitions, and the agencies handling this are indeed likely to propose (and realize) campaigns building upon the very mechanisms proven to be successful in consumer ads. This means that “aractive women” and female nudes are, if appropriate, among the favoured motifs – and if it’s too risky to choose a photo work from the contemporary collection, the “cultured nudity” of historical paintings is always a good solution. While the billboard poster is not sincerely in the first instance a jam of museum marketing campaigns, its impact can be rightly read as hiing this target as well. Yet it is likewise fine to stay with the basic intentions of the piece: today’s large museums are – in certain parts even literally – global brands, and so is the system behind it as well as its main product: the traditional concept of Western art history, includ- ing an implicit or even explicit misogyny that is still part of its “big sells” in our consumerist culture. 5 FF: Gender Jamming. Another turn of the screw If both the magazine ad and the billboard poster turned out to be almost classical examples from the history of feminist culture jamming, then what about the video clip? At least at a first glance, it seems likewise to operate within the famil- iar framework of appropriating the language and the media of commercial advertising – in this case of TV ads for household consumer products and food. The laer being presented by a male actor is not at all unusual, at least whenever it’s about dairy products, cereals, jam and other breakfast food that does not need to be prepared in any complicated manner but is simply GENDER JAMMING. Or: Yes, We Are. | 105 Cornelia Sollfrank: Cyberfeminist Jam (1999) A verbatim example of a cyber- feminist jam, featured in Sollfrank’s video clip from the same year. It is disguised insofar as the video’s English subtitles translating the German “Cyber- feministis e Marmelade” into “cyberfeminist marmalade” are somewhat misleading – for in the jar and on the bread is tasty raspberry-redcurrant spread. eaten (which does not necessarily mean a presumed gender equality among target customers – rather, it would tell the housewife buying the jam and serving it will make the husband and herself happy without any additional efforts needed, and the single male, just as the exceptional ‘houseman’, will know the same will apply to himself as well). However, listening to the guy telling us about his breakfast consisting “of a slice of bread, buer, and cyberfeminist marmalade” should make us wonder, shouldn’t it? Has feminism – or a particular kind of feminism with a strange appendix – become consumable and even tasty for men? Some- thing to enjoy and, at least in this case, something capable of reconciling “art and life”? Indeed, we may rightly ask about the very special brand he is market- ing here. The answer is of course in the jam – or maybe more precisely, it’s the cyberfeminist ingredients that make the jam special. As it turns out, the clip is just an excerpt of a longer piece featuring statements from a variety of people of different ages, genders and nation- alities, all answering a question posed by the author of the clip: “How has cyberfeminism changed your life?” The answers to this question are gener- ally positive (except for one, a “. . . dunno . . . has not really changed any- thing . . .”), and the interviewees all seem to be serious – only that in the majority of cases their answers point to results sounding somewhat ab- surd. Thus, if we consider the clip as an advertisement for cyberfeminism, we might wonder even more. The solution to this riddle is still to be found in the jam – and of course in the special brand combining feminism with its strange appendix. Yet perhaps this is not exactly the way Kalle Lasn would have put it, claim- 106 | Verena Kuni ing instead that cyberfeminists (together with eco-feminists) could refresh the “old feminism” he preferred to sneeze at (in contrast to his positively mentioned authorities by the way, none of whom has ever dropped argu- ments against feminism – rather all of them relate to “old feminism(s)” as something that laid the groundwork for further developments). When Cornelia Sollfrank produced the clip in 1999 to become part of a small series of media productions to bring the message of cyberfeminist diversity to the people, cyberfeminism itself had already a history – and consisted of a network of people (indeed of different age, gender, nation- ality and profession) including a far broader variety of positions than those of the two authors mentioned by Lasn, Donna Haraway (coined as cyberfeminist for her famous “Manifesto for Cyborgs,” 1989/1991) and Sadie Plant (who coined the term cyberfeminist in her book zeros + ones, 1997). Accordingly, a broad variety of approaches and methods had been brought into theory and practice – among these those favoured by the members of the Old Boys Network, “the first cyberferminist international”, of which Sollfrank was a founding member (OBN 1998; 1999; 2002). Indeed, already the name (Old Boys Network) and one of its first manifestations, the 100 anti-theses published on the occasion of the First Cyberfeminist Inter- national Conference that took place in the context of documenta X in Kassel, can provide a hint to its relation with feminist culture jamming: first, the programmatic appropriating and queering of the name, traditional format and strategy of old boys’ networks (usually known for their implicit and/ or explicit misogyny). Second, there is the appropriation and queering of one of the most prominent formats of the political and artistic movement’s public manifestations, the manifesto. While an example the laer, the 100 anti-theses explicitly avoids any serious definition of cyberfeminism(s) in order to list one hundred statements about what cyberfeminism is not (from “1. cyberfeminism is not a fragrance”, through “7. cyberfeminism ist kein gruenes haekeldeckchen”, “20. sajbrfeminizm nige nesto sto znam da je”, and “65. cyberfeminismo no es una banana”, to “100. cyberfeminism has not only one language”; OBN 1997), thus pointing to the necessity of diversity and difference. The Old Boys Network has tried to develop meth- ods and formats to bring this idea of diversity and difference into practice within the framework of a society in transformation under the impact of digital network technologies and media (including problems and poten- tials), and by using as well as reflecting digital network technologies and media. But how far may we speak of “gender jamming”, as the title of this chapter would suggest, as a further development or “turn-of-the-screw(s)” of feminist culture jamming? More generally, we should assume gender jamming to slightly shi the perspective of both target(s) and strategies not only by looking at the multiple relationships between (the politics of) sex(ing) and gender(ing) – for these are on the feminist agenda, and are thus also on the agenda of feminist cultural jamming already. Rather, we will think of perspectives more specifically brought in by and with the more GENDER JAMMING. Or: Yes, We Are. | 107 recent developments of gender studies, queer studies and “post-gender studies” (the laer related to what has been coined as “postgenderism”, yet not necessarily identifying with a trans-humanist position, as claimed for example by Dvorsky and Hughes 2008). More specifically, however, at least the gender jamming brought into practice by the Old Boys Network and its members for good purposes built upon feminist culture jamming to implement another turn of the screw indeed. While rejecting (and jamming) the high expectations against cy- berfeminism as a theory, practice and “high art” of transforming feminism into a cultured consumable for a post-feminist digerati generation, at the same time gender issues were addressed in an unmistakable openness to- wards people of all genders, but with one rule clearly defined: everybody could become a member of OBN and take part in the network, as long as s/he calls herself a woman (“bearded or not”, her sex, sexual preferences, etc., notwithstanding; see i. e. Kuni 2003). Which is, to sum up the jam, not just another example for feminist cultural jamming or cyberfeminist gender jamming, but should be one of the (if not “the”) most important ingredients for any kind of feminist culture’n’gender jam. References autonome a.f.r.i.k.a.-gruppe, Blisse, L. and Brünzels, S., 1997. Handbu der Kommunikationsguerilla. Berlin: Assoziation A. Dvorsky, G., and Hughes, J., 2008. Postgenderism: Beyond the Gender Binary[online]. Available at: [accessed 12 February 2012]. Eiblmayr, S. ed., 2001. Sanja Ivecović. Personal Cuts. Vienna: Triton. Guerrilla Girls, 1995. Confessions of the Guerrilla Girls. New York: Harper- Collins. Haraway, D., 1989. A Manifesto for Cyborgs. Science, Te nology, and So- cialist Feminism in the 1980s. Socialist Review 80, pp. 65–108. Reprinted in: D. Haraway, , 1991. Simians, Cyborgs and Women. The Reinvention of Nature. New York: Routledge, pp. 149–181. Heath, J. and Poer, A., 2004. Nation of Rebels: Why Counterculture Became Consumer Culture. New York: HarperCollins. Hofmann, A., 1980. Soon to be a Major Motion Picture. New York: Perigee Books. Jones, A. ed., 2003. The feminism and visual culture reader. London and New York: Routledge. Kingsnorth, P, 2004. One No, Many Yeses: A Journey to the Heart of the Global Resistance Movement. London: Simon & S uster. Klein, N., 2000. No Logo. London: Flamingo. Krassner, P., 2003. Confessions of a raving, unconfined nut: misadventures in the counter-culture. London: Simon & S uster. 108 | Verena Kuni Kuni, V., 2003. ‘Are There Any Women Here Today?’ Beyond the Stone But Blues: Fe/Male Troubles Revisited from a (Cyber)Feminist Point of View. In: N. Hö tl and S. Van Rossenberg, S., eds. trans/gender. Rot- terdam: Piet Zwart Institute, pp. 10–20. Lasn, K., 1999. Culture Jam. The Uncooling of America. New York: Eagle Brook. Liebl, F. and Düllo, T., 2005. Cultural Ha ing. Kunst des Strategis en Han- delns. Wien and New York: Springer. Negativland, 1985. JamCon ’84. Over the Edge, Vol. I. Taylor/Tx.: {T. Negativland, n. d. Negativland Bio [online]. Available at: [Accessed 12 Fe- bruary 2012]. No lin, L., 1971. Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? ART- news, January, pp. 22–39 and 67–71. Old Boys Network, ed., 1998. First Cyberfeminist International. A Reader. Hamburg: OBN. Old Boys Network, ed., Next Cyberfeminist International. A Reader. Ham- burg: OBN.1999. Old Boys Network, 1997. 100 anti-theses [online]. Available at: [Accessed 12 February 2012]. Plant, S., 1997. zeros + ones. digital women + the new te noculture. New York and London: Doubleday. Stokić, J., 2006. Un-Doing Monoculture. Women Artists from the “Blind Spot of Europe” – the Former Yugoslavia. ARTmargins, Mar 10 [onl ine]. Available at: [Accessed 12 February 2012]. Websites* Adbusters hp://www.adbusters.org Bit Magazine hp://bit magazine.org Culture Jam (The Film) hp://www.culturejamthefilm.com Culture Jamming hp://www.culture-jamming.de Grassroots Feminism hp://www.grassrootsfeminism.net Grrrl Zine Network hp://grrrlzines.net Guerrilla Girls hp://www.guerrillagirls.com GENDER JAMMING. Or: Yes, We Are. | 109 Jammin’ Ladies hp://jamming.wordpress.com Negativland hp://www.negativland.com Old Boys Network hp://www.obn.org Rebel:Art hp://www.rebelart.net SubRosa hp://www.cyberfeminism.net Wooster Collective hp://www.woostercollective.com * Accessed 12 February 2012 Making Feminist Media: Feminist Media Activists Share their Views with Jessica Hoffmann/Daria Yudacufski (make/shift, USA), Sonja Eismann (Missy Magazine, Germany), Jeanna Krömer (AMPHI magazine, Belarus), and Jenni (Emancypunx, Poland/international) Compiled by Stefanie Grünangerl Women’s media production has played and still plays a crucial role for the feminist movement(s) by questioning given social orders, discussing gender regimes and opening up new spaces of engagement. But how do feminist media makers themselves see their commitment, the obstacles they face, and the questions of social change, participation, networking and feminist activism? The following compilation presents the views of activists involved in four different feminist media projects from Europe and the USA: Jessica Hoffmann and Daria Yudacufski are editors of make/ shi magazine. Based in Los Angeles and launched in 2007 it aims to be a platform for contemporary feminist culture and activism by presenting all its manifold and vivid facets, by network building and by encouraging feminist engagement and participation in these multiple feminist com- munities. Sonja Eismann answered the questions on behalf of the German Missy Magazine, which was founded in 2008 to close a gap in the German- speaking magazine landscape by providing a feminist perspective on popular culture, politics and style especially addressing younger women and inspiring their interest in feminist ideas. Jeanna Krömer, founder and editor of the Belarusian web magazine AMPHI – which since 2008 has sought to spread discussions about gender equality and feminist think- ing among a wider Russian-speaking community – talks about feminist (media) activism in post-Soviet countries. Finally, Jenni is a member of Emancypunx Records which started in Poland in the mid 1990s as a dis- tro and today runs a record label, a distro and a zine library, organizes festivals (Noc Walpurgii, Ladyfest Warsaw, etc.) and tours, and above all is active in building and fostering DIY hc punk and anarcha-feminist activ- ism and networks. Making Feminist Media: Feminist Media Activists Share their Views | 111 What kind of issues do you think need to be urgently discussed and t aken up in the feminist movement(s) and in feminist media? make/shi: We believe that feminist analysis and action needs to be applied to everything, including things like prisons, food, health, militarism, cli- mate ange, immigration struggles, education, poverty . . . on and on and on. Image 1: Cover of Missy Magazine issue 02/12 © Missy Magazine 2012 Missy: The question of involvement of younger women – why do they so oen think that feminism is something of the past and not needed by them? The gap between different feminist generations, bran es and clas- ses ( older and younger feminists, feminists of colour and feminists with white privilege, queer feminists and straight feminists, feminists with or without ildren, working class feminists and economically privileged feminists) – we all need to rea out to ea other in order to become a stronger, more visible movement again, and we need to argue with ea other in a constructive way. The distribution of care work. The pay gap between men and women. Why traditionally “feminine” professions are still paid less than traditionally “male” professions. Why everybody is al- ways talk ing about “die Frauenquote” [women’s quota], but nobody talks 112 | Compiled by Stefanie Grünangerl about the fact that these highly paid positions are impenetrable for the vast majority of women. The question of sexism, sex work and pornography, the exploitation of (female) bodies, and why there are no simple answers like Alice S warzer’s PorNo Campaign.1 New beauty regimes and their effects on (young) women. The marginalization of Hijab-wearing women as mute “victims”. The continuing oppression of women worldwide. And mu , mu more. AMPHI: I think it is important to realize that feminism in Western countries and feminism in the states of the former Soviet Union have different his- torical backgrounds. While American and Western European women still struggled for example to be allowed to work, women in the Soviet countries not only had been working for quite a long time, but already were over- burdened with it (the same can be said for issues like the right to vote or reproductive rights like legal abortion, which had already come true for So- viet women while women in Western countries only could dream of it). The Belarusian women have already been profiting from a lot of rights for a long time, but it’s the duties that are still unequally distributed. Western feminist activists who want to deal with and engage in post-Soviet states must take this into account. Unfortunately quite oen this doesn’t happen and that’s why a lot of good ideas and projects already fail at the beginning. Another important issue which I would like to address is the issue of solidarity among women. Unfortunately, this solidarity – or rather lack of solidarity – still remains a problem, even among feminist communities: ev- erybody is fighting on her own and not together. Emancypunx Rec: As mentioned above, there are a lot of issues that need to be debated. It also depends mu on the scenes, countries, etc. For ex- ample, within feminist environments based in Poland the issues of racism or ableism get almost no aention. Personally I would love to hear more debates about our own responsibilities. How we ourselves strengthen the status quo and what is our role in maintaining patriar al and other op- pressive regimes and social orders. I also miss a broader view on society’s constructions and interdependency. Some people treat feminism as a way of self-realization only. There is this fear on my side that the feminist mo- vement will end up as a “movement” of individuals and that the profes- sionalization and “NGOization” will go further. I also see that a part of the feminist movement is highly competitive, as it’s oen linked to workplaces. So the ones who are geing access to those resources or/and to power po- sitions (for example as representatives of a minority group) are becoming elitist and are sometimes not interested in involving others if they don’t need them for some reason (for example as clients or a resource). Academic feminism is no exception. 1 Alice Schwarzer is the founder and editor of the German feminist magazine Emma (since 1977) which is also known for its campaigns including the aforementioned PorNO campaign promoting a strict anti-pornography agenda (see hp://www.emma.de/kam- pagnen/grosse-themen-pornografie/). Making Feminist Media: Feminist Media Activists Share their Views | 113 It would also be great to sometimes have a more international perspec- tive and communication within feminist movements, but without the as- sumption that the situations or movement principles and beliefs are every- where the same. What are the biggest allenges in producing alternative feminist media (e. g. in relation to collaboration, self-organization, alternative econo- mies, participation in terms of inclusion/exclusion)? make/shi: We feel really lucky to be able to work in a partnership where we have similar sensibilities around process, what we want to represent, and everything. For us, the real challenge is time – balancing this volunteer/af- ter-hours work with everything else our lives contain (work, family, etc.). Missy: The la of money. This is truly the most adverse issue that we are dealing with on a daily basis. Collaboration with other women is fine, so- metimes nearly perfect; feedba from other media is a lot of times over- whelmingly positive, but there is never enough money or enough time to really devote yourself to your feminist media project, because you have to earn part of your money elsewhere. Big companies still do not want to place ads in a magazine that tells women they are beautiful in all colours and sizes, just as they are, instead of telling them to be insecure and to buy lots of commodities that will make them feel less imperfect. AMPHI: The biggest allenge for us is the la of money and also the need to arrange our feminist media activism with earning our living and our personal living circumstances. If my partner weren’t an activist and femi- nist himself who supports me financially but also in having the time for the project and thus enabling me to work on our magazine, it would have died a long time ago. And of course this project is only possible because of various funds whi from time to time have supported it financially – thanks to them. Image 2: Logo of Emancypunx Records © Emancypunx Records 114 | Compiled by Stefanie Grünangerl Emancypunx Rec: Networks are the core of independent publishing. Distri- bution networks like in DIY hc punk do not really exist in feminist environ- ments. Also trades are not common; that’s why money plays a mu bigger role. This is definitely an excluding factor. The publishing houses usually use commercial annels or they distribute themselves, whi means being a “center” with a group of “clients”. Networking with similar projects is not that common. That also means that in the end those initiatives are mostly known rather locally, and interaction is limited and rather service oriented. A dream would be a DIY feminist network with a thin line between the ones creating, publishing, “consuming” and distributing. It would be great to have more sort of alternative models, where access to financial resources would play a smaller role. But of course it’s a question of our goals: if we want to simply integrate feminism into the existing structures or if we want to create different sorts of economies and relationships among people. Whi role do you think feminist media do/should play in creating and negotiating participatory spaces and networks? Whi strategies do you think would be most effective to create, maintain and strengthen these participatory spaces and networks? And in respect to your own project(s): how important is it for you to enable participation and to build up net- works with others (media makers, activists, etc.)? Image 3: Cover of make/shift issue 11, spring-summer 2012 © make/shi Making Feminist Media: Feminist Media Activists Share their Views | 115 make/shi: We feel that relationships and relationship-building are crucial. We started the magazine already having multiple kinds of relationships in different feminist communities, and have built more intentional rela- tionships through the process of making the magazine. We hope we are providing a space for different feminist voices to be in conversation and to connect, and also to offer readers opportunities to engage in feminist action and to connect with each other through things like our “Participate” column, where we post many different forms of opportunities for involve- ment, from calls for submission to invitations to volunteer or join a feminist activity group. We don’t see ourselves as playing any kind of lead or expert role in building up networks, but we do try to document and connect net- works that do exist, and to constantly participate in building relationships with readers, contributors, people and projects profiled in the magazine, and the many feminist communities of which we are all part. Missy: This depends on the kind of media. As for Missy Magazine, with its focus on pop culture and DIY politics, it deems us extremely import to interact with our readers, to create (new) networks and spaces for feminist women, and to empower them to become (politically) active themselves. But I also believe in the power of reading theory, and forming the “bond of reading”. AMPHI: Having the ance to get feedba from and to ex ange experi- ences with other feminist media producers and activists about our project would be very important to us. We already do have this sort of ex ange with other media producers from the Caucasian region and Russia, but the ex ange with colleagues from Europe and America is still missing and not working so well. I would be interested in aending and also recommen- ding to others conferences, workshops or training courses whi enable su an ex ange and networking with others and whi promote and talk about feminist media production, and I wish I would have more opportu- nities (and time) to do all of this. Emancypunx Rec: Concerning music and culture, one of the main aempts of Emancypunx was the creation of participatory spaces for feminist/queer voices, self-organizing, and networking. Su spaces are/were temporal like festivals and shows, but also continuing like the creation of a cultural center in Warsaw. Sharing knowledge is an important strategy to start and maintain ange. For example, a lot of contacts and knowledge develo- ped within Emancypunx Rec activities were transferred by cooperating with new people and also by establishing a cultural center in Warsaw, where people with no experience in those fields of activity could engage and work in new areas, as the responsibilities were rotating. It’s interesting to see new initiatives whi use that knowledge. A precondition for development through knowledge sharing is of course that the people who get access to that shared knowledge do not privatize it again for one’s own sake. Work sharing is another useful strategy that can be helpful when there are missing capacities. An example of a work-sharing strategy is the organization 116 | Compiled by Stefanie Grünangerl of touring events, like for example the FAQ! Festival we organized in 2007. Through that it was possible to share a cultural program, artists with other places and organizing groups in Poland. The organizers only had to provide space and everything was mostly financed by the Warsaw event which was bigger and had more resources as the feminist scene is larger there. The publishing of media is especially important in order to access peo- ple who we can’t reach physically. Emancypunx as a label is prey much international and reaches people from almost all over the world – from small villages to big towns. It’s part of a worldwide DIY network. Music is not that much dependent on language, so that makes things easier. I also think it’s important to publish music on records in order to keep a histori- cal memory and to give a value to DIY cultural activities done by women/ queers/feminists. Through all the years I can see that at least in the case of Poland there is a huge difference and the promotion of feminist culture was really successful. How can feminist media production allenge and intervene into the status-quo and initiate and effect social ange? Whi strategies have you developed in your own project(s) to do so? make/shi: One thing we are doing is documenting the allenges and in- terventions people are making in many places and in many ways. Also, radical, feminist media production in and of itself is an intervention, as we share and amplify voices and stories not found in dominant media – and the fact that we do it collaboratively, with a lot of skill-sharing and an em- phasis on collective process and relationships, as well as a multiplicity of voices and perspectives. Missy: By presenting alternative images of women/queers and empowe- ring readers to look at their surroundings critically and to take action them- selves. But we have to be realistic – we’re publishers of a feminist magazine first, not activists or politicians, so the scope of our impact is somewhat limited by our job description. AMPHI: We try to provide our readers with information and material that they otherwise couldn’t get, either because it is ignored in other media (be- cause it is too subversive, feminist, etc.) or because it had been published in foreign languages. In fact, 80% of the content of AMPHI are translations and 20% are self-produced texts. One example whi may illustrate to you why this is important: when we worked on our issue about contraception we realized that all the information we found on Russian websites dealing with this topic was at least 3 or 4 years older than on English or German websites. We also try 1) to write as clearly and simply as possible in order that people who don’t have any former knowledge about these issues still can understand what we are talking about; 2) to inform our readers, and not to judge certain developments; 3) if it’s possible, to present more than one view on a specific topic; and 4) also to keep the magazine “aractive” in terms of layout and aesthetics. Our influence is rather limited, as for the Making Feminist Media: Feminist Media Activists Share their Views | 117 moment the magazine is only subscribed to by a rather small community on a regular basis (a lile bit more than 1,000 readers). But our aim and also our dream is to publish AMPHI as a printed and free magazine that gets distributed in waiting rooms of gynecologists, at universities, in pu- blic spaces, etc. Unfortunately this is not possible at the moment, not only because it is too expensive, but also because in Belarus every independent activity is prohibited and threatened (with penalties, prison, and in some cases even with death). Not only political activists get persecuted, but also independent journalists. Image 4: Screenshot of AMPHI magazine © AMPHI magazine Emancypunx Rec: Emancypunx Records is and was involved in really many projects, so I won’t be able to mention all strategies. Also some of them were successful in certain times and contexts and would not have been successful in others. To put it short: one of the main strategies is to live and give examples of how life and society could work differently. In the case of record publishing Emancypunx tries to promote bands and cultural perfor- mances whi break with traditional gender roles and transport political messages. It all goes step by step. How do you see the relationship between political feminist activism and alternative feminist media production? How would you describe this re- lationship regarding to your own project(s)? make/shi: We think they have to be in relationship – they work together. Feminist media is a form of feminist activism, and media made about femi- nist activism while not being connected to it doesn’t feel like feminist me- dia. 118 | Compiled by Stefanie Grünangerl Missy: Especially in German-speaking countries, there is probably not a close enough relationship as of yet. Feminist media makers and feminist activists tend to work side by side a lot of times instead of together. If you are talking about the work of political parties, then it is a different story, since there are always aempts to embrace us and we are quite wary of being instrumentalized, as no party in Germany, Austria or Switzerland qualifies as being truly feminist in our view. AMPHI: About a year ago some (former) editors, writers and active and interested readers of AMPHI formed a feminist activist group called Krapi- va Belaruskaya (“Belarusian Nele”), which aims to foster awareness and discussion about gender issues, violence, discrimination, sexism, etc. So there definitely has been a development from a “mere” media-project into a more activist and political project. This year, for instance, we awarded prizes for the development of civil society and for the fight against dis- crimination and sexism in Belarus, but at the same time contrasted these positive examples by awarding anti-prizes for exceedingly sexist, macho, discriminatory and homophobic behavior. Emancypunx Rec: I agree that feminist media production usually is a form of political activism. Emancypunx was from the start a political project. The idea was to cause change, while at the same time avoiding the methods and language used by typical political activist environments. Emancypunx rather tries to document or create facts and communicate through cultural production, performances, emotions, images or music. Links AMPHI magazine Emancypunx Fem.fm gender_by Krapiva Belaruskaya LOUDmouth make/shi magazine Missy Magazine Noc Walpurgii Festival Making Feminist Media: Feminist Media Activists Share their Views | 119 Biographies Sonja Eismann is a journalist, a cultural theorist and university lecturer. She is one of the founders and editors of Missy Magazine and lives in Berlin with her partner and her daughter. She is also the editor of the book Hot Topic. Popfeminismus heute (2007). Emancypunx was formed in the mid 1990s initially as a distro run by the anarchist feminist group KDP (later transformed into Emancypunx group, which ceased to exist in 2002). The idea was (and still is) to promote femi- nism, women’s sexual and reproductive rights and sexual education, and to raise anti-homophobic consciousness in Poland. The record label was initiated in order to promote females and a feminist consciousness within a still male dominated hc punk scene. Today Emancypunx Records is not just a distro and record label; it’s also active in many other areas such as festival organization (art, music, movies, performance), tour managing, running a zine archive and flying zine library, etc. Emancypunx participated and con- tinues to participate in various feminist and anarchist feminist groups and projects. Emancypunx is and always was a non-profit, non-commercial ini- tiative run on a voluntary and DIY basis. Jessica Hoffmann is co-editor/co-publisher of make/shi magazine. She has contributed to numerous publications, including ColorLines, AlterNet, Scholar and Feminist, and the anthologies We Don’t Need Another Wave: Dis- patches from the Next Generation of Feminists and Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity. She is also a member of the POOR Magazine Solidarity Family. She has been engaged in activism around various issues since she helped organize a student walkout against the first Gulf War at her junior high. Jeanna Krömer (Yamaykina) is co-founder and editor of the Belarusian e-zine AMPHI. She was born in 1980 in Belarus. At a young age (19) she married for the first time and became a mother, and thus experienced all of the inconveniences of living in the pro-patriarchal society of a post-Soviet country. She studied German (Minsk), journalism (Warsaw, Berlin) and so- ciology (Vienna). Since 2010 she has been living in Berlin, but as an activ- ist she is still involved in projects in Belarus and in other countries of the former Soviet Union, including the Bela rusian LJ blog gender_by, building up a Russian-speaking women’s radio program (Fem.fm) and the feminist activist group Krapiva Belaruskaya. Daria Yudacufski is co-editor/co-publisher of make/shi magazine. She is also the managing director of Visions and Voices, an arts and humanities initiative at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She has worked at universities for almost 20 years, focusing on cross-cultural edu- cation and arts administration. She was formerly the publisher of LOUD- mouth and director of the Cross Cultural Centers at Cal State L. A. Chapter 2: Participatory Spaces, Networks and Technology “Zine making is a pleasure, it’s getting to know people from all over the world and from my own country, it’s to share ideas and opinions, it’s to learn and teach, it’s to open my mind and help others to open their minds.” Editor of Pink Punkies E-Zine (Argentina) “One of ngths ry str e ist prim a femi n globa l the curre nt s the ere i s thi able e of th that en wh o ar ed, ment is m g wo er su cce move youn ch ot h s”. rk of awo help e rs pro ject net ger to h oth e SA) and e a c omot e ea e (U pr dyfrien d Zin La Drawing by Nina Nijsten (Belgium) “For me, women making zines, or art, or anything else creative is about taking the media back – challenging the bullshit that goes on in the mainstream media, reclaiming public media space, and above all, expressing ourselves creatively. It’s about creating our own spaces where this creative expression is possible, on our own terms.” Editor of Good Girl Magazine (Canada) Streetwise Politics: Feminist and Lesbian Grassroots Activism in Ljubljana Tea Hvala Introduction: Feminist and Lesbian Counterpublics In 1990, the American political theorist Nancy Fraser argued for the neces- sity of theorizing non-liberal, non-bourgeois and competing public s pheres that were excluded from Jürgen Habermas’s influential theory on The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere (1962). Her argument rested on the growing body of feminist and postcolonial revisionist historiogra- phies whi , among other things, demonstrated that members of subordi- nated social groups “repeatedly found it advantageous to constitute alter- native publics” (Fraser 1990: 67). Fraser’s main point was that “subaltern counterpublics” contested the exclusionary norms of the bourgeois public sphere by elaborating alternative styles of political behaviour and alterna- tive norms of public spee . In these parallel discursive sites, subordinated people could “invent and circulate counterdiscourses, whi in turn per- mied them to formulate oppositional interpretations of their identities, in- terests and needs” (ibid.). Consequently they could enter the official public sphere on their own terms by representing themselves. The proliferation of counterpublics therefore lessens the ance of informal exclusion and leads towards greater democracy. For Fraser, “participation means being able to speak ‘in one’s own voice’, thereby simultaneously constructing and expressing one’s cultural identity through idiom and style” (69). Counterpublics have the power to articulate an issue in their own way – or in dialogue with other counterpublics – and insist on it until it is recognized as an issue of general concern. Fraser men- tions “domestic violence” or “date rape” as terms that have entered the list of general concerns and legislature because of feminist efforts that origi- nally started in weak counterpublics that possessed only opinion-making power.1 In societies where legal equality does not guarantee actual equality, feminist and lesbian counterpublics continue to fulfil two functions: the 1 These examples confirm that Nancy Fraser was referring to feminist groups, rather than individual women who would fit Gayatri Spivak’s definition of subalterns as “sub- jects of exploitation” who “cannot know and speak the text of female exploitation even if the absurdity of the nonrepresenting intellectual making space for her [them] to speak is achieved” (Spivak 1988: 84). Since my essay is concerned with feminist and lesbian activ- 124 | Tea Hvala internal and the external. In Fraser’s terms, counterpublics function inter- nally as “spaces of withdrawal or regroupment” (68). The external function comes into play when members of feminist or lesbian counterpublics seek to convince society as a whole of the validity of their claims by challeng- ing existing structures of authority through political activity and theoreti- cal critique. In this sense, counterpublics function as “bases and training grounds for agitational activities directed towards wider publics” (ibid.). Grassroots activism offers a variety of accessible communication and agitation tools to (mainly) young progressive feminists and lesbians who want to address wider publics. Since the concept of public sphere presup- poses a plurality of perspectives among those who participate in it, the expression of conflicting views within (as well as between) political groups which strive for political recognition can be perceived as an advantage rather than a disadvantage. Knowing how vulnerable grassroots groups can be, I argue that some form of appeal to collective identity or solidarity has to prevail if a group wants to communicate with other counterpublics. In addition, there is always a disparity between the internal and external perception of specific counterpublics; between its self-understanding as a representative forum for a variety of (oen conflictual) political identi- ties, and the image of unity the group has to present to the public in order to be “taken seriously” – to be able to communicate with other (counter) publics. For Nancy Fraser, this communication is vital. She claims that the public orientation of oppositional spheres allows people’s participation in more than one sphere, which makes both “intercultural and interpublic discussions possible” (70). Since the concept of counterpublics assumes an orientation towards wider publics, it – in the long run – also works against separatism: no maer how limited they are in their numbers or outreach, members of counterpublics see themselves as part of a potentially wider public. That is why counterpublics are not separatist enclaves by definition even if they might be “involuntarily enclaved” (67). Due to historical and sociopolitical circumstances, discussed below, feminist and lesbian politics in Slovenia aer 1991 have been marginalized to the extent that there is a great need for (grassroots) activism to defend al- ready existing rights, demand new rights and most importantly, create new counterpublics where alternative norms of public speech can be developed. I applied Fraser’s insistence on the necessity of proliferating forms of politi- cal expression to the tactical significance of what I call “streetwise politics” (local feminist and lesbian grassroots activism) because the institutional- ized understanding of political participation and public maers of general concern in Slovenia continues to exclude such gender-related and sexu- ality-related issues as personal, private and apolitical. I am therefore not interested in “assigning abstract political value to particular techniques” (Felski 1989: 164), but in reviewing a selection of local feminist and lesbian street actions, street art and graffiti of the last two decades in order to see ism in Slovenia, where counterpublic organizing is possible and indeed taking place, I have refrained from using the term “subaltern”. Streetwise Politics: Feminist and Lesbian Grassroots Activism in Ljubljana | 125 how and why activists reacted to current political issues and/or addressed new ones. I am going to focus on the external function of local feminist and lesbian counterpublics – not because I would be merely interested in the immediately visible effects of their interventions in the official public sphere but because the length of this essay prevents me from examining their internal function. I have wrien about it elsewhere (Hvala 2010). In what follows, I am going to review the historical and sociopolitical conditions that have contributed to the gradual disappearance of feminist and lesbian politics from the official public sphere in Slovenia. I am going to continue – and conclude – with the analysis of sporadic, fleeting, illegal and anonymous forms of political agitation in public space such as graffiti, stencils, posters, paste-ups and street performances that “take the space nobody offered” (Fajt and Velikonja 2006: 23). (In)visibility of Feminist and Lesbian Politics The participation of grassroots feminist and lesbian groups in Ljubljana’s “new social movements” of the 1980s and their increasing public visibili- ty at the end of that decade has been lessened by the 1991 disintegration of Yugoslavia, the subsequent wars in Croatia and Bosnia, nationalist and antifeminist historical revisionism, and finally, by the NGO-ization and the institutionalization of the relatively small movement. Whereas many femi- nist activists who protested against nationalism and war in 1991 were, es- pecially in Croatia, demonized as “betrayers of the nation” and “wit es”, feminists in Slovenia were not ostracised to the same extent. Nevertheless, the movement was pacified as many groups shied their focus from edu- cational, agitational, and mobilizing activities to humanitarian, social and cultural work. According to the feminists who helped shape the politics of “new femi- nism” of the 1980s, the feminist and (to a lesser extent) the lesbian move- ment of that period have “become part of everyday life” (Plahuta Simčič 2006: 15) aer 1991 when former activists entered educational, cultural and social institutions, and – in humble proportions – parliamentary politics. While the simultaneous introduction of Gender Studies and feminist aca- demic publishing has enabled the (re)production of feminist knowledge, it has – paradoxically, due to historic revisionism and the immediate discur- sive colonisation of Gender Studies programmes by British, American and French sources – produced a generation of highly educated women and men who are not aware of local feminist activist history and are unable to relate their academic knowledge about “women’s issues” and “gender is- sues” to contemporary feminist and lesbian activism. In the new, neoliberal seing, feminism in Slovenia was late to react to “the rise of the Church, the rise of the Right, the rise of hate speech” (Kuhar 2007: 11). It was also late to react to “an incredible wave of patriarchal and sexist views” (Plahuta Simčič 2006: 15) on one hand and “pop values, pop identities, with less and less immersion into things, apolitical standpoints” 126 | Tea Hvala (Kuhar 2007: 11) on the other. While it is true that women have not lost any of the legal rights achieved in socialism, the reintroduction of “private patriarchy” (Burcar 2011), the increasingly precarious conditions on the labour market and repeated aacks on women’s reproductive and sexual rights call for a strong opposition. Prominent feminist scholars like Svet- lana Slapšak agree that “the situation is ripe for feminist activism” (Plahuta Simčič 2006: 15). In 2006, when the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs intended to limit abortion rights, graffiti from 1991 (the year when abortion rights were threatened as well) appeared with renewed urgency. “Women against nation – for abortion rights” (Photo 1) they called, signed by the feminist symbol and a clenched fist. More graffiti from 2006 cyni- cally remarked that in Slovenia, “A foetus has more rights than a woman”. Photo 1: “Women against nation – for abortion rights” Photo by Barbara Berce, 1991. This graffiti reappeared near the (old) Pediatric Clinic in Ljubljana in 2006. Since 1993, when a large alliance of political groups and artists occupied the former military base on Metelkova Street in Ljubljana, most of the grassroots feminist and lesbian groups have been based there, in the Au- tonomous Cultural Centre (ACC) Metelkova mesto. Because feminist and lesbian counterpublics in Metelkova were shaped by so many individu- als, groups and events, and because these groups collaborated, disbanded and later joined forces on different political grounds, their knowledge pro- duction has to be theorized as a discontinuous and site-specific practice, defined by a variety of non-dominant and non-hegemonic views. Today, collaborations between academic, non-governmental and grassroots ini- Streetwise Politics: Feminist and Lesbian Grassroots Activism in Ljubljana | 127 tiatives do exist; however these groups cooperate only in response to par- ticularly dangerous threats or cases of discrimination and usually disband when the goals of the struggle have been achieved. This defensive position is one of the reasons for their political invisibility. The temporary and provisional nature of cooperative actions in Ljublja- na reflects other problems that are specific to feminisms from postsocial- ist countries and only partly coincide with the problems of Western femi- nisms: the reluctance to identify and be recognized as feminists due to the general stigmatization of feminism as a separatist and misandrist ideology; the depoliticized aitude towards a number of issues including class dif- ferences within the traditional (unified) political subject of women; and the lack of solidarity between feminists and other social movements, their po- tential allies. I believe those are the main reasons why a feminist counter- public with “the potential to build alliances and collaborations across divi- sive boundaries” (Mohanty 1991: 196) is, at this stage, still very vulnerable and loose. Nevertheless, the existing alliances are important agents of both continuity and change within the fragmented feminist map of Ljubljana; they can serve as a platform for the development of stronger feminist and lesbian movement. It is interesting to note that in the last twenty years, lesbian activism has been more visible than feminist activism. There is a tendency to explain this disparity by the greater stigmatization of LGBTI people who are, sup- posedly because of their greater exposure to verbal and physical violence, more commied to activism. A more reasonable answer relates to the fact that “the state does not need professional lesbians and gays” (Kuhar 2007: 11). That is how Suzana Tratnik, lesbian activist and award-winning fiction writer, replied to the question of why the lesbian movement, unlike femi- nism, was not institutionalized in the 1990s. It might also be the reason why the new generation of politically engaged lesbians in the 1990s and 2000s regularly frequented the “streetwise school” of activism and wrote its own “graffiti textbook”. Lesbian activist and theorist Nataša Velikonja wrote: “In the late 1990s, when the level of homophobia in Slovenia rose and the educative tools against intolerance were entirely insufficient, a library wall in Maribor was sprayed with the slogan ‘Where are all the lesbian books?’” (Velikonja 2004: 125). In the next section, I am going to review the metaphorical textbook of grassroots activism that has been – and continues to be – “wrien” by and for young progressive feminists and lesbians who are forming their politi- cal identity through practice. I will focus on several examples that repre- sent some of the most frequent themes and tactical approaches, used in streetwise politics. However, due to the methodological difficulties related to the research of anonymous actions (such as the lack of sources), my es- say should not be read as the only possible history of feminist and lesbian grassroots activism in Ljubljana. 128 | Tea Hvala Feminist and Lesbian Grassroots Activism in Ljubljana Graffiti and public interventions are sporadic, fleeting, mostly anonymous and illegal forms of political agitation using artistic means. Especially for young feminist and lesbian activists, they represent the most accessible and visible medium of resistance. The case of feminist graffiti from 1995 (“Goddammit, Ivan! Make that damn coffee yourself! – Mother Fran a”) indicates that these actions can have very provocative effects. “Ivan’s graffiti” was wrien on 25 November 1995 as part of activities organized for the International Days for the Elimination of Violence against Women by groups from the (now defunct) Women’s Centre in Metelkova: Kasandra, Women’s Counselling Service, Modra and Prenner Club. The al- liance carried out an impressive action with slogans addressing domestic violence, rape, incest and several other issues. From a feminist point of view, the graffiti parodying Ivan Cankar’s Skodelica kave (1920),2 a short story that had been “nationalized” to serve the Slovenian literary establishment long before 1991, was protesting against the gendered division of labour. Gre- gor Tomc, a prominent sociologist specialized in subcultures, responded with an article published in the largest daily in Slovenia. He claimed that graffiti wrien by “Ljubljana’s Amazons” dealt with obsolete issues, since “contemporary Slovenian family has overcome the traditional division of labour a long time ago” (Tomc 1996: 39), thus referring to the indeed obso- lete state-socialist views on feminism as a superfluous ideology. Similarly, graffiti that addressed women’s sexual rights were accused of animosity and separatism while lesbian graffiti like “No more fear – Thelma and Lou- ise”, “No more shame – Mojca and Metka” or “Lesbians for peace – Peace to lesbians” were denied both peace and equality by his statement that “a het- erosexual relationship and homosexual sexuality, aer all, cannot be equal” (ibid.). Gregor Tomc tried to discredit the activists with antifeminist views that continue to dominate the public sphere in Slovenia. Of course, from a feminist and lesbian point of view, the article discredited its author.3 In 1997, Lesbo magazine documented a series of lesbian graffiti wrien on the river banks of Ljubljanica. Graffiti such as “Eva + Adama” and “My grandfather is bisexual” ridiculed compulsory heterosexuality; others like “Sorry mum, no grandchildren” kept the same humorous spirit as the action carried out in the night before Independence Day (25 June) when activists “appropriated” the national holiday by postering the center of town with Lesbo covers. Ten years later, lesbian graffiti continue to be more visible than 2 Ivan Cankar’s autobiographical short story Cup of Coffee [my translation] is about young Ivan who visits his poor mother and asks her for a cup of coffee, knowing that she cannot even afford to buy bread. To his surprise, his mother manages to find and prepare coffee for him but he refuses to drink it and tells her to stop bothering him. The narrator deeply regrets young Ivan’s reaction and speaks of his lasting feeling of guilt. 3 “Ivan’s graffiti” was also printed on promotional postcards of the Women’s Group within Združena lista, a coalition that later restructured into a centre-le political party. Also, journalist Agata Tomažič used it in her 2004 critique of the nationalist appropriation and ideological exploitation of Ivan Cankar’s literature in Slovene schools. Streetwise Politics: Feminist and Lesbian Grassroots Activism in Ljubljana | 129 feminist ones. Slogans like “Homophobes are human, too” and “Step out of the heterosexual matrix” are among the few that directly address hetero- sexuals. The idea that it is possible to “step out of the matrix” has received an interestingly utopian (or queer) answer in January 2008 when the order of construction site fences on which it was originally sprayed was changed so that the new constellation read “trix ual ma heterosex Step out”. In the new millennium, several feminist actions were inspired by UZI (Urad za intervencije or Bureau for Interventions), an informal network of local groups, founded aer the protests against the World Trade Or- ganization meeting in Seale in 1999. For example, “in Interspar [shop], a group of female activists ‘advertised’ Heidersil; a new washing powder that cleans historic stains and contains ‘adolfils’” (Zadnikar 2004: 15). On 8 March 2001, the Women’s Section of UZI temporarily squaed in two cosmetics and women’s apparel shops in Ljubljana in order to address the commercialization of International Women’s Day and the privatization of public space. When the dancing activists were asked to leave, they con- tinued the action on public grounds (outside the shop’s entrance). On the same day, Nada Hass, an improvised all-female activist choir, performed at Klub Gromka in ACC Metelkova mesto. Dressed up as cleaners and house- keepers, they sang: “Let’s set things straight with our past, let’s wipe away the borders, let’s make our relationships work and wipe away the violence” (Ozmec 2001: 14). (Photo 2) Photo 2: Spontaneous street action in the centre of Ljubljana during 9th Rdeče zore festival Photo by Rüzgar, 9 March 2008. In Slovenia, the country where lesbians and gays are still denied the legal rights provided by the institution of marriage (“Registration = discrimina- tion” sums up the issue in graffiti on Roška street), reproductive rights have 130 | Tea Hvala been discussed primarily in relation to heterosexual women. However, in 2000 when the right-wing government aempted to implement legislation that would make artificial insemination available only to heterosexual cou- ples who are married or cohabiting, this serious violation of women’s re- productive choices faced severe opposition from a wide array of feminist, lesbian and other progressive groups. Four years later, on 8 March 2005, an anonymous leer entitled Do you remember March 8th? claimed that the new governmental program for positive demographic growth used hate speech and discriminatory measures. The leer was handed out by a small activist group that staged a burlesque portrayal of patriarchal family roles in Park Zvezda and managed to ridicule the (former) Minister of Labour, Family and Social Affairs Janez Drobnič personally by calling itself The Janez Drobnič Folklore Group. On 15 November 2006, the same minister proposed a “fertility raising strategy” which, among many other discriminatory measures, tried to limit access to abortion. The strategy proposed a 400 euro fee for certain proce- dures, thus ensuring that abortion would become inaccessible for a large number of poor women and girls. The strategy, like the successfully op- posed proposition from 1991, was to instrumentalize women for the state’s “nation-building” goals. Furthermore, the new legislation used Catholic discourse that equates the beginning of life with conception. Feminists re- sponded with graffiti declaring “Let’s abort Drobnič!”, “I’d rather be a test- tube baby than Drobnič’s child” and a slogan which connected the discrimi- natory proposal about artificial insemination from 2000 with the same type of demographic policy by sarcastically offering “the perfect solution”: “To raise fertility – inseminate single women and lesbians”. On 17 November, Feminist Initiative in Support of Abortion Rights entered ministry bureaus early in the morning and met the employees with statements objecting to the proposed strategy. The activists used posters and banners to surround the bureaus and expose them to the public as violators of women’s rights. The slogans (“Women = birth machines”, “Defend abortion rights now – to- morrow it is going to be too late”, “Yesterday migrants and Erased citizens, today Roma people and women; who is next?”) connected discriminatory policies against women with institutionalized violence against sexual and ethnic minorities. On the eve of large trade union demonstrations of 17 November 2007, Ljubljana’s streets were sprayed with several different examples of feminist graffiti. Older graffiti (“Fuck beer wages, I don’t even have one – Housewife”, “New! Housework workshops for men”, “Boys, who’s gonna do the dishes?”) were accompanied by a series of new protests. Perhaps the most memorable was the stencil of a young woman with a clenched fist, shouting “Because we are not a commodity!” (photo 3) An ambiguous stencil designed to look like a construction site traffic sign (the official sign “Workers on the street” includes an image of a male worker with a shovel in his hands) claimed “Female workers on the street – 17.11.” and replaced the male worker with an image of three women and a small girl holding hands. It could be read in several ways: as a call for joining the trade union demonstrations, as a comment on Streetwise Politics: Feminist and Lesbian Grassroots Activism in Ljubljana | 131 the growing rates of unemployment among women and the discrimination of mothers on the labour market or as an indirect reminder that sex work is an illegal and dangerous yet possible source of income for impoverished women. The workers’ demonstrations were supported by Avtonomna tribuna, a stu- dents’ alliance which included an explicitly feminist initiative (The Feminist Initiative for Social Rights) and a lesbian-feminist group called The Lesbian Insurrection.4 Their members carried anarchofeminist flags, cynical banners like “I am a woman, therefore I work for free” and the classic slogan “We are lesbians and we are everywhere”. Photo 3: “Because we are not a commodity!” Photo by Tea Hvala, 17 November 2007, the eve of large trade union protests in Ljubljana. Very lile graffiti in Ljubljana concerned sex work (with the exception of “Prostitutes of the world, unite!”). A few days before 8 March 2007, a series of posters appeared that problematized the relation between economy and the regulation of sexuality. Troubling questions like “Do money and love exclude each other?” were wrien in the headers of large blank sheets of paper, intended for comments of people who passed by. Somebody replied: “Not really”. The question “Is marriage an institution of legal prostitu- tion?” was reformulated in barely legible handwriting as “Legal prostitu- tion is the institution of marriage. Complicated, huh?” while somebody 4 Vstaja Lezbosov or The Lesbian Insurrection was formed aer 10 October 2007, when two lesbians were forced to leave Orto bar, a rock bar in Ljubljana, because of “explicitly showing their lesbian identity” (Tratnik 2007: 14) by kissing in public. 132 | Tea Hvala else simply confessed that s/he “Wouldn’t know”. Comments to the ques- tion “What do you expect from sex aer marriage?” were hilarious: “Noth- ing, I’ m already married” and “Sex with a relative”. The poster series also included questions like “What do artists and sex workers have in com- mon?” and “Are sex workers the last street fighters?”. The postering action was organised by a Viennese feminist art collective which was invited to Ljubljana by the International Feminist and Queer Festival Rdeče zore as part of the Sex, Work and Society art exhibition in Alkatraz Gallery. Photo 4: “Street of Feminist Movements” Photo by Nada Žgank, 2007. In the night of 8–9 March 2007, several feminist activist groups renamed around fiy streets in Ljubljana. Like the street-renaming actions in Zagreb (2006), Sarajevo (2006) and Kutina (2007), the action in Ljubljana was based on the statistical fact that the majority of streets are named aer men and the feminist fact that women need to contest versions of history that ex- clude them. New street names paid homage to The International Women’s Day, Simone de Beauvoir, local and international women artists, female pop icons, women political organizers and activists, important events from feminist history, fictional female characters, etc. (Photo 4) In November 2007, a similar action was carried out in Maribor where The Lesbian In- surrection group introduced the Square of Lesbian Revolution (including house number 69), the Lesbian Path and the Road to the Lesbian. These signs were le on display for several weeks. However, Path to the Lesbian Peak and Square of Lesbian Brigades (Photo 5) disappeared immediately: probably because they renamed the official address of the Roman Catholic Diocese and Archdiocese in Maribor. Streetwise Politics: Feminist and Lesbian Grassroots Activism in Ljubljana | 133 Photo 5: “Square of Lesbian Brigades” at the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese in Maribor Photo by Mojca Rugelj, 2007. In the night of 8 March 2012, two anonymous actions took place in the cen- tre of Ljubljana. The first included graffiti and stickers with slogans such as “Proud Feminist” and “Up with Feminism!”; the other action was stra- tegically placed in front of the local Museum of Contemporary History, which hosted an exhibition about Slovene women’s struggles for emanci- pation between 1848 and 1945. The activists spray-painted the tank in front of the museum a pink colour, ridiculing the militarist symbol of Slovene independence and commenting on the fact that an exhibition dedicated to feminist history was symbolically threatened by a tank from the ten- day war in 1991 (and the implied historical revisionism). The director of the museum failed to see or publicly mention the action’s connection to the exhibition, to International Women’s Day or to LGBTI couples whose right to adopt a child was rejected in a referendum on 25 March 2012. The director said: “Since we don’t know how we are going to restore the tank, we thank the guerillas or the vandals for at least choosing a colour that matches the museum’s façade” (Svenšek 2012). The third feminist action on 8 March 2012 was organised by the international arts collective Bring In Take Out – Living Archive, who co-organised the visual arts programme of the 13th Rdeče zore festival. Its members joined the 15O (15 October or Occupy!) demonstrations against austerity measures and blocked the en- trance to several banks in the centre of Ljubljana. The feminist art collective protested against “all forms of social repression and economic exploita- 134 | Tea Hvala tion” (Crvena 2012) and paid homage to the women textile workers’ strike in Lawrence, Massachuses, on 8 March 1912 by chanting “We want bread, and roses too.” Conclusion The grassroots actions discussed in this essay by no means represent the entire thematic and tactical scope of feminist and lesbian streetwise politics in Ljubljana. However, I tried to select examples that represent the most frequently addressed issues and the most common tactics. To summarize: in the past twenty years, feminist and lesbian activists criticized the gen- dered division of labour (women’s unpaid reproductive labour vs. men’s paid productive work), the growing rates of unemployment among (older) women, discrimination of mothers on the labour market, precarious labour conditions in general, double measures regarding the (la of) regulation of sex work, the instrumentalization of women’s reproductive and sexu- al freedom by the state, domestic violence, rape, incest, institutionalized violence against sexual and ethnic minorities, compulsory heterosexuality, legal discrimination of same-sex couples, conservative revisions of history, commodification of International Women’s Day and the privatization of public space. They advocated pacifism, lesbian visibility, women’s sexual freedom, reproductive rights of LGBTI people and single women, the de- stigmatization of sex work and the general visibility of feminist politics. In doing so, the activists have employed the following tactics and tools: graffi- ti, stencils, posters, paste-ups, demonstrations and street art (performance, theatre, singing). I interpreted feminist and lesbian grassroots actions in Ljubljana as spo- radic, fleeting and mostly anonymous interventions in the public sphere and in the sphere of institutionalized knowledge (re)production. I argued that they represent an important chapter in the metaphorical textbook “wrien” by and for young progressive feminists and lesbians who are forming their political identity through practice. Since most of these actions were illegal, the activists had to learn to cope with the stress of (probable) harassment by their political opponents or the police. They were strength- ened in the process. The activists were additionally strengthened by the chance to articulate their own political identity, needs and demands in ways that suited them. As such, grassroots activism can be theorized as one of the communication tools available to young activists who want to develop their own counterpublics and alternative norms of public speech. Finally, I argued for the necessity of expanding the notions of political and public beyond those prevalent in the official public sphere in Slovenia. My essay can be therefore read as an internal critique of the laer and as a contribution to the diversification of (counter)public feminist and lesbian discourses. As the actions described in this paper suggest, one of the places where these discourses can be tested publicly is the streets. Streetwise Politics: Feminist and Lesbian Grassroots Activism in Ljubljana | 135 References Burcar, L., 2011. What is Le of the Feminist Le? [online]. Available at: [Accessed 27 October 2011]. Crvena, 2012. We want Bread, and Roses Too [online]. Available at: [Accessed 15 Mar 2012]. Fajt, M. and Velikonja, M., 2006. Ulice govorijo/Streets are Saying Things. Časopis za kritiko znanosti 223, pp. 22–29. Fraser, N., 1990. Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Criti- que of Actually Existing Democracy. Social Text 25–26, pp. 56–80. Hvala, T., 2010. The Red Dawns Festival as a Feminist-Queer Counterpu- blic. Monitor ISH (1/XII), pp. 7–107. Kuhar, R., 2007. Prečuta noč za lezbični manifest. Intervju z Natašo Sukič in Suzano Tratnik. Narobe 4, pp. 9–12. Mohanty, C. T., 1991. Cartographies of Struggle: Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism. In: P. Essed, ed., 1991. Race Critical Theories: Text and Context. Oxford: Bla well Publishing, pp. 195–219. Ozmec, S., 2001. Osmi marec: dan, ko se pretvarjamo, da je vse v redu. Mladina [online], 19 Mar . Available at: [Accessed 27 October 2011]. Plahuta Simčič, V., 2006. Ne smemo se slepiti, patriarhat je povsod! Delo (48/74), p. 15. Svenšek, A., 2012. Rožnati tank pred muzejem: vsak ima svojo interpreta- cijo akcije. Multimedijski center RTV SLO [online], 8 Mar . Available at: [Accessed 20 Mar 2012]. Tomc, G., 1996. Je ženska brez moškega kot riba brez bicikla? Delo – Sobotna priloga (38/28), p. 39. Tratnik, S. 2007. Ne vstopaj s svojimi sendviči! Narobe 4, pp. 14–15. Velikonja, N., 2004. Grafiti: poulično revolucionarno branje. In: L. Ste- pan čič and B. Zrinski, eds. Grafitarji/Graffitists. Ljubljana: MGLC, pp. 124–130. Zadnikar, D., 2004. Kronika radostnega uporništva. In: J. Holloway, ed. Spreminjamo svet brez boja za oblast: pomen revolucije danes. Ljubljana: Študentska založba, pp. 201–225. “It’s a Hard Job Being an Ind ian Feminist” Mapp ing Girls’ Fe mi nist Identities and “Close Encounters” on the Feminist Blo gosphe re Jes sal ynn Kel ler Introduction: Finding Feminism Online You won’t find any one writ ing, “I’m not a fe min ist, but . . .” on the FBomb (hp://the omb.org) webs ite. In fact, the on line comm un ity is a meeti ng ground for teen fe mi nists who em brace the “f bomb” – or fe min ist – iden- tity. While we are o en told that to day’s girls are not in ter ested in “their moth er’s move ment,” webs ites like FBomb prove oth er wise. The FBomb repr e sents one of the most ac tive spaces for fe mi nist ac tiv- ism over the past five years: the in ter net. The fe mi nist blo gosph ere, a loose affi li a tion of blogs ded i cated to dis cuss ing fem ini sm and gen der ine qual- ity, has be come an im por tant space for women to con nect with likeminded women, speak their thoughts on femi ni sm, and org an ize fem in ist events. While girls can acc ess these blogs, the targ et dem og raphic is usuall y adu lt women, and con se quent ly, girls may feel mar gin al ized by their age and edu cat ional sta tus. Blogs like FBomb serve to shi power ins tead to teen fe mi nists, pro vid ing a fo rum for them to dis cuss gen der is sues rel e vant to their lives as ado les cent girls. While the fe mi nist blo gosph ere is global ly acc es sible to any one with a com puter and an in ter net conn ec tion (as well as a work ing knowl edge of Engl ish, the pri mary lan guage used), many of the web sites are based in Eur ope and North Ameri ca, o en res ulti ng in con vers a tions fo cus ing on Weste rn-cen tric fe mi nist is sues. While there are many women read ing these blogs, li le re search has ex am ined how non-West ern women nav i- gate their iden tities, both as fe mi nists and as non-West erners, with in a fe- mi nist blo gosph ere o en domi nated by Weste rn fe mi nist disc ourses. This chap ter then will make two im por tant in ter ven tions in to this topic: first, by foc us ing on girls’ par tic i pa tion in the fe min ist blo gosphe re, and sec ond, by ad dressi ng the spe cific is sues faci ng non-West ern girls’ in these spaces. I will foc us my ana lys is on the FBomb web site, draw ing on the o reti cal disc us sions of third wave femi n ism, post co lo nial fem ini sm, and crit i cal In- ter net stud ies, and us ing a dis cur sive tex tual ana ly s is of fi een blog posts to de ter mine how fem in ism as a trans na tional move ment is talked about through “It’s a Hard Job Being an In dian Feminist” | 137 post ings by non-Weste rn1 girls and the conv er sat ions that these posti ngs pro- duce. Add it iona ll y, I will draw on the comm ents of two non-Weste rn FBomb blogg ers from In dia and Jor dan in or der to be er cont ex tu al ize my tex tual ana ly s is. These com ments are taken from qual it a tive, open-ended in ter views, which I con ducted with each blogg er via email in April 2011. Re imagi n ing a Transnational Third Wave: Int er sec tio nal i ty, Close Encounters, and the Internet I am po si tion ing the con tem po rary fe mi nist blo gosph ere as part of the third wave of femi ni sm, which dev elo ped in the early 1990s out of young women’s de sire to ar tic u late fem ini sm acc ord ing to their own lives.2 The third wave is typ i cal ly un der stood as ra cial ly and sex u al ly in clu sive, global and eco log i cal in pers pec tive, infl u enced by post struc tura l no tions of iden- tity and sub ject iv ity, an in ter est in pop u lar cul ture as a site of re sist ance, and a fo cus on sex u al ity and plea sure (Kar lyn 2003). The third wave’s priv- i leg ing of a mul ti plic ity of is sues and, as Rory Dicker and Ali son Piep meier (2003) note, an und er stand ing that “ident ity is mul ti fac eted and lay ered”, means that the mono lithic cat e gory of “wom an” is pro ble ma tized, mak ing the third wave a rich site for think ing about di ver sity and diff er ence with in fem in ism (10). This ap proach is based upon an in ter sec tion al un der stand ing of iden- tity, a per spec tive that views race, class, gen der, sex u al ity, na tion al ity, age, ethn ic ity and other iden tities as mu tual ly con struct ing sys tems of power (Col lins 2005). Thus, in ter sec tion al par a digms do not a empt to priv il ege one iden tity over another, but grap ple with the ways that mul ti ple iden- tities in ter sect to po si tion in di vid uals in va ry ing re la tion ships to so cial power. Coined by U. S. Third World fem in ists who crit i qued the women’s lib era tion move ment for their as sump tion of an un prob lem atic “global sis- ter hood,” in ter sec tio na li ty has since be come a sig nifi cant con cept for both fe mi nist schol ars and ac tiv ists and a foun da tional con cept for the third wave’s “pol i tics of hy bri di ty and co ali tion” (Heyw ood and Drake 1997: 9). De spite the third wave’s em pha s is on in ter sec tio na li ty and di ver sity, sev er al schola rs have cri ti qued third wave prac tices as re in forc ing the dom i nance of white, West ern middle-class fe mi nists and equat ing the First World with the whole world (Wood hull 2004). De nise deCa ires Nar ain (2004) ar gues that the third wave must do more to build co ali tions with Third World women, ar gu ing that the third wave’s em pha s is on in di vid- 1 The term non-Western is not entirely unproblematic. I employ it as an analytic and political category, representing those outside of the white, Anglo-Saxon, middle-class, Western feminist movement, similar to Mohanty’s (2003) use of “Third World.” I do not mean to enforce a Western/non-Western binary here and I utilize these terms while rec- ognizing them as being potentially problematic. 2 While I agree that the wave metaphor does not capture the rich complexity of feminist movements, I utilize third wave feminism as demarcating a cultural context, rather than a narrowly defined generational marker in opposition to the second wave. 138 | Jess al ynn Kel ler ual ism and pleas ure risks diff er ence “be ing ar tic u lated en tire ly in terms of a con sum able, chic, met ro pol i tan hy brid i ty, ra ther than an en gage ment with ‘other’ con texts and rep re sen ta tions” (243). Her cri tique ex ists as part of a lengthy his tory of fe mi nist post col o nial the ory, which has made im por- tant in ter ven tions in to the ways in which West ern fe mi nists think and write about women in non-West ern na tions since the mid 1980s. Chan dra Tal pade Moh ant y (1988) arg ues that some Weste rn fem in ist writers have prom oted a “third world diff er ence,” a uni ver sa list dis course that po si tions non-West ern women as tra di tional, op pressed, un ed u cated, dev out ly re li gi ous, and pos sess ing li le con trol over their bodies. Mo han ty notes that this im age of the “op pressed wom an” sim ul tan eous ly con structs West ern women as mod ern, free, edu cated, sec u lar, agent ial, and thus able to “save” their non-Weste rn “sist ers.” Thus, in stead of em ploy ing the uni- ver sal iz ing “woma n” as a cate g ory of ana ly s is, Mo hant y ad vo cates for a con tex tual ana ly s is that un der stands women as lo cated with in spe cific lo- cal, his tor i cal, and so cial con di tions as a way to find pro duc tive spaces for a co ali tion al pol i tics that do not rob women in non-West ern na tions of their agency. Mo han ty’s crit iques re main sig nifi cant, par tic u lar ly in the con text of the “war on ter ror” and the mains tream a en tion given to Mus lim women over the past de cade. Thus, we must ask: how might con tem po rary fe mi- nists build trans na tional co ali tions that avoid uni ver sal iz ing, sim plif ying, and comm o dif ying the ex pe ri ences of non-Weste rn women? Sara Ahmed (2000) sug gests that trans na tional col lec tive poli tics be formed through what she calls “close enc ount ers.” She des cribes these close enc ount ers as a “poli t ics that is premi sed on closer enc ount ers, on enc oun ters with those who are other than ‘the other’ or ‘the stran ger’ . . . The diff er ences be tween us ne ces si tate the di a logue, ra ther than dis al low it – a di a logue must take place, pre cise ly be cause we don’t speak the same lan guage” (180). Acc ordi ng to Ahmed (2000), close enc ount ers avoid comm on uni ver sa- list ap proaches where by West ern fem in ism as sumes the abil ity “to get in- side the skin of the other,” adopt ing the pos i tion of speak ing for her (166). But stepp ing back in the name of cult u ral rel a tiv ism, as sumi ng that the best way to avoid speak ing for others is to avoid speak ing at all, is also probl ema tic as it confi rms the very privi l ege that it seeks to dis avow. Not en count er ing then be comes an ac tive choice that can stall the de vel op ment of a transn a tional fe min ist net work, while ig nor ing the ne cess ity of this net work with in a glob al ized world (Ahmed, 2000). I want to sug gest that the in tern et may off er new po tent ial for global net works where close en- count ers as art icu l ated by Ahmed can take place, and I will now turn to a dis cus sion of this pos si bil ity. Tech no log ic al adv ances such as the in ter net have pro vided new spaces for fe mi nist ac tiv ism with in pop u lar cul ture. Ed nie Kaeh Gar ri son (2010) ar- gues, “Tech nol ogy is a ma jor dis cur sive rep er toire in the cul tu ral ge og raphy of third wave femi ni sm, [as] ‘dem oc rat ized tech nolo gies’ have played a sig- nifi cant role in the fem i nist po lit i cal con scious ness of many young women to day” (396). While fem in ism has al ways re lied on net works of peo ple to “It’s a Hard Job Being an In dian Feminist” | 139 sus tain it as a move ment, net work ing with in the con text of third wave in- ter net cul ture takes on new mean ings and op por tu nities. Gar ri son des cribes third wave net works as be ing “tech no logic”, signaling a par ticu lar prac tice of com mu ni cat ing in for ma tion over space and time, the cre a tion of tem po- rary unified pol iti c al groups made up of unl ike ly col lec tiv ities, the comb in- ing of di verse tech nol ogies to con struct op po si tional cul tu ral ex pres sions, and the cons truc tion of fem i nist pol i tics of lo ca tion that “weav[es] be tween and among the spaces of race, class, sex ua li ty, gen der, that we all inh ab it” (187). Third wave net works im ply a kind of “messi ness” that com pli cates the no tion of a unified so cial movem ent with a clear agenda and bound- aries and in this sense, may serve as a use ful way to think about in ter sec- tion al iden tities and trans na tional fe mi nist co ali tions on line. How ev er, Sta cy Gil lis (2004) ar gues that while the In ter net has been pro moted as a “global con sciousn ess-rais ing tool” for third wave fem in ists, “the myth of cyb erfem ini sm – that women are usi ng cyb ers pace in pow- er ful and trans gres sive ways – far ex ceeds what is ac tu al ly tak ing place on line” (185). Gil lis main tains that this is pri mar i ly be cause fem in ism’s trans gres sive pot en tial in an on line space is lim ited by the spec ifi ci ties of em bodied iden tities, in clud ing those of race, eth nic ity, and class, with in on- line ex pe ri ences. Like wise, Wini fred Wood hull (2004) ar gues that the third wave’s use of new med ia tech nol ogies o en re pro duces di vis ions by pre- scrib ing Weste rn mod els of fem in ism for women world wide. Acc ord ing to these schol ars, third wave fe mi nists must con sci en tious ly work to build co- ali tions onl ine that can reco g nize and chal lenge in her ent power re la tions, rat her than rei nf orce them. Performing Feminist Identities In Flux Much of the ex ist ing re search on girls and in ter net use foc uses on the use of so cial me dia by girls for iden tity ex plo ra tion and nav i ga tion (Maz za rel- la 2005). dan ah boyd (2007) notes that with out the phys i cal body to guide others’ per cep tions of us, “peo ple must learn to write thems elves int o bei ng” (12). This ar ticu la tion of a vir tual prese nce can pres ent an op port un ity for girls perf orm and exp eri ment with iden tities, in clud ing fe mi nist iden tities. While blogg ing is viewed as a “new” form of me dia pro duct ion, find ing one’s fe mi nist iden tity through the cra of writ ing has a lengthy his tory amongst women from all over the world (Muadd i Darr aj 2003). This is es- pe cial ly true for non-West ern Fbomb blog gers who seem to o en spec ific- ally state their ident ity upf ront, and in seve ra l cases, des cribe how their geog raphic lo ca tion, inf ormed by their na tional, eth nic, re li gi ous, or ra cial iden tity, shapes their fem in ist iden tity. In a post dated 28 April 2010, Mum bai, In dia na tive Jasm in,3 grap ples with her own fem i nist ident ity, which is situ ated with in the ten sions be- tween In dia and the West. She writes, 3 All names are pseudonyms. 140 | Jess a lynn Kel ler I am an In dian and I live in In dia. How con ve nie nt. At the same time, I’m not real ly sure what an In dian fe mi nist is . . .. Most In dian teen agers have to ne go ti- ate their Ind ian ident ity int o eit her blendi ng in with West ern val ues and im me- di ate ly be ing lib eral or re tain ing their In di an-ness and try to re-negotiate what norms they ac cept, for what pur pose etc. To add to this ex is ten tial bur den, if the teena ger is also (un for tu nate ly) a fem i nist, then said teen ager has to again see what norms of Weste rn femi ni sm to pick and which ones to leave out . . .. it’s a hard job be ing an In dian fem i nist. This post gest ures to the comp lex ity of ident ity iss ues, where bei ng a fem i- nist is onl y part of one’s iden tity, and must o en be nav ig ated with other as pects, which can in clude na tional, eth nic, ra cial, re li gi ous, or sex u al iden- tity. This in ter sec tion al app roach is in dic a tive of the infl u ence of third wave fem ini sm that in forms many of the blog posts and disc us sions on the site, and forms the stand point from which many blog gers “write them selves int o be ing” (boyd 2007). boyd’s de scrip tion of writ ing one self in to be ing is par tic u lar ly use ful here, as the authors of many of the blog posts I an a lyzed use the space of their post and the prac tice of writ ing to work through their own hes i ta- tions about their fe mi nist iden tity. In the same April 28, 2010 post, Jas min writes, So just bec ause I talk of No ra Ephr on ins tead of Gur ind er Chadh a . . . Marg ar et At wood in stead of Arund ha ti Roy, harp praises about P. J. Har vey in stead of Ka vi ta Kri sha mur thy, bring up Gil more Girls in stead of Ladies Special – the list nev er ends – my In di an-ness doesn’t fade away in the West ern hoo-ha. If I talk usi ng ‘Ind ian’ term in olo gy (case in point: rotis, chai and dhob is) I’m not be ing any more In dian than I am now. Here, Jas min ar tic u lates her fem i nist iden tity usi ng her own framew ork through writ ing, call ing out the fal lacy of the West/rest bi nary that o en struct ures talk about global femi ni sms. In doi ng so, she carves a space with- in the FBomb to talk about fe mi nist iden tities as be ing more than just about gen der, but about the diff er ent power struc tures that op era te on the lives of girls around the world, while also rec og niz ing that these iden tities do not fit int o neatl y est abl ished bi nary of Weste rn/non-Weste rn fem in ism. This ar gu ably glob al ized per spec tive also points to the in flu ence of the third wave and glob ali za tion it self on this younger gen era tion of girls. It is o en this ten sion over iden tity that spurs girls to par tic i pate with in the fe mi nist blog osph ere. Nyssa, a seven teen-year-old blog ger from Am- man, Jor dan tells me that be ing a Mid dle Eas tern fe mi nist was an im por tant rea son as to why she wanted to con tribu te to the FBomb. She ex plains that, “I’ve been on the fe mi nist blo gosphe re as a reader for awhile now, but I thought that I had a diff er ent per spec tive be cause most of what I’ve read is from the U. S. or other Weste rn coun tries. I’ve seen very li le cov er age on fem in ism in the Mid dle East and the per spec tive of a young per son in the Mid dle East – and so I wanted to write from my own per spec tive.” Like all iden tities, the fe mi nist iden tities of the FBomb blog gers are far from static, and in stead are con stant ly shi ing through blog ging, di a logue, “It’s a Hard Job Being an In dian Feminist” | 141 and new exp er ie nces. Jasm in tells me that many of her opin ions have changed since she posted and that I shouldn’t re gard her posts as her take on fem in ism right now. She ex plains, I find that I’ve be come more nu anced in my un der stand ing of femi ni sm – if you see my earli est posts they’re still a part of Oh Yay We Are All Fighting Sexism/ Misogyny Together And Everything Is So Freaking Perfect to now where I am no long er ap pall ed when white fe min ists ask me to pri ori tise my race and body over gend er . . . so my fe min ist iden tity is fiss ured tod ay. . . . I need a fem in ism that goes from the lo cal to the global, so to speak – writi ng these thoughts out week ae r week has build me up to what I am to day. While Jas min ack nowle dges that her views have changed dram atic ally through her blog ging ex pe ri ence, this doesn’t make her pre vi ous posts in- valid or no long er im por tant. In stead, they can be read as doc u ment ing a fem in ist ident ity in flux, a pos it ion that many other girls (and women) can rel ate to and a po sit ion that reall y ex emp lifies what sites like the FBomb are all about. Simi larl y, Nyssa de scribes hers elf as “ind ec is ive” about many fe mi nist iss ues, and that the FBomb com ments sect ion serve as a pro duc tive space to hear about other’s per spec tives, which somet imes shi her own. “The com- ments sec tion is a tes ta ment to how lay ered fe mi nist is sues are, it’s defi nite- ly made me more aware of how fem in ism is in the West and chal lenged some of the per spect ives I’ve dev el oped about fem in ism from liv ing in the Midd le East, readi ng blogs has defi nitel y helped fill in the laye rs in be- tween.” In this sense, the proc ess of blogg ing is a pract ice that helps girls make sense of their thoughts, try out diff er ent per spect ives, and to shi their fe mi nist iden tities as they grow. Thus, the FBomb must be read as a space that is in con stant mot ion, rec ordi ng ident ities in flux ra ther than doc u menti ng static “truths” about cont em por ary femi ni sms or how teen fe mi nists real ly are. Renegotiating Space: Close Encounters and Closed Borders I am labeling the FBomb as “in-betw een space” based upon Nyssa’s com- ments that, “read ing [fe mi nist] blogs has defi nitel y helped fill in the laye rs in be tween.” This comm ent speaks to the ways that on line spaces like the FBomb can be thought of as phys i cal space oc cup ying a loc at ion in-betw een ge og raphies, and thus, has the po ten tial to serve as an “in-bet ween space” where close enc oun ters can occ ur (Ahmed 2000). An 11 Oc tob er 2010 post by Iraqi cit i zen Sheena serves as a use ful ex ample of what I’m calli ng a close enc oun ter on the FBomb: Bef ore we go about judgi ng those women who dress in loose, black clothi ng and click their tongues at our skinny jeans, we have to re mem ber that they can’t help their be liefs, in that this is how they were brought up. The peo ple who are per- form ing [fem ale geni tal mut il at ion] don’t do so to hurt the girls, they just want 142 | Jess a lynn Kel ler to pro tect them. The pro ced ure, alt hough back wards, is thought to ens ure mar- riag ea bil ty and clean li ness. The onl y way to stop this is through ed u ca tion. When there are things like this go ing on, who reall y cares if Hann ah Mon tana isn’t com pletel y coh ere nt with fem in ist stand ards? We’re so wrapp ed up in the is sues that di rect ly in volve us that we for get to cons ider the big g er things. Sheena’s post ing gen er ated sev en teen com ments, ex press ing a var iety of thoughts, in clud ing readers who iden tify as an Or thod ox Jew ish fe mi nist, an Ind ian Ameri can girl, a Mus lim Amer i can curr ent ly liv ing in Saudi Ara- bia, and a Brit ish Mus lim girl. For ex ample, Court ney writes in the com ments sec tion, As an In dian-Amer i can girl, I o en find my self flab ber gasted at some of the things that white fem in ists find SO imp ort ant . . . I mean, yeah, it is nece ss ary to scru ti nize pop cult ure. But don’t do it so much that it over shado ws other is sues. I bare ly see in tern at ion al women’s rights is sues or iss ues ex plic it ly per tain ing to Amer i can women of color on omb, and it real ly up sets me. Women of color and their stor ies are hardl y repr es ented here. Another poster, Kirs ten, re sponds writi ng, I to tal ly agree that trans na tional and global fe mi nist is sues are im por tant, but it’s also imp or tant not to triv ia li ze more loc al iss ues. It’s not just about wheth er or not Han nah Mon tana is a fe mi nist. The fact is, young women are bei ng brought up on this med ia and theref ore, it is shapi ng a new gene ra t ion. The probl em of pa tri ar chy and the sex ua li za tion of young girls is sys temic and it is com mu ni- cated through me dia, i. e. telev is ion, mu sic, movies . . . I’m glad that you showed that this issue [FGM] is ex tremel y imp ort ant, but it doesn’t need to be done at the ex pense of other is sues. I’ll ref rain from disc ussi ng the po ten tial prob lems with the ar gu ments be- ing put for ward and in stead foc us on the dis cur sive in-bet ween space that they pro duce, a site for po tent ial close en coun ters. Ahmed (2000) writes that, “Close enc ount ers work with what is miss- ing from or in the for ma tion of col lec tives . . . Al lia nces are not guar an teed by the pre-exi st ing form of a soc ial group or com mun ity, where that form is un der stood as comm on al ity or un com mona l ity. The col lec tive then is not sim ply about what ‘we’ have in com mon – or what ‘we’ do not have in com mon. Coll ec tiv ities are formed through the very work that we need to do in or der to get closer to others, with out sim ply re peat ing the ap pro pri a tion of ‘them’ as la bour, or as a sign of diff er ence” (179–180). Sheena’s post and the re sult ing disc us sion does not pro vide so lu tions or sim ple agree ments. How ev er, this rich ex ample makes vis ible the work to be done, com pli cat ing no tions of diff er ences and com mon al ities and work ing through these is- sues with in the space of the blog, what I would chara ct eri ze as prod uct ive close en coun ter. Des pite the ways in which sites like the FBomb have the po tent ial to funct ion as an in-bet ween space, they do not al ways do so. Jas min was the most outs pok en about the ways in which bor ders funct ion to ho mog e nize the fe mi nist blog osphe re. She says, “It’s a Hard Job Being an In dian Feminist” | 143 Most – if not all – disc us sions in the fe mi nist blo gosphe re end with west ern bor- ders. I’ m not aski ng peop le to write about things they don’t know . . . I’d just like to see bord ers in their writi ng, ac knowl edg ing that ev ery thing they write about ex ist with in spe cific bor ders . . . This com ment con firms some of the cri tiques made by schol ars such as Woodh ull (2004), and rev eals the ways that the geog raphic bord ers that get in scribed with in the on line world o en go una ck now ledged, perh aps be- cause of the in cor rect as sumpt ion that the in ter net is bor derl ess. This logic also affi rms Moh an ty’s crit iques, such as the not ion of the white, West ern fe mi nist as the unm arked norm, the ass umed center of fem- in ism. FBomb blog gers are o en ass umed as white and West ern – un less they overt ly iden tify them selves as “other”. Jas min ar gues that be cause of this as sumed white, Weste rn norm, girls who do not fit this iden tity are le git i mated onl y through talk ing about their diff er ence from Weste rn fe mi- nists. She tells me that West ern fe mi nists o en, Don’t see my body as be yond brown, where my lo ca tion in In dia is an “in ter est” for them be cause of how “diff er ent” the cult ures are – so I no tice peo ple ‘lis ten- ing’ to me, or re-blogg ing when ev er I rant – but in day-to-day int er ac tions, there is still an inv is ible, une qual di chot omy . . . when I’m not di rectl y ad dress ing them or point ing out their fails, very few have any in ter est in what I have to say. Jas min’s comm ents point to the com plex ity of dia logue withi n an on line space, and re veal the on go ing ten sion be tween cre at ing open space for close en coun ters and closed bor ders that limi t these close en coun ters from oc cur ring. Conclusions: Creating Transnational Feminisms? The FBomb’s div erse comm un ity hints at the form at ion of a transn at ional fem ini sm, fost ered by on line global co ali tions. For ex ample, Nyssa is op- ti mist ic that the fem i nist blo gosph ere is an av en ue for the dev el op ment of a transn at ional fem in ism. She says that, “The In ter net has defi nite ly real ly opened up the scope, al lowi ng peo ple from vir tuall y ev eryw here to chip in. I think it’s open ing eyes ev eryw here – you can read po ems by a Saudi Arab ian fem in ist or a Jam aic an LGBT act ivi st or the thoughts of an Amer i- can woma n in Af ghan is tan and a bunch of other sce narios . . . and while it might not be per fect, it’s defi nite ly great to have that ac cess.” Nyssa’s com ment points to the abil ity of sites like the FBomb to fa cil i tate dia logue where ev ery one is en coura ged to have a voice and par tic ip ate by both speak ing and lis ten ing to others. This is es pe cial ly sig nifi cant for girls, whose voices are rarel y pre s ent with in mains tream med ia and publ ic ins ti tu- tions, un less in cor po rated in to an ad ult-di rected ini tia tive (Har ris 2004). The abil ity for girls around the world to ex er cise agency on line through iden tity ex plor at ion and conn ec tions with other girls, may sug gest as to why girls are inc reas ingl y act ive on line, es pe ciall y as blog gers (Len hart et al. 2008). 144 | Jess al ynn Kell er But Jas min’s com ments re mind us that bor ders, ge og raphies, and bod- ies still exi st in this space, privi leg ing a nor ma tive white, West ern fe mi nist lens with which to view is sues both with in West ern bor ders – and out side them. While havi ng girls from diff ere nt count ries write their own posts is a good first step, it does not nec es sar ily ne gate the power dyn am ics pre s- ent with in the fe mi nist blo gosph ere or dis man tle the West/rest bi nary that has long marked trans nat ional fem ini sms. Thus, Jasm in o en says she feels like the “tok en brown” on many West ern-based fe mi nist sites. It is tell ing when Jas min con fides that, “I’ve ex pe ri enced more rac ism on line than I have in my non-onl ine life.” The fe mi nist blo gosph ere, and the FBomb in par ticu lar, can not then be reg arded as in dic a tive of an unp rob lem atic transn at ional fem in ism. How- ev er, based on my ana ly s is and in ter views, I ar gue that it can be seen as an ac tiv ist space that both makes vis ible the work that needs to be done, while work ing to wards maki ng more close en count ers poss ible. This is not an easy task, and leads to a space that at times ap pears messy, cont ra dic tory, and fraught with ten sions – a po si tion that aligns it with the fe mi nist act iv ism of the third wave. Girls’ blog ging on the FBomb can be viewed as a form of fe mi nist ac tiv- ism in pro gress, with the prac tice of writ ing con sti tuti ng a way to de vel op, per form, and exp lore one’s shi ing fem in ist iden tity and make space for close enc ount ers with girls from around the world. This does not alw ays hap pen, as bor ders, bodies, and na tions o en get re affi rmed through the blog ging pro cess, howe ve r, as the FBomb and other fem i nist sites cont in ual- ly shi and change, we can hope that these shis con tin ue to make more space for fu ture transn a tional femi ni sms. References Ahmed, S., 2000. Strange Encounters: Em bodied Others in Post-Co lo niali ty. New York: Routl edge. boyd, d., 2007. Why Youth (Heart) So cial Network Sites: The Role of Net- worked Pub lics in Teenage Social Life. In: D. Bucki ng ham, ed. Youth, Identity, and Digital Med ia. Camb ridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 119–142. Col lins, P., 2005. Black Sexual Politics. New York: Rout ledge. deCaires Narain, D., 2004. What Happened to Global Sisterhood? Writi ng and Reading ‘the’ Post co lo nial Woman. In: S. Gill is, G. Ho wie, R. Mun- ford, eds. Third Wave Feminism: A Critical Exploration. New York: Pal- grave Mac Mill an, pp. 240–251. Dicker, R. and Piep meier, A., 2003. Catch ing a Wave: Re claim ing Feminism for the 21st Cen tury. Bos ton: Northe ast ern Uni ver sity Press. FBomb. (2009–). hp://the omb.org. Garrison, E. K., 2000. U. S. Fem ini sm – Grrrl Style! Youth (Sub) Cult ures and the Technologies of the Third Wave. In: N. He wi, ed. No Perma- nent Waves: Re casti ng Histories of US Feminism. New Jer sey: Rut gers Uni vers ity Press, pp. 379–402. “It’s a Hard Job Being an In dian Feminist” | 145 Gil lis, S., 2004. Neit her Cyborg Nor Goddess: The (Im)Possibilities of Cy- berfem ini sm. In: S. Gill is, G. How ie, R. Munf ord, eds. Third Wave Feminism: A Critical Exploration. New York: Palg rave MacM il lan, pp. 185–196. Har ris, A., 2004. Fu ture Girl: Young Women in the Twenty-first Century. New York: Routl edge. Heyw ood, L. and Drake, J., 1997. Third Wave Agenda: Bei ng Feminist, Doing Feminism. Min nea po lis: Uni ver sity of Min ne sota Press. Kar lyn, K. R., 2003. Scream, Popu l ar Culture, and Feminism’s Third Wave: ‘I’m Not My Mother’. Gen ders, 38 [on line]. Avail able at: [Ac cessed 25 Feb ru ary 2011]. Len hart, A., Ara feh, S., Smith, A., and Macgill, A., 2008. Writ ing, Technol- ogy, and Teens. Pew In ter net & Amer i can Life Project [onl ine]. Avail able at: [Ac cessed 20 Sept em ber 2011]. Maz za rel la, S., 2005. Girl Wide Web: Girls, the Int ern et, and the Negotiation of Identity. New York: Pe ter Lang. Miller, T., 2007. Cul tu ral Citizenship: Cos mo po li ta nism, Consumerism, and Tele- vision in a Neoliberal Age. Phil a del phia: Tem ple Univ er sity Press. Mo han ty, C., 1988. Un der West ern Eyes: Fem i nist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses. Fe mi nist Re view, 30, pp. 65–88. Mo han ty, C., 2003. Fem ini sm Without Borders. Dur ham: Duke Uni ver sity Press. Muaddi Darraj, S., 2003. Third World, Third Wave Feminism(s): The Evo- lution of Ar ab Amer i can Feminism. In: R. Dicker, and A. Piep meier, eds. Catch ing a Wave: Rec laimi ng Feminism for the 21st Cen tury. Bost on: North east ern Uni ver sity Press, pp. 188–205. Woodh ull, W., 2004. Global Feminisms, Transnational Political Economies, Third World Cultural Production. In: S. Gil lis, G. Ho wie, R. Mun ford, eds. Third Wave Feminism: A Critical Exploration. New York: Pal grave Mac Mil lan, pp. 252–262. i ng Coalition in Cyber-Space Cho reog raphi ng Coalition in Cyber-Space: Post Na tyam’s Politico-Aesthetic Negotiations Sandra Chat terj ee and Cyn thia Ling Lee1 Introduction This pract ice-based es say unp acks the coll ab or at ive proc ess of the Post Na tyam Col lec tive, a transn a tional, in ter net-based group of women art- ists worki ng on crit i cal ap proaches to South Asian dance. The ess ay aims to rev eal the sticky po liti co-aes thetic neg ot i at ions of cho reo graph ing co- ali tion and to disc uss how the int ern et, used “as a grass-roots me dium” (Wulff 2004: 190), ini ti ates a re-vi sion ing of col la bo ra tive, (fe min ist)2 cho- re og raphic pro cesses. As Pol ly Carl and Vij ay Mat hew, di rec tors of the Ameri c an Voices New Play In stit ute, state, “the ‘we’ pot ent ial in Int ern et techn olo gies” all ows “build[ing] our knowle dge comm ons” through “id- io syn cratic, al tern a tive, or ‘off-lab el’ uses that serve the part icu l ar needs of our com mu nity” (Carl and Mat hew 2011). The Post Na tyam Coll ec tive is firm ly comm ied to col lab o ra tion. Struc- tured as a hor i zon tal net work, rat her than a ver ti cal hie r ar chy with an ar- tis tic di rec tor, the col lec tive honors mul ti ple per spec tives, geo graphic lo- ca tions, cul tu ral cont exts and movem ent forms, while re fus ing a sign a ture dance-voc ab u lary “brand.” Col lec tive mem bers Sandra Cha er jee, Cynt hia Ling Lee, Shya ma la Moort y, and An ja li Tata, lo cated be tween Los An gel es, Kan sas City, Mu nich, and In dia, stay in reg u lar ar tis tic and po lit ic al di a- logue util iz ing free in ter net tech nol ogies. Com mi ing to col lab o ra tion re quires mak ing room for each other’s per- spec tives and step ping out side in di vidu al com fort zones to sup port each other’s art-based po liti cal ac tion. Such grassr oots art maki ng, to borr ow con tem por ary art the or ist Grant Kest er’s words, re quires “the art ist to sur- ren der the se cu rity of self-ex pres sion for the risk of in ter-sub jec tive en gage- ment” (2004: 8). As coll ect ive memb ers, we have diff ere nt po lit ic al stances that map on to dis tinct aest hetic pref er ences. Our stances range from com- mu nity-based art ac tiv ism to de con struct ing dance his tories, ques tion ing clas si cal dance’s gen der con structs, chal leng ing the aud i ence’s sex u al iz- 1 The article has been co-wrien by Chaerjee and Lee. Authorship is equal. 2 Not every collective member self-identifies as activist or feminist. But we all engage with activist and feminist approaches (see also Mohanty 2003: 50). Cho reo graph ing Coalition in Cyber-Space | 147 ing/ex o ti fying gaze, and con nect ing the po lit i cal and the spir i tual. These stances over lap, yet they can also con tra dict each other, pro duc ing con flict. Sim i lar ly, our diff eri ng pol i tics mani f est them selves through diff er ent aes- thet ics: while some of us favor cre at ing im ages of heal ing and em po wer- ment, others in sist on high light ing mul ti ple con tra dic tory mean ings and ten sions; si mul ta neous ly others en gage in the de con struc tion of cul tu ral ly di verse movem ent forms. Work ing through our po lit ico-aes thetic con flicts to wards a pro gress ive South Asian cho re og raphic co ali tion brings deep fe mi nist dis agree ments to the sur face. In a crit i cal disc us sion of women and “women of color” as a so cial cat e gory, fe mi nist the o rist of color Chan dra Tal pade Mo han ty states that “there is no log i cal and nec es sary conn ec tion be tween be ing fe male and be comi ng fe mi nist” (2003: 49). She cri tiques the term “femi n ism” from the per spec tive of women of color: Fe mi nist movem ents have been chall enged on the grounds of cult u ral imp e- ri al ism and of shorts ight ed ness in de fin ing the meani ng of gend er in terms of middle-class, white ex pe ri ences, in ter nal rac ism, class ism, and ho mo pho bia. All of these fac tors, as well as the false ly ho moge nous rep res en tat ion of the move- ment by the me dia, have led to a very real sus pi cion of “femi ni sm” as a prod uc- tive ground for strug gle. (49–50) Draw ing on Mo han ty’s frame work, then, a co ali tion of women of color would be eff ec tive as a “vi able op po si tional all i ance [based on] a comm on cont ext of strug gle ra ther than color or ra cial iden ti fi ca tions” (2003: 49). Cri tiqu ing uni ty as “a po ten tial ly re pres sive fic tion,” Mo han ty and Biddy Mart in (2003: 99) write: It is at the mom ent at which groups and ind iv id uals are con ceived as agents, as so cial ac tors, as de sir ing sub jects that uni ty, in the sense of co her ent group iden- tity, comm on al ity, and shared ex pe ri ence, be comes diffi cult. In di vid uals do not fit neat ly in to unid i men sional, self-iden ti cal cate gories (ibid). Simi lar ly, gen der the o rist Ju dith But ler states: “No one stands with in a defi - ni tion of fem ini sm that re mains un con tested.” (2004: 174) She cont in ues: I ap proach femi ni sm with the pre sump tion that no und is puted prem ises are to be agreed upon in the global con text. And so, for prac ti cal and po lit i cal rea sons, there is no val ue to be de rived in si lenc ing dis putes. The ques tions are: how best to have them, how most pro duc tive ly to stage them, and how to act in ways that ac knowl edge the ir rev ers ible comp lex ity of who we are? (But ler 2004: 176) Con sis tent with our in ter net-based pro cess, the “disp utes” of the col lec tive are largel y “staged” on a blog, where the ind i vid ual memb ers’ lo cal pro- cesses int er sect.3 The blog il lus trates what Grant Kes ter, fol low ing Bakht- in, de scribes as “dia lo gic al art pract ice” (2004: 10), which re places the art ob ject with “a cum u la tive pro cess of ex change and di a logue” (2004: 12). In this sense, the col lec tive’s sus tained on line “con ver sa tions” bring to gether “a loc us of diff eri ng meani ngs, in ter pre ta tions, and points of view” (Kes- 3 See www.postnatyam.blogspot.com 148 | Sandra Chat terj ee and Cyn thia Ling Lee ter 2004: 10) aim ing to “imag ine be yond the lim its of fixed iden tities, offi - cial dis course, and the per ceived ine vita bil ity of par ti san po lit i cal con flict” (Kes ter 2004: 8). The ar tist ic works disc ussed here refl ect the poli t ics of pro cess (grass- roots in ter net cho re og raphy) and the pro cess of cho reo graph ing co ali- tion. How does our in ter net-based cho re og raphic co ali tion en act di a logue among diff er ence? How should we re-en vi sion cho re og raphy in light of our bor der-crossi ng, hy perl inked a empts at a dem o cratic, many-headed voic ing of fe mi nist, post co lo nial, con tem po rary South Asian dance? What are the most prom is ing prac ti cal strat egies for ne got ia ti ng the tens ion be- tween our pol iti c al stances, bet ween the ind iv idu al and the group, and be- tween the lo cal and the long-dis tance? Shifting Sites: The Politics of Process Since late 2008, the col lec tive has large ly tran si tioned from stu dio-based to int er net-based col lab o ra tion – not be cause of an aes thetic int er est in cut- ting-edge tech nol ogy and glob al ized in ter cul tur al net works, but out of a lack of re sources. We uti lize free and in ex pen sive int er net tools such as blogg ing, vide o posti ng, conf ere nce calls, and onl ine docu m ents to stay conn ected across the dist ance des pite a lack of fundi ng, the high costs of travel and visas, and time cons traints due to res pon si bil ities of mothe r- hood and earn ing a liv ing. The in ter net, in dance an thro pol o gist Hel ena Wulff’s terms, func tions here “as a grass-roots me dium con nect ing peo ple of lesser means and po lit i cal agendas on a global level” (2004: 190). This runs con trary to seem ing ly re lated dance-me dia work like dance tele ma tics, where net worked per formers in diff er ent lo cales si mul ta neous ly per form to gether. While such work is usuall y sited in well-funded in stit u tions with high in tern et band width, our work aes thetic ally refl ects a DIY sens i bil ity: our tech nol ogy seld om looks slick and can be rough around the edges. Our shi to int er net-based coll abo r at ion grew out of a pro cess of gen- era ti ng mat e rial for a live perf orm ance pro ject, SUNO H! Tell Me, Sister.4 Col lec tive memb ers rot ated to give month ly as sign ments,5 post ing vid eo res ponses and prov idi ng feedb ack to each other through blog comm ents. As such our on line cre a tive pro cess enc our ages mult ip le voices, crea tes a struc ture of sup port ive feed back, and puts dem o cratic di a logue about our some times con flict ing (fe mi nist) ap proaches, po lit ic al methods, and aes- 4 Our online creative process was initially devised to generate movement material for SUNOH! Tell me, Sister, a joint performance inspired by the artistic legacy of Indian courte- sans, to be compiled during two short residencies and premiered as a live performance. The performance’s thematic focus widened and did not materialize with the four collective members as planned. The show, containing long-distance contributions from all members, has been mostly performed by Cynthia and Shyamala, with one run with Anjali as a trio. 5 Our process has shied to accommodate a wider range of choreographic and research methodologies, as themes, ideas, and threads emerged that required longer develop- ment. Cho reo graph ing Coalition in Cyber-Space | 149 Picture 1: “Cyber Chat” Clockwise from upper le: Anjali Tata, Cynthia Ling Lee, Shyamala Moorty, Sandra Chaerjee thetic mani fes ta tions int o the pub lic sphere, open ing up our pro cess to out side in terv en tion.6 This shi of mak ing our on line col la bo ra tive pro- cess transp are nt to the publ ic un does the herm et i cism of cho re og raphic pro cess, where cre a tion usual ly takes place in pri vate with on ly pol ished prod ucts made pub lic through per for mance. As such, it de moc ra tizes and de mys tifies ar tis tic prac tice, in line with the fe mi nist vi sual/con cep tual art pract ice of ap proach ing doc u men tat ion of pro cess as an ar tist ic end in its elf (Mc Dow ell 2009). The grad ual shi to an in ter net-based pro cess has had pro found, un- fores een eff ects on the col lec tive’s overa ll work: (1) Change of cho re og raphic pro cess: trans form ing each other’s ma te- rial in to mul ti ple, in de pen dent, and lo cal man i fes ta tions in stead of work- ing to wards one comm on, stable, and fini shed prod uct. (2) Me di at i za tion of ar tis tic produ ct: on line cult u ral pro duct ion (vid eo, text, sound des ign, art-books) supp lants live dance; and change of pres en- ta tion for mat: on line shar ing and art in stal la tions as alt er na tives to the at ri- cal per for mance. 6 While it is rare for total outsiders to give feedback (and we do moderate comments by outsiders), in our recent project, local collaborators outside of the four-person collective regularly consulted the blog and made comments. 150 | Sandra Chat ter jee and Cyn thia Ling Lee (3) Change of rel at ions hip to aud ie nce: (a) maki ng a blog-based cre a tive pro cess trans par ent to the pub lic (b) cul ti vat ing par tic i pa tory struc tures that in vite lo cal au di ences and art ists to con trib ute to live ar tis tic pro duc tions.7 Sit u ated in a lim i nal space be tween on line and live per form ance, our dance-work edges tow ards what dance schola r Harmony Bench calls “so- cial dance-me dia,” a hy brid form of screen-dance and so cial me dia, i. e. “the sub set of Web 2.0 tech nol ogies through which in ter net users share and comm ent upon others’ posted con tent” (2010b). Typ ified by an “agenda of ac ces si bil ity,” soc ial dance med ia ref ers to “chor e og raphies that elab- o rate upon so cial me dia’s ide ol ogies of part ic i pa tion. . . . dance should be shared, cop ied, em bodied, ma nip u lated, and re cir cu lated ra ther than pre- served for the prof es sional and elite dancer . . . to cre ate new grounds upon which to es tab lish move ment com mu nities” (ibid). Be tween 2009 and 2011, we de vel oped an “open source” poli cy with in the col lec tive, en cour ag ing each other to “bor row, steal, ap pro pri ate, trans late” and “cre a tive ly re cy- cle” (Cha erj ee, Lee, Moort y, and Tata 2011) each other’s ideas to build our “move ment com mu nity”. While we have not yet cen tral ized pub lic par- tic i pa tion in our pro cess, so cial dance-me dia’s em pha s is on par tic i pa tion, shar ing, and cir cu la tion fa cil i tates a cru cial trans na tional ex change about fe mi nist, cho re og raphic and ac tiv ist ap proaches with in the col lec tive. An ar tis tic by-pro duct of our shi to in ter net-based col lab o ra tion is an on go ing se ries of dance-for-came ra pieces, the Cy ber Chats. Cre ated in col- labo ra tion with film makers Sang i ta Shrest ho va and Prum so dun Ok, these dance-for-came ra pieces evolved un ex pected ly out of our cre a tive as sign- ments and make ex ten sive use of sampl ing and re mix ing. They ill us trate a pol i tics of pro cess, ne go ti at ing be tween in di vid ual and col lec tive au thor ial voices. The first Cy ber Chat – “Cy ber Chat, Cyber Spat” – emerged or ganic ally from a se ries of Skype-in spired re sponses to as sign ments be tween Jan u ary and No vemb er 2009, witho ut an ar tist ic dir ec tor or aes thetic re stric tions on each mem ber’s con tri bu tion. Cyn thia cre ated a sound-score to evoke the bad re cept ion and over lap ping voices of our on line ad min is tra tive meet- ings, to which Shya ma la and Sandra cre ated mock-Skype call vid eos that re-con tex tu al ize In dian ges tures and fa cial ex pres sion for a web cam. Build- ing on what had emerged by chance, Cyn thia and An ja li cre ated Skype- ins pired vide os as well. Though init ial ly en vi sioned as live group cho re- og raphy, the dis tance caused us to trans late it in to vide o form, ce ment ing our shi tow ards on line cul tu ral pro duc tion. Sang i ta Shres tho va ed ited all four vide os int o “Cyb er Chat, Cyber Spat,” a loop of humorous comb in a- tions of sol os, due ts and a quar tet,8 which play ful ly strips In dian class i cal dance of its time less, spir i tual ve neer by placi ng us in the cont ext of the Skype call and our quo tidi an lives: try ing to comm un i cate with each other 7 Examples include “Make-Your-Own-Padam,” “Rasa Rerouted,” and SUNOH! Tell Me Sister’s pre-show installation (documented on www.postnatyam.blogspot.com) 8 Screened at an art installation, TRACE, in Los Angeles. See hp://postnatyam.blogs- pot.com/2010/01/remembering-trace.html Cho reo graph ing Coalition in Cyber-Space | 151 while quieti ng noisy bab ies or drink ing coff ee bleary-eyed, our art-mak- ing is in ter laced with do mes tic ity. Lo cat ing us in our ind iv id ual homes, the piece pro vides geo graph i cal con text ra ther than plac ing us in the “no- place” (Bench 2010a: 54) of the black box or green screen that typ ifies many dance-me dia works. Howe ve r, many of us felt that the ind iv id ual parts of “Cyb er Chat, Cy- ber Spat” were eff ec tive as sol os but too cha otic and un re lated as a quar tet: the in di vid ual voices were strong, but the col lec tive voice was less co her- ent. We re vised “Cy ber Chat, Cyber Spat,” trans lat ing an ar tis tic idea that had emerged org anica lly in to a tightl y con trol led cho re og raphic pro cess with an int ri cate time line. Con scious ly utili zi ng our as sign ment proc ess to co-cre ate a dance-for-came ra piece across dis tance ra ther than le ing chance el e ments emergi ng from our pro cess det er mine the art is tic out- come, Sang i ta and Cyn thia, co-fa cil it at ors of “Cyb er Chat Revisted,” spec i- fied rules to cre ate clear re lat ion ships, enc our age more sty list ic con sis tency (fixed cam era, no ed it ing), and en sure all el e ments of the sound-score were ad dressed: “Cy ber Chat Revisted” was cre ated through an “it er a tive se- quence wherei n each memb er crea ted their own cyb er chat set to their own sub-track of the aud io while watchi ng pre vi ous mem bers’ in ter pre ta tions” (Shresh to va 2010).9 The maki ng of “Cy ber Chat Revisited” refl ected a new und er stand ing gleaned from an or ga ni za tional re struc tur ing pro cess. Rea l iz ing that it was not al ways em power ing or effi cient for all col lec tive mem bers to be equal ly in volved in ev ery de ci sion, the col lec tive was changi ng to ward a clear er di- vi sion of roles and res pon si bil ities to em power in di vid uals to take ini tia tive to fa cili tate a proj ect/proc ess. The res ult ing vid eo-so los were not as in ter- est ing as stand-alone works, but the quar tet em pha sized the re la tion ships be tween us while main tain ing a sense of mul ti vo ca li ty: the col lec tive voice was craed to be come strong er than each in di vid ual voice. The Process of Choreographing Coalition: SUN OH! Tell Me, Sister The Cyb er Chat se ries ex em plifies a shi ing pol i tics of pro cess, ne go ti at- ing be tween in di vid ual and coll ect ive aut hori al voices. By cont rast, the po- lit ico-aest hetic con flicts be tween mem bers when cre at ing the live perf or- mance, SUNO H! Tell Me, Sister,10 ex emp lify the chor e og raphic proc ess of co ali tion al pol i tics. As an ex ample, we will dis sect the ne go ti a tions be hind mak ing a sec tion of SUNO H!, which cata lyzed tens ion be tween crea t ing images of emp o wer ment through com mu nity ac tiv ism and por trayi ng po- lit ico-aes thetic com plex ity for a the at ri cal con text. Com mu nity ac tiv ism was in tro duced to the pro ject in ac cor dance with the com mu nity part ner ship re quirem ent of SUNO H!’s prod ucer, TeAd a Pro- 9 See hp://postnatyam.blogspot.com/2010/09/cyber-chat-revisited.html 10 From here on identified as SUNOH! 152 | Sandra Chat terj ee and Cyn thia Ling Lee Picture 2: “My Silent Cry”/”The Thorn, the Leaf, and the Butterfly” performer: Shyamala Moorty photo by Andrei Andreev; multimedia design by Carole Kim ductions, with Shya mal a’s comm un ity-based work ex panded to the larger coll ec tive.11 Based on her work with AWAZ, the Southern Cal i for nia-based South Asian Network’s (SAN) sup port group for sur viv ors of dom es tic vi o- lence, Shya ma la cre ated a short cho re og raphy, “My Silent Cry,” in col lab o- ra tion with surv iv or Uma Singh, who had asked Shya ma la to int er view her about sur viv ing a thir ty-year abu sive mar riage. Their duet was a vari a tion on “ver bat im theater,” where int er views with usual ly mar gina li zed subj ects serve as a foun da tion for a script per formed by pro fes sional ac tors (Hed don 2008: 127). Their joint per for mance at a SAN com mu nity event, where Uma spoke her story while Shya ma la, bound in forty feet of white cloth, strug- gled, broke free, and trans formed int o a bu erfl y, was Uma’s com ing out as a surv iv or to her comm u nity. Ac cord ing to Shya ma la, the per for mance was deep ly trans for ma tive for Uma, her self, and the SAN com mu nity. Nev er thel ess, inc or po rat ing the com mu nity-based per form ance, “My Silent Cry,” in to the col lec tive’s pro ject led to po lit ico-aest hetic dis putes. For Cyn- thia, “My Silent Cry,” while eff ec tive in a comm u nity con text, had a script too bla tant for the theater and was aes thetic ally dis con nected from the proj ect’s in vest ment in In dia’s his tor i cal dancer-cour te sans. Cyn thia there fore drew from Uma’s in terv iew to rew rite a court e san po em by the sev en teenth-cen- tury poet Kse raya. High light ing res o nances be tween the poe m’s re frain, “I 11 Los Angeles-based Cynthia participated in Shyamala’s monthly AWAZ workshops, while the entire collective participated long-distance by choreographing studies to sur- vivors’ writings. Cho reo graph ing Coalition in Cyber-Space | 153 Picture 3: “The Thorn, the Leaf, and the Butterfly” performer: Shyamala Moorty photo by Andrei Andreev; multimedia design by Carole Kim didn’t say a word,” and an inc i dent where Uma ref used “to tell her husb and that she love[d] him when he [came] home, drunk, and de mand[ed] that she pro fess her love,” Cynt hia aimed to “cap i tal iz[e] on the amb i gu ity of a wom- an’s si lence, which can be both pass iv ity and re sis tance” (Lee 2010a). A pol it ico-aes thetic dis agree ment un folded on the blog be tween Shya- ma la and Cynt hia: Shya mal a was in ter ested in a clear arc from opp res sion to em po wer ment, while Cyn thia wanted to evoke com plex, emo tional nu- ances. While exc ited “about the po ten tial con nec tion to the po etic tra di- tion of the court es ans and the SAN women’s exp e ri ence” (Moort y 2010), Shya ma la ar tic u lated con cern that the am big u ous end ing of Cyn thia’s po- em was “tragic” (ibid.), sugg esti ng that the po em end on an emp oweri ng note of res ist ance in stead. For Cyn thia, how eve r, this change ren dered the hus band “fla er and more evil,” “ro man ti ciz ing the mo ment of trans for- ma tion” when “acts of res is tance are con ting ent, mo men tary, pro vi sional and . . . you neve r fully esc ape” (Lee 2010b). Tog ether with coll ec tive mem- ber An ja li and mul ti me dia col la bo ra tor Ca role Kim, they re vised the piece dur ing a res i dency in Los Ang e les, int e grat ing the two con flict ing pol it- ico-aes thetic ap proaches and in cor po rat ing South Asian aes thet ics such as live vid eo feed of ab hi naya (fa cial ex pres sion) and mu dras (hand ges tures), vi sual ref er ences to Mug hal min ia tures, and the re wri en Kse raya poe m. Ul tim ate ly, we cre ated two ver sions of the piece: “My Silent Cry,” a stand- alone piece suit able for sur vi vors’ groups and women’s shel ters, and “The Thorn, the Leaf, and the Buerfly,” which re lated clear ly to the aes thetic themes of SUNO H! and tar geted a the at ri cal au di ence. 154 | Sandra Chat terj ee and Cyn thia Ling Lee Througho ut the rev is ion proc ess from a comm u nity-based per for mance to an ab stracted cho reo g raphy, Shya ma la was con cerned wheth er the in- creased abs trac tion crea ted too much dis tance from Uma’s story. The ethics of ver ba tim theater are in deed com plex, for as per for mance schol ar Deirdre Hed don ex plains, these pro jects aim to give “voice to the voicel ess” (2008: 129) but run the risk of ap pro pria t ing the voice of the other, giv ing the ap- pear ance of an au then tic re tell ing when they are ac tu al ly high ly me di ated by the arti sts’ agendas (2008: 133). Wherea s Uma’s per form at ive pres ence in “My Silent Cry” au then tic ates the story with out fore ground ing Shya ma- la’s au thori al hand, the ab strac tion of “The Thorn, the Leaf, and the Buer- fly” de-emp has izes Uma’s voice but makes no claims to lit eral truth. It re- mains de bat able wheth er “aes thet ic iz ing” the work made it less ac ces sible to the com mu nity from which it emerged. While Uma en joyed our show, an ac tiv ist felt the work was too ab stract to be read able to work ing-class dom es tic vi o lence sur vi vors. Shya ma la re mained in con stant con ver sa tion with Uma through out the re vi sion pro cess bec ause, im por tant ly, “[e]thi cal prac tice is lo cated not on- ly in the fin ished ‘produ ct’, but also in the pro cess” (Hedd on 2008: 155). This ac cords with phi los o pher Mar ga ret Urban Walker’s “‘ex pres sive-col- lab or at ive’ model” as a fe min ist model of ethics that “plac[es] at its cent re the prac tice of ne go ti a tion be tween peo ple in de cid ing ap pro pri ate eth i cal behavior,” as op posed to the “ju rid i cal-the o ret i cal model” (Walker in Hed- don 2008: 152), a mas cu lin ist eth i cal model that em pha sizes ab stract, uni- ver sal prin ci ples of jus tice (Gar lough, in press). These po lit ico-aes thetic ne go ti a tions sur round ing “My Silent Cry”/“The Thorn, the Leaf, and the Buerfly” large ly tran spired lo cal ly in Los An ge- les, but dis agree ment about re lat ing “cour te san” ma te rial to do mes tic vi o- lence also crea ted rockin ess in the long-dist ance proc ess. Sandra, far away in Mun ich, had less op por tu nity to ar tic u late her pos i tion in favor of a com- plex ex plo ra tion of the cour te san as art ist, not on ly vic tim. Si mul ta neous ly, Shya mal a was wor ried about crea ti ng more shame for the surv iv ors by as- so ci at ing them with cour te sans. This dis agree ment, ex ac er bated by an im bal ance be tween lo cal and long-dis tance en gage ment, put the col lec tive in to a mo ment of “cris is.” The aes thetic req uire ments of the eve ning-length the at ri cal per for mance, which dem and a dram atic arc and through line, do not all ow for the same unr ul y frag men ta tion of a blog or art ins tal la tion with mult ip le voices co-existing in the same space. Some of us won dered whethe r it was even vi able to work col la bo ra tive ly when our po lit ico-aes thetic diff ere nces were so strong: How can we bring all of those streams to gether and still make a pro ject that holds to gether? Do we sacr i fice depth for breadth? By comb ini ng this ma te rial, can we do just ice to the his tories of the cour te sans and to the stor ies of the women in the comm un ity based sup port group? As ac tiv ists, do we need to speak from a “unified” pos it ion to make an ar gu ment? Cho reo graph ing Coalition in Cyber-Space | 155 As a col lect ive of women cho reo g raphers of color, we are not unified in our aes thet ics or our re la tion ships to fem in ism and ac tiv ism. At the same time, by work ing through our dis agree ments po lit i cal ly and aes thetic ally, we hope to enr ich our work and ex tend its reach. In or der to chor eo graph our co alit ion, our ar tis tic ne got i a tions have to make room for and ac tive ly sup port each other’s in di vid ual po lit i cal in vest ments while be ing un afraid to bring our po lit ico-aes thetic dis agree ments to the fore front. We sought to build a “vi able op po si tional al li ance” of women of color while ac knowl- edg ing our in di vid ual diff er ences by iden tif ying a “comm on cont ext of strug gle” (Mo han ty 2003: 49) for SUNO H! as res is tances to pa tri archal struc tures in div erse cont exts and reg ist ers. We exp anded our init ial fo- cus from the cour te san’s leg acy to “women’s stor ies of be ing si lenced, find- ing voice, and the im por tance of sis ter ly12 com mu nity” (Cha erj ee, Lee, Moor ty, and Tata 2011a). Weav ing to gether cour te san his tories, stor ies of do mes tic vi o lence surv iv ors, and our own per sonal strug gles with tra di- tion, we hoped to cre ate “pol iti c al links . . . among and be tween strugg les” (Mo han ty 2003: 46) witho ut comp ro mis ing the his tor i cal and so cio cul tural speci fic ity of any spe cific per spec tive. The au to bio graph ic al stor ies fur ther served to rev eal our pers onal in vestm ent in the ma te rial and in our dist inct po lit ico-aes thetic app roaches. Lastl y, in line with Butl er (2004), we chose to int eg rate our disa gree- ments in to the perf orm ance rat her than cove r up tens ions. The prem iere in cluded “meta-the atr i cal” (Hed don 2008: 153) mo ments such as a Skype- style vid eo of Sandra cri tiqu ing the lack of the “ra di ant,” erotic ally pow er- ful cour te san in SUNO H!13 Shya ma la in te grated her “self-re flexi ve” (ibid) per spec tive while per form ing an au to bio graph i cal sec tion, “I see, but . . .“: They don’t know that [the cour te sans] were the bearers of our dance trad i tions, eco nom i cal ly in de pen dent art ists, pow er ful busi ness women, land ow ners, even revo l ut iona ries! No, all peop le think about cour te sans is (slaps bu). But Uma and the other sur vi vors al ready feel so much (arms wrap around body in shame). . . . I can’t help but see the con nec tions, but I’m afraid of pu ing them to gether. But if I don’t, then I’ m not int ere sted in the cour tes ans, or even in Ind ian dance, un- less I can rel ate it to the world I’m livi ng in, to the women I’m worki ng with, and to the things I care about. Tell me sis ters, what should we do? (Moort y 2011) 12 “Sisterly” in this piece is drawn from an ethnographic interview with a courtesan in Lucknow, India in the 1980s (Oldenburg 1990: 268 and 285). In a South Asian context, “sister” resonates differently than the feminist idea of “global sisterhood,” which can be seen as contradicting the idea of coalition (Mohanty 2003: 106–123). Sociologist Patricia Jeffrey writes: “Sister’ comes to mind not primarily because of a Western feminist rheto- ric, but because the sister-sister can be used in South Asia to to express fictive kinship, even across caste and other boundaries” (1998: 228). Individual collective members relate to the term sister differently. 13 Screened in the premiere but removed later for dramaturgical reasons. 156 | Sandra Chat ter jee and Cyn thia Ling Lee Conclusion: “Yes to Process,” “Yes to Each Other”14 In con clu sion, the coll ec tive’s onl ine as signm ent pro cess has trans formed Post Nat yam’s col lab o ra tion from live per for mance to in ter net-based cul tu- ral pro duc tion. The as signm ent proc ess strong ly brings out the in div id ual aes thetic/po lit i cal voices of the four mem bers, which come to gether on our blog. On line, me dia-based pro jects seeded from this pro cess ne go ti ate the power dy nam ics of col lab o ra tion, strik ing a bal ance be tween in di vid ual lead er ship and col lec tive voice. Mem bers also trans late the mat e rials cre- ated on line int o live perf or mance in ter ven tions. Dur ing col lab o ra tion, our diff er ent fe mi nist po lit ico-aes thetic stances o en re quire ne go ti a tion, for bringi ng tog ether our voices can both en rich and un der mine each other’s po lit i cal effi cacy. The confl icts be tween the mem bers’ int er twined pol i tics and ar tis tic prac tices are par tial ly re solved on line and par tial ly in pers on with out al ways aff ect ing the en tire col lec tive. A er SUNO H!, we eval ua ted the cre at ion proc ess to ident ify best prac- tices for ne go tia t ing be tween the in di vid ual and the col lec tive, be tween work ing long-dist ance and live. How might we cult i vate mul ti ple voices while strengthen ing our shared pol i tics and push ing the env e lope as art- ists? How might we rec ons ider our modes of chor e og raphic prod uc tion to suit our in creas ing ly in ter net-based, trans na tional na ture? To add ress and cat al yze these con cerns, we co-wrote and are co-cho reo graph ing a man- if esto (Cha erj ee, Lee, Moort y and Tata 2011), which has confi rmed our de sire to ele vate pro cess over produ ct. As op posed to a dance com pany ded i cated to per form ing to gether live, the main pur pose of our trans na- tional coll ec tive is to share an on line cre a tive proc ess, where we trans late each other’s ma te rial in to our own in di vid ual, lo calized prod ucts. We are also dis cuss ing al ter nat ive ways of pre senti ng our work through on line shar ing, web-stream ing, and us ing Web 2.0 tools to draw in pub lic part ic- ip at ion – for mats more suita ble to our in ter net-based comm un ic a tion. The stagi ng of our pro cess in the prod uct its elf is a tech nique that has served us well in both SUNO H! Tell Me, Sister and in the Cyb er Chats. We be lieve that per form ing our ne go ti a tions, dis/agree ments and ques tions strengthens, ra ther than un der cuts, the sol i dar ity of our col lec tive voice. References Bench, H., 2010a. Anti-Gravitational Choreographies: Strate gies of Mobil- ity in Screen dance, The In ter na tion al Jour nal of Screen dance [on line]. Avail able at [Ac cessed 1 March 2012] Bench, H., 2010b. “Screen dance 2.0: Dance and Social Me dia.” Part ic i pa- tions: Journ al of Au di ence and Reception Studies, spe cial edi tion Screen Dance Audiences, 7.2. Avail able at: [Ac cessed 5 March 2012] 14 Chaerjee, S., Lee, C. L., Moorty, S. and Tata, A., 2011 Chor eo graph ing Coalition in Cyber-Space | 157 Butl er, J., 2004. Un do ing Gen der. New York: Rout ledge. Carl, P. and Math ew, V., 2011. Build ing a New Ameri c an Theater of the Comm ons. Sharea ble: Shari ng by Design Com mu nity blog [blog], 4 De- cem ber. Avail able at [Ac cessed 12 Febr ua ry 2012]. Cha er jee, S., Lee, C. L., Moort y, S. and Tata, A., 2011a. SUN OH! Tell Me, Sister [onl ine vid eo chan nel]. Avail able at: [Ac cessed 2 March 2012]. Cha er jee, S., Lee, C. L., Moor ty, S. and Tata, A., 2011b. Post Na tyam Col lec- tive Manifesto 2.2. Post Na tyam Collective blog [blog], 6 Oct o ber. Avail- able at: [Ac cessed 7 March 2012] Gar lough, C., (in press). Desi Divas: Ac tiv ism and Acknowledgment in Di as- por ic Performances. Jacks on: Univ ers ity Press of Mis siss ippi. (Acc epted for pub li ca tion 2012). Hedd on, D., 2008. Au to bi og raphy and Performance. New York: Palg rave Mac- mil lan. Holl ins, Q., 2011. Re: your feedb ack please [Email]. Mess age to S.Moort y, Tues day, 12 April 2011, 11:42 PM. Jeffr ey, P., 1998. Agency, Activism, and Agendas. In: P. Jeffr ey and A. Ba su, eds. Ap pro pri at ing Gen der: Women’s Activism and Politicized Religion in South Asia. New York and Lond on: Rout ledge, pp. 221–243. Kes ter, G., 2004. Con ver sa tion Pieces: Comm un ity and Communication in Mod- ern Art. Berke ley: Uni ver sity of Cal i for nia Press. Lee, C. L., 2010a. Uma’s pa dam, or Rewriting Kse raya. Post Na tyam Collec- tive blog [blog], 29 No vemb er. Ava lila ble at . [Ac- cessed 25 Oct o ber 2011]. Lee, C. L., 2010b. Uma’s pad am, or Rewriting Kse raya (com ment). Post Nat yam Collective blog [blog], 7 Dec em ber. Availa ble at [Ac cessed 25 Oct o ber 2011]. Mart in, B. and Mo hant y, C. T., 2003. “What’s Home Got to Do With It?” in Moh ant y, C. T., Femi n ism With out Borders: De colo nizi ng Theory, Practicing Solidarity. Dur ham, N. C.; Lon don: Duke Uni ver sity Press, pp. 85–105. Mc Do well, C., 2009. Pers onal com mu ni ca tion [con ver sa tion], 29 Oc to ber. Mo han ty, C. T., 2003. Fem in ism Without Borders: De colo niz ing Theory, Practic- ing Solidarity. Durh am, N. C.; Lon don: Duke Uni vers ity Press. Moor ty, S., 2010. Uma’s pa dam, or Rewriting Kse raya (comm ent). Post Na tyam Collective blog [blog], 7 De cem ber. Avail able at: , [Ac cessed 30 Oct o ber 2011]. Moor ty, S., 2011. I see, but . . . In: SUNO H! Tell Me, Sister [per for mance script]. Per formed San ta Mo nica CA, Miles Me mo rial Playhouse. Post Na tyam Collective. 1 April – 3 April 2011. Ra ma nu jan, A. K., Velche ru N. R., and David Schul man, eds. and trans., 1994. When God is a Cust omer: Tel ugu Courtesan Songs by Kset rayya and Others. Berke ley: Uni ver sity of Cal i for nia Press. Shres tho va, S., 2010. Cy ber Chat Rough Cut. Post Nat yam Collective blog [blog], 6 July. Avail able at [Ac cessed 8 March 2012]. Wulff, H., 2004. Steps on Screen: Tech no sca pes, Vi su ali za ti on, and Glo ba li- za tion in Dan ce. In: C. Garst en and H. Wulff, eds., New Tech no lo gies at Work: Peo ple, Screens, and Social Vir tua lity. Ox ford and New York: Berg, pp. 187–204. male” Youth on Flickr.com On the Aesthetics of Self-Representation: Mustached “Fem ale” Youth on Flickr.com Marc us Recht and Bir git Rich ard 1 Introduction: Youth Culture & Web 2.0 In what foll ows, an a empt will be und er taken to shed light on a phen om- en on that ap pears with in the con tents of the Web 2.0 plat form Flickr.com that takes as its start ing point the me dium of the mu sic vid eo clip as “shi- ing im age” (Richa rd 2003): the im age of the wom an with a mustache. If the mustache is staged plau sibly enough, this im age func tions as a “gen der bender,” but the cred ib ili ty of the perf orm ance can also have both int en- tional ly and un in ten tional ly humorous as so ci a tions. Be fore this par tic u lar phe nom e non can be delved int o, a brief overv iew of the changes that Web 2.0 has eff ected on young peo ple should first be given. For many young peo ple, Web 2.0 has taken over the func tion of an ex am i na tion of their en vi ron ment, of ques tions of world view, of fash ion, love, sexu al ity, vi o lence and death, where pos i tions are rel a tive and a rea c- tion is called for. Here not ev ery ironic twist is dis cussed, iron i cal ly acted, al ways ap pro pri ate ly class i fied, sat i rized or sim ply just hated (Rich ard, Recht, Grünwald and Metz 2010). In add it ion to the clas sic “real ex ist ing” loc a tions of youth in ter ac tion, the int ern et in part icu l ar, in its form as “Soc ial Web 2.0,” pres ents it self as a space that, if noth ing else, is ori ented to wards youth cul ture. In a diff er ent form, the idea of the “Street Corner So ci ety” (Whyte 1996) can be trans fer- red to Web 2.0 and its com mu nities. In 1943, the term “Street Corner So ci- ety” was coined in the course of the Chic ag o School’s groundb reaki ng gang study, and it has pro found ly infl u enced the sub se quent his tor i cal re search on youth cult ure. Whyte’s ob serv a tion that street cor ners cons tit uted con- gre ga tion and meeti ng places for young peo ple from mar gina l ized soc ial mil ieus due to the lack of alt ern at ives would later be add ressed by Brit- ish cul tu ral stud ies in the course of subs e quent youth studi es. The lack of repr es en ta tion spaces is per pet ua ted with the in tern et in the age of Web 2.0, with seemi ng ly un lim ited space at its disp osal, which, given the med ia lite r acy of young peo ple, is easy to con quer. At the same time, the vir tual netw ork is comp ar able in quali ty to the orig i nal street corn er, bec ause Web 2.0 guar an tees vis i bil ity and, as a place for two-way and multi-pronged in- ter ac tion, off ers the po ten tial to be a prov o ca tion space, as will also be seen 160 | Mar cus Recht and Bir git Rich ard in the sel ected exa mples of young women with mustaches. Web 2.0 has be- come a new form of the virt ual street cor ner, en sur ing vis i bil ity as a meet- ing place for young peop le from mar gin al ized so cial mi lieus or from parts of the soc ie ty which have no other al tern at ive places in “real life” (Rich ard, Recht, Grünwald and Metz 2010: 13). Phot os shot with mob ile phone cam- eras, webc ams or with prof ess ional came ras bec ome a stumbli ng block to the med ia. Thus, self-exp ress ion, as will be shown bel ow us ing the ima ges of women with mustaches, can ex hib it exp lor atory traits, not least by play- ing with gen der iden tities. In ad di tion to the level of showi ng one self and bei ng seen, the pho to- graphs take on yet another funct ion: they bec ome, as it will be arg ued, a vir tual mir ror in stance, which al lows, in con trast to the “ana log street cor- ners” of the pre vi ous gene ra tions, even the spec ta tors to have their own self-rep re sen ta tion which its elf is ass essed (through the dis tance granted by the me dium). This pro ce dural am biv a lence has been over looked by the pre vi ous re search, in which the rep re sen ta tion of the other has al ways been as sumed. At the center of such a pres en ta tion is the ego shot, the kind of pho to graph in which young peo ple cap ture thems elves as part ic i pants in youth cul tu ral styles. For the young gen er a tion, me dia poses are natu ral and com mon place. Their behavior be fore the cam era is pro fes sional and trained. The ref er- ence to pre vi ous for mats is cen tral: such pre cur sor im ages orig i nate from pop cult ure med ia and are more over peer im ages. Thus syn thetic im age hy brids take shape out of me and I – new forms that are not com pa rable to “clas sic” im ages. A very comm on type is the so-called mir ror shot, in which the peop le phot og raph thems elves in the mirr or. This cate g ory is dis tin- guished from the aes thetic known as the one arm length shot, in which the sub ject pho to graphs him- or her self with a re versed cam era held at arm’s length. In con trast, in the mir ror shot, the in di vidu al pers on, the vis ible cam era and poss ibly a vis ible flash are all a part of the pic ture. This youth self-pre sen ta tion is re flected in a me dia ego, fol low ing its own ima ge soc iali z at ion. This can be a star double (Ullr ich 2002), but in any case, an im age prod uct arises that serves the re quire ments of me dia for mats and, with in this frame work, seeks an in di vid ual ac cess. The me dia ego in the im age al ways moves in pre de ter mined cat e gories. This is com ple mented by an exp anded “masq uer ade” idea (Weissb erg 1994), which app lies not on ly to the de pic tion of gend er rel a tions but also to the self-pre sen ta tion of young peop le on the in tern et, to ref ute the ide ol ogy of an “au then tic” youth ful ap pear ance in im ages as natu ral or genu ine. The ima ges in gen- eral are not about the “ill us tra tion” of an aut hen tic soc ial re al ity, al low ing di rect in fer ences on the life of young peop le to be drawn. 2 The female mustache as “shifting image” At this point one of the phe nom e na of Web 2.0 on the Flickr photo plat- form will be ex am ined from the gen der as pect: the rep re sen ta tion of “mus- tached” fem i nin ity by youth ful fe males. This phe nom en on, based on me- On the Aesthetics of Self-Representation: Mustached “Fe male” Youth on Flickr.com | 161 dia pre cur sor ima ges, is thus part of a mim etic self-rep re sen ta tion; Web 2.0 serves here in any case as a mirr or in stance. Prior to this, the term “Queer Theory” has to be spec ifi ed, which was first coined in 1991 by Te resa de Laure tis (1991) as a way to tran scend iden- tity pol i tics and cat e gor i cal re stric tions. The ground work was set up for ex- ample by Ju dith But ler (1990), how ev er, who showed both terms “gen der” and “sex” to be so cial ly and cul tu rall y cons tructed. But ler off ers a cri tique of both terms, even as they have been used by fe mi nists. But ler ar gued that fem in ism made a mis take in try ing to make “women” a dis crete, ahist or i cal group with com mon char ac ter is tics. She be lieves this ap proach re in forces the bi nary view of gend er re la tions be cause it all ows for two dist inct cate - gories: men and women. The conc ept of Queer Theory was heavi ly in flu enced by the work of Eve Ko sof sky Sedg wick (1985), Ju dith Hal ber stam (1998) and Mi chel Fou- cault (1978). Later it was est abl ished in the U. S. as a term for po liti c al ac- tivi sm (for ins tance as Queer Politics) and a mind set (as Queer Theory and Queer Studies). Queer works with the poli tics of vis i bil ity, with the cri tique of het ero nor ma tiv i ty and het ero sex ual bi sex ua li ty as the norm, as well as crit i cism of all gay and les bian iden tity mod els. Queer Theory em pha sizes sev er al sexes, the no tion that gen der can be di vided not on ly in to men and women, girls and boys. The nov elty of Queer Studies is a com preh en sive cri tique of het ero nor ma ti vi ty and the em pha s is that there are peo ple who are not just div i dable in to the strict cate gories of man or wom an: in ter sex u- al ity, trans sex ua li ty, cross-dress ing, trans gen der, her maph ro dit ism, gen der am bi gu ity and gen der-cor rec tive sur gery, etc. By dem on strat ing the im pos- si bil ity of any “nat u ral” sex u al ity, Queer Studies calls in to ques tion even such ap par ent ly un prob lem atic terms as “man” and “wom an.” The queer ima ge of the bearded woma n poss esses a cert ain his tory. Jo sé Ribera’s paint ing from 1631, ti tled “Mag da lena Ven tu ra,” (figure 1) should be cons ide red the “queere st” exa mple from art his tory. Mag da lena is de- fined as a woma n by her bare fem ale breast, her child in her arms and her cloth ing, but she wears a long and thick beard. Another ex ample of a bearded wom an is Mar cel Du champ’s Ready-Made with the title “LHOOQ” from 1919. It shows Mona Lisa with a mustache and goat ee. The title is pro- nounced in French as “El le a chaud au cul” and means some thing like “she has a hot ass.” As part of this sex u al ized al ien a tion of ar gu ably the most fam ous painti ng through the app ended text, the woma n takes on a humor- ous as pect, which can also be found later on the photo plat form Flickr. Another paint ing de pict ing a wom an with a beard is Fri da Kahl o’s por- trait “Au tor re tra to con Collar de Esp i nas y Colibrí”. Un like with Du champ, how ev er, a humorous in ten tion of the art ist is not in tended in this work. A cont in u a tion of this “pop ima ge” can be found in prof es sional mu- sic vide os. A key ex ample is the mus ic vide o “Rain bow Warrior” by Co co- Ros ie; in this vid eo, Bianca Ca sa dy dons a painted-on mustache. Another “bio log ical ly” fe male mu si cian who wears a con spic u ous mustache is JD Sam son from Le Ti gre, who en sures vi sual de vi ance in her vid eos with her tou sled, char ac ter is tic ally male hair. JD Sam son also has bushy eye brows, 162 | Mar cus Recht and Bir git Rich ard Figure 1: Ju sepe de Ribera: Mag da lena Ven tur a with Her Husband & Son, 1631 which is typ i cal ly gen dered mas cu line in our cul ture. As the fi nal ex ample, the singer known as Peaches must be singled out, who posed for her alb um “Fat herf uck er” with another kind of beard. It should be em pha sized at this point that the na ture of the fac ial hair in each of the three exa mples is very diff ere nt: for Peaches, it is a glued-on class ic Dutch chin beard that Abrah am Linc oln also wore, which in comb i na tion with her glued-on eye lashe s and a typ ic al ly femi nine top with spa ghei straps app ears rat her “queer.” The other exa mples diff er even more: JD Sams on’s mustache is genu i ne, how- eve r, and in conj unct ion with male-conn oted clothes, prod uces an un flam- boy ant im age of masc ul ini ty. The same app lies to the painted-on mustache of the singer Coc o Ro sie, which, in com bi na tion with the clas si cal ly male unif orm, prod uces a play ful but au then tic-look ing im age of mas cu lin ity. 3 Female mustaches on Flickr This study has its or i gins in a quant i ta tive ana ly s is of the tag com bin a tion “girl” and “mustache,” which res ulted in 6,840 hits (as of 28 April 2011), and be cause of its quan tity, what fol lows pro vides the ba s is for an in ves- tig at ion int o ima ges of women with mustaches and res ults in three cate - gories of beard-usa ge. A pre requ is ite in the res earch and the sub se quent On the Aesthetics of Self-Representation: Mustached “Fe male” Youth on Flickr.com | 163 in ves ti ga tion is the ana ly s is of the “pure vi sual,” ex clud ing the ac com pan- ying text, such as the com ments of other users, which would clari fy what the im age was in tended to mean or from what sit u a tion it has emerged. Mustached women remaining women There are many poss i bil ities for stag ing mustached fem i nin ity on Flickr. One can also find a few va ri ants of “por table mustaches,” such as those painted on the fing er, as with “Jay Wolf” and her photo “Mustache Girl,” or the in form of le ers spelli ng out the word “mustache” on the fin ger placed above the up per lip, as in the im age “Mustache” posted by “the ro- bots re venge.” Figure 2: topupthetea: non pas! Let us there fore con sider a rep re sen ta tive pho to graph by the author “to- pupthe tea” which bears the title “non pas!”: The im age is, first of all, a self- por trait of the pho tog ra pher in land scape for mat, taken pos sibly by her own hand from an ele vated an gle. The cropp ing shows her face from the mid dle of the fore head to the chin. Due to the low depth of field (on closer ex am i na tion, dig i tal ly gen er ated us ing a fil ter), on ly a small por tion of her nose is tru ly sharp; due to the cam era an gle, her vis ible un cov ered shoul- ders melt int o the backg round blur. The coloring of the ima ge in cludes dark red dish-brown tones that har mo nize well with her curly red-hair. The pic tured Flickr user has plucked eye brows, the view er can see green eyes with large pup ils in the midd le; her face has light freckles. Her eyel ashe s are black ened with mas cara and her eyes are framed by a disc reet eye liner. On the slight ly parted lips, be hind which one can see a glimpse of her teeth, a sub tle red lip gloss is ap plied. Last but not least, on her up per lip, a thin hand leb ar mustache drawn with kohl can be seen, which seems at first glance to cause a dis rup tion in the con struc tion of fem i nin ity. 164 | Mar cus Recht and Bir git Rich ard The rep re sen ta tion of fem i nin ity with in the de scribed pho to graph in- volves a clas sic-ro man tic to sen su al stag ing. The ro man tic is con structed by the dark brown tones of the pho tog raph, as well as by the clic hé of the red- haired women – par tic u lar ly if she is de picted out of fo cus to such a large de gree – as a sym bol for rus tic nat ur al ness. The sex u ali za tion is pro duced by the pre sen ta tion with slight ly parted lips, and es pe cial ly by the large pu pils, which are di lated in a state of ex cite ment but at the same time look chal leng ing. Fur ther more, her di rect glance at the ob server de stroys any pos si bil ity of a vo yeur is tic gaze, be cause the view er is in this case caught in her vis ion (see the chap ter on “Gaze” in Recht 2011). The ro man tic and sen su al el em ents of the photo are clas si cal ly fem i nine; an erotic charge is gene ra ted through the di rect eye con tact with the sub ject cap tured at a high came ra an gle. The mustache funct ions more like a “comi cal” ele ment, be- cause, as can be seen at first glance, it is on ly painted on and does not by any means eff ect a de con struc tion of gen der. The re main der of the sub ject, the ima ge genre, cloth ing and make up are too fem in ine for it. The bin ary gen der ma trix is not disr upted by such an im age. With many fe male mem bers of Flickr, fa cial hair o en func tions in a sim i lar way, em pha siz ing the fe male per for mance all the more as a point of con trast, so that it func tions in the sense of a gen der bender. Fun enactments of mustached masculinity It should not be ne glected at this point that the rep re sent at ions of mus- tached femi n ini ty on Flickr take many forms, some of which are humor- ous rep re sen ta tions of an event re quir ing a cos tume. One such exa mple is the ima ge beari ng the title “the real jan ell e,” (fig. 3) which shows two women with rat her imp rec isel y glued mustaches as part of a play ful Amer- i can “pol ice de tec tive” cos tume. Both are wear ing sung lasse s and neck ties which seem to have des igns origi n ati ng from the 1970s; the tie on the wom- an to the le is so wide as to sup port this time pe riod. The all u sion to this era in conj unct ion with the vis ual genre of the U. S. pol ice det ect ive seems to make mustaches indispensible to such a mas cu line form. As in the his- tory of the mil it ary (Cor son 2001 and Sev ern 1971), mustaches were not as le gal ly reg u lated with the po lice, but seem to fol low a sty lis tic re quire ment as an el em ent of a mas cu line perf or mance. The woma n on the le is weari ng a kind of weapon hols ter around her shoul ders, which em phas izes her fem ale form slightl y un dern eath her rug- ged khaki shirt. While the wom an on the le is in a speak ing pose with her mouth open, her up per teeth bared, she smiles self-as sured ly at the cam era. The wom an on the right is hold ing a beer can in her hand and wears eye liner be hind her slight ly transp ar ent glasses. This photo seems to be a fun party per for mance of uni formed mas cu lin- ity. Un like the pre vi ous ly dis cussed phot og raphs, the “bio log ic al” fem i nin- ity of the sub jects is not stressed dir ect ly, but there is a con vinc ing pres en- tat ion of mas cu lin ity – ra ther more playf ul and humorous. On the Aesthetics of Self-Representation: Mustached “Fe male” Youth on Flickr.com | 165 Figure 3: the real ja nell e Becoming mustached men While a femi nine app eara nce is still in the fore ground in the pre vio us ly dis- cussed cat eg ory, the women of the fi nal cate g ory are pre senti ng thems elves as men in a conv inci ng way and thus de cons truct their as signed gen der. Figure 4: ksen: drag – pleased 166 | Mar cus Recht and Bir git Rich ard As one such ex ample, the photo by “ksen” with the title “drag: pleased” can be pre sented: the self port rait is once again pho to graphed at a high an gle, as it is a “one arm length shot.” The head is turned away from the body tow ards the came ra. The nearl y square pho tog raph is crop ped from the foreh ead to the upp er fih of the tor so. Init iall y, the big brown eyes that are look ing dir ect ly in to the lens stand out. The pup ils are di- rected to the re cip i ent as well. Through the use of flash, the im age lacks depth pers pec tive, and the face casts small, harsh shado ws on the white unp ressed coll ar prot rudi ng from the round neck of the black sweater. She has neck-length, in tense ly black lay ered hair and, last but not least, a li le short mustache, which runs with a slight curve onl y to the corn ers of the mouth and has a cen tral gap at the mid dle of the up per lip. Up to there, this is a suc cess ful boy ish pre sen ta tion. There are no rec og niz able femi n ine body forms, no make-up around the eyes or on the rest of the face. Even the eyeb rows, by their enorm ous thick ness and size, funct ion as clas si cal ly male. Then there is the fa cial ex pres sion, which lies be- tween se ri ous ness and ex pres sion less ness and there fore can also be read as “gen dered” clas si cal ly male (Mühlen Achs 1998: 80). The on ly ir ri tat ing point, in the truest sense of the word, is the nose pierc ing visi ble in the pict ure: a pinp oint-sized silv er stud that in our so ci ety – part ic ul ar ly if it is a stud and not a ring – is typi call y con sid ered femi nine. The author is not aware of this, as is ev id ent from the dis cuss ion with in the Flickr comm en tary, but it on ly ac tu ates the am bi gui ty that a trul y in tere st ing phot og raph is able prod uce and makes the sub ject in to a “drag king,” as the title of the photo al ready in di cates. This is the disr up tion that “Gen der Trouble” (Butl er 1990) pro duced and with that a dec on struc tion through the conf u sion of gen der can be trig gered. 4 Conclusion: three perspectives on mustaches/ three feminisms The wom an with fa cial hair per me ates the so-called “shi ing im age” of clas si cal art, “pro fes sional ly”-pro duced mu sic vid eo and fi nal ly the Web 2.0 plat form. The three main types of prod uc tions on Flickr in which women are staged with a mustache are also ap pli ca ble to the rep res en- ta tion of mustached fem in in ity and can be int er preted from three dif- fer ent fe mi nist per spec tives. The quest ion that now arises is what these three diff er ent mecha n isms bring about and to what re spect this pro motes “equal ity.” The use of the mustache in all cat e gories forms a par al lel to the dif- fer ent in ter pre ta tions of fe mi nist prac tice in the late 1970s and 80s, which is known as “power dress ing.” At that time, busi ness women in par tic u- lar wore masc u line suits that, with the help of shoul der pads, a empted to imi t ate an even more “masc ul ine figu re” and si mul ta neous ly con veyed the feeli ng that a woma n could be what ev er she wants to be. This im age On the Aesthetics of Self-Representation: Mustached “Fe male” Youth on Flickr.com | 167 was quick ly put int o pers pect ive through the elab o ra tion of diff use power struc tures, which soc i ety im poses as gen der mech a nisms (Bor do 1993). Fur ther more, the strat egy of power dress ing as a mim icry of the male form was put in a neg a tive light par tic u lar ly by third-wave fem in ism: women should ra ther im bue fem i nine a rib utes with “pos i tive qual ities” in stead of blindl y imi tat ing the masc u line char ac ter is tics of suc cess or power. In the case of power dress ing or the use of a mustache, the fe mi nist sub ject proves it self to be dis cur sive ly con sti tuted by the very po lit i cal sys tem that makes its eman ci pat ion pos sible. Es pe cial ly with reg ard to the first group pre sented here, the bearded wom an re main ing a wom an can be in ter preted in a sim i lar way: These women adopt the symb ol of the mustache, but with out tak ing on the as- soc ia ted symb oli sm of, for exa mple, power, wisd om, pot ency, etc.; they re- main, all in all, typ i cal ly fe male. This can also be linked to the form of the mustache, as the thin, dainty French mustache fits a clas sic dreamy fe male gend er per for mance and is any thing but a po tent sym bol of male power. All the more it seems surp risi ng that the strat egy of the sec ond group, which uses the beard for humorous pur poses, can be seen as fol low ing a fe mi nist agenda. They fol low, of course may be with out know ing it, the ex ample of the Amer i can fe mi nist B. Ruby Rich, who sup ported the fe- male use of come dy as a powe r ful po liti cal weapon with a “rev o lut ion ary po ten tial as a defl a tor of the pa tri archal or der and an ext ra ord i nary lev- eler” (Rich 1998: 77). It was time for the power of fe male laugh ter, which ques tions the sym bolic and po liti cal sys tems that keep the wom an in her clas si cal place. To use Luce Iri gary’s words: “Isn’t laugh ter the first form of lib er a tion from a secu lar op pres sion? Isn’t the phal lic tan ta mount to the se- ri ous ness of mean ing? Per haps wom an, and the sex u al re la tion, tran scend it ‘first’ in laugh ter?” (Iri ga ray 1985: 163). In this form of fun stag ing, the mecha n isms of power are brought tog ether with a masc ul ine pres ent at ion and adopted as a pol iti c al weapon. Here also the dis tinct ion be tween pas- tiche withi n the first cate g ory and par ody with the seco nd group is made clear. While the first group can be seen as the im i ta tion of a neu tral prac tice of mim icry with out laugh ter, the sec ond group, with its sa tir i cal and hu- morous el e ments, stands for pa rody (James on 1998: 114). The third group is a more se ri ous pre sent a tion of mas cu lini ty, pro vid- ing the viewe r with a par oxy sm that brings the gend er-bin ary syst em to coll apse, thereb y crea ti ng “Gend er Trouble.” This is mainl y due to the fact that gen der is no longe r ident ifi a ble in these cases bec ause of the mustache. The ques tion of the ac tu al gen der of the mustache wearer has al ready been dealt with in the sect ion on of the third cate gory, and points to the diff er- ence be tween the three dis tinct types of bearded rep re sen ta tion: While the first cat e gory takes up gen der as an issue, and the seco nd alr eady part iall y dec ons tructs the same, but it is in the third that sex un der goes a dec on- struc tion. Fol low ing Fou cault’s model of eman ci pa tory sex u al pol i tics, the overt hrow of the cate g ory of bio logi c al sex brings with it the libe ra t ion of a pri mary sexu al di ver sity (Fouc ault 1977), which is also found in the third cat e gory de scribed here. It makes no diff er ence wheth er it is a wom an who 168 | Mar cus Recht and Bir git Rich ard gives such a con vinc ing male per for mance, or wheth er the “true gen der” is no long er rec og niz able. The fact that one such form of trave sty im i tates gen der iden tity im plicit ly re veals the im i ta tive struc ture of gen der iden tity it self. This means that gen der and sex u al iden tity are de-nat u ral ized by the per form ance. References Bor do, S., 1993. Femi n ism, Fou cault and the pol it ics of the body. In: C. Ra- ma za nog lu, ed.: Up against Fou cault. Ex plo ra tions of some ten sion be tween Fou cault and femi n ism. Lon don: Rout ledge, pp. 179–202. Butl er, J., 1990. Gen der Trouble: Femi ni sm and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Rout ledge. Cor son, R., 2001. Fash ions in Hair. The First Five Thousand Years. Lon don: Pe ter Owen. de Lauretis, T., 1991. Queer Theory: Les bian and Gay Sexualities. Diff er- ences: a Jour nal of Feminist Cultural Studies 3. Fouc ault, M., 1978. The History of Sexuality Volume 1: An Introduction? New York: Vin tage. Halbe rs tam, J., 1998. Fem ale Mas cu li nity. Dur ham: Duke Uni vers ity Press. Iri gar ay, L., 1985. This Sex which is Not One, trans. C. Por ter and C. Burke. New York: Corn ell Uni ver sity Press. Jame son, F., 1998. Post mod erni sm and Consumer So ci ety. In: Ja me son, ed. The Cultural Turn. Se lected Writ ings on the Postmodern 1983–1998. Lon- don: Vers o. Müh len A s, G., 1998. Ge s le t be wusst ge ma t. Kör per spra li e In sze- nie run gen. Ein Bild er- und Arbeits bu . Mün en: Frau en off en siv e. Re t, M., 2011. Der sym pa thi s e Vam pir. Vi sua li sie run gen von Männ li k ei- ten in der TV-Se rie Buffy. Frank furt am Main/New York: Cam pus. Rich, R., 1998. Chick flicks: the ories and mem ories of the fem i nist film move ment. Dur ham: Duke Uni ver sity Press. Rich ard, B., 2003. 9–11. World Trade Cen ter Image Complex + “shi ing im- age”. In: B. Rich ard and S. Drühl, ed. Kunst fo rum Inter na tio nal: Das Ma- gi s e 164, pp. 36–73. Ri ard, B.,/Re t, M., Grün wald, J. and Metz, N., 2010. Fli ernde Ju gend – rau s ende Bil der. Netz kult u ren im Web 2.0. Frank furt am Main: Cam- pus. Sed gwick, E. K., 1985. Be tween Men – Eng lish Literature and Male Homosocial Desire. New York: Co lum bia Uni ver sity Press. Sev ern, B., 1971. The Long and the Short of It. Five Thousand Years of Fun and Fury over Hair. New York: David McKay. Ullr i , W., 2002. Der Stark ult als Ver doppl ung: Doub les. In: W. Ull rich and S. Schirdew ahn, eds. Stars. Frankf urt am Main: Fi s er. pp. 121–149. Weissberg, L., ed., 1994. Weibl i k eit als Mas ke rade. Frank furt am Main: Fi- s er. Whyte, W. F., 1996. Die Street Cor ner So cie ty: Die So zial struk tur ei nes Ita lie ner- vier tels. Berlin: de Gruyter. On the Aesthetics of Self-Representation: Mustached “Fe male” Youth on Flickr.com | 169 Illustration sources Figure 1: Ju sepe de Ribera: Mag da lena Vent u ra with Her Husband & Son, 1631. On line: hp://www.kunst ge s i t e.uni-mainz.de/1025.php Figure 2: topupthetea: non pas! Online: hp://www.fli r.com/pho tos/t o pu pthete a/3 88467313/ Figure 3: the real Ja nel le. Online: hp://www.fli r.com/pho tos/ja nel le/ 764 57186/ Figure 4: ksen: drag – pleased. Online: hp://www.fli r.com/pho tos/ the s ky eis fal ling/150210699/ Strugg l ing for Feminist Design: The Role of Users in Producing and Constructing Web 2.0 Me dia Tan ja Car stens en Introduction: Users in Web 2.0 between gender stereotypes and feminist struggles Web 2.0, with its so cial net work sites, mu sic- and vid eo-shar ing plat forms, wik is and web logs, is cele b rated as the users’ web. It is linked to hopes con- cern ing user par tici pat ion, inf or ma tion ex change and shar ing, in ter op e ra- bil ity, user-cen tred de sign, the re moval of the sender-rec ip i ent struc ture, and bound less par tic i pa tion and col lab o ra tion with out hi er ar chies (Best 2006; criti c all y: Reic hert 2008: 8). The agency of the users is ex pected to in crease enor mous ly; ev ery user is a po ten tial sender. As blog gers, wi ki par tic i pants and mem bers of so cial net work sites, they gen era te con tent and ap pli ca tions and there in con trib ute to the con struc tion and pro duc tion of Web 2.0 me dia. The first stud ies on the gen dered as pects of Web 2.0 show a het er o- ge neous pic ture (Car sten sen 2009): While web logs off er spaces esp ec ial ly for fe male users to ex press their thoughts and mean ings as well as their div erse ver sions of fem i nin ity (Her ring, Scheidt, Bonus and Wright 2004; Harde rs and Hesse 2006; van Doorn, van Zoon en and Wya 2007) or even for new sub ject con sti tu tions and queer pol i tics (Landström 2007), an a lyses of the scripts of the regi st rat ion forms on soc ial netw ork sites as well as of users’ self-pre sen ta tions in the per sonal pro files show ste reo typ i cal con- struct ions of gend er ident ities on the sides of both the users and the de- signers (Wötzel-Herb er 2008; Mana g o, Graham, Greenfi eld and Salim khan 2008). Bey ond that, from a fe min ist viewp oint it is int ere sti ng that users have ini ti ated a few strug gles for (and against) fe mi nist, gen der-sen si tive, queer or in clus ive de signs withi n Web 2.0. In the foll ow ing, I disc uss the ques- tions of what agency, pos si bili ties and re strict ions users with fe mi nist or gen der-sen si tive re quests have to in flue nce, cont rib ute to or in ter vene in me dia pro duc tion and the de sign of Web 2.0. I there fore first give a short over view of the de bate on the so cial con struct ion of tech nol ogy and the role of the users in shapi ng tech nol ogy with in the field of Science and Tech- Strugg l ing for Feminist Design | 171 nology Studies and re cent in ter net res earch with a spec ial foc us on fem i- nist per spec tives. I then in tro duce my em pir i cal re sults, which are based on con sid er ations taken from three ex amples of fem i nist in ter ven tions: a strug gle of con tent, a strug gle of lan guage and a strug gle of forms. In the end I disc uss the role of (fem in ist) users and the ext ent to which they have bec ome act ive par tic i pants in pro duci ng Web 2.0 me dia. From users that matter to prosu mers In the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS), it is no long er con- tro ver sial that tech nol ogy is a re sult of neg o ti a tion pro cesses and power strug gles. Mainl y ini tia ted by the re search in to such ap proaches as So cial Shaping of Technology (SST) and So cial Construction of Technology (SCOT) it is also un con tested that tech no log i cal de vel op ment does not fol low its own logic, but rat her is the out come and ma ter ial i sat ion of so cial power re la- tions (MacKenzie and Wajc man 1985; Bij ker, Hughes and Pinch 1987). The de sign pro cess is chara c ter ized not by “one best way”, but by high “in ter- pre tat ive flex i bil ity” (Pinch and Bij ker 1987: 40). These op por tu nities for diff er ent de signs and mean ings of one arte fact are ne go ti ated by rel e vant soc ial groups in the fields of techn ol ogy, sci ence, pol i tics, econ omy and the publ ic (Bijk er 1997: 269), in which the most powe rf ul act ors achieve their in ter ests. Tech no log i cal arte facts there fore rep re sent so cial struc tures, norms, disc ourses and mot ives. With in this con cep tuali sa tion of tech nol ogy as so ciall y con structed, us- ers have come int o view as rele v ant ac tors in rec ent years, too (see esp. Oud shoorn and Pinch 2003). On the one side they are con sid ered to be ‘imagi ned users’, who play a role in the con struc tion of tech nol ogies. Ak- rich (1992) sug gests that “inn ov a tors ‘in scribe’ a spe cific vis ion about the world int o the techn ic al cont ent of the new obj ect”. She calls the end prod- uct of this work a “script” (Ak rich 1992: 208). The scripts of tech no log ic al ob jects en able or con strain hu man re la tions as well as the re la tion ships be- tween peo ple and things. These rep re sen ta tions of the an tic i pated int er ests, skills, mo tives and be hav iour of fu ture users be come ma te ri al ised in the de sign, and a ri bute and del e gate spe cific comp et encies to users and tech- no log i cal arte facts (Ak rich 1992: 207). Dutch and Nor weg ian fe mi nist schol ars have ex tended the script ap- proach to gen der per spec tives and dev elo ped the conc ept of a “gen der- sc ript” (Berg and Lie 1993; van Oost 1995; Rommes, van Oost and Oud- shoorn 1999). This con cept fol lows the idea that de signers (un con sciousl y) ins cribe diff er ent views of fe male and male users and uses in to tech nol ogy. Gend er is imp rinted on to ob jects through in struc tions, adv ert ise ments, as- so ci at ions with gen dered di vis ions of la bour, and ass o ci a tions with gen- der sym bols and myths. Arte facts that in cor po rate a gen der script then con struct users’ gen der iden tities (see Cock burn and Orm rod 1993; Oud- shoorn, Saet nan and Lie 2002; Zorn et al. 2007) and are theref ore pow er ful, ma te ri al ized co-players in gen der re la tions (Ha ra way 1991: 153). 172 | Tan ja Car sten sen On the other side, STS app roaches emp has ize that scripts are not closed; they re main flexi ble and can not de ter mine users’ prac tices and iden tities com plete ly (Oud shoorn, Saet nan and Lie 2002: 478). The do mes ti ca tion ap- proach an al yses how techn o log i cal ob jects are int e grated in to dail y life and how users, through their diff er ent ways of in ter pret ing, us ing and talk ing about techn ol ogies, fur ther con trib ute to the so cial shap ing of tech nolo gy (Sil- ver stone and Hirsch 1992; Lie and Søren son 1996). Users do not nec es sar ily have to adopt the scripts cons tructed by the de signers. They may slight ly modi fy the scripts, drast ic ally trans form them, or they may even com plete- ly re ject or re sist them, cre ate new mean ings and uses for the ob jects, or be come non-users (Kline and Pinch 1996; Kline 2003; Oud shoorn, Saet nan and Lie 2002; Wya 2003). There fore, users play a cru cial role in shap ing tech nol ogies. This also opens room for ma noeuv re with reg ard to gend er: “Users de- fine wheth er things are usef ul, or mayb e fun, what things are good for and for whom, wheth er they ex pe rie nce them as gen dered and wheth er they find them usef ul to ar ticu l ate and per form their (gen der) ident ities. By in- ter pret ing and us ing tech nol ogies, users are ac tive par tic i pants in shap ing the gend er ing of artifacts” (Ouds hoorn, Saet nan and Lie 2002: 481). Users are conc ept uali sed as “co-de signers of their re la tion ship to tech no log i cal produ cts” (Lie and Sørens on 1996: 3). The do mes ti ca tion ap proach has led to a shi in the con cep tual i sa tion of users from pas sive rec ip i ents to act ive par tic i pants. It foc uses on the creat ive agency of users, but leaves room for a crit i cal un der stand ing of the so cial con straints on user-tech nol ogy re la tions and the diff er ences among and be tween des igners and users. How ev er, while the des igner-user diff er en ti a tion still re mains rel e vant in the dom es ti ca tion ap proach, this sep a ra tion erodes in cur rent con cepts of the role of users in cons truct ing Web 2.0 tech nol ogies. No other pre vi- ous tech nolo gy has been con stit uted by users to the same ex tent as the in ter net, with home pages, Wik ipe dia en tries, per sonal pro files in so cial net work sites, the open source move ment, fo rums and chats. Re fer ring to Al vin Toffl ers “pros u mer” (1970), it is sug gested that the role of pro ducers and con sumers be gins to blur and merge. The con sumer bec omes part of the prod uct ion proc ess. Voß and Ried er (2005) point in a simi l ar di rec tion and de scribe how in creas ing ly pro fes sional pro cesses and func tions are outs ourced to priv ate cust omers. They call this new type of cus tomer a “work ing cus tomer”. Fur ther more, Bruns (2008) shows how the col la bo ra- tive cont ent cre a tion car ried out in the open source so ware de vel op ment and in Wi kipe dia is based on act ive users. As rel ev ant ac tors, users par tici - pate in de sign ing con tent and so ware and be come pro ducers, dev el opers and de signers of tech nol ogies. How ev er, at seco nd glance, it be comes clear that Web 2.0 is by no means sole ly con structed by users, nor is it en tire ly dem o cratic and par tic i pa tory. Ra ther, a range of power struc tures and hi er arc hies can be iden tified in wi kis, we blogs and soc ial net works. Steg bauer (2009) shows how power re- la tions and hie r ar chi cal or ga ni za tional struc tures arose among Wi kipe dia Strugg l ing for Feminist Design | 173 users and how this re stricts opp or tu nities to par tic ip ate. Her ring, Scheidt, Bonus and Wright (2004) and Hesse (2008) point out that des pite a fe male dom i nance among we blog writers, the so-called A-blogg ers – the most-read web log writers – are alm ost 70% male. Thus, trad it ional mecha n isms of hiera rc hi cal gend ered pub lic spaces still have an im pact on dig it al pub lics. Fi nall y, re cent res earch on so cial net works has shied the fo cus from so cial net works as spaces for ind iv id ual netw ork ing and self pre sen ta tion to the busi ness strate gies of com pa nies like Face book and their eff ect on tech no- log i cal in fra struc tures, not at least as ma ter ial i za tions of he ge monic and gove rnm ent al norms (Leist ert and Röhle 2011). It bec omes clear that Web 2.0, like most techn ol ogies, is a field of ne go ti at ions struct ured by power rel at ions. How ev er, the role of gen der in these strug gles and ne got ia t ions is still wide open. Against the back ground of op por tu nities for user par tic i pa tion on the one side and hi er ar chic al power struc tures on the other, it is in tere st ing to study the fem in ist users’ strugg les in Web 2.0 to see the users’ agency and re stric tions on con trib ut ing to and in ter ven ing in the con struc tion and pro- duct ion of Web 2.0 techn ol ogies and me dia. Feminist struggles in Web 2.0 In the fol low ing I in ves ti gate some of the strug gles in which users try to re al ise fem in ist and gend er-sen si tive de sign ideas in ord er to get some in sights in the users’ role in Web 2.0 me dia pro duc tion from gen der per- spec tives. Fe mi nist strug gles hap pen at diff er ent places: at de cen trali zed we blogs (e. g. con tro versies with/about trolls) as well as at cen tral lo ca- tions like MyS pace, stu diVZ, Wi kipe dia, or Face book (Cars ten sen 2009). The fol low ing three cases rep re sent on ly ex amples of strug gles, il lus trat ing the var iety of aims, strate gies and achievem ents of the inv olved users. A sys tem atic study of even more strug gles is lacki ng, and would be able to comp lete and ground these prel im in ary re sults. In the three inv es ti gated ex amples of in terv en tions, des ign is criti cised by fe mi nist users, gen der-sen si tive and fe mi nist des ign ideas are de velo ped and disc ussed. Three dist inct types of strug gles con cerni ng the de sign of Web 2.0 are car ried out: 1. Strug gles for cont ent: the disc us sions con cern ing the sug gested de- letions of the two fem i nist en tries, “Lad yf est” and “riot grrrl”, in the Ger man ver sion of Wik ipe dia. 2. Strug gles for lan guage: the dis cus sion on the Ger man so cial net work site stu diVZ on the use of gen der-sen si tive lan guage with in the net- work. 3. Strugg les for forms: the disc uss ion on the Germ an soc ial netw ork site stu diVZ about the reg ist ra tion form as well as the re quest in Face book “For a queer posi t ive facebook . . .” as rec om men da tions to change the profi le op tions. 174 | Tan ja Car sten sen In some senses, these ex amples rep re sent diff er ent fe mi nist strat egies and can map a cert ain band width of fe mi nist aims: re valu at ing the rel e- vance of fe mi nist is sues as well as imp le menti ng and de fendi ng fe mi nist and gen der is sues in the main stream pub lic (1), mak ing women vis ible (2), and de con struct ing bi nary gen der con cepts and en abl ing sub ject po si tion- ing bey ond fe male and male (3). On line (de letion) re quests, pe ti tions, doc u mented disc us sions with in Wi kipe dia, Face book and stu diVZ, as well as the self pre sen ta tions of the in volved groups and ac tors, all serve as data mat e rial. Strug gles for cont ent The first ex ample cov ers the dis cuss ions about the sug gested del etion of two fe mi nist en tries, “La dy fest” and “riot grrrl”, in the Ger man ver sion of Wik ipe dia. Wik ipe dia is based on wik i tech nol ogy, the tech no log i cal script of which en ables users to con tribu te, ed it and dis cuss con tent with in Wi- kiped ia. The ex plic it idea of Wi kipe dia is that ev ery bo dy can par tic i pate.1 At the same time Wik iped ia dis poses of diff ere nt ia ted so cial rules. A cen tral prin- ci ple of the Wi kipe dia pol icy is the “neu tral point of view”,2 which means that all ar ti cles must rep re sent fair ly, and as far as pos sible with out bias, all sign ifi cant views that have been pub lished by re li able sources. Ev ery user can sugg est the del etion of an en try; this can be disc ussed by all and a de- cis ion can be reached. The de letion its elf can onl y be perf ormed by adm in- is trat ors. Rea sons for de letion (in the Ger man vers ion of Wi kipe dia) are a lack of rel e vance,3 a lack of quali ty, or copy right prob lems.4 In Aug ust 2007 the ex ist ing en tries on “Lad y fest” and “riot grrrl” in the Ger man ver sion of Wi kiped ia were sug gested for del etion. The de- letions of these en tries were rea soned by one user as hav ing a lack of rel e vance, qual ity and sig nifi cance. Other critics who fol lowed de scribed the ent ries as “free ass oc ia tion” which was “not obj ec tive”. The fact men- tioned in the ent ry that women and girls are und er rep re sented in the mus ic in dus try was dis puted. Furt her more, the statem ent of gend er as a so cial con struct was ques tioned. The in it i a tor of the de letions ar gued “I al ways thought that gen der is conc erned with gen et ics.” The subs e- quent re sponses fought for the rel ev ance and the qual ity of the en tries. It was stated that Lad y fests and riot grrrls are part of a su pra-re gional move ment and an ex pres sion of a new fe mi nist self-conc ep tion, and are theref ore rele v ant. Furt herm ore, it was criti c ised that in a “male-domi - nated int ern et med ium, an ent ry on a fem in ist group is cens ored”. One user wrote that it should be noted that the en try for “riot grrrl” can be 1 hp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/About_Wikipedia 2 hp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:NPOV 3 hp://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Relevanzkriterien 4 hp://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:L%C3%B6schregeln Strugg l ing for Feminist Design | 175 found in eight other Wi kipe dia ver sions in other lan guages. In the end, an ad mini st ra tor de cided to keep the ent ries.5 These in ci dents il lus trate that the ques tion of wheth er fe mi nist con tri- bu tions to con tent pro duc tion are pos sible and suc cess ful in Wi kiped ia is pre dom i nant ly dec ided among users. Fe mi nist users’ in ter ven tions do not fail or succ eed bec ause of closed techn ol ogi c al scripts, but bec ause of other users who ar gue against fe mi nist topics. Fe mi nist int er ven tions in to cont ent prod uct ion can be succ essf ul but they must deal with diff ere nces, a acks, ne go ti a tions and op pos ing views at the same level – the users’ level. In ad di tion, the key role in these de cis ions is held by the ad min- is tra tors, so we have to take in to ac count some im por tant hi er ar chi cal struct ures. Strug gles for lan guage The sec ond ex ample cov ers the un suc cess ful strug gles with in the Ger man so cial net work stud iVZ over the use of gen der-sen si tive lan guage with in the net work. As in other so cial net work sites, the techn ol og i cal scripts al- low users to cons truct a per sonal pro file, con nect with other users, found groups and have disc us sions. For the de nom i na tions of the func tions one can have with in the net- work, such as “stu dent”, “mod er a tor” or “ad min is trat or”, on ly male forms are used.6 This an droc en tric and dis crim i nat ing script was cause for some users to found a group called “gen der sen si tive lan guage in stu diVZ”.7 The group form ul ated the aim to also use fe male forms like “Ad min is tra to rin”, “Freun din” or “Stu den tin”. A stu dent had ex press ed this con cern to the res- pon sible per sons of stu diVZ and posted her mes sage and the ad mini s tra- tor’s re sponse in the group for um. In the ans wer, the adm in is tra tor ar gued that im plem ent ing gend er-sen si tive lan guage would be “high ly diffi cult”. He stated that stu diVZ’s con cern was by no means to dis crim i nate against women through gram mat i cal fi nesse. Fur ther, he out lined that the eman ci- pa tion of women, which was doubtl ess ly an im por tant move ment, ought to have more imp ort ant things to do than to try to “change gramm at i cal de signs”: “While we ar gue about word end ings, in fants are killed in other coun tries simp ly bec ause they aren’t male. I am sure that the whole team [of stu diVZ] . . . would be pleased to sup port you if you have any ideas on 5 The discussions are documented under hp://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:L% C3%B6schkandidaten/5._August_2007#Ladyfest_.28bleibt.29; hp://de.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Wikipedia:L%C3%B6schkandidaten/5._August_2007#Riot_grrrl_.28erledigt.29. 6 In the German language, there are female and male forms for nouns such as “Studen- tin” (a female student) and “Student” (a male student). The German feminist movement has long criticised that women are not visible in this use of language (Pusch, 1984). Femi- nists suggest different possibilities to make language more gender-sensitive, including the “Binnen-I” or the use of gender-neutral forms such as “Studierende.” In governmen- tal institutions, the use of non-discriminating terms has since become regulated. 7 hp://www.studivz.net/Forum/Threads/df0dbc9fd58e4e34/p/1. 176 | Tan ja Car sten sen to fight against the real dis crim i na tion of women. Cer tain ly, you must have pro posals for that if you think about eman ci pa tion, right?”8 This pro voc a tive an swer stir red dis gust and re bel lion, as well as the idea to comp ile a cat a logue of re quests to stu diVZ. How ev er, the group grew fast, and with it also the num ber of memb ers who arg ued against gen- der-sens it ive lang uage. These opp on ents started a thread withi n the group called “pro prese rv at ion of the gen eric masc ul ine noun!” with a range of anti-fem i nist rea son ing. In this group, a cont ro ver sial disc us sion of the pur- pose of gen der-sens it ive lan guage en sued. The idea of a joint cata l ogue of re quests there fore failed bec ause of the con tro versies with in the group. This ex ample il lus trates diff er ent probl ems re lat ing to fe mi nist in ter- vent ions in soc ial netw ork sites. The first point faces a simi l ar probl em as al ready disc ussed in the Wik ipe dia ex ample: Users are diff er ent; they have diff er ent po lit i cal a it udes and opin ions, and are by no means united in their fe mi nist aims. Fe mi nist in ter ven tions as com mon ac tions and strong al li ances to shape de sign, sup ported by a larger group, there fore al ready fail bec ause of the con tro versies and diff ere nces among users. Fur ther more, the pos si bil ities to in flu ence the an droc en tric de sign of the soc ial net work are res tricted tech no log i cal ly as well as so cial ly. There are no pos si bil ities for users to change the gend ered scripts dir ect ly, be cause they do not have acc ess to the level where the de nomi n at ions are fixed. The memb er’s mess age to the resp ons ible pers ons of stud iVZ ill ust rated the hi er ar chi cal de ci sion struc tures in which no di rect in ter ven tions are in tended. The resp on sible ad min is tra tors de cided on the lang uage script and now affi rm it as un change able; fe mi nist re quests are re fused, and even treated de ro ga tive ly. Nev er the less, users have – as ad vised by tech no logi cal scripts – the pos- sib ili ty to found groups, open spaces to disc uss, criti c ise the lang uage use and launch pro tests against the struc ture of the plat form. They can add ress the resp ons ible per sons and try to achieve changes via pe ti tions and mails. The scripts of so cial netw ork sites off er large pos si bil ities for trans port ing fem in ist aims and conc erns in to a larger publ ic. So the fe mi nist in ter ven- tions to change the and ro cen tric lan guage use in stu diVZ did not achieve their aim, but by plac ing this issue on the agenda, they sen si tised other us- ers and pointed out that women are not visi ble in this use of lan guage. Strug gles for forms The third ex ample deals with users’ req uests for non-bi nary reg ist ra tion forms. Most of the so cial netw ork sites re quire the in di ca tion of di verse in for ma tion to reg is ter as a memb er, such as name, birth day, loc at ion, na- tiona li ty, etc. Gen der plays a sig nifi cant role in the gaps in the reg is tra tion forms, and in most cases one can on ly choose bet ween the two op tions of male or fe male (Wötzel-Her ber 2008). This is also the case on the so cial net- work sites stu diVZ and Face book. 8 hp://www.studivz.net/Forum/ThreadMessages/df0dbc9fd58e4e34/ce5bfaba358bd792 Strugg l ing for Feminist Design | 177 If users re fuse to choose one of the two al tern at ives of gen der in stu- diVZ, they are sent to the state ment: “On ly fe male or male en tities can reg- is ter with us!” In the cur rent vers ion of Face book, users are asked by a dropdown menu “Sel ect sex: Male/Fem ale” and are re quested to “Please se lect ei ther Male or Female” upon re fus al. Thus, in both cases the tech- no log i cal scripts do not al low reg is ter ing with out a sub ject po si tion ing as male or fe male. In stud iVZ, the regi st rat ion forms were also criti c ised with in the “gen- der-sen si tive lang uage in stud iVZ” group men tioned above. One user asked who in the group might also be an gry about that, and sug gested that stu diVZ should off er a third pos si bili ty, such as “in de ci sive”. It was sug gested to for mu late a com mon req uest to change the reg is trat ion forms. This, how ev er, did not hap pen. In 2007, a Faceb ook group was founded which fights “For a queer pos- i tive face book. . . .“.9 The memb ers of the group are lobb ying the op era tors of the site to make cer tain changes to the way user profi les are curr ent ly for ma ed. The users want Face book to add new fea tures to the user pro- files which would all ow a more inc lu sive rep re sent at ion of a wide range of per sonal self-id ent ities. They publ ished a statem ent in which they claim that “we have the right to dem and that it [Faceb ook] be an open, in clu sive and pos i tive comm un ity, which re flects the ident ity of all memb ers.” They reco mm end diff ere nt changes to pro file op tions: the drop down menu for “sex” should be changed to “gen der” and switched to a “fill in the blank” for mat. Fur ther, the next cat e gory “in ter ested in” should have ex tra boxes of “none” and “other”, fol lowed by a “fill in the blank”, ad ded to the se lec- tion of “men” and “women”. Fi nal ly, they de mand that per sons who se lect “in a rel at ions hip” should have the opt ion of inc ludi ng mult ip le partn ers. They point out that per sons who do not iden tify with any of the above ident ities will still have the ‘tra di tional’ op tions and will sim ply not make use of the add it ion al ser vices. Users can join the group to supp ort their conc erns, and they can also down load and use an ap pli ca tion off ered by the group which supp lies the req uested poss i bil ities: “Fi nal ly you can ex press your sex u al ori en ta tion and gen der iden tity acc u rate ly, the way it should be ex press ed: your way! Choose from many op tions, both bi nary and non-bi nary, for sex, tran si tion sta tus, gen der iden tity, gen der pre sen ta tion, ori en ta tion, in ter ested in, title, and pro noun, or fill in your own.” Users are also pointed to the no tice: “This ap pli ca tion was not de vel oped by Face book.”10 Just as in stud iVZ, the a empts in Faceb ook to change the regi st rat ion forms also failed. Al though the group has had at its best times over 11,000 memb ers who supp orted this conc ern and con tribu ted to a heated dis cus- sion, Faceb ook did not rea ct. 9 hp://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2214484023. 10 hp://calpoly.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2353404662. 178 | Tan ja Car sten sen This third ex ample ill us trates how strong the tech no log ic al scripts as well as the soc ial power re la tions are with in so cial net work sites. The op- er a tors of Face book dec ided on a des ign with dic hot om ous gen der scripts and now ign ore req uests to change them. Fe min ist users crit i cize these re- stric tions, but in the end have no pos si bili ties to change the reg is tra tion forms. So, fem in ist agency to change forms in so cial net work sites is lim ited, while at the same time this tech nolo gy not on ly off ers space and agency re gardi ng dis courses, pro tests, re quests and pe ti tions, it also ena bles the dev el opm ent of an ind e pen dent supp le men tal ap pli ca tion which does not in flu ence the reg is trat ion form, but at least broadens the pos si bil ities in side the net work to ex press one self with in the per sonal pro file. This does not change the de sign, but amends it. Conclusion: Feminist users don’t matter? Against the hopes of strong users’ agency these exa mples show that us- ers’ pos si bil ities to in ter vene in the de sign of Web 2.0 are re stricted by so- cial and tech no log i cal bar riers, diff er ences among users, strong hi er ar chies (with in the group of the users as well as be tween users and ad min is tra tors) and by fixed affi rmed scripts, which in most cases do not per mit pos si bil- ities to change de sign di rect ly. And it has been shown that it is easi er to in- flue nce cont ent than lang uage use or forms. The progn os i s for the ero sion of the pro ducer-user diff ere n ti a tion turned out to be ina c cu rate. Al though users can prod uce a lot of med ia con tent in pro files, wi kis, we blogs, etc., in ques tions of de sign it still makes a diff ere nce which side you are on. It also has been shown that in the in ves ti gated strug gles, users with fem i nist or gend er sens it ive aims have to neg ot ia te and arg ue against strong anti-fe mi nist, an dro cen tric, and het ero nor ma tive struc tures, norms and a i tudes, which are mani fest with in Web 2.0 in cont ent, lan guage and forms, among other things. This con stel la tion is not spe cific to the in ter net; it also can be found in workp laces, poli t ics, print med ia, etc., but it comes to a head in Web 2.0. Fur ther more, it can be as sumed that these cur rent power rel a tions and confl icts be come more vis ible in the par tic i pa tory and user-cen tred techn o logi cal en vi ronm ents of Web 2.0, as if techn ol ogy is pro duced be hind closed doors. How ev er, it is re mark able how many rooms for fe mi nist dis courses ex ist withi n the techn o logi cal scripts of Web 2.0 me dia tech nolo gies. Aside from the dis il lu sion ing re sult that (fe mi nist) users are not able to in flu ence site de sign in a far reachi ng way, another conc lus ion is that the dom est ic at ion of me dia and tech nolo gy now takes on a pub lic di men sion in Web 2.0: the ne go ti at ion, trans for ma tion, re jec tion, mod i fic a tion and re in ter pre ta tion of tech no log i cal artef acts moves from househ olds and pri vate places int o pub lic spaces. Fe mi nist users carry out vis ible strug gles, raise their voices against ex ist ing de sign, pro duce trouble and de vel op ideas for al ter na tive des ign in spaces made availa ble by Web 2.0 techn ol ogies. Diss at is fac tion Strugg l ing for Feminist Design | 179 with tech no log i cal scripts bec omes a pub lic issue that can be ver bal ised and disc ussed dir ectl y with others, so at least self-und er stand ing and an ex change of opini ons are prom oted. 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Pinch, eds. How users ma er: The co-cons truc tion of users. Cam bridge, M. A.: MIT Press, pp. 67–79. Zorn, I., Maaß, S., Rommes, E., Schir mer, C. and Schel howe, H. eds., 2007. Gend er des igns IT. Cons truct ion and Deconstruction of Information Soc ie ty Technology. Wies ba den: VS Ver lag für So zialw is sens a en. ing New Technologies to En ter the Public Sphere, Sec ond Wave Style Us ing New Technologies to En ter the Public Sphere, Seco nd Wave Style Linda Steiner Introduction: Historical Contexts for Second Wave Production Al though some con tem po rary move ments op era te with and through main- stream med ia, the women’s movem ent has long susp ected mains tream me- dia out lets of harboring sex ism, so it avoids rel ying on main stream me dia to repr es ent women in their div ers ity or to diss emi nate rel e vant news and in for ma tion. The in ter net is mere ly the lat est and clear est ex ample of a pat- tern of fo cus ing on men as the ini tial, pri mary mar ket for com mun i ca tion techn ol ogies (Wajcm an 2010; Melh em and Tand on 2009). Nonet hel ess, fe- mi nist org a ni za tions have used each new med ium in turn to carve out space in which to share women’s news and fe mi nist pers pect ives among them- selves and with wider pub lics (see Cham bers et al. 2004; Stei ner 1992). Apart from the cont ent car ried, each med ium has a mat er ial and tech- no log i cal struc ture that may ei ther con strain or pro mote so cial move ments. Diff er ent me dia have adv ant ages and dis ad vant ages in reach ing known sym pa thizers or un known “masses.” They fac ili tate (or dis cour age) cer- tain ways of think ing and in ter act ing. They re quire diff er ent kinds of ma- te rial in vest ment and de grees of tech ni cal skill, even if fi nan cial profi t is ir rel e vant and if aes thet ics and slick pro duct ion val ues are low pri or ities. More over, while fe mi nists typ i cal ly em pha size dis sem i nat ing prin ci pled con tent, in for ma tion is not the on ly goal. O en part ic i pants want to learn com plex skills, study sig nifi cant is sues, and form and sust ain com mu nity. There fore, in fig ur ing out the best way to com mu nic ate, wheth er in ter nall y or with po tent ial con verts or pol icy-makers, fe mi nists must calc u late the goals and availa ble hum an and fin anc ial res ources against the costs and capi tal in vest ment re quired. The res earch rep orted here high lights the imp or tance of the pro cess of pro duc ing fe mi nist con tent and there by sus tain ing fe mi nist sol i dar ity. Given the med ia opt ions availa ble to U. S. fem in ists, how do both the pro- cesses of part ici p at ion and the pot ent ial for dev elo pi ng a sense of comm u- nity and group loy alty fig ure in the long-term suc cess of fe mi nist med ia proj ects? The foc us here is an em phatic ally fe mi nist col lec tive that since 1994 has pro duced a pub lic ser vice show, New Directions for Women (NDW), Us ing New Technologies to En ter the Public Sphere, Sec ond Wave Style | 183 avail able on pub lic ac cess chan nels on cable sys tems in three states. The col lec tive is a New Jer sey chap ter of the National Organization for Women (NOW). Most of its part ici p ants have been inv olved since the start, and re- flect a seco nd wave sens i bili ty. A few are mem bers of the Veteran Feminists of Amer ica – fe mi nists who strug gled to gether and want to re kin dle the spirit of that rev o lu tion. The quest ion is whethe r cable acc ess cont inu es to off er vi able opp or- tu nities for pub lic par tic i pa tion by fe mi nists us ing fe mi nist modes of pro- duc tion, given the in ter sec tion of gen er a tion with me dium-spe cific ad van- tages and dis ad van tages. NDW par tic i pants ex plic it ly de scribe them selves as “not in no va tive or in ven tive.” But they take the fact that their shows are ar chived at Smith Coll ege, an elite women’s col lege, as evi dence that NDW not on ly rep re sents rele vant con tem po rary is sues, but also will last far be- yond the ca ble casts and You Tube, where the group also posts all shows. Sec ond Wave Broadc ast Fe mi nist Me dia Simi lar to their first wave forer un ners dur ing the cam paign to win the right to vote, sec ond wave fe mi nists were pro lific in print. They pub lished many lo cal, re gional, and nat ional news pa pers and maga zines, newsl e ers and comic books (see Endres and Lueck 1996; Stei ner 1992). Such vent ures were sup ported by then-new fe mi nist pub lish ing houses and im prints, book- stores, and news dist rib ut ion serv ices. Many of these per i od i cals were pro- duced by, for, and about spec ific niches: women with part icu l ar rel ig io us, sexu al, prof es sional/vo ca tional, eth nic, ra cial or pol it i cal iden tities. Others, of course, had more comp re hens ive scope and sought more gen eral pop u- lar ity, as repr es ented most promi n entl y in the U. S. by Ms. ma ga zine. The cable show de scribed here changed its name to New Directions for Women (NDW) a er the ces sa tion of a na tional fe mi nist newsp a per by that name founded in 1972 by Paula Kas sell, who was also ac tive in the NOW chap ter. New Directions for Women grew from a mim eo graphed quar ter ly to a thick bi month ly with a broad healthy sub scriber base and in ter na tion al re nown. Other “plat forms” were more diffi c ult. Yet least 33 women’s groups in the U. S. pro duced ra dio programs be tween 1963 and 1985 (All en 1988). More over, like sec ond wave serv ices that dist rib uted news pa per and mag a zine con tent, the Feminist Ra dio Network (FRN), formed in 1974, dis trib uted fe mi nist ra dio prog ram ming na tion wide. Mart ha All en’s point is that the FRN was typ i cal of women’s me dia: It en abled women to share their ex pe ri ences, off ered ac cess to tech nol ogy, and had a coll ec tive struct ure, part ic u larl y re gard ing de cis ion mak ing. It in sisted: “Fe mi nist pro gram ming can rep lace the pass ive med ia- au di ence re la tion ship with one in which the au di ence and par tic i pants are syn on y mous, and in which we can see the strength of our own lives re flected in our pro gramm ing” (quoted in Al len 1988). Fem in ists cont inu e to main tain beach heads in ra dio; none the less, the struc ture and fi nan cial im per a tives of com merc ial broad cast ing dis coura ge its use by soc ial ref orm movem ents. The FRN event uall y conc luded that bec ause men cont roll ed the techn olo gy 184 | Linda Steiner and owned the ra dio stat ions, women in broadc asti ng could neve r enj oy the same au ton omy as print-ori ented women. Pro duc ing regu lar fe mi nist broad cast tele vi sion is even more diffi cult, comp lex, and exp ens ive, given, int er alia, the struct ure of adv er tis ing. In 1974, for this very rea son, a North Car o lina women’s group ap plied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for per mis sion to use a seem- ing ly aban doned FM fre quency. When the orig i nal li cense-holder sought to re-op er ate the sta tion, the FCC re jected the women’s ap pli ca tion (Al len 1988). In Chic a go, the Women’s News Service Project, which served sta- tions not norm al ly cov er ing women’s news, beg an an eve ning news fe mi- nist show in 1974. Mean while, in 1980 the FCC is sued a li cense to some Con nect i cut women to build a tele vi sion sta tion, but they nev er man aged to raise the $1.5 mil lion needed to get on air. The His tory of Publ ic Ac cess Tele vis ion Fe mi nists soon came to re al ize that com merc ial telev is ion would nev er be feas ible for them. Their best chance bec ame pub lic acc ess chann els on cable. Mult ip le rep orts in the 1960s and 1970s (by which time uto pia n dis course had peaked) con fi dent ly pre dicted that the new “tele vi sion of abun dance” could de liver in for ma tion, civic edu ca tion, and cit i zen par tic i pa tion (Doty 1975). A blue-rib bon com mis sion hera lded the “awe some” promi se of cable to revo lu tion ize cult ur al life (Sloan 1971). Des pite conc ern that “pro duc tion elit ism” and cit i zen ap athy would lim it its po tent ial for de cent ral ized par- tic i pa tion (Gil les pie 1975), pub lic ac cess cable tele vi sion in par tic u lar was hailed for its demo c ratic po ten tial to rev o lu tioni ze cul tu ral life and enc our- age dir ect eng agem ent. Publ ic acc ess was the “last best hope for a publ ic sphere and for an act ive enl ight ened pol ity” (Devine 1992: 9). Nonet he less, im plem en tat ion was slow. In 1973, some 69 women’s (and mixed) or ga ni- za tions joint ly ap plied for a Mem phis, Ten nes see cable chan nel that would pro vide se ri ous al ter na tive pro gram ming for and by women but not ex clu- sivel y about women (All en 1988). The city opted not to go forw ard with cable TV. Simi lar coa li tions in Mary land, Ken tucky, New York, Wis con sin, and Wash ing ton, D. C. failed for as sorted rea sons. Mean while, in 1969, a er ex peri ments first in Can ada and then in the U. S., the FCC en dorsed cable’s po tent ial to augm ent com mun ity self-ex- pres sion (Lind er 1999). In 1972, the FCC re quired cable syst ems in the 100 largest mar kets to pro vide chan nels spe cific ally for pub lic, edu cat ional, and lo cal gov ern ment use (so-called PEG chan nels), which come bun dled in the basic cable pack age. The Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 au tho rized lo cal mu ni cip al ities to re quest chan nels, if they wanted, and to req uire cable franc hise holders to pro vide traini ng, equipm ent, and prod uc- tion fa cil ities, usual ly for free.1 Typ i cal ly, any one may pro duce pro gram- ming for a publ ic-acc ess chann el. The 1984 Act barr ed cable ope ra t ors from 1 Municipalities may choose to forego PEG channels, thereby pocketing all franchise fees. Cable, including public-access television, is not subject to the same rules as broad- Us ing New Technologies to En ter the Public Sphere, Sec ond Wave Style | 185 ex er cis ing ed i to rial con trol over PEG chann el con tent. As of 2000, some 18 per cent of cable sys tems pro vided equip ment and fa cili ties for lo cal pub lic pro gram ming (Auf der heide 2000). Be cause some states no long er re quire cable pro viders to off er pub lic ac cess chann els, more than 100 PEG stat ions across the coun try (out of about 5,000) have closed since 2005; another 400 face ex tinc tion (Ar nold 2011). A bill pro posed in 2011 would pro tect PEG chann els and re store some fundi ng.2 An a lysts per sonal ly inv olved in re cent pub lic ac cess pro jects rem ained op ti mis tic about pub lic ac cess’s Do-It-Yourself aes thetic and val ue to de- moc racy (Hall eck 2002). Al though po lit i cal eff ec tive ness pre sum ably re- quires wide dis tri bu tion, ac cess tele vi sion en ables “or di nary peo ple” to re frame com mer cial ide ol ogies, ex er cise dem o cratic free speech rights, and rep re sent them selves to the larger com mu nity (Stein 2001). But fe mi nist ca- ble acc ess shows are ess ent iall y limi ted to a few big cities and coll ege towns – and are sparse and short-lived. Nays ayers quest ion the cap aci ty of pub- lic ac cess shows to help build com mu nity, and rid i cule the pro gram ming as self-ind ul gent, ama teur, home made, and “pa thetic” (Auf derh eide 1992: 58). Mean while, pub lic ac cess can be ex ploited by for-profi t busi ness es. In ter nal tech ni cal cons traints are not in sign ifi cant. Even prod uc ing a fairl y primi t ive publ ic acc ess show nec ess it ates a core mass of skilled peo- ple. It can not be done on the spur of the mo ment, at home, or alone. This com mu nal need for par tic i pa tion by and in ter ac tion among a group is per- haps an ad van tage of pub lic ac cess for fe mi nists. Mean while, the tech nol- ogy cont inu es to change. Comm un ity program prod ucers have alw ays ex- ploited new tech nol ogies when ev er pos sible, esp e cial ly as costs drop. First, vid eo cam corders were rela t ive ly easy for non-pro fes sionals to learn and use. Now, even cheap er, eas ier Web 2.0 techn ol ogies and dig i tal equip ment, in clud ing open-source or user-mo di fiable so ware, may grad ual ly re place cable sys tem-ope ra ted pub lic ac cess. On the other hand, in the short term, the open-source model dis cour ages and re duces in ter ac tion among pro- ducers and may fur ther ex clude under served and se niors, among other groups (Ar nold 2011). NOW Media Policy From its birth in 1966, the National Organization for Women has been sus- pi cious of mains tream me dia. Its web site, among other venues, ex presses NOW’s pointed crit i cism of tele vised sex ism (and vi o lence). In 1999, for ex- ample, NOW com plained that opp o nents in ter rupt and dist ort their mes- sage whene ve r its ac tivi sts speak. This a en tion to tele vi sion makes sense: cast television, although people mistakenly complain to the FCC about public access pro- gramming. 2 Public-access channels operate in United Kingdom and Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, usually on cable but occasionally through terrestrial tel- evision. Germany, Norway and Sweden have “open channels.” For example, since 1985, government-financed Offener Kanal (Open Channel) Dortmund is free for use by local citizens (hp://homepage.tinet.ie/~openchannel/ctvlinks.htm). 186 | Linda Steiner Tele vi sion sym bol izes and al lo cates sta tus. In 1996 three women (in clud- ing two women from the loc al NOW chapt er de scribed here) brought to NOW’s na tional con vent ion a res ol ut ion call ing for fe min ist me dia to coun- ter the ima ges of women as sex ob jects and/or vict ims and to supp ly fe mi- nist per spec tives. Their mim eo graphed state ment claimed NOW needs “a pub lic voice, pub lic awaren ess of fe mi nist po si tions, a fo rum for fem i nist thought and anal y s is of na tional pol icy is sues, and a ve hi cle for re cord ing women’s her story.” Fem in ist telev is ion could be a powe rf ul tool for org a- niz ing, fund raisi ng, and po ten tial ly con vert ing “main stream” women in to “de clared fe mi nists.” In 1999, NOW joined a co ali tion of foun da tions and non profits to ad vo- cate more pub lic aff airs and po lit ic al pro gramm ing, as well as sup port for pub lic ser vice me dia, com mu nity ac count a bi li ty, and di ver sity. This pro ject quick ly faded, but its sep ar ate cam paign to pro mote “pos i tive and di verse” por trayals of women and peo ple of color lasted a while long er. NOW’s “Watch Out, Listen Up!” proj ect foc used on tele vis ion, given “its unb eat- able reach int o our homes and its infl ue nce on our a it udes.” “Watch Out, Listen Up!” enc oura ged peop le to reg ard thems elves as me dia ac tivi sts – by com plain ing about off en sive cont ent and ap plaud ing pos i tive cont ent. In 2002 NOW is sued a fair ly damn ing ana ly s is of all primet ime programs on six chann els, but it seems to have aban doned this ser ies of re ports. NOW also urges peo ple to cre ate their own pro gram ming – for cable ac- cess shows, low-power rad io sta tions or on line ra dio shows. Oc ca sional ly this works. NOW memb ers have been quoted in press acc ounts disc uss ing the eff ect iven ess of programs they made for com mu nity or acc ess chann els. More to the point, in 1999 NOW launched its own Feminist Communications Network – a TV, cable, ra dio and web broadc ast netw ork. The chair of the Feminist Communications Network Task Force de scribed par tic i pants as “en- er gized and com mied to work ing to gether to ward a comm on vis ion” (Grie co 1999). But this idea also died. The onl y cable ac cess show nom i nall y linked to NOW is the fo cus here, New Directions for Women. Ae r twice ap peari ng as a guest, I in ter viewed memb ers in di vid ual ly and in groups seve ra l times duri ng No vem ber 1997, Feb rua ry 1998, March 1998, April 1998, De cemb er 2000, July 2004 and Feb ru ary-March 2012. I int ended to re main an obs erver in the field, not to turn this in to a par tici pant-ob ser va tion pro ject. None thel ess, three times while ob serv ing, I was re cruited to do cam era work bec ause some one failed to show up. Backg round came from in ter views and doc u ments, es pe cial ly from the show’s orig i nal ex ec ut ive pro ducer. New Directions for Women NOW chap ter ac tiv ists in Mor ris County, New Jer sey were in spired to con- sider prod uci ng their own cable telev is ion show by Flor ynce Kenn ed y, a rad i cal law yer, civ il rights ac tiv ist, and fe mi nist whom Peop le ma gaz ine called “the big g est, loude st and, in dis puta bly, the rudest mouth on the bat- tle ground” (Mar tin 2000). In the late 1970s, Ken ne dy co-pro duced a fe mi- Us ing New Technologies to En ter the Public Sphere, Sec ond Wave Style | 187 nist news anal y s is show in New York City for cable for the Feminist Party, which she had founded. “The Flo Ken ne dy Show” also aired on cable. Iron- ic all y, Flo Kenn ed y helped found NOW, but aband oned it ae r dec idi ng it was overly geared to white, middle-class women (Mar tin 2000; Hoff man 1985). Mean while, New Jer sey NOW mem bers were tired of bei ng vil ified by right-wing ex trem ists. “We dec ided it was time for us to do more than just write le ers to the ed i tor to let peo ple know what we stood for and who we real ly were” (De Rise 1995). They turned to cable. Taped at the cable sys tem’s stu dio, the programs them selves near ly al- ways in volve in ter views with one, two or three guests. The pro duc tion rate has dropp ed slight ly, prob ably due to a drop in memb er ship. Yet they per- se vere: By Jan u ary 2012, NDW had pro duced 219 shows in eigh teen years. The show, which is re-aired sev er al times a month, is listed in lo cal cable guides and on the chap ter’s in creas ing ly sop his ti cated, con tent-rich web- site. NDW is the chapt er’s ma jor act iv ity, but the chap ter’s other comm un i- ca tion mech a nisms in clude Face book and Twier. In the spirit of the news pa per’s em pha s is on de tailed hard news, the coll ect ive ins ists that shows be in form at ive. “The quali ty of the shows de- pends on the qual ity of the guests,” the host says. Guests in clude nat ional- ly-known fe min ists, re searchers, uni ver sity schol ars, po lit i cal leaders, and pro fes sionals, as well as peo ple whose per sonal ex pe ri ence gives them war- rant. Men are rarel y guests, but men have disc ussed male fem in ists, stay- at-home dads, pub erty, pros titu tion, bi-sexuality, and porn og raphy, among other ques tions. NDW wants to be “eff ec tive” so it dem ands topics that, in their es ti ma tion, bring the pri vate in to the pub lic do main, res o nate broad- ly, and int ere st peop le with all kinds of views. Seve ra l mem bers as sert that NDW pro gram ming is and should be rel ev ant to men, as many fe mi nists have more gen eral ly claimed about fe mi nist con tent, in clud ing Kass ell her- self. Men may join NOW – whose prep o si tion is ‘for,’ not ‘of’ – al though no men were memb ers of the chap ter in 2012. Pot en tial NDW topics must be ap proved at an open meet ing of the chap ter’s board of dir ect ors. One NDW memb er exp lains, “Viewers need to be in ter ested and NOW needs to be con vinced there is enough in ter est.” It’s a ma er of mak ing choices among poss ible topics. The board rare ly dis ap proves a prop osal out right; sug ges tions are most likely to be de nied bec ause NDW had rec entl y done some thing sim il ar, or a guest who pro posed a topic did not a end a meet- ing to ex plain it. NDW mem bers are sat is fied with an ec dot al ev i dence that they reach an au di ence, in clud ing di rect re sponses, pos i tive and neg a tive. They claim to have over 32,000 views of their pro gram ming and are ex pand ing on You- Tube. A few years ago, one stal wart said, “I want to be lieve there is an au di- ence. . . . Well-ed u cated peo ple tune in to ques tions of imp or tance. They are conc erned with these iss ues.” The curr ent chapt er presi d ent says: “While we don’t have mil lions of views, we have tens of thou sands and our sub- scriber list is slow ly growi ng. I have been ex plor ing all av e nues of soc ial me dia in an eff ort to spread awareness of NOW and to en gage younger women. It is a phi los o phy of ‘If you build it, they will come.’” 188 | Linda Steiner A er care ful ly pon der ing wheth er to fea ture ar gu ment, NDW mem bers de cided that avoidi ng in ci vil ity or pan der ing was more im por tant than be- ing ex cit ing or ad ver sa ri al. They un der stand the in tel lec tual and moral va cu ity of the myth of ob jec tiv ity esp oused by mains tream news pro fes- sionals. Noti ng freq uent ins tances when the pol it i cal right has ma nip u lated jour nal ists and mis rep re sented femi n ism, they see no re spon si bil ity to pre- se nt opp os ing or anti-fe min ist view points. A found ing NDW mem ber said: “We don’t dir ectl y pres e nt anti-fem in ist cont ent or shows that work against women.” An nounce ments of topics o en proc laim their agenda. For ex- ample, the teaser for a dis cus sion of the im pact of neo con ser va tives on sex edu c at ion ref err ed to “the ‘civil war’ be tween those who want to go back- wards and those who un der stand that that will nev er hap pen.” NDW has feat ured sev er al is sues of par tic u lar con cern to fe mi nists, in clud ing the de bate over equal rights, pay equ ity, fe mi nist ac tiv ism, the clos ing of women’s prisons, pris oners’ child ren, sex u al slav ery, sex crimes, do mes tic and dat ing vi o lence, dis crim i na tion of var i ous kinds and wom- en in the work place – es pe ciall y in “non trad i tional” fields. Deans of two women’s col leges dis cussed pres sures on women’s coll eges to go co-ed. Third World women oc cas ional ly come up. Not sur pris ing ly, given that women over 50 dom i nate the crew, prac ti cal is sues about ag ing (nav i gat- ing the empty nest, se nior care, re tire ment) have been fea tured. But breast feed ing, fer til ity, and es pe cial ly re pro duc tive rights are more prom i nent. Sev er al shows have dealt with (homo)sex u al ity, trans-sex u al ity, and same- sex mar riage and part ners hips. Among the his tor i cal shows, in early 2012, NDW fea tured Sojourner Truth, who so fa mous ly asked “Ain’t I a Woman,” as well as suff rag ist Alice Paul and jour nali st Mar ga ret Fuller. Tech nol ogy some what con strains the po ten tial for a spe cific ally fe mi- nist ap proach to col lec tive ac tion in that it re quires peo ple have a cer tain tech ni cal lit er acy (al though mastery of the tech nol ogy is wide ly re garded both as an ass et and part of the fun). The loc al cable comp any origi n all y pro vided ten weeks of traini ng to 18 chapt er mem bers, who learned to di- rect, op er ate cam eras and light ing, and work the con trol pan els. The crew tapes shows, two at a time, at the spons ori ng cable syst em’s fac ili ties. Al- though ad di tiona l peo ple have taken the course or ap pren ticed with the crew, of course they have lost some of their orig i nal mem bers. Re cent ly the NDW chapt er’s news le er – whol ly on line – des cribed NDW’s “dire need” in all pro duc tion roles. Luck ily, a er doi ng NDW for so long, they can now get by with few er peo ple than be fore – a di rec tor, two cam era op er a tors, one au dio tech ni cian, one vid eo graph ics, plus the host/in ter- viewer. In deed, most of the bur den is on the host: She must study the topic, plan out quest ions, and con sider how to eng age with guests who might be diffi cult to draw out. More over, a er years of tap ing on Sat ur days, NDW now enj oys a “very good” mid-w eek time, when cable sys tem emp loyees are avail able to fix bro ken equip ment – a chronic probl em. Like its pare nt org an iz at ion, NDW is not ob sessed with the fe min ist method, in clud ing the anti-hi er ar chi cal sen ti ment of the 1960s. It is fair ly ca sual about power and lead er ship. NDW’s main con cern is ge ing the Us ing New Technologies to En ter the Public Sphere, Sec ond Wave Style | 189 work done with out glar ing er rors. Still, con sis tent with fe mi nist ac tion for well over a cent ury, NDW is conc erned with group proc esses and group learn ing. Tap ing ses sions re main con sis tent ly quiet and calm. The women, who now know each other quite well, off er and ac cept sist er ly, friend ly ad vice. The eff ort surv ives on a shoes tring. FCC law forb ids ad ver tis ing on PEG chan nels but, as with pub lic tele vi sion, cor po rate un der writ ing is ac cept able. On oc ca sion, a few busi ness es und er wrote NDW’s “thought- prov oki ng” show. But sol iciti ng spon sors takes time; this has fallen off. The col lect ive still lacks the hum an res ources nece s sary to app ly for grants – some thing the news pa per did quite suc cess ful ly. So they can not build a nicer set, and must shu le their few props (flow ers, ta ble cloth, mugs) back and forth. The col lec tive large ly but not ex clu sive ly ex presses the voice of white, middle-class, lib eral fe min ists. One long-time mem ber is Afr ic an Ameri - can; none are Asians.3 No men re main mem bers of the chap ter or crew. One mem ber who teaches at a tech ni cal high school oc ca sional ly brings stu dents to work on the crew, but the reg u lar mem bers are all over the age of 50. The memb ers them selves ex plic itl y emp ha size that they are all busy with fam ilies, ca reers, and a host of com mu nity, vol un teer and so cial re- spon si bil ities that they take very se ri ous ly. These women have sac ri ficed to carve time out of their comp lex, high ly over-comm ied work and fami ly lives to ac quire the requ i site techn i cal lit er acy and to con tin ue on. Generations, Technology and Community To pro mote par tic ip at ion, NOW’s own doc u ments list cam ar ad er ie and “a great time,” along with learn ing new skills, pers onal de velo p ment, and pride in ac com plish ment. Along with a sense of com mu nity, these vir tues have been highl y im por tant to other fe min ist pro jects and to other publ ic ac cess col lec tives, as well as to con tem po rary in ter net pro jects. Some years ago, NDW’s in stru men tal view of their work, their ap pare nt dis in ter est in reg ul ar extra-curricular so ciali z ing and their thin sense of comm un ity seemed surp risi ng. NDW part ici p ants des cribe thems elves as a comm u- nity and en joy their time tog ether (as well as, occ as ional ly, time out side of NOW pro jects). They ref er to NDW as a “labor of love.” Not on ly do they come to gether to prod uce their publ ic acc ess show, but they also at- tend NOW meeti ngs, as well as par ades and pro test marches. In 2011, this in cluded an Occupy rall y in Wash ing ton, D. C. and marches on be half of peace, labor rights, and health care. The sense of com mu nity is rel a tive and its defi ni tion plas tic. Mastery of skills and fun acc ord with res earch on many Web 2.0 proj ects, but third- wave fe mi nist ac tivi ty ar gu ably crea tes an even thin ner comm u nity. Al- though I can not exa mi ne this here, it’s worth not ing briefl y that third wave fe mi nists’ favorite med ia tools req uire no in ter per son al in ter ac tion. Third 3 This is not surprising given the demographics of Morris County. 190 | Linda Steiner wave cy berfem i nists still seek “com mu nity,” al bei t a mostly vir tual com- mu nity. The bi lin gual Ca na dian blog site Kick ac tion.ca, for ex ample, of- ten men tions its sta tus as a “com mu nity.” Fem i ni stlaw prof es sors.com aims for a strong er fem i nist law pro fes sor “comm u nity.” Fem i nist ing.com has a “Com mun ity” page, where “all mem bers of our com mu nity” can post. The mis sion of four thwavefe min ism.com is “to fos ter fe mi nist comm u nity in our con tem po rary world. . . . It’s up to us, as a com mu nity – as a move- ment – to ac tu al ly or chest rate change.” But the blo gosph ere does not off er the shared ident ity or nur tur ing en joyed by sec ond wave fem i nist comm u- nities, nor do they pro vide a spe cific ally fe mi nist struc ture. Pro duc ing on- line con tent fa cil i tates self-ex pres sion in the mo ment but nei ther re quires nor en coura ges group int er ac tion or on go ing loy alty to a shared “cause.” Fe mi nists’ new onl ine soc ial in ter ac tiv ity and net work ing is large ly vir- tual, anon ym ous, and acc om plished by in div id uals. In par ticu lar, per sonal blogs (ess en tial ly on line di aries) have a lib er tar ian es sen ce that is ar gu ably at odds with the femi n ism of the old er gen er a tion. For their part, third wav ers have largel y rej ected seco nd wave’s con- dem na tion of main stream me dia. Seco nd wave tac tics do not speak to the “me dia-savvy, cul tu ral ly driven gen era t ion” of the third wave (Baumg ar- der and Rich ards 2000: 77). One epon y mous ly named third wave web site proud ly as serts: “This is not the sec ond wave warmed over. We are build- ing on what they have acc omp lished and tak ing it in new dir ect ions app ro- pri ate for the 21st cen tury” (quoted in Kar ras 2002). Conclusion: Public Sphere or Screen Jür gen Hab er mas’s (1989) his tory of the emer gence and dis in te gra tion of the lib eral bour geois pub lic sphere has been acc used of mul ti ple em pir i- cal, hist or i cal, and conc ept ual err ors. Nancy Fras er (1997) notes that Hab- er mas’s pub lic sphere privi leged white bour geois men, for mal po lit i cal is sues, and ra tio nal de bate, so neve r off ered uni ver sal or equal ly dist rib- uted power. Pro pos ing ins tead the con cept of co un ter-pub lics, she says a sin gle, com pre hen sive pub lic sphere is im pos sible in com plex multi-cul tu- ral soc ie ties (Fras er 1997). Moreo ver, at least ini tial ly, Ha ber mas conc eived of mass me dia in mass-mar ket terms, ig nor ing al ter na tive or op po si tional pub lic spheres. On the other hand, while agree ing that the con cept of the pub lic sphere re mains es sen tial, Kevin DeLuca and Jen ni fer Peeples (2002) criti cize those try ing to ref orm Hab er mas’s not ion of the pub lic sphere for pro ble mat i cal ly fo cus ing on ra tiona l ity and di a logue, prod uc ing “an ex clu- sion ary and imp ove ri shed norm at ive ideal that shuns much of the richn ess and tur bu lence of the sense-mak ing pro cess” (128). They pro pose ins tead the “pub lic screen,” which “high lights dis se mi na tion, im ages, hy per me- dia cy, spec tacu lar pub lici ty, ca coph ony, dis tract ion, and diss ent” (145). This deb ate capt ures on the key diff er ence bet ween the play ful ness of third wave fe mi nists and the sec ond wave, exe m plified by the New Jer sey fe mi nists’ pref er ence for ra tion al ity, de lib er a tion, and ci vil ity. That is, NDW Us ing New Technologies to En ter the Public Sphere, Sec ond Wave Style | 191 man if ests two kinds of ge netic an ces try: Hab er mas’s inter ac tive sa lon tra- di tion; and the 1970s dra ma tis tic style of fem in ist ac tiv ism. They de cide d ly do not ig nore diff er ence. But they as pire to di a logue that pro duces cons en- sus. They strug gle to gether, hold ing firm to their long-term and ex plici tl y shared comm it ment to pro tracted work at a va riety of lev els and in mul ti ple con texts in or der to pro duce in cre men tal changes for women. The gen eral claims made on be half of pub lic ac cess tele vi sion – that it pro motes me dia lit er acy, “real” po lit i cal ac tiv ism, and em po wer ment at both the in di vid ual and group lev els – cont in ue to des cribe NDW. The “talk ing head” is, they ac knowl edge, old-fash ioned. In deed, more than ev er, NDW mem bers wish they could go on lo ca tion and use the tech nol ogy in more so phis tic ated and jazzy ways. Still, it act ivel y chooses the calm, ra tio nal, mod er ate tone. This is not onl y tech ni cal ly eas ier but it also be fits their gen eral poli tics, in her- ited from libe ral femi ni sm. While they ap pre ci ate that they don’t need to con front (or solve) the eco- nomic and edi t or ial con straints con front ing comm er cial tele vi sion, they lack the re sources req uired for more inn o va tive, cre at ive work. In my view, this is not a ma er of lack of time, com mit ment, imag i na tion, or even money. Ra ther, techn ic al and struc tural dem ands with in pub lic ac cess chan nels over-de ter- mine the “prod uct.” No sin gle me dium is per fect; no sin gle mech a nism can fully sup port del ib er a tion among all pub lics. Far greater techn ic al re sources and thea tr ic al skills than NDW can must er are nece s sary to reach third wave fem in ists. But NDW has ne go tia ted a part ial way of serv ing com plex and even con tra dict ory pur poses by ac knowl edg ing their own lim it at ions and those of the form. They cont inu e to off er for pub lic disc uss ion – esp ec ial ly au di ences of their gen era tion – gen u ine news from women’s pers onal and work worlds. They have proper ly red efi ned the pub lic not as a coll ect ion of in di vid ual con sumers, but as soc ial iden tity groups with real ma te rial, po lit- ic al, so cial, cul tu ral, and in tel lect ual needs. They have both rec og nized who they are, who they would like to be, and whom they want to serve. They do so with out pan der ing or com pro mis ing their fem in ism. Re fer enc es Al len, M. L., 1988. The Development of Communication Networks Among Women, 1963–1983 [on line]. Availa ble at: Arn old, E., 2011. The Cable TV Access Crisis. Al ter net, 7 Au gust 2011 [on- line]. Avail able at: Aufd erh eide, P., 1992. Cable Television and the Public Interest. Journ al of Communication 42(1), pp. 52–65. Aufd er heide, P., 2000. The Dail y Planet: A Critic on the Capitalist Culture Beat. Min ne a pol is: Uni vers ity of Min ne sota Press. Baum gard ner, J. and Rich ards, A., 2000. Man i fes ta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future. New York: Far rar, Straus and Gi roux. 192 | Linda Steiner Cham bers, D., Stei ner, L. and Flem ing, C., 2004. Women and Journalism. Lon- don: Routl edge DeLuca, K. M. and Peeples, J., 2002. From Public Sphere to Public Screen: De moc racy, Activism, and the “Vi o lence” of Sea le. Crit i cal Studies in Me dia Communication 19(2), pp. 125–51. De Rise, M., 1995. Lights, Camera, Take Action. NOW news le er No vem ber 1995 [on line]. Avail able at: . Devine, R. H., 1992. Ac cess in the 21st Century: The Future of the Public. Com mu nity Television Re view 15(6), pp. 8–9. Endres, K. and Lueck, T., eds., 1996. Women’s Periodicals in the United States: So cial and Political Issues. West port, Conn.: Green wood Press. Doty, P., 1975. Pub lic Access Cable Television: Who Cares? Jour nal of Com- munication 25, pp. 33–41. Fra ser, N., 1997. Just ice Interruptus: Criti c al Reflections on the ‘Post soc ial ist’ Con di tion. New York: Rout ledge. Gil lesp ie, G., 1975. Pub lic Access Cable Television in the United States and Can- ada. New York: Prae ger. Griec o, H., 1999. Med ia Ins tit ute Sets Sights on Feminist Network [onl ine]. Avail able at: Ha ber mas, J., 1989. The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry in to a Category of Bourgeois So ci ety, trans. T. Burger, with F. Lawr ence. Camb ridge, Mass.: MIT Press. Hall eck, D., 2002. Hand-Held Visions: The Impossible Possibilities of Commu- nity Me dia. New York: Ford ham Uni ver sity Press. Hoff man, M., 1985. Flo Ken ned y and Irene Da vall: Fore ver Activists, On the Issues Mag a zine 5. Avail able at: Karr as, I., 2002. The Third Wave’s Final Girl: Buff y the Vampire Slayer. third space: a jour nal of fe mi nist the ory & cul ture 1(2) [on line]. Avail able at: . King, D. L. and Mele C., 1999. Mak ing Public Access Television: Comm u- nity Participation, Me dia Literacy and the Public Sphere. Journ al of Broadcasting & Electronic Med ia 43(4), pp. 603–623. Lind er, L. R., 1999. Pub lic Access Television: Amer ica’s Electronic Soapbox. West port, Conn.: Prae ger. Mar tin, D., 2000. Flo Ken ne dy, Feminist, Civil Rights Advocate and Flam- boyant Gadfly, Is Dead at 84. The New York Times, De cemb er 23, 2000. Avail able at: hp://www.ny times.com/2000/12/23/us/flo-kenne dy-fe- mi nist-civ il-rights-ad vo cate-and-flam boy ant-gad fly-is-dead-at-84. html Melh em, S. and Tand on, N., 2009. In for ma tion and Communication Tech- nologies for Women’s Socio-Economic Empowerment. Wash ing ton, D. C.: World Bank Working Paper Series. Us ing New Technologies to En ter the Public Sphere, Sec ond Wave Style | 193 Sham berg, M., 1972. Gue rilla Television. New York: Holt, Rine hart and Wins- ton. Sloan Commission, 1971. On the Cable. The Television of Abundance. New York: Mc Graw-Hill. Stein, L., 2001. Acc ess Television and Grassroots Political Communication in the United States. In: J. D. Dow ning, with T. V. Ford, G. Gil and L. Stein, eds. Rad i cal Me dia: Re bel li ous Communication and Social Move- ments. Thous and Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 299–324. Stei ner, L., 2005. The Feminist Cable Collective as Public Sphere Activity. Jour nal ism 6(3), pp. 313–334. Stei ner, L., 1992. The History and Structure of Women’s Alternative Med ia. In: L. Rakow, ed. Women Making Meaning: New Feminist Directions in Communication. New York: Rout ledge, pp. 121–143. Waj cman, J., 2010. Fe mi nist Theories of Technology. Cam bridge Jour nal of Economics 34(1), pp. 143–152. Chapter 3: Cultural Citizenship “Alternative and independent and Social Change media is VITAL for any social change and movement. Grrl zines are especially important because we live in a world were male voices reign supreme and strong, independent, feminist women’s voices are few and far between. They are out there, but we don’t often get to hear them ... unless you pick up zine to read!” Editor of Pre y Ugly (Australia) “I’ve decided that I want to produce something that’ll CHANGE people’s mindsets, make them think and talk about it, make them angry, make them stand up and spit, scream and stomp on it. I know I can’t single-handedly start a revolution and overthrow the government or anything like that. All I wanted was to start a tiny little revolution in all my reader’s minds and hearts that I hope’ll lead to bigger changes.” Editor of Trippers zine (Singapur) Drawing by Nina Nijsten (originally published in ScumGrrrls, Belgium, no. 16, 2009) “I think zines are significant on both individual levels and for social movements. They play important roles in DIY feminist and anti-capitalist movements. Anyone can contribute to a kind of non-academic/non-professional but very valuable DIY political theory and herstory.” (Nina Nijsten, Belgium) tu ral Cit i zen ship. Par tic i pa tion by and through Me dia Cult ur al Cit i zens hip. Part ic i pat ion by and through Med ia Elis a beth Klaus and Mar greth Lünen borg 1 Rethinking citizenship in the era of globalisation In rec ent years the not ion of citi zens hip has trigg ered many de bates in the po lit i cal arena as well as in diff er ent disc i plines. There are a numb er of rea sons why the con cept of cit i zen ship, large ly taken for granted since the Age of En light en ment and the bour geois revo lut ions in Eu rope, has since the 1990s given rise to many quest ions (e. g. Turner 1994). Firstl y, glob ali z a- tion has un der mined the over whelm ing power of the na tion-states, which are closel y linked to cit i zen ship. Seco ndl y, the emerg ence of multi-ethn ic, multi-cul tu ral so ci eties and mi grat ion proc esses has nouri she d doubts as to the unamb i guous ness and clear mean ing of the con cept. In stead it is quite obv i ous that na tion-states are more and more inh ab ited by so cial ac tors who are affi l ia ted with diff ere nt re gions (re sid ing in one, worki ng in another, speak ing the lan guage of a third) and as sume mult i ple sub ject pos it ions. Thirdl y, the dev el op ment of popu lar me dia disc ourses and the in crease in en ter tain ment pro grammes has par tial ly sup ported a de-po lit i- ci sa tion of the pub lic sphere, but at the same time the ad vent of new dig i tal med ia and esp e cial ly the In ter net has pro vided new means for in div id ual ac tors as well as mar gin al ized groups to pub lic ly voice their opini ons and to bec ome inv olved in poli t ics (here und ers tood in the wider sense of the term). All these dev el op ments have res ulted in the emer gence and the greater visi b il ity of new prac tices of citi zen ship as the diff er ent art ic les in this book demo n strate quite force ful ly. Var i ous schol ars have tried to cap ture the de- fin ing char ac ter is tics and the in ner work ings of new modes of par tic i pat ing in so ci ety by qual if ying cit i zen ship in a num ber of ways, as cos mo pol i tan or trans na tional cit i zen ship, di as po ric cit i zen ship, emo tional cit i zen ship, do-it-your self citi zens hip (DIY cit iz en ship), dig i tal cit iz en ship practiced by net i zens, me dia cit i zen ship and so on (e. g., Di etze 2012; Hau ben and Hau ben 1997; Hart ley 1999; Ong 1999a; Valentine 2001). All these terms stress the div erse sub ject pos it ions and ident ities that can be taken up by cit i zens and the mod i fied prac tices and pro cesses of en act ing cit i zen ship in eve ry day life. Al though the diff er ent terms are quite dis tinct and high- light diff ere nt asp ects of what it means to be a cit i zen and part ic i pate in 198 | Elis a beth Klaus and Mar greth Lünenb org so cie ty, they do have a com mon ground since they all rel ate in some way or other to cul tu ral iden tities and cul tu ral prac tices. More over, they share a con cern with par tic i pa tion and ad dress ques tions of so cial in clu sion and ex clu sion. This is what has been loose ly termed as cul tu ral cit i zen ship by diff er ent schol ars. But what exa ctl y does cult ur al citi z ens hip mean? How is it rel ated to tra di tional no tions of cit i zen ship? Is it just another ideal that masks pro- cesses of exc lus ion or can it con trib ute to par tic i pa tory prac tices? In the foll owi ng disc uss ion, we will first pond er the con cept of cit iz en ship, its emer gence and its short com ings. We will then trace the or i gins and diff er- ent mean ings of the term “cul tu ral cit i zen ship.” Our un der stand ing of cul- tu ral cit i zen ship is linked to the ory and re search on me dia and com mu ni- ca tion. We conc eive of soc i ety as fun da men tal ly de ter mined by me dia and com mu ni ca tion. When we claim that we live in a me dia so ci ety, we re fer to the fact that in for ma tion, knowl edge, ex pe ri ence and par tic i pa tion to day are me di ated at all lev els of iden tity form a tion, at the level of the sub-cul- tu ral com mu nity, the na tion-state and the global, de-ter ri tor ia li zed so ci ety. On these grounds we ar gue that cult ur al cit i zens hip can funct ion as a key con cept for ex plor ing pro cesses of cul tu ral meani ng pro duc tion and par- tic i pat ion. Thus, we sug gest in te grat ing cul tu ral cit i zen ship as a con tex tual el e ment in the cir cle – we see it as a globe – of mean ing pro duc tion, which is one of the cen tral mod els dev el oped by the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies in Birm ingh am. We fin al ly pon der the comp lexi ty of the issue us ing the ex ample of re al ity tele vi sion – es pe cial ly tal ent shows – and its por trayal of mi grants and queers. These TV pro grammes are am big u ous in that they all ow for new forms of repr es ent a tion and vis i bil ity that can in clude, lead to or stimu late par tic ip at ory prac tices. At the same time the genre is re pro duc ing tra dit ional ste reo types with re gards to gen der, sex u- al ity, class and eth nic ity and re it er ates topics that re in force the ex clu sion of par tic u lar so cial groups. 2 Social, political and civil citizenship For quite a long per iod of time the conc ept of citi zen ship has been dis- cussed and elab o rated al most ex clu sive ly with in the dis ci plines of po lit i cal sci ences and so cio l ogy. Cit i zen ship ref ers to the terms of be long ing to a na- tion-state: A citi z en is ack nowle dged as a wort hy memb er of a na tion-state or a cong lom er ate of nat ion-states like the EU. To con vey or grant citi zen- ship is linked to diff er ent rights of par tic i pa tion and to the ob li ga tions to as sume re spon si bil ity with in the po lit i cal pub lic sphere. The Brit ish soc i ol o gist Thomas H. Mars hall is credi ted with a widel y ac cepted clar i fi ca tion and sys tem a ti za tion of the rights cit i zens hip con fers to its mem bers. Mar shall in trod uced the now well-known and much-used dis tinct ion be tween civ il, po lit i cal and so cial cit i zen ship in 1949. He thus high lighted three diff er ent as pects of citi zen ship: civ il cit i zen ship, some- times termed with equal jus ti fi ca tion eco nomic cit i zen ship, ad dresses the Cul tu ral Cit i zen ship. Par tic i pa tion by and through Me dia | 199 in di vid ual’s right to par tic i pate in the econ omy as a free pro ducer and con- sumer. Po lit i cal cit i zen ship cen tres on rights and obl i ga tions to part ic i pate in the po lit i cal de ci sion mak ing pro cess. In a par lia men tary de moc racy the rights to vote and to be elected are at the core. Fi nal ly so cial cit i zen ship, now a high ly cont ested are a in Weste rn Eur o pean soc i eties, ack nowl edges that so ci ety has a col lec tive re spon si bili ty for the well-be ing of its sub jects. The soc ial wel fare state, while nev er a heaven of jus tice and equal ity, nev- er the less pro vided a kind of safety net for per sons who were hit by ill ness, un em ploy ment or in fir mi ty and sup ported some of the more vul ner able mem bers of so ci ety like child ren, the dis abled or the el der ly. Mars hall’s tri par tite model dis tin guish ing civ il, po lit i cal and soc ial cit i- zen ship was ex treme ly use ful in ex plain ing diff er ent as pects of cit i zen ship. How ev er, he failed to see the au ton o mous and es sen tial role that cul tu- ral as pects played in as crib ing rights of be long ing. Ed u ca tion for him was part of soc ial citi z ens hip. This is plaus ible when one con siders the right to a end school and to gain an ed uc a tional de gree. But ed u ca tion be yond for mal schooli ng is one of the cent ral so cial iz ing agencies in so ci ety and en tails much more than the right to a end school, since it prov ides the in- di vid ual with the cul tu ral means to par tic i pate in so ci ety. Thus, ed u ca tion to a large ext ent det erm ines wheth er soc ial rights can be claimed for all. Em ploy ment op port u nities as well as the means to voice one’s opin ion all de pend on ed u ca tional opp or tu nities. For ex ample, if peo ple can not speak and write in their na tive lan guage, they will not be en ti tled to full cit iz en- ship rights. Med ia, of course, prov ides the other cen tral so cial izi ng agency, but its power goes be yond this func tion, and we will ret urn to it later in our dis cuss ion. Po lit i cal the ory start ing from Mars hall’s work has alm ost ex clu sive ly fo cused on the po lit i cal as well as the cog ni tive-ra tio nal di men sion of cit i- zen ship and the pub lic sphere. This in cludes the work of Jürg en Ha ber mas (e. g. 1988), alt hough his acc ount of the emerg ence of the publ ic sphere takes as its start ing point the lit er ary sphere and dem on strates that the cul- tu ral sphere can be an im por tant ar tic u la tor for po lit i cal de bates. Var i ous schol ars have pointed out that the pub lic sphere can not be di vided and is alw ays and at the same time crea ted by pol iti c al as well as cul tur al dis- courses (e. g. Co ul dry 2006; Her mes 2006; McGuigan 2006). Thus cit i zens op er at ing in the pub lic sphere are po lit i cal ly as well as cul tu ral ly lo cated. Newe r de vel op ments which are dis cussed un der the head line of glob al iz a- tion and the changes from ind ust rial soc ie ty to a so ci ety based on comm u- ni ca tion, in for ma tion, knowl edge and med ia made clear that the ne glect of the cul tu ral sphere and its re la tion ship to power is a blind spot in Mar- shall’s model. Another prob lem con cerns his lack of a en tion to the pre-requisites for ac quiri ng cit i zen ship rights and ob li ga tions, since he did not pay much a en tion to the work ings of diff er ent power re la tion ships in de ter min- ing the terms of be long ing to a na tion-state. Mar shall bas ic al ly ass umed a lin ear de vel op ment and a con tin u ous ex ten sion of the rights cit i zen ship en tailed. Civi l rights pre ceded po lit i cal rights and were then fol lowed by 200 | Elis a beth Klaus and Mar greth Lünenb org so cial rights. The li ne ar ity and in flex i bil ity of the model were pre cise ly the rea sons why a num ber of re searchers, most of them ar gu ing from the view- point of disc rimi n ated groups, have voiced crit ic ism. Tak ing the pers pec- tive of crit i cal po liti cal econ omy, Mars hall ne glected to see that not eve ry- one was en ti tled to all types of cit i zen ship at the same time. The rights of women, who in a num ber of Eu ro pean coun tries gained the right to vote on ly a er the First World War and in the con text of a strong suff rage move- ment, pro vide a well-re searched case in point. The ac knowl edgem ent of equal rights for peop le of col our in the U. S. is another. Here civ il rights had to be won ae r po liti cal rights were al ready granted. Both exa mples show that the right to be long to a na tion-state was al ways a con tested do main that marg in ali zed groups had to fight for. Cit i zen ship pointed to an ideal that was nev er tru ly ac com plished, but granted in clus ion to some mem- bers of so ci ety by ex clud ing others (Fra ser and Gordon 1994). Cit i zen ship from the be gin ning was as so ci ated with white, hete ro sex ual malen ess. The con cept, then, can not be ad e quate ly un der stood when it is strip ped of this her i tage of nor mali zi ng some iden tities and of mar gin al i za tion others. This said, it also must be ack nowle dged that the ideal of cit i zen ship has prov- en as use ful in so cial strug gles when re pressed and marg in ali zed groups claimed the fulfi lm ent of its acc om pan ying norms of sol i dar ity, equal ity and just ice. The early la bour move ment, the women’s move ments and the civ il rights movem ent all tes tify to the fact that par tic i pa tory pract ices have emerged from the claim to be granted full cit i zen ship. Taken to gether, for a num ber of rea sons it makes sense to build on Mar- shall’s model by enh anci ng his dist inc tion be tween civ il, so cial and pol iti - cal citi z ens hip by cult ur al citi z ens hip in ord er to fill some blind spots and to do jus tice to the more re cent so cial and cult ur al dev el opm ents. 3 Cultural citizenship and its diverse meanings Cul tu ral citi zen ship ext ends Mars hall’s model by ac knowl edg ing the pow- erf ul role of cult ure and by cap tur ing new asp ects of be long ing and par tic- i pa tion in a glob al ized me dia so ci ety. Diff er ent authors have used the term cul tu ral cit i zen ship to re fer to more re cent so cial and eco nomic de vel op- ments and bring an aware ness of the im por tance of cul ture to the fore front of the disc us sion on the terms of be long ing to a spe cific soc i ety. How ev- er, the conc ept is not well de fined and diff er ent authors ref er to div erse as pects when us ing it. Acc ord ing ly, Ge rard De lan ty (2002), in a re view of two in flu en tial vol umes on cul tu ral cit i zen ship (Kym licka and Wayne 2000; Ste vens on 2001), has dis tin guished be tween two diff ere nt conc ep- tions. Alt hough he is prob ably drawi ng too strict a line bet ween the two ap proaches, his dist inct ion leads to a helpf ul clar i fi ca tion of the col our ful term. One ap proach is infl u enced by po liti cal theo ry; the other is based in cul tu ral so ci ol ogy. The first ap proach, stem ming from the ar ea of po lit i cal the ory, was de- vel oped in the con text of mul ti cul tu ra lism, mi gra tion and com mu nity stud- Cul tu ral Cit i zen ship. Par tic i pa tion by and through Me dia | 201 ies (Kym lincka and Wayne 2000). These cont rib ut ions demo n strate that the ful fil ment of equal rights in a so ci ety needs the ac knowl edge ment that it is struc tured by div ers ity. Dem ands for equal rights thus have to be com ple- mented by the right to be diff er ent and to voice these diff er ences. Rights of cit iz en ship thus have to be comp le mented by cul tu ral di ver sity, gen eral- ly termed as mult i cul tu ra lism, or ethno pol i tics. The most promi nent re- searcher repr es ent ing this strand is Re nat o Ro sal do. He de fines cul tu ral cit i zen ship as “the right to be diff er ent (in terms of race, ethn ic ity, or na tive lan guage) with out com pro mis ing one’s right to be long, in the sense of par- tic i pat ing in the na tion-state’s demo cratic pro cesses” (Ro sal do 1994: 57). Cul tu ral cit i zen ship re fers fun da men tal ly to the rights of cult ures and com- mu nities to be acc epted as diff er ent with in a given na tion-state or ter ri tory. Re spect is a key term for Ro sal do: “Bridgi ng the dis courses of the state and ev ery day life, of cit i zen ship and cul ture, the de mand for respe to is a de fin- ing dem and of cult u ral cit iz en ship” (Ro sal do 1999: 260). Rich ard Sen ne, a crit i cal so ci ol o gist stem ming from the work ing class himself, al though not conc erned with citi z ens hip per se, uses the same term when an a lyz ing the con se quences of the dem ise of the welf are state. In his book “Res pect in a World of Unequality” (2002), he shows how ine quali ty is acc omp an ied by dis re spect for those that are less well-off. This in turn hin ders the de vel- op ment of self-re spect by mem bers of mar gin al ized groups and thus re in- forces their soc ial as well as cult u ral ex clu sion from so ci ety. De lan ty (2002: 64) notes that cul tur al cit i zen ship in the line of thought o en equated with Ro sald o’s work and orig i nat ing from po lit i cal the ory links cit i zen ship and diff er ent (mi nor ity) cul tures. In te gra tion in to so cie ty is no long er defi ned as an ob li ga tion to as simi late in to a given cul ture and to give up one’s own cult u ral iden tity, but as a right to be in cluded and acc epted as diff er ent, but equal. How ev er, the conc ept does not reall y int eg rate cul tu ral as pects in to a rad i cal ly new con cep tion of cit i zen ship. De lan ty writes: “Cult ure is not di vi sive and can be a ba s is of cit i zen ship. It is un like ly to be a ba s is of com- mon cit i zen ship in the clas sic lib eral sense, but it is es sen tial to the work ing of the dem o cratic or der” (ibid.). The other strand, em bodied in Nick Ste ven son’s vol ume (2001), relies more heavi ly on cult ur al soc io lo gy and Cultural Studies and does not equate cul ture with cult u ral di ver sity, mi gra tion and ethno pol i tics per se. In stead it is more gen eral ly conc erned with “cul tur al re sources, iden tities and the cul tu ral pre sup po si tions of the pol ity. Thus cit iz ens hip as cul tu ral cit iz en ship is about the sta tus of cul ture as disc ur sive ly con structed. In this view what is at stake is cul tu ral rights ra ther than mi nor ity rights” (De lan- ty 2002: 64). When cul tu ral cit i zen ship is de fined as a dis cur sive pro cess it brings in to fo cus the learn ing di men sions of cit i zen ship and the so cial i za- tion proc esses init ia ted by the diff er ent so cial iz ing agents of so ci ety. One con se quence of this shi is the de mise of the still-per sis tent dic hot omies that draw strict lines be tween fact and fic tion, in for ma tion and en ter tain- ment, pub lic/po lit i cal ver sus pri vate/per sonal dis courses and ra tio nal ver- sus emo tional de bates. From the per spec tive of cul tu ral cit i zen ship these du al isms mark con tin u ums whose diff er ent sides are both in volved in af- 202 | Elis a beth Klaus and Mar greth Lünenb org firm ing rights of be long ing and in clu sion in so ci ety. Ed u ca tion and me dia in all their diff ere nt facets, then, move to the foref ront of the re al i za tion of cit i zen ship rights. Me dia and com mu ni ca tion are of es sen tial im por tance in se ing the stage for par tic i pa tion and be long ing. For me dia and com- mu ni ca tion re search, for de ter min ing one’s place with in the pro cesses of cul tu ral prod uc tion the la er strand then seems a promi si ng starti ng point in or der to be er und er stand the cul tu ral as pects of be longi ng in to day’s so ci eties; or phrased diff er ent ly: for re veal ing those as pects of cul ture and cul tu ral mean ing pro duc tion that are es sen tial for ex clud ing some peo ple or groups of peo ple from full par tic i pa tion in soc i ety. De spite the diff er ent usa ges of the term and the diff er ent aca d emic tra- dit ions it ref ers to there are some es sen tial comm on al ities of cul tu ral cit i- zen ship. As Lee hyun Lim (2010: 221) sum ma rizes: “A re ac tion to the lim its of the le gal and nor ma tive idea of cit i zen ship, cul tu ral cit i zen ship lo cates the sub stan tial mean ing of citi zen ship in the ev ery day prac tices of shar- ing space and form ing and ex chang ing ideas.” Be sides bridg ing the gap be tween the pri vate and the po lit i cal, the per sonal and the pub lic, the lit- erat ure on cul tur al cit i zen ship also shares a con cern with the re la tion of equal ity and di ver sity in the mak ing of a citi zen. It is linked to the earl ier crit i cism raised against Mar shall’s model of cit i zen ship for not in clud ing ques tions of power. For Ro sal do cul tu ral cit iz en ship en tails the prom ise to over come power re la tion ships. While he stres ses pro cesses of em po wer- ment, he un der es ti mates the com plex ity of this issue. Ai wah Ong (1999) holds that Ro sal do’s de mand for “respe to” nour ishes the il lu sion “that im mi grant or mi nor ity groups can es cape the cul tu ral in scrip tion of state power and other forms of reg u la tion that de fine the diff er ent mo dal ities of be long ing” (Ong 1999: 264). Ong, who is con cerned with cit i zen ship in the cont ext of global and transn at ional proc esses, defi nes cult u ral citi zen- ship as “the cult u ral prac tices and be liefs pro duced of our ne go ti at ing the o en amb iva l ent and cont ested rel at ions with the state and its he ge monic forms that es tab lish the cri te ria of be long ing with in a na tional pop u la tion and ter ri tory. Cul tu ral cit i zen ship is a dual pro cess of self-mak ing and be- ing-made with in webs of power linked to the na tion-state and civ il so cie ty” (Ong 1999: 264). Inv olved here are the terms of bel ongi ng that the granti ng of citi zen- ship con fers, the rights and ob li ga tions a ached to it and the reg u la tions gov ern ing it, as well as the pro cesses of iden tity for ma tion and iden ti fi ca- tion. Such proc esses are int im atel y linked to the cult u ral res ources peo- ple pos sess in par tic i pat ing in so ci ety and shap ing its so cial, po lit i cal and cul tu ral en vir on ment. When we look at the mig ra tion deb ates in Eu rope, we see that cul tu ral sig ni fiers are over whelm ing ly used to exc lude peo ple from full soc i etal part ici p at ion. For exa mple, in the heads carf deb ates, a part icu l ar style of clothi ng is used to mark women as fore igners, as the “cul tu ral others.” The same holds true for rel i gi ous affi li a tions in the case of the Is lamic bel ief. Ex amples of such cul tu ral i za tion of so cial diff ere nce abound. When dis cuss ing the con nec tion be tween cul ture and cit i zen ship, Bourd ieu’s (1979) ana lys i s of the cult ure of taste and the soc ial hie ra rc hies Cul tu ral Cit i zen ship. Par tic i pa tion by and through Me dia | 203 with which these are in ti matel y linked could be profi t ably util ized. Forms of cul tu ral and so cial dis tinc tion are in ten sive ly in ter wo ven. Cul ture is in no way less en trenched with power re la tions than other realms in which cit i zen ship rights ac quire mean ing and cit i zen ship prac tices are acted out. Crit i cal con tri bu tions to the de bate on cul tu ral cit i zen ship by Nick C ou ld ry (2006), who points to the fuzzin ess of its use, and by Toby Miller (2011) ne ces si tate some fur ther spec ifi ca tion of the con cept. Miller ar gues that cul tu ral cit i zen ship is as much an outc ome of “adj ustm ent to econ omic trans for ma tion” as re sult ing from so cial move ments. While his char ac ter- i za tion of the diff er ent or i gins of the con cept seems ra ther ar bi trary and hardl y does just ice to the res earch trad it ion mapp ed out in our art i cle, he raises an aware ness of the fact that add ressi ng cult ure in the cont ext of citi z ens hip is also used by neo libe ral poli t ic ians as well as by the me dia in es tab lish ing new forms of ex clu sion (see also Cho 2007: 472–474). In an Aus trian case study fo cus ing on par tic u lar per sons whose en tit le ment to cit i zen ship rights led to pub lic deb ates, we found that the asc ript ion of cul tu ral char ac ter is tics such as im proper be hav iour, re li gi ous be liefs, ed- u ca tional norms, etc., was used to dis tin guish a wor thy cit i zen from the so-called il le gal im mi grant, the ideal cit i zen from the un de sir able one (Klaus and Drüeke 2011). The diff ere nt newsp ap ers to a large ex tent tied cit i zen ship rights to the pos ses sion of the “cor rect” and “proper” val ues, a i tudes or be hav iours. In this way cul tu ral fac tors were used to con struct “the other” and ex clude mem bers of par tic u lar groups from cit i zen ship. Cul tu ral cit i zen ship, then, has to avoid mis in ter pre ta tion as an es sen tial- ist con cept. Peo ple do not have or pos sess a spec i fied “cul ture”, al though they are all in volved in cul tu ral prac tices. In the me dia dis course cul ture is be ing used as a made of dist inct ion, caus ing forms of in clu sion and ex- clu sion. Cul tu ral cit i zen ship, then, has to be un der stood as a dy namic and am big u ous pro cess of affi rm ing a sense of be long ing em bodied in and ap- pro pria ted through prac tices of citi zen ship. This seems in line with Lily Cho’s (2007) in sis tence on the per for ma tive as pects of cit i zen ship, which is “not so much be stowed by the state once and for all but re peated ly scripted and en acted” (Cho 2007: 470). Due to the heg em onic chara ct er of the cit i zen ship conc ept and to the dom i nant cul tu ral forms, cul tu ral cit i zen ship per se can not serve as a con- cept for lib er a tion and emanc i pa tion, but needs fur ther spec i fi ca tion. In her pro gram matic es say “Can the sub al tern speak?” Gaya tri Chak ra vor ty Spi- vak (1988) has posed a crit i cal ques tion. What are the con di tions of be ing seen and be ing able to raise one’s own voice? Spi vak an a lyses how cul tu ral tra di tion and est abl ished syst ems of thought and lang uage prev ent other voices from be ing heard and mar gin al ized peo ple from be com ing vis ible. She also crit i cizes a uni form con cep tion of such a di verse group called “the sub al tern” and ques tions the a empts of crit i cal in tel lec tuals to speak for and about mar gin al ized per sons or to ins cribe their cult u ral ly bounded mean ings in to their speech. In stead she de vel ops a model of a sub ver sive lis ten ing and “stra te gic es sen tial ism” that em powers div erse groups to speak up for them selves and raise their own dis tinct voices. Cul tu ral cit- 204 | Elis a beth Klaus and Mar greth Lünenb org iz ens hip, then, is not so much somet hing ev ery one has or should have, but a set of strat egies and prac tices to in voke pro cesses of em po wer ment in ord er to subv ers ivel y list en and to speak up in the publ ic sphere. Thus the pro duct ion of di verse fe mi nist me dia can be un der stood as an en gage ment in part ic i pa tory prac tices of cit iz en ship. 4 The mediated meaning of cultural citizenship Not sur prisi ng ly the con cept of cult ur al cit iz en ship has been taken up and wel comed esp ec ial ly in the ana ly si s of comm u ni ca tion and new me- dia. In a soc ie ty domi n ated by med ia, cult ur al res ources are to a large ex- tent me dia-based and me di ated. Iden tity for ma tion in mode rn soc i ety is med ia-drenched, i. e. linked to the dis tinct spaces that med ia prov ide for diff er ent iden tities. Graham Murd ock (1999: 10) sees tele vi sion as “the prin ci pal stock ex change of pub lic disc ourse”. Jost ein Gri psrud de scribes to day’s tele vi sion as the “prim ary source of comm on knowl edge”, “a wide- ly shared pool of in form at ion and per spec tives from which peo ple shape their con cep tions of self, world and cit i zen ship” (1999: 2). Dig i tal forms of on line com mu nic a tion open up the field for new modes of cit iz ens’ par tic- i pa tion no long er lim ited by na tional or cul tu ral bound aries. On the in ter- net, me dia users be come prod ucers them selves, pro duc tion and rec ep tion here is not to be seen as dis tinct ele ments but as close ly linked tog ether. Ident ity as a cit iz en is then not pri mar i ly a ma er of pol it i cal par tici pa tion. More rel e vant are dis cur sive ne go ti a tions of the cul tu ral prac tices es sen tial for the in di vid ual and so cial iden tity. The above cons id er ations lead to our defi nit ion of the conc ept of cult u- ral cit iz en ship: Cul tu ral cit i zen ship is an es sen tial di men sion of cit i zen ship in me dia so ci ety and un folds un der the con dit ions of un equal power rel a tions. It en tails all those cul tu ral prac tices that all ow comp et ent par tic i pa tion in so ci ety and in cludes the rights to be rep re sented and to speak act ive ly. Me dia as a part ic u lar form of cul- tu ral pro duc tion is both an eng ine and an act or in the proc esses of self-maki ng and bei ng-made, in which peo ple acq uire their in di vid ual, group-spe cific and soc ial iden tities. Cul tu ral cit i zen ship is a cen tral con cept for un der stand ing the pro cess of so ci etal mean ing pro duc tion, since it in ti mate ly links cul tu ral pro duc- tion, cul tu ral prod ucts and au di ences and binds them firm ly to gether. They de note diff er ent asp ects in the pro cess of mean ing pro duc tion, but fun da- ment al ly rem ain de pen dent on each other. Rich ard John son (1985) has in- trod uced a cir cle to be er un der stand the cul tu ral pro duc tion of mean ing which has been fur ther de vel oped and spec i fied by Paul du Gay (1997). The “cir cuit of cul ture” is framed by an in ter min gling of pub lic rep re sen ta- tions and pri vate lives, of ab stract ex pres sions and con crete and par tic u lar u er ances. John son sin gles out four mo ments in the cir cle, name ly pro duc- tion, texts, read ings and lived cul tures. The pic ture is in so far mis lead ing as “lived cul tures” is con cep tual ly diff ere nt from the other el e ments. It is the Cul tu ral Cit i zen ship. Par tic i pa tion by and through Me dia | 205 space and the ho ri zon that fun da men tal ly en ables proc esses of en cod ing and dec od ing, of pro duc tion and rec ep tion. This is why we have int ro- duced a three-di men sio nal model with cul tu ral cit i zen ship tak ing the place of lived cult ure be ing the con text in which pro cesses of cul tu ral mean ing pro duc tion are em bed ded (Fig ure 1). Fig ure 1: Cul tur al Citizenship as part of the cir cuit of cul ture We app lied the model for looki ng at med ia proc esses, e. g. those that are trigg ered by rea li ty TV programs, and it seems well suited to do so. Cul- tu ral cit i zen ship serves as a uni verse that al lows mean ing prod uc tion and struc tures the terms of be long ing. The con di tions of me dia as a form of cul tu ral pro duc tion both on the side of those ini ti at ing it – jour nal ists, blog- gers. arti sts, count er-heg em onic movem ents – and on the side of aud i ences and users, app rop ria ti ng and thus changi ng it, unf old withi n spec ific so- cial and in di vid ual con texts. Though both roles are no long er nec es sar ily dist inct and sep a rated they are reg u lated by the so ci ety that en vel ops it, but can also be reo rg an ized and re-eval uated by the soc ial and cul tu ral prac tices of in di vidu als and groups. Thus in volve ment in me dia prac tices as forms of cult u ral mean ing pro duc tion at the same time sig nifies cul tu ral be long ing and con structs cul tu ral iden tity.1 When arg u ing that cul tu ral cit i- zen ship be comes ess en tial for in clu sion in a me dia so ci ety we need to think about nec es sary pre con di tions on an in di vid ual level as well as on so ci etal. 1 Here we come back to specifications du Gay (1997) has worked out on the circuit of culture, including production, reception, representation, regulation and identity. 206 | Elis ab eth Klaus and Mar greth Lünenb org Graham Mur dock (1999) has singled out four rights that he sees as nec es- sary for the re al i za tion of cul tu ral cit i zen ship: Rights of in for ma tion, as a ba s is for in formed so cial and po lit i cal de ci- sion-mak ing. Rights of ex pe ri ences that mir ror the di verse ways of life and can serve as a ba s is for the de velo p ment of the in di vid ual’s con cep tion of iden tity. Rights of knowle dge, as a pos si bil ity for in te grat ing in for ma tion and ex- pe ri ence, mak ing sense of inf or ma tion in ev ery day life and gene r al iz ing one’s ev ery day ex pe ri ences and linki ng it to other forms of in for mat ion. This imp lies int erp ret at ive schemes that bridge the univ ers al and the par tic ul ar, the gen eral and the spe cific, the macro-level of so cial struc- ture and the mi cro-level of ev ery day ex is tence. Fi nal ly, Rights of par tici pa tion that en tail the pos si bil ity to make one’s voice heard, to act out one’s cul tu ral prac tices and ex press one’s cul tu ral ideas; in short, to take part in the mean ing pro duct ion of so ci ety and be able to speak up in pub lic. The in stit u tion al iza tion of such rights and the pass ing of the re spec tive leg- isl at ion alw ays has been more or less di rect ly been the re sult of a soc ial strugg le that led to the acc epta nce of the diff er ent di men sions of cit i zen- ship. For ex ample, the strug gle for the in di vid ual’s free dom to be come in- volved in tradi ng has re sulted in in di vid ual rights of free dom of speech, act ion, etc., and the ac cept ance of civ il cit i zen ship; the strug gle for rep- re sen ta tion in pol i tics and the pub lic sphere has re sulted in the right to vote and the acc ept ance of pol iti cal cit i zen ship and the strug gle to claim basic prov i sions in times of need has re sulted in health care ser vices and other so cial wel fare rights and the ac cepta nce of so cial cit i zen ship. Cul tu- ral citi z ens hip rights that would ent ail the right to be diff er ent are as yet not in stalled. Ac cord ing to Hart ley cul tu ral cit i zen ship “is in the pro cess of form at ion – bei ng made to mean some thing – long be fore it can be ins ti tu- tion ali zed and leg is lated. In my view ‘cul tu ral citi zen ship’ is at a late stage of rights-for ma tion, mov ing in to for mal leg is la tive ex is tence in a numb er of con texts” (Hart ley 1999: 161). Joke Her mes (2006) on the other hand sees cult u ral cit i zen ship much less as a leg al and reg u la tory prac tice, but as a sen si tiz ing con cept. In “Cit i zen ship in the Age of the In ter net” she uses the con cept to ex plore new in for ma tion and com mu ni ca tion tech nol ogies. She con cludes that “ICTs do not nec es sar ily pro duce new cit i zens but they do prov ide for new and imp or tant cit i zen prac tices” (Her mes 2006: 306). This is an asp ect of cul tu ral cit i zen ship that, apart from the le gal and po lit i cal ques tions about its re al i za tion, is most use ful ly em ployed when an al yz ing cul tu ral (med ia) prod uct ion as a pro cess of meani ng prod uct ion. Engin Isin and Pa tri cia Woods’s (1999: ix) “em pha si s on the pro cess of rights-claims, ra ther than the rights them selves” may lead to the reco n cil i a tion of po si- tions that ad vo cate the in sti tu tion al iz a tion of cul tu ral rights in par al lel to the leg is la tion meant to guar an tee civ il, po lit i cal and so cial rights and those other voices that are see ing cult u ral cit i zen ship in the con texts of strat egies for par tic i pat ion and re sis tance. Cul tu ral Cit i zen ship. Par tic i pa tion by and through Me dia | 207 Us ing the ex ample of re al ity TV we will ex plore the issue of cul tu ral pro duct ion and its powe rs of rep re sen ta tion. In this cont ext we will raise some crit i cal ques tions against the claim made that re al ity TV to day is the site where the sub al tern, memb ers of mi nori ty groups can start to be vis ible and to raise their voices. This, then, leads us to ret hink forms of cul tu ral and me dia in ter ven tion en abl ing mar gina l ized groups to speak for them- selves and thus claim cul tu ral cit i zen ship. 5 Contested realms: Cultural citizenship and reality TV One of the most prom i nent dev el op ments in tele vi sion prod uc tion is the suc cess of var i ous forms of re al ity TV in many Weste rn Eur o pean count ries and the U. S. These genres and for mats, char ac ter ized by the blur ring of bord ers be tween fact and fic tion, inf or ma tion and en ter tain ment, pri vacy and pub lic aff airs, can be un der stood as ad dress ing cult ur al asp ects of cit i- zen ship. Dur ing the pub lic ser vice pe riod, tele vi sion had the pri mary duty to in form cit i zens en abl ing them to par tic i pate in de moc racy. So the non- fic tional prog ramme was res pon sible for serv ing cit i zens with in for ma tion. The domi n ant funct ion al lo cated to tele vi sion duri ng the pat er nal is tic pe- riod of pub lic ser vice broad cast ing was the pro vi sion of knowl edge based on in for ma tion. Elites in pol i tics and me dia had to tell the au di ence – imag- ined as a pass ive crowd – what was rel ev ant for them. This has changed fun da men tal ly as a re sult of the com mer cial i za tion of tele vi sion and re al ity TV is an im port ant genre for this shi from ed uc ati ng the publ ic to en tici ng the con sumer. Re al ity TV un der scores the com mer cial i za tion of pop u lar cul ture by means that have amb iv a lent con se quences for the au di ences ad- dressed. In an ar ti cle fo cus ing on pop u lar cul ture and ma te rial de pri va tion Black man and France (2001) have elab o rated on the way com mer cial ized pop u lar cul ture sup ports the dom i nant or der by in cor po rat ing forms of pro test and re sis tance orig i nal ly gen er ated in the con text of coun ter-he- gem onic act iv ities by young peo ple. Thus they point to the am biv a lence of com mer cial ized med ia and pro vide some ra tio nale for our find ing that re al ity TV is chara c ter ized by the “ex clu sion ary in clu sion of iden tities” – a term we will ex plain later on – that do not fit in to the he gem onic or der. The fict ional pro gramme off ered ex pe ri ence in the sense that a va riety of diff er ent ways of liv ing where pre sented. These were the back ground to build up diff er ent cul tu ral iden tities. This has al ways been a spe cific func tion of broad cast ing, but was large ly ig nored dur ing the pub lic ser vice pe riod. Fi nal ly, par tic i pa tion is disc ussed as a quite new phen ome n on that en com passes di verse forms and has mul ti ple meani ngs. Par tic i pa tion is a comm on feat ure in all forms of re al ity TV. Comm on peo ple par tic i pate in docu-soaps, dail y talks, tal ent shows or real-peop le shows. Ib Bonde bj erg (1996) de scribes this dev el op ment as “de moc ra ti sa tion of an old publ ic ser- vice dis course, domi n ated by ex perts and a very offi cial kind of talk, and 208 | Elis ab eth Klaus and Mar greth Lünenb org the cre a tion of a new mixed pub lic sphere, where com mon knowl edge and ev ery day ex pe rie nce play a much larger role”. The “old” elites in pol i tics, econo my and the med ia loose in flu ence in the way they are (re-)pres ented in these kinds of pro grammes. In stead ev ery day peo ple with their lan- guage, their iss ues and their way of liv ing be come vis ible and rel e vant. Re al ity TV ap plies nar ra tive strat egies known from fic tional pro- grammes such as per son al i sa tion, ste reo typ ing, in ti ma ti sa tion and the use of cliff-hangers. Seen from the per spec tive of the au di ence the dis tinc tion be tween fic tional and non-fict ional pro gramme loses im por tance. Peo ple watch ing tele vi sion in to day’s me dia so ci ety know about the cons truc tive- ness of any kind of med ia produ ct – news as well as soap ope ra. Re ali ty TV is a genre where peo ple and their ev ery day lives move to the fore front. Not sur pris ing ly, then, mem bers of mar gina l ized groups play a more rele vant role in programs and for mats of re al ity TV then it is usual ly the case in tele- vi sion. The Ber lin an thro pol o gist Ga briele Di etze (2008, 2011) has linked the sur pris ing suc cess of peo ple with mi grant back grounds in diff er ent tal- ent shows dir ectl y to cult ur al citi z ens hip. She arg ues that by win ning the con test mi grants both have be come vis ible and are able to se cure their own voice. She calls these forms of be ing repr es ented on screen “emo tional cit- i zen ship” (Di etze 2011: 171), off er ing some kind of emo tional be long ing to the na tion state as an imag ined au di ence. When the win ner of the Aust rian tal ent show “Die große Chance” (The Big Chance, ORF1, fi nale on 11 No vem ber 2011) was pro nounced, it turned out to be a lesb ian singe r-songw riter. She was port rayed in her home to- gether with her part ner and their baby daugh ter. There was also a trans- sex u al per former among the last nine con tes tants, a per son with a mi grant back ground, an old er singer, and some ac ro bats pre sum ably with roots in Asia. Und oubtedl y this is a much greater di ver sity than is usuall y to be seen on tele vi sion or men tioned in the in for ma tion-based ‘qual ity me dia’. So we would agree that re al ity TV al lows for more di ver sity, mem bers of groups are vis ible in a lit eral sense and you can hear their voices in a lit eral sense. But can they also speak in the wider sense that Spi vak re fer red to? The winn er in “Die Große Chance” was placed not so much with in a les- bian sub-cult ure, but nor mal ized with in tra di tional con cepts of the fam ily. Her partn er was onl y add ressed as “her wife” and she was quoted as say- ing that hav ing a baby was much more im por tant than win ning the con test, writ ing mu sic or per form ing. Thus her sexu al iden tity was nor mal ized by con nect ing her way of life to the no tion of a holy family and link ing her val- ues and prefe re nces to the idea that mothe rl y love is uni ver sal and much more im port ant than suc cess or other crea tive work. We cond ucted a qual i ta tive con tent ana ly s is of Ger man TV pro gram- ming an a lys ing the fre quency and form with which mi grant women are repr e sented in cur rent TV (Lünen borg et al. 2012). The tal ent show “Ger- many’s Next Top mod el” with Hei di Klum was the program showi ng the most mig rant women char act ers with in 300 hours of TV prod uc tion. Look- ing at the for mat in more de tail off ered an am biv a lent pic ture of these forms of rep re sen ta tion. While it is obv io us that a broad var iety and div er- Cul tu ral Cit i zen ship. Par tic i pa tion by and through Me dia | 209 sity of can di dates is es sen tial for the for mat – giv ing us an im pres sion of the global chara c ter of the mod els’ world – at the same time these mod els have to fit the given norm in cor po rated by the host Heid i Klum. This norm based on ideo log ic al prem ises of neo lib er al ism mark ing those mig rant mod els as ‘others’ who do not re fer to the con struct of a mod ern, suc cess- ful, hard-work ing wom an. While fem i nin ity is pre sented as an eff ect of per for mances, eth nic roots are shown as nat u ral ized. Dev i ances from the over arch ing norm are marked as “exo tic”, “too eth nic” or “trad it ional”. The way div er sity is in te grated in to the con cept of this tal ent show can be seen as a form of “post-mult ic ul tu ral ism” as it is called by Len tin and Tit- ley (2011). It is a spe cific mode of mar ket ori en ta tion that opens the floor for non-white mode ls, but they need to fit in to the cons ume rists’ logic to be succ essf ul. Thus we are scept i cal about the des crip tion of rea l ity TV as a new form of self-repr es en ta tion of mi nor ity groups in cur rent TV for three main rea sons: First ly: So ci ety frames the tal ent shows and other forms of the re al ity TV genre. It is em bed ded in to ex ist ing cult u ral no tions and power re la- tions hips. Tal ent shows are very much a prod uct of a neo libe ral ide ol ogy that claims that ev eryo ne who strives hard enough to transf orm his or her per sonal iden tity can win. So the win ning of a con test for one mi grant, one lesb ian, one trans sex u al, one memb er of the work ing poor is not at all an in di ca tor for mak ing the group more vis ible. Some times the logic in eff ect is ex actl y the opp os ite: “See, why do they com plain about disc rim i na tion and ex clu sion?” The winn er shows succ ess ful in clu sion. Sec ond ly: The speech about those mem bers of mar gin al ized groups in re al ity TV prog rammes is pre-formed and the ste reo types about mem bers of that group frame the ac cept ance. All too o en they do not speak, but are spoken about. There is an or chest ra tion they have to ad here to. Third and fin al ly: It is not un comm on to por tray memb ers of mar gin- al ized groups that be come fa mous via re al ity TV as ex otic stran gers or as freaks (Do vey 2000). Thus, they are ex hib ited as strange or as mon sters for the en ter tain ment of those who are pre sum ably nor mal. The la er be longs; the first will al ways be the stran ger. 6 Conclusion Me dia and cul tu ral pro duc tion have enorm ous pot ent ial to change ste reo- types and pave the way for mem bers of dis crim i nated groups to par tic i pate in so ci ety, to raise their voices and com mun ic ate. But hav ing them on the screen and in the head lines does not nec es sar ily mean in clu sion in the so- cial ly and cul tur al ly rooted for ma tions of power. Vis ib il ity in the neo libe ral me dia sys tem is mostly caused by eco nomic int er ests ad dress ing di verse tar get au di ences, rare ly by the chal lenge of par tic i pa tion. The con cept of cult ur al cit iz en ship off ers per spec tives for both the de mand for par tic ip a- tion in cul tu ral meani ng pro duc tion as well as for op port u nities to speak au thori ta tive ly in pub lic. Wheth er this will lead to new mean ing prod uc- 210 | Elis ab eth Klaus and Mar greth Lünenb org tion and opens up the he gem onic cult ur al or der is a ques tion that needs to be add ressed and can be tackl ed in the anal ys is of curr ent me dia dis- courses. Me dia as cult ur al produ cts will onl y gain mom en tum, when their au di ences ap pro pria te them. Au di ences then will bec ome co-prod ucers, ei ther ex plici t ly by pro duci ng me dia disc ourses in forms of digi tal com mu- ni ca tion or imp licit ly by be com ing act ive in terp reters of med ia texts. This pro cess of int er pre ta tive ac tiv ity can be seen as chances of em po wer ment in med ia so ci ety dur ing which cul tu ral cit i zen ship is ap pro pri ated. Cul tu- ral cit i zen ship as an all-en com pass ing, uni ver sal and es sen tial ist con cept seems disp ensa ble, but it has mer it for those at the marg ins of so cie ty and for those who are int ere sted in bring ing about changes through med ia pro- jects chal leng ing the he ge monic struc ture. Since such a di verse and vi brant fe mi nist med ia lands cape, which is doc u mented in this book, links pro- ducers, texts and au di ences, it can play an im por tant role in trans form ing and al ter ing the pro duct ion of mean ing in so ci ety. References Black man, S. and France, A., 2001. 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Lond on: SAGE Publications, pp. 1–10. Turner, B. S., 1994. Postmodern Cul ture/Mod ern Citizens. In: B. van Steen- ber gen, ed. The Condition of Citizenship. Lond on: SAGE, pp. 153–168. Val en tine, G., 2001. So cial Geographies: Space and So ci ety. Lon don: Prentice Hall. On line Cultures and Future Girl Citizens1 Anita Har ris Introduction This chap ter ex plores young women’s use of on line DIY cul ture, blogs, so- cial net work ing sites and re lated tech nol ogies to open up ques tions about what counts as part ic i pa tory prac tice, and what is pos sible as pol i tics for young peo ple, and young women in par tic u lar, at the pre s ent mom ent. It sug gests that these act iv ities rep re sent new di rec tions in act iv ism, the con- struc tion of new par tic i pa tory comm u nities, and the de vel opm ent of new kinds of pub lic selves, while also telli ng us im por tant things about the lim- its of the kinds of con vent iona l citi z en subj ect pos it ions off ered to young women at this time. In the curr ent ‘crisi s’ of youth cit i zen ship, young peo ple are in creas ing- ly called upon to par tic i pate in the pol ity and in civ il so ci ety, and to de- vel op their civic knowle dge, and yet this is in an env i ron ment of red uced op por tu nity for the mo bi li sa tion of a tra di tional cit i zen ship iden tity and its as so ci ated ac tiv ities. In ad di tion, as many have ar gued, con sump tion has re placed pro duc tion as a key soc ial driver, and this has seen young peo ple tar geted as rights-bearers and de ci sion-makers as con sumers ra ther than in any more pol it i call y meani ng ful sense (Miles 2000). Thus while young peo- ple are al iena ted from po lit i cal de ci sion-mak ing they are also con tend ing with the com merc iali zat ion of their civ il rights, which are rec on structed as choices, free doms and powe rs of cons umpt ion. Produ cts and exp ress ions of youth cult ure and youth voice are inc reasi ngl y app rop ria ted by big busi- ness, young peo ple have less pub lic physi cal space to occ upy (Bess ant 2000; White and Wyn 2007), and as Bau man (2001: 49) ar gues, what is le of the pub lic sphere is now ‘col o nised by the pri vate’ and ‘the pub lic dis play of pri- vate aff airs’; all of which leaves young peo ple with few er spaces for self-ex- pres sion, cri tique and col lec tive de lib er a tion of po lit i cal and soc ial is sues. This con text for youth par tic i pa tion has par tic u lar mean ings for young women. As arg ued by McR obb ie (2000; 2007) and Harr is (2004a), there is an in tense fo cus on young women as the van guards of the late mod ern 1 This chapter is a slightly reworked version of the article “Young woman, late modern politics, and the participytory possibilities of online cultures”, originally published in: Journal of Youth Studies, Volume 11 (5), 2008, pp. 481-495. 214 | Anita Har ris so cio eco nomic or der that fore grounds this di min ished cit i zen ship. This has occ urred through a dovet ail ing of fe mi nist and neo lib eral agendas re sult ing in a com plex nexus of econ omic, po liti cal and soc ial int er est in the ex pan sion of girls’ ed u ca tion and em ploy ment and the pro mo tion of new fam ily, sex u al and re pro duc tive prac tices for a new global work or der. Young women are prod uced as ideal cons umers and skilled choice-makers who ap proach work, ed u ca tion and fam ily as a ser ies of per sonal ly cal- cu lated and flex ible op tions di sem bedded from so cial struc ture. They are in vested in as those least likely to hold ont o mod ern iden tities or coll ec tive prac tices, esp ec ial ly po lit ic al ones, and there fore best po si tioned to pre- vail in times that de mand in di vid uali sa tion and the for feit of a tra di tional rights-based cit iz en ship ident ity. As Mc Rob bie (2007: 733) ar gues, the pro- mot ion of young women as the ideal ‘subj ects of cap aci ty’ for the new so- cio eco nomic or der has been se cured through an il lu sion that we live in a post-fem in ist time in which young women have no need for so cial just ice pol i tics, or in deed, any con cep tion of them selves as po lit i cal sub jects. As she writes (2007: 734), ‘the means by which such a role in econ omic life are be ing made avail able sub sti tute no tional ideas of con sumer cit i zen ship in place of po lit i cal ident ity’. For young women who cont inu e to seek to ins ert thems elves int o the po- lit i cal sphere and to en gage in fem ini sm, it be comes nec es sary to ma noeu- vre around these bio po li tics. Ac cord ing ly, their cul tu ral and po lit i cal ac tion may take on new forms, and emerge in lim i nal spaces be tween the pub lic and priv ate and through strate gies that are des igned to both evade sur veil- lance and con tainm ent and reach out to youth (see for ex ample Mit chell et al. 2001: 22). Young women’s in volve ment in on line DIY cul tures and in so- cial net work ing can il lus trate how they are us ing new tech nol ogies to grap- ple with shi ing bound aries be tween pub lic and pri vate, their in terp el la- tion as con sumer cit i zens, the con trac tion of a tra di tional pub lic sphere and in par tic u lar the ab sence of spaces for crit ique, self-ex pres sion and peer di a logue, and a loss of faith in con ven tiona l poli tics and for mal po lit i cal in- sti tu tions. Ac tiv ities such as blog ging, vir tual com mu nity en gage ment and per sonal web site main te nance can be un der stood as ex amples of a broad er range of prac tices that young women en gage in to cre ate new kinds of pol- i tics and new mean ings of par tic i pa tion. How ev er, in some mani fes ta tions they also re veal the diffi culties of con tend ing with the kinds of cit i zens young women are re warded for be ing: cons umpt ion-fo cused and on dis- play. Next, I turn to an ana ly s is of these uses of tech nol ogies to ex plore the ways these ac tiv ities refl ect the pos si bili ties and limi ts of young women’s par tic i pat ory prac tices and cit i zens hip sta tus in late mod ern ity. Online DIY Cultures The first of these ac tiv ities, on line DIY cul tures, en com pass tech nol ogy-en- abled prac tices that are so cial ly and po lit i cal ly aware, but not con ven tion- all y pol iti c al. These in clude web sites that are crea ted by young women and Onl ine Cultures and Future Girl Citizens | 215 exp ress po lit i cal points of view on topics of rel e vance to young women. These o en set out key ideas about girl-cen tred fem in ism and an ti-rac ism, and dir ect readers to offl ine ac tiv ities that may be act iv ist or cul tu ral. These sites are o en, al though not alw ays, in spired by the early 1990s rio tgrrrl or grrrlpo wer move ment which saw punk and fem in ism come to gether in a new, young women-ori ented scene fo cused on mu sic, le wing pol i tics, art and writi ng (see Harr is 2004a). Many bear the hall marks of the origi n al me dium of riot grrrl cul ture: zines (a comp re hen sive in ven tory of e-zines and blogs and other grrrl med ia can be found at Elke Zobl’s site hp:// www.grrrlzines.net/). They inc lude web sites that com bine per sonal points of view, po lit i cal ana ly s is, strat egies for ac tiv ism, art work, links to other rel e vant sites and in for ma tion about ‘real life’ ac tiv ities that re late to the foc us of the site. These are some times coll ec tive ly-con structed and repr e- sent a loose affi l i a tion of young women, or can be in di vid ual ly au thored, in which case they are usual ly known as blogs; that is, web sites that are in di vid ual ly wri en and nar ra tive based. (Here I am usi ng the term ‘blog’ in a fairl y spec ific sense, to re fer to self-publ ished, reg ul arl y upd ated onl ine nar ra tives that in clude so cial ly and po lit i cal ly en gaged con tent. I disc uss per sonal jour nals later). While it is diffi cult to mea sure, main ly due to defi ni tional chall enges, some re searchers have claimed that young women are the largest group of crea t ors and readers of blogs (Or low ski 2003; Bor tree 2006), while others con tend that both women and youth are rep re sented at least as freq uent- ly as ad ult men, but that young women outn um ber young men (Her ring et al. 2004). Howe v er, un like blogs au thored by male po lit i cal pun dits, women’s blogs are taken less ser io usl y, valu ed less withi n blogg ing cul- ture and in the mains tream, and less likely to be ranked highl y or linked to (Rat liff 2004; Gregg 2006). Sim i lar ly, girl-cen tred web sites cre ated by and for young women have been a sig nifi cant subgenre of per sonal web sites since the early 1990s, but have not gen eral ly rec eived a en tion as a pol i- tics out side of fem in ism. I would sug gest how ev er that both girl-cen tred web sites and blogs are im port ant prac tices of ‘coun ter-pub lic’ con struc tion in that they are fo rums for de bate and ex change of po lit i cal ly and so cial ly eng aged ideas by those who are marg in al ised with in main stream po lit i cal de bate. How ev er, what is some times frus trat ing for an a lysts is that these fo rums are not nec es sar ily out come-ori ented, or ra ther their end func tion is o en sim ply to ex ist as a space for ex pres sion and de bate. They tend to op er ate for in for ma tion shar ing, di a logue, con sciousn ess rais ing and com- mun ity buildi ng, but can also be playf ul, leis ure-orie nted and mix up per- sonal and po lit i cal ma te rial. They o en foc us on hav ing a voice and build- ing a place for speak ing ra ther than ag i tat ing for change through ap peals to po lit i cal in sti tut ions, the state and its act ors (see Mel ucc i 1996). In this reg ard, they can be seen as just one mani f es tat ion of a wholes ale shi in act iv ism from the tra di tional so cial move ments of the 1960s to a postmod- ern style of gloc al ised, de cen tral ised and in di vid ual ised pol i tics. There is of course overl ap, and some blogs, e-zines and webs ites conn ect up with more con ven tion al pol it i cal camp aigns, ac tivi sm or ad vo cacy. How ev er, 216 | Anita Har ris they o en ad vo cate in di vid ual strat egies, po lit i cal pract ices based in youth cul tu ral ex pe ri ences and cul ture-in dus try ori ented ac tiv ism. These in clude prac tices like cul ture jam ming (al ter ing an ad ver tis ing slo gan or im age to un der mine its mes sage), ex amples of which can be found on the web site of the Jamm in’ Ladies at hp://jam ming.word press.com/, or rad ic al cheer- lead ing (groups gath er ing in pub lic with pom-poms call ing out po liti cal ‘cheers’), ex em plified on the web site of the Dutch grrrl col lec tive Bunnies on Strike at hp://bun nies ons trike.cjb.net/. Young women who are in volved in these kinds of ac tiv ities o en ar- tic u late a need to act as cul tu ral pro ducers at a time when they feel over- whelm ing ly in ter pel lated as con sumers (see Stas ko 2008). Many talk about the need for a new kind of fe mi nist prac tice that takes in to ac count the en- croachm ent of the cul ture ind us try in to ev ery as pect of their lives, in clud- ing pol it ics (Har ris 2004b). Usi ng the in ter net as a space that ex ists be tween the pub lic and the pri vate ena bles them to ne go tia te a de sire to org a nize and com mu ni cate with others with a need to avoid surv eil lance and ap pro- pri a tion of their cul tures and pol i tics. It also op era tes as a safer and more wel com ing space for young women than tra di tional po lit ic al fo rums. How ev er, it must be ac knowle dged that par tic ip at ion in on line DIY cul ture, es pe cial ly the cre a tion of po lit i cal ly and so cial ly en gaged web- sites, oc curs amongst onl y a mi nor ity of young women. Most do not have the res ources, time or sub cul tural cap it al to en gage with these kinds of act ivi ties. Moreo ver, the femi ni sm that is drawn upon in the spec ifica lly ‘grrrl’ onl ine cult ures is of a spec ific kind that has its roots in what is o en seen to be an elite, white, US-based scene. This is in spite of its in ter na tion- al take-up. Howe v er, what is also wort hy of note is the popu lari ty with young women of youth-led int er net sites that do not nece ss ar ily fo cus on fe min ist or women’s is sues. For ex ample, two im port ant Aus tral ian-based webs ites run for and by young peop le are Reach Out! and Vibew ire, which fo cus on soc ial ser vices and me dia re spect ive ly, and are over whelm ing ly used by young women (Vro men 2007). Vro men’s (2008) re search shows that sites such as Vibe wire are val ued be cause they off er a place in the me dia, which is per ceived as the site of power in an in form a tion so cie ty, for young voices to be heard and for young peo ple to be eng aged. She has also found that par tic ip ants ap prec i ate the more open kinds of youth com mu nities that are cre ated through these sites, and that, in con trast to the usual ar gu ment, these are per ceived to ac tu al ly bring to gether di verse groups of youth who hold diff er ent opin ions on iss ues ra ther than simp ly cat er to the like-minded. Howe v er, while on line DIY cul tures are an im por tant, al be it mi nor prac tice in young women’s tech no log i cal ly en abled po lit i cal ac tiv ities, it rem ains that if we want to talk about where the girls are in terms of uses of new techn olo gies, we have to turn to much less int en tional ly po lit i cal prac- tices, that is, so cial net worki ng. Onl ine Cultures and Future Girl Citizens | 217 Social Networking ‘So cial net work ing’ has a spe cific mean ing re lated to the cre a tion of per- sonal pro files on sites such as MyS pace and Face book and the en gage ment in on line in ter ac tion with others who also have pro files. These sites feat ure pro files, friends and a pub lic com ment ing com po nent. Boyd (2007a: 1–2) ex plains: Once logg ed int o one of these syst ems, part ic i pants are asked to cre ate a pro file to rep re sent them selves dig i tal ly. Us ing text, im ages, vid eo, au dio, links, quizz es and sur veys, teens gen er ate a pro file that ex presses how they see them selves. These profi les are sewn int o a large web through “Friends” lists. Part ici p ants can mark other users as “Friends” . . .. [They can then] use the diff er ent mes sag- ing tools to hang out, share cul tur al artef acts and ideas, and comm u ni cate with one another. Howe ve r, soc ial net work ing can also be used as a catch-all phrase to mean the var i ous ways that tech nol ogy is used by peo ple to meet up with others, o en peers, and comm un ic ate about pers onal is sues. This can inc lude the use of or ga nised, com mer cial so cial net work ing sites, the con struc tion of in de pen dent per sonal web sites and jour nals, the use of in ter net chat rooms or bull etin boards, photo and vide o shari ng webs ites and texti ng and im- age shar ing via mo bile phones. In both its broad and spe cific defi ni tion, so- cial net work ing is a very pop u lar use of new tech nol ogy by young women (Boyd 2007b). Even be fore the phe nom e na of Friend ster, MyS pace, Be bo, Face book, Liv e Jour nal, YouT ube, Twier and so on, re search has shown that girls have tended to use new tech nol ogies more fre quent ly for so cial pur poses through email, cha ing fac ili ties and Instant Messaging, wherea s boys have been more likely to play and downl oad games and mu sic (Len- hart et al. 2001; Tue 2003, quoted in Maz za rell a 2005: 2). Young women have also been well est abl ished as heavy users of text mess agi ng since the early take-up of mo bile phones amongst youth in pi o neer coun tries such as Fin land (Ka ses nie mi 2001). So cial net work ing tech nol ogies are o en per ceived as friv ol ous or prob- lem atic be cause of their as so cia tion with youth and fem i nin ity, as il lus trated by a de bate withi n blog ging com mu nities about gend er diff er ence in jour- nal-style uses of the in tern et (see Herring et al. 2004; Gregg 2006). No where is this more evi d ent, howe ve r, than in the broade r publ ic deb ate about the risks faci ng young women in their use of the int ern et. There is a grow- ing body of lite ra ture on the dan gers of soc ial net worki ng, wherei n young women’s own per spec tives are not al ways prom i nent, and there is li le re gard for what Drisc oll and Gregg (2008: 81–82) des cribe as ‘the forms of lit er acy in volved in be ing able to con trol and re ali se “what you’re be- ing” in on line spaces’. Cur rent ap proaches to so cial netw orki ng are heav ily weighted to wards add ress ing the risks that face young peo ple, and o en young women in part ic u lar, by re veal ing per sonal in for ma tion that might be come em bar rass ing, by ex pos ing them selves to on line pred a tors, and by spend ing too much time away from ‘real life’ (see for ex ample Dewey 2002; 218 | Anita Har ris Wo lak et al. 2003; and for a cri tique, Gregg 2007). Young women’s so cial netw orki ng is perc eived as a risky beh avi our that needs to be mana ged by res pon sible ad ults. When their own points of view are so licited, young women wide ly rep ort that they use these so cial net worki ng tech nol ogies to sim ply stay in touch and com mu ni cate with their friends (Scho field Clark 2005; Boyd 2007b). Very early re search on young women’s use of bul letin boards (Kap- lan and Farr ell 1994) notes that these are ac tiv ities perc eived by young women as an ex tens ion of their im me di ate, offl ine soc ial worlds. Aus tra- lian re search on young women’s use of on line chat rooms has found that they use cha ing fa cil ities for so cial in ter ac tion and to maint ain con nec- tion with friends in ways that are out side of ad ult mon i tor ing and free from some of the soc ial mor es they feel cons train their offl ine lives (Gi- bian 2003). UK re search on mo bile phones (Hen der son et al. 2002: 508) sup ports this per spec tive that young women enj oy the op por tu nities that are off ered by com mu ni ca tion tech nol ogy ‘to claim greater per sonal and sex u al free dom in a move ment from the dom es tic to more pub lic spheres.’ In sum mary, re search with young fe male users of so cial net work ing tech- nolo gies shows that they en joy cre at ing and us ing a space where they can en gage with friends, some times meet new peo ple, and exp ress them selves in a pub lic fo rum where they are not un der par en tal or other au thor i tari an con trol. Profi les on soc ial net worki ng sites and per sonal webp ages and blogs o en re flect this peer orie n ta tion strong ly through their de sign and dis- cur sive style. To ad ults they are o en hard to ‘read’, and can ap pear aes- thetic ally messy and full of ba nal, in con clu sive ex changes. As Ka plan and Far rell (1994: 8) note in re la tion to bul letin boards, ‘the so cia bil ity of [the] ex change seems its sole rea son for be ing’, and this is pri mar i ly a peer to peer soc iab ili ty that conf ounds those it exc ludes. In this res pect, there is a case that soc ial net work ing is a way for young women to cre ate new par- tic ip a tory comm un ities for and by their peers. As Barnes (2007: 2) sug gests, ‘teen agers are learn ing how to use so cial net works by in ter act ing with their friends, ra ther than learn ing these be hav iours from their par ents or teach- ers.’ This ca pac ity to by pass ad ults in the con struc tion of pub lic comm u- ni ca tion comm u nities is seei ng young peo ple gen era t ing pub lic selves in their own ways. This is qual i ta tive ly diff er ent from tra di tional con sti tu tion of youth cult ures or subc ult ures, which have also ope ra ted to all ow young peop le to crea te ident ities and spaces of their own, bec ause of the reach off ered by the global stage and the large-scale par tic i pa tion on the part of ‘or di nary’ youth that char ac ter ise on line so cial net works. This in turn has im pli ca tions for young peo ple’s po lit i cal par tic i pa tion in two sig nifi cant ways. First, theo rists such as Boyd (2007b) sug gest that these kinds of youth comm un ities ought be und er stood as coun terp u blics, even though the con tent of the sites is usual ly per sonal ra ther than re lated to ma ers of the pub lic good. She sug gests that so cial net work sites are places where young peo ple ‘write them selves and their comm u nity in to be ing’ (ibid.: 13–14) in view of an au die nce, and that they do this on line Onl ine Cultures and Future Girl Citizens | 219 be cause they have very li le ac cess to real pub lic spaces (Boyd 2007b: 19). She says ‘their part ic i pa tion is deepl y rooted in their de sire to eng age pub- lic ly.’ (ibid.: 21). So cial netw ork sites are there fore an im por tant way for young women in part icu l ar to part ici p ate in a publ ic sphere, re gard less of the fact that the na ture of their pub lic exp res sions is not nec es sar ily po lit i- cal. Sec ond, others have ar gued that so cial net work ing fa cil i tates or can be a pre cur sor to ‘real’ par tic i pa tion. That is, it is val ued in so far as it can lead to the for ma tion of com mun ities or col lec tive act iv ities fo cused on civic or po lit ic al prac tices (see for exa mple Burgess et al. 2006: 2). This kind of ana ly s is of so cial net works sits with in a larger body of work on the po lit- i cal sign ifi cance of virt ual comm un ities, where claims and counter-claims are made about their ca pac ity to em power the marg in al ised and to de liver more demo cratic modes of comm u ni ca tion. Do Online DIY Cultures and Social Networking Constitute Political Participation? I would sugg est that there are sev er al ways in which both onl ine DIY cul- tures and, more con tro ver sial ly, so cial net work ing, ought be in cluded in the con ver sa tion about young women’s po lit i cal par tic i pa tion, but there are some im por tant ar gu ments that qual ify these in ter pre ta tions. First, I would ar gue that these ac tiv ities are about cre ati ng a publ ic self, which is the first step in see ing one self as a cit i zen. They give young women an op por tu nity to bring the pri vate int o the pub lic in ways that were unp re ce dented prior to these new tech nolo gies. Wheth er or not these pri vate ma ers can then be worked in to as so ci ated pub lic ly del ib era ted is sues is an open quest ion, but it is clear that many young women are a empti ng the work of publ ic self-mak ing in the coun ter pu blics of on line DIY cul tures, while others are sim ply en gaged in cre at ing pub lic iden tities that can con nect with others, which may be valu able in it self. Moreo ver, lite ra ture that looks at soc ial net work ing as a tech nique for young women’s ident ity con struc tion work dem on strates that the kinds of pub lic selves they cre ate can be un der min- ing of gen der ex pec ta tions. New tech nol ogies fa cil i tate young women’s ca- pac ity to play with gen der and to re sist fem i nine ster eo types, for ex ample by act ing more con fid ent ly than they might face to face, and by feeli ng less con strained by gen dered norms conc ern ing ap pear ance, es pe cial ly in the cases of pre- vid eo mo bile phones, in stant mes sag ing and chat rooms (Hen- der son et al. 2002; Gi bian 2003; Thiel 2005). How ev er, many would claim, along the lines of Bau man (2001: 106–7), that these young women are mere ly fill ing what is le of pub lic space with per sonal stor ies and trou bles, with out any ca pac ity for these to be, as he says, ‘trans lated as pub lic is sues (such that) pub lic so lu tions are sought, ne- go ti ated and agreed’. From this per spec tive, the kinds of com mu nities and dia logues that occ ur in onl ine DIY cult ures and soc ial net work ing can not be po lit i cal be cause they in fre quent ly move be yond per sonal shar ing. This 220 | Anita Har ris is most clearl y a probl em in soc ial netw ork ing, as onl ine DIY cult ures o en ex plic it ly a empt to make this move bey ond the per sonal to a struc tural cri tique, and somet imes work tow ards pub lic sol u tions. It can app ear that even the struct ures of the mess ag ing tools of soc ial net work ing (with their em phas is on ex pres sion ra ther than lis ten ing, lack of clos ure or res o lu tion, ab sence of mode r a tors) seem to work against the con ven tions of dem o cratic del ibe ra t ion, as does the style of much int era ct ion (see Dav is 2005: 130). For exa mple, as Ka plan and Farr ell (1994: 8) note in rel a tion to bul letin boards: ‘the con ver sa tions among these young women and their con tacts on the bboards o en seem, at least to an outs ider, driven more by the des ire of the par tic i pants to keep the con vers a tion go ing than by their de sire to achieve un der stand ing of or con sen sus about some topic or issue’. Even so, I would ar gue that there is much to be gained from un der- standi ng how young women in ter act on line. Fe mi nists have noted that tra di tional ideas about de lib er a tion and how pub lic con ver sa tions should look are gen der bi ased (Tan nen 1995). So cia bili ty and the ca paci ty for de- lib er a tion are not nece s sar ily in con sist ent, and in fact the for mer may even ex pand the con vent ions of the la er. Cole man (2006: 258) has wri en that it is ‘ran dom soc ia bil ity that makes the in ter net such an a rac tive place for young peo ple’, and to learn from this, ‘pol icy de signed to pro mote dem o- cratic on line in ter ac tion must re sist the anx i eties of man aged com mu ni ca- tion and take its chances with in net works of au ton o mous and aceph a lous in ter ac tion.’ In other words, onl ine de libe ra tive de moc racy and ran dom so cial net works of unm a naged par tic i pa tion are not mut ual ly ex clu sive, and to draw young peo ple in to de libe ra tive dem o cratic prac tices on line re quires ad ap ta tion to their pre fer red modes of in ter ac tion. So cial net- work ing act iv ities are also not cut and dried in terms of their re la tion ship with con ven tion al pol i tics or ac tiv ism. They do not alw ays sit easi ly on the ‘priv ate’ side of the di vide, but ne go ti ate this very bor der. For ex ample, there is a con sid er able amount of ac tiv ism and soc ial jus tice cam paign ing that oc curs on these sites. MyS pace alone has over 33,000 ‘gov ern ment and pol i tics’ groups. Kann et al. (2007: 4) sug gest that ‘this merg ing of so cial net work ing and on line pol i tics has the po ten tial to in te grate po lit i cal dis- course in to youths’ ev ery day lives.’ Not with stand ing this issue of what kind of pub lic con ver sa tion counts as pol i tics, there is per haps a thorn ier one of what kinds of pub lic selves are be ing con structed by young women in these sites. The very pro ject of maki ng a self that is pub licl y vis ible is cont ained with in the new disc ourses of femi nin ity for young women that link suc cess to im age, style, and vis ible work on one self rat her than a more ro bust conc ept of cit i zen ship (Mc Rob- bie 2000; Harr is 2004a). Hopk ins (2002) ar gues that young women have bec ome the stars of a postmodern cont emp or ary cult ure obs essed with om ni pres ence of iden tity, ima ge and cel ebr ity. Bei ng ‘someb ody’, how ev er, means livi ng a cel ebr ity life: looki ng good, havi ng a watched and en vied per so na, and en gag ing with lei sure and con sump tion ra ther than pol i tics. Thus the pub lic selves that young women are enc oura ged to crea te are not po lit i cal sub jec tiv ities, but self-in vent ing ce leb rity selves who gain sta tus Onl ine Cultures and Future Girl Citizens | 221 from their take-up of cons umer cult ure. McR ob bie (2007: 734) sugg ests that it is through the con struc tion of ‘spec tacu lar fem i nin ity’ that a shi away from the po lit i cal is made poss ible. For young women cre at ing pub lic iden- tities onl ine, the goals of self-ex pres sion and peer con nec tion are bound up with be ing on dis play as a con sumer cit iz en. What seems in disp uta ble, though, is that these ac tiv ities al low young women to take up virt ual publ ic space at a time when physi c al publ ic space for young peop le is dim ini shi ng. As noted by White and Wyn (2007: 240–41), there has been ‘a con sid era ble nar row ing of places where young peo ple can comf ort ably hang out free ly’, ow ing to the mass pri va ti sa tion of pub lic space and the in ten si fi ca tion of the reg u la tion of that space. If young peo ple have few free spaces le to them, then these on line ac tiv ities in di cate a des ire to crea te and occ upy new publ ic spaces be yond these con- straints. Bess ant (2000: 117) notes that ‘young peop le are not “moved on” in this new so cial space and pub lic sphere as they have been in the streets and shop ping cen tres. . . . Like wise, the pres ence of young peo ple in most elec tronic space is not pro hib ited or sub ject to cur fews as it is in the ac tu al so cial and po lit i cal space of mod ern in dus trial cap i tali sm.’ Re lat ed ly, both on line DIY cul tures and so cial net work ing sig nify a de- sire to be a cul tu ral pro ducer, that is, to ac tive ly en gage in the con struc tion of one’s cul tu ral world, ra ther than simp ly cons ume. There is cons ide ra ble pleas ure to be taken in the des ign and upk eep of pers onal web sites and blogs, es pe cial ly when youth cul ture arte facts are used cre a tive ly and play- full y in or der to a ri bute them with new meani ngs. Young women have been the pri mary tar gets of a shi to con sumer citi z ens hip for youth, and these cre a tive uses of new tech nol ogies dem on strate how they play with, neg o ti ate and some times re sist the en croach ment of the con sumer im per- a tive on their ev ery day lives. The idea of talk ing back to youth con sumer cul ture is an ex plic it po lit ic al agenda of many girl-cent red web sites, but even the en gage ment with the prod ucts of this cul ture as ev i dent in the pro files and conv er sa tions on soc ial net work sites o en re veals a criti c al agency ra ther than pas sive cons ump tion. How ev er, there are con cerns raised about the po ten tial for such prac- tices to re main free from cor po rate or gov ern ment in ter ests, that is, for young peo ple to cra out tru ly pub lic spaces, given the en croachm ent of in ter ested parties, in clud ing corp o rate med ia, the ad ver tis ing in dus try and also mains tream pol i tics, upon them (see Cast ells 2007). There is some ev i dence that young peo ple are mov ing away from the sites taken over by ma jor cor po rat ions (for ex ample, MyS pace hav ing been bought by News- Corp and You Tube by Goo gle), and to wards less comm er cial net work ing sites (see Boyd 2007b; Cast ells 2007). Howe ve r, it rem ains that the int er- net and mob ile phones have been an enorm ous boon for those seeki ng to cap ture the youth mar ket, and at best young peo ple who use them are en- gaged in a cons tant ne go ti a tion of adv er tis ing in ter ests (Barnes 2007). But even if cor po rate and gov ern ment in ter ests are ad vanc ing on youth on line spaces, pare nts and other au thor ity fig ures are some dis tance be hind, and in this re gard, these ac tiv ities al low young women to con nect with their 222 | Anita Har ris peers away from the pry ing eyes of the ad ults in their lives. In this sense, they cont rib ute to the mak ing of a whole lot of al bei t ‘thin’ youth com- mu nities to which their mem bers feel a comm it ment and in which they ac tive ly part ic ip ate. Conclusion On line DIY cul tures and so cial net work ing are im por tant ex amples of the ways that young women are neg o ti at ing the ab sence of tra di tional cit i zen- ship iden tities and the emer gence of new, somew hat prob lema tic ones in their place. Young women en gage in these ac tiv ities at times to de vel op new modes of ac tiv ism and po lit i cal sub jec tiv ity, but more o en to cre- ate unr egu l ated, publ ic spaces for peer comm u nities and to cons truct pub lic selves. These prac tices re veal the chall enges for young women in pos i tioni ng them selves withi n a regu l at ory cult ure that rew ards them for their cap ac ity as ideal neo lib eral con sumer sub jects. I have sug gested that the ways in which young women are usi ng new tech nolo gies demo n strate that, in the light of the so-called crisi s of youth pol it ic al en gagem ent, and in conc ert with the press ures to per form as par tic ul ar kinds of cons umer cit iz ens, many are al ready doi ng their own kinds of par tic i pa tion. This is a diff er ent ar gu ment than the idea that an emer gent col lec tiv ist pol i tics or con vent ion al civic or po lit i cal ac tiv ity will flow out of such prac tices. It is not al ways or even pred om i nant ly the case that conv en tiona l or act ivi st off- line par tici pa tion emerges out of these. But it is imp or tant to rec og nise the ways that simp ly par tic i pat ing in onl ine cult ures and netw orki ng is a form of de velo pi ng citi zens hip skills, re gard less of any spe cific inv olvem ent in pol it ic al causes. More than this, though, I would also sug gest that we need to con sider the valu e of these pract ices in thems elves, rat her than onl y look ing tow ards what ‘be er’ or more con vent ion al part ic i pa tory pract ices they might turn in to. Ri ley et al. (2010: 54) draw on the work of Maffe so li to make a case that ac tiv ities of these kinds are both a sov er eignty- and soc i al ity-ori ented pol- i tics that re ject tra di tional po lit i cal struc tures and in stead in vest in self-de- ter mi na tion and so cial affi li a tions. As they say, ‘for Maffe so li (1996) pol i tics oc curs in terms of surv ival, in the abil ity to cre ate spaces to en act cul tu ral rit uals that en act so ci al ity, sol i dar ity, sov er eignty, he don ism and vi tal ity’. It is im por tant to ac knowl edge in the face of the wide spread youth cit i zen- ship panic that young peop le, and young women in par tic u lar, are par tic- i pat ing in their own com mun ities and are exp ress ing a des ire to occ upy pub lic space on their own terms. Onl ine Cultures and Future Girl Citizens | 223 References Bau mann, Z., 2001. The Individualised So cie ty. Cam bridge: Pol ity. Barnes, S., 2007. A Privacy Paradox: So cial Networking in the United States, First Mon day, 11 (9) [onl ine]. Avail able at: [Ac cessed 28 Sep tem ber 2007]. Bes sant, J., 2000. So cial Action and the In tern et: New Forms of Political Space. Just Policy, Sep tem ber Issue, pp. 109–118. Boyd, D., 2007a. So cial Network Sites; Public, Private or What? Knowl- edge Tree, 13 [on line]. Avail able at: [Ac cessed 3 Nov emb er 2011]. Boyd, D., 2007b. Why Youth (Heart) So cial Network Sites: The Role of Networked Pub lics in Teenage Social Life. In: D. Bu ing ham, ed. 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Ac knowl edge ments Thanks to Ar ia d ne Vro men and Me lis sa Gregg for very help ful con ver sa- tions, and to Le sley Prui and Lej la Vo lo der for re search as sis tance. i ng Political Communication and the Int er net Ret hink ing Political Communication and the Int ern et: A Perspective from Cultural Studies and Gender Studies Ri car da Drüeke 1 Introduction: Politics and Media Pol it i cal comm u ni ca tion is seen as a link and an in ter med i ary bet ween po lit i cal in sti tu tions, mass me dia and the gen eral pub lic. The ar tic u la tion of po lit i cal in ter ests and opin ions, the iden ti fi ca tion of po lit i cal prob lems or the find ing and en act ing of bind ing po lit i cal de ci sions re quires di verse com mu ni ca tion pro cesses. Pol i tics, and there fore po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion, is trans mi ed and ex per i enced mostly via the me dia. These days po liti cal com mu ni ca tion in and through the in ter net takes on a cen tral func tion in dem o cratic so ci eties. Fast er ac cess to in for ma tion, par tic i pa tion op por tu- nities for div erse act ors, comm un ic at ion via e-mail and exc hanges on on- line dis cus sion fo rums all in di cate that the in ter net is seen as a me dium of po lit ic al comm u ni ca tion and means of de libe ra tive pro cesses. The in ter net is the tech nic al in fra struct ure that makes soc ial comm u ni ca tion of any kind pos sible (cf. Schweig er and Wei hermüller 2008: 535), but it can also be ex- am ined as a “cul tu ral fo rum” (Jen sen and Helles 2011: 530) in terms of the num ber of com mu ni ca tive prac tices – in clud ing po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion. Since the in ter net has changed both the for mal po lit ic al pro cess as well as po lit i cal com mun i ca tion among in stit u tional, civic and in di vid ual ac tors and move ments, the ques tion of the com po sit ion and the for ma tion of pub- lic spheres must be re ex a mined. Based on a cri tique of the tra di tional view of po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion, this chap ter will pro pose an ex pan sion of the con cept and the sub ject ar- ea of pol it i cal comm un ic a tion from the stand point of cult u ral stud ies and gen der stud ies. This view of po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion, as will ul ti mate ly be shown, is use ful for ana lyz ing the re la tion ship be tween the in ter net, par tic- ip a tion and dem oc racy. 2 Political Communication: State of Research A syst ema tic overv iew of the res earch on po lit ic al com mu ni ca tion is diffi - cult to com pile due to the large num ber of stud ies and the di ver sity of the ap proaches chos en. For this rea son, in what fol lows I would like to work Re think ing Political Communication and the In ter net | 227 out pri mar i ly the cen tral as pects of the ex ist ing re search and to em pha size its in her ent po si tions and ex clu sions. In re search on po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion, an an a lyt i cal dis tinc tion is made par tic u lar ly be tween the ac tors and con tent of po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion and its im pact and re cep tion (cf. Vowe and Do hle 2007). Con se quentl y, a fo cus on the Las well for mula (“who says what in which chann el to whom with what eff ect?”) is ini tiall y a use ful syst e ma ti za tion in ord er to pro ceed eco- nom i cal ly with the re search. Al though the re search pro cess is di vided in to in di vid ual parts, the com po nent phe nom e na of pol it i cal comm u ni ca tion can still be re searched (cf. Schulz 2011: 58). Based on the va ry ing meani ngs of the con cept of po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion, Donges and Jar ren (2005) sug- gest an anal ys i s that dist ing uishes be tween the diff er ent so cial lev els. By di vid ing the subj ect in to the mic ro, me so and macro lev els, each of the lev- els on which po lit i cal com mu ni cat ion takes place can be taken in to ac count: At the mi cro level, in di vid uals act as though they are not part of a spe cial group of ac tors. The me so level is the ac tion level of or ga ni za tions and in- sti tu tions. The macro level re fers to the so cie tal level. The po lit i cal ac tors in this dis tinc tion are pri mar i ly the gove rn ment and par liam ent, on the one side, and or ga ni za tions, move ments, parties and me dia on the other. In di- vidu al citi z ens still have no cons tit ut ive role in the po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion proc ess, bec ause they have hardl y any agency asc ribed to them on the mi- cro level. Pol it i cal comm un i ca tion is thus onl y a flow of news and in for- ma tion which struc tures the po lit i cal pro cess and plays out in two arenas: First, the par liam en tary-ad min is tra tive arena, and sec ond the pub lic arena, in which or ga ni za tions and move ments also op er ate (cf. Pfetsch 2005: 349). The part ic i pa tion of citi zens is not con side red, since the main task of pol it- i cal com mun i ca tion is to be a transm is sion and in for ma tion ser vice. More- over, po lit i cal comm u ni ca tion in such ap proaches is o en equated with pub lic comm u ni ca tion (cf. Mar cin kow ski 2001). In ad di tion to this dis tinc tion re gard ing the role and the eff ec tive power of the ac tors, another dist inc tion in po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion has been es- tab lished. The prod uc tion of pol i tics, which pre cedes a dec i sion-mak ing proc ess, is dist inct from the rep res ent at ion of poli t ics, which is shaped in com mu ni ca tion pro cesses (cf. Sarc i nel li 1994: 40–47). The rep re sen ta tion of pol i tics, ac cord ing to Jar ren and Donges (2006), is in creas ingl y be com ing an in te gral part of the po lit i cal pro cess it self. Par tic u lar ly in em pir i cal re- search, as Sarci n ell i and Tensche r (2008: 7) also point out, the mass me dia’s rep re sen ta tion of pol i tics is slid ing in to the fore ground, while the pro duc- tion of pol it ics in iso la tion from the pub lic is ex am ined far less. Pol it i cal comm u ni ca tion is there fore seen alt o geth er as the cent ral mech- a nism for for mu lat ing, es tab lish ing and en forc ing col lec tive ly bind ing de- cis ions (cf. Jar ren and Donges 2006: 22) – and thus as a basic comp on ent of a dem o cratic so ci ety. The sub ject ar ea of po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion is de fined in vari ous ways, how ev er. 228 | Ric ar da Drüeke 3 On the Relationship between Media, the Internet and Political Communication What the ap proaches to the con cept of po lit i cal com mun i ca tion shown in the pre vi ous sec tion have in com mon is that they view (po lit i cal) com mu ni- ca tion pro cesses be tween the gov ern ment and cit i zens as a con stit u ent part of a dem oc racy. These days, the fo cus is on the conn ec tion be tween me dia, the in ter net and po lit i cal comm u ni ca tion. What is cent ral in terms of pol it i cal comm u ni ca tion, ac cord ing to Fu- niok (2007: 92 f.), is the in for ma tion func tion of me dia. Me dia can trans mit knowl edge, cre ate disc us sion topics, off er iden tifi ca tion and in vite to soc ial ac tion. Pol i tics app ears to be trans mi ed mostly by way of the me dia, and cit i zens ex pe ri ence pol i tics pri mar i ly via the me dia, since they are mostly inf ormed about it through mass med ia. Med ia can also, acc ordi ng to Krotz (2007: 89 f.), modi fy, change and diff ere n ti ate comm u ni ca tion, which leads to a rise of new forms of in ter ac tion and com mu ni ca tion. The me dia thus con trib ute far more than the mere pro vi sion of in for mat ion or opin ion; me- dia have bec ome fund am ent al for a de mocr acy. Dahlgr en (2009) sees the role of med ia in a dem ocr acy in the vi suali za tion of pol i tics, in which me- dia pro vide in for ma tion, but also ana ly si s as well as fo rums for de bate. Ad di tion all y, med ia can stage a par tic u lar view of the world, but it also has an int eg rat ion funct ion, as it is used, rec eived and ap pro pri ated (cf. Thomas 2010). A change of med ia and techn ol ogy re quires a change in the po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion pro cesses, which is ac com pa nied by a disc us sion of its im pli ca tions for poli tics, de moc racy and soc i ety. Par tic u lar ly with the in- creas ing pen e tra tion of the in ter net in to so many ar eas of life these de bates have flared up anew. For po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion, the in ter net serves as a me dium for inf or ma tion, com mu ni ca tion and par tic i pa tion (cf. Po lat 2005). The ways of util iz at ion rel ated to po lit i cal par tic i pa tion are var ied and inc lude not on ly the tra di tional forms of com mu ni cat ion, but also inf orm al and eve ryd ay pract ic al forms (cf. Moy et al. 2005). In the theo r et- i cal de bate over the re la tion ship be tween the in ter net and pol i tics, three po si tions are usual ly found: The first as sumes an in crease in po lit i cal mo- bi li za tion through the in ter net be cause it en ables new forms of de moc racy and par tic ip a tion; the sec ond posits a strengtheni ng of ex isti ng pa erns of po lit i cal par tic i pat ion and their ac tors; and the third warns against the neg a tive eff ects of the int ern et, such as a grow ing digi t al div ide (cf. Nor- ris 2001). In or der to make any state ments about the re la tion ship be tween the in- ter net and po lit i cal com mun i ca tion, how ev er, it is cru cial to cons ider what is gen eral ly un der stood as po lit i cal comm u ni ca tion. This is be cause, de- pend ing on the un der ly ing con cep tual and the o ret i cal as sump tions – as pre sented – diff er ent sub ject are as of po liti cal comm u ni ca tion are defi ned. It is prev a lent in an a lyses of on line com mu ni ca tion to lim it the cont ent that is con sid ered po lit i cal to an in sti tu tion-based view of ac tors (such as po lit- ic al parties and gov ern ment), and to fo cus on spe cific events such as elec- Re think ing Political Communication and the In ter net | 229 tion camp aigns (cf. Dav is 2009; Pap ac har iss i 2010; Wright 2012). What are es sen tial for stud ies of po lit i cal comm u ni ca tion on the int er net are also the as sumpt ions made con cern ing the forms, con tent and ac tors of po lit i cal comm u ni ca tion. To de ter mine the re la tion ship be tween me dia and de moc racy the o ret i- cal ly, there are three tra di tional lines (cf. Dahlg ren 2009), which are based in a sim i lar form on an a lyses of the emerg ing po lit i cal pub lic spheres on the in ter net. The first tra di tional line comes from po lit i cal sci ence and has a strong foc us on the pol iti c al syst em and the act ors withi n it, inc ludi ng po- lit i cal in sti tu tions, cit i zens and me dia. In the seco nd tra di tional line, par tic- u lar ly through Jür gen Ha ber mas and his con cep tion of the pub lic sphere, the per spec tive on med ia and dem ocr acy is ext ended to en com pass del ibe- rat ive proc esses and civi l soc ie ty (cf. Hab erm as 1995, Calh oun 1993). In the third line, the per spec tives of cult u ral stud ies are off ered, which deal with is sues of iden tity, as crip tion of mean ing and pract ices of cul ture, and in ter- ro gate them crit i cal ly (cf. Dahlg ren 2009). Ac cord ing to each of these three tra di tional lines, the role of the ac tors is con structed diff er entl y. Thus to day it is mostly in stit u tions, as well as the mar ket, the econ omy and civi l so ci ety, that are viewed as ac tors that pro duce pub lic spheres (cf. Wint er 2010). The econ omy takes ad van tage of the new tech nol ogies for in for ma tion and com mu ni ca tion in or der to sell prod ucts (e-comm erce) and to gene r ate tar get group-spe cific data. With the fo cus on po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion – par tic u lar ly with in po lit i cal sci- ence – in sti tu tion al ized com mu ni ca tion has re sulted in the long-pop u lar con cept of eGo vern ment (cf. Hen man 2010). As a cons e quence of this, the view of cer tain forms of par tic i pa tion of gov ern ment and state ac tors has narr owed; res earch has theref ore come to the not-un exp ected conc lus ion that the in ter net is mostly used for the diss em i na tion of in for ma tion. eGo- vern ment is o en seen as part of the meas ures to mode rn ize ad mini s tra- tion and make it more effi cient, but it is also part of elec tronic de moc racy and it is in creas ing ly seen as a means of en sur ing greater cit i zen par tic i- pat ion (cf. Chadw ick 2003 and 2009). The conc ept of eDe moc ra cy ex pands the scope of pol it i cal par tic i pa tion on the in ter net and in volves the par- tic i pa tion of civ il so ci ety and its ac tors. In this con text, Ba ring horst (2010) points out that prot est movem ents in par tic u lar strong ly in flu ence the po- lit i cal de bate, as net work-based cam paigns gen er ate feel ings of po lit i cal com mu nity, mo bi lize and show the pos sib il ities for vert i cal and hor i zon- tal co-ope ra t ion (ibid. 389 f.). Soc ial move ments and civi l so cie ty groups in par tic ul ar con trib ute to the emer gence of co un ter-pub lics (cf. Wimm er 2007). The in ter net is both a me dium of com mu ni ca tion as well as a mo- bi li za tion tool or some times the site for the ral ly it self (cf. Hard ers 2005). Al to geth er, ac cordi ng to Lang (2004), there are three asp ects that form the civi l-so ci ety ba s is for the pub lic sphere on the in tern et: the fa cil i ta tion of net work ing be tween ac tors, the pro duc tion of com mon prob lem defi ni- tions as a ba s is for comm on ac tion and the pro vi sion of mob il i za tion op- por tu nities for po lit i cal com mit ment. In ad di tion to ins ti tu tions and civ il soc i eties, how ev er, it is mostly in di vid ual act ors who are on the in ter net 230 | Ric ar da Drüeke – i. e. citi z ens who can par tici p ate in a new kind and a new way of po lit ic al com mu ni ca tion and pro duce pub lic spheres. Par tic u lar ly through the de- vel op ment of the so-called “so cial web,” pas sive re cip i ents be come ac tive cont ent prod ucers (cf. Bruns 2008). These in div idu al forms of com mu ni ca- tion are esp e cial ly ev i dent in blogs; with cit i zen journ al ism, the mass me- dia is con fronted with a pow er ful form of al ter na tive jour nal ism (cf. Al lan and Thor son 2009). The demo cratic-theo reti cal clas si fi ca tion of me dia and the in tern et can thus be dis tin guished from the cont ent and act ors of pol it i cal comm u ni ca- tion on the in ter net. From each of the un der lyi ng the o ret ic al as sump tions, a par ticu lar view of the sub ject ar ea res ults. 4 Rethinking Political Communication In what fol lows, it is prop osed for res earch int o po liti cal com mun i ca tion to con sider the in sights of cul tur al studi es and gen der stud ies more caref ul ly in or der to broaden the sub ject ar ea of po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion con cep tual- ly. The po ten tial of this ex pan sion is shown by means of five cen tral disc us- sion threads that re sult from the fore go ing explanations: 1.) The con cept of par tici pa tion and role of cit i zens 2.) A disc us sion on the con tent of pol it i cal com mu nic at ion 3.) Argumentation for an ex pans ion of the conc ept of pol i tics 4.) A cons id er ation of the con tex tual link ages of po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion 5.) Changes in the pub lic sphere 1.) In an app roach to the subj ect ar ea of pol it i cal comm u ni ca tion, the role of cit i zens in pro cesses of po lit ic al comm u ni ca tion is de fined con cep tual ly and struc tural ly. This is closel y re lated to the un derl y ing con cept of cit i zen- ship, as well as to the ques tion of who is con sid ered an ac tive mem ber of a po lit i cal comm u nity. In the past, for ex ample, women were ex cluded from vot ing; now, mi grants who lack state citi zen ship are usuall y in el i gible to vote. These as pects are close ly linked to the ques tion of what role is granted to the cit i zens in a demo cratic so ci ety, as well as to the types and forms of par tic i pa tion that are con side red po lit i cal and rel e vant. Vol un tary en- gage ment, for ex ample, is usual ly not cons id ered to be tra di tional po lit i cal par tic i pa tion, which is on ly rec og nized as in volve ment in po lit i cal parties and so cial move ments. Ac cord ingl y, the “gen der gap,” which is o en held res pon sible for va ry ing po lit i cal par tic i pa tion, is not ques tioned for its gen- der-spec ific conn o ta tions, nor are their causes ana lyzed (cf. Wes tle 2001). Fe mi nist po lit i cal the ory ex pands the con cept of cit i zen ship ac cord ing- ly, and as a cons e quence, soc ial movem ents and seem ingl y apo lit i cal ar eas of pri vate life are pol iti c ized (cf. Sauer 2001). Poli t ics is thus no long er seen as onl y prod uced by cert ain in sti tu tions, spheres or lev els of so ci ety (cf. Mouffe 2005). Va ry ing po lit i cal par tic i pa tion is also caused by sex u al ly hi- er ar chi cal ac cess and an un equal dis tri bu tion of speak ing and lis ten ing (cf. Hol land-Cunz 2006). These struc tural in equal ities should be made avail- Re think ing Political Communication and the In ter net | 231 able to a crit i cal test, and the op port u nities for par tic i pa tion that are not yet taken in to ac count must be re flected ac cord ing ly. Cod ing var i ous forms of par tic i pa tion as po lit i cal can also lead to more op por tu nities for par tic i pa- tion in a so ci ety (cf. Car pen tier 2011: 47). 2.) Re gard ing the con tent of po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion, mostly po lit i cal top- ics and forms of pres ent ing po lit i cal con tent are up for ne go ti a tion, as well as the quest ion of which fields of ac tion re quire a pub lic so cial ne go ti a tion proc ess. Acc ord ing to a cent ral point of disc us sion, po lit i cal com mu ni ca- tion will, through in creas ing tab loid i za tion – e. g. by deal ing with in creas- ing ly pri vate conn oted topics – ei ther lose po lit ic al con tent, or on the con- trary, make groups of peop le who cann ot be reached through tra dit ional chan nels of in for ma tion re cep tive to po lit i cal con tent (cf. Dörner 2001). Gen der stud ies see the sep a ra tion be tween in for ma tion and en ter tain- ment as al to geth er crit i cal. In a nar row un der stand ing of po lit i cal com mu- ni ca tion, as Zoo nen crit i cizes (2005: 143 f.), en ter tain ment and pop u lar gen- res are mar gin ali zed and de val ued on the grounds that they do not per tain to se ri ous in form at ion and del ibe ra t ion. For exa mple it is assumed that such popu lar for mats as soap op eras can not be pol it i cal qua form (ibid.). How ev er, en ter tain ment and pop u lar form ats have an ex plic it po lit i cal com po nent, be cause these for mats in clude di verse cit i zens. In this way, civ- il rights can be tested, even if the ex er cise takes place in a way that Zoo nen par a phrases as to “en ter tain the cit i zen” (ibid.: 151). Sax er (2007) makes a sim i lar ar gu ment, that “pol i tain ment” – the in te gra tion of pol i tics and en ter tain ment – en cour ages at least a tem po rary po lit i cal in clus ion of mar- gin al ized cit i zens, and there fore a va riety of for mats can be de scribed as po lit ic al. Thus viewers use the form at of pol i tain ment to cons truct iden tity and mean ing in the con text of their curr ent liv ing sit u a tion, both of which are po lit i cal ly con noted ac tions (cf. Dörner, 2006). Not on ly is high cul ture rel e vant to this, but ev ery day and pop u lar cul ture are also cen tral to con- tem po rary soc i eties and are a part of pol i tics (cf. Dörner 2006: 223). Like- wise, the en ter tain ment di men sion can be loc ated not mere ly on a sym bolic level (cf. Sax er 2007). 3.) Both cult u ral stud ies and gend er stud ies ar gue for a broade r defi ni tion of pol i tics. The very con cept of cul ture em ployed by cul tu ral stud ies is po lit i cal ly di men sioned, be cause it is not pos sible to sep a rate the con cept from the po lit ic al and the two ideas are mu tual ly de pen dent (cf. Dörner 2006: 222 f.). For the con cept of po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion, this means that even sup pose d ly “pop u lar” comm u ni ca tion, and not just the comm u ni- ca tion of tra di tional po lit i cal ac tors such as gov ern ments or – fol low ing Ha berm as (1995) – civ il so ci eties, may also have a po lit i cal im pe tus. Those forms of comm u ni ca tion are also im por tant for a dem oc racy, but they are o en viewed as non-po li ti cal or pre- po lit i cal, or even as non-in for ma tive in the tra di tional re search on po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion. In con trast to a nar row defi ni tion of pol i tics, a broade r defi ni tion pre sup poses no soc ial field to be apo lit i cal (cf. Pe lin ka 2004), be cause the coe xi st ence of peop le and any con- nec tion be tween them is po ten tial ly po lit i cal. 232 | Ric ar da Drüeke The re de fi ni tion of the con cept of po lit i cal comm u ni ca tion is pri mar i- ly due to the in sights of gen der stud ies. Fe mi nist comm u ni ca tion stud ies works with a gen der-the o ret i cal per spec tive on diff er ent lev els (cf. Dor er and Gei ger 2002: 11 f.; Klaus 2001). Thus, to be gin with, the so cial model that un der lies the con ven tion al view of po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion is scru ti- nized. Fur ther more, the eff ects of the and ro cen tric ori en ta tion are ex am- ined and, based on fe mi nist the ory, new con cepts and mode ls of so cial com mu ni ca tion pro cesses are de vel oped. It should be noted that gen der re- la tions are em bed ded in the po lit i cal cul ture of com mu ni ca tion in a va riety of re la tion ships (cf. Abels and Bier ing er 2006: 9), and nei ther pol i tics nor the pub lic sphere are gen der-neu tral terms. The “gen der ing” of po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion, ac cord ing to Abels and Bie ring er (ibid.), could be linked, from a fe mi nist per spec tive, to reflections on dem o cratic par tic i pa tion in or der to call in to ques tion the conc ep tion of po lit i cal cit i zen ship ac cord ing to its in clu sions and ex clu sions. It is also im por tant to re flect on what ac tors and forms of comm u ni ca tion can be counted as po lit i cal comm u ni ca tion. 4.) Me dia as well as the in ter net are part of diff ere nt comm un i ca tive, so cial and so ci etal prac tices that must be taken in to ac count in any ana ly s is of po- lit i cal com mu ni ca tion pro cesses. Cul tu ral stud ies points to the con tex tua- li ty of me dia con tent that can not be con sid ered sepa ra tel y from his tor i cal, so cial and cul tu ral cont exts (cf. Krotz 2007; Fiske 1992). Fur therm ore, me- dia and the in ter net are in flu enced by or ga ni za tional, eco nomic and tech- nic al pe cul iari ties as well (cf. Dahlg ren 2009). This means that a change in the forms and the sub ject are a of pol it i cal com mu ni ca tion has an im pact on the cit i zens’ per cep tion of pol i tics and po lit ic al events. Cul tu ral stud ies also fol low an act ion-the o ret i cal ap proach and shows that diff ere n ti ated me dia- ori ented ac tion takes place with in spec ific cont exts of in ter pre ta tion. 5.) It should also be disc ussed how the int ern et can en sure the med i ated pro duc tion of the pub lic sphere in the sense of de lib er a tion (cf. Dahlg ren 2007). It is cru cial that the in ter net has changed the pro duc tion of the pub lic sphere. Not onl y privi l eged act ors, but also in di vid ual cit i zens can cre ate publ ic spheres. The publ ic sphere cann ot be re garded as a static conc ept, but can be found in the in ter play of so cial and techn o log i cal trans for ma- tions in a con stant state of change. Fra ser (2005) points to a crit i cal-the o ret i- cal ap proach which seeks to lo cate nor mat ive stand ards and emanc ip at ory po lit i cal pos si bil ities pre cise ly with in the his tor i cal ly un fold ing cons tel la- tion as an al ter na tive to par tic i pa tion and inc lus ion in the center of a con- cept of the pub lic sphere. Theref ore it is not just a ques tion of what the pub lic sphere ac tu all y is; ra ther, the trans form a tion and the var i ous forms of the pub lic sphere must be taken in to ac count in ord er to study po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion on the in ter net. The pub lic sphere can in this case con sist of diff er ent lev els of con cep tual i za tion, as Fra ser (1996) in tro duced and Klaus (2005) fur ther dev el oped. Po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion in and through the in- ter net does not take place in on ly a sin gle pub lic sphere; the pub lic sphere cons ists of a var iety of publ ics and part ial publ ics, all of which can have so cial rele vance. Re think ing Political Communication and the In ter net | 233 Furt her more, the med ia cont rib utes to the fact that sys tema tic dist inc- tions, such as be tween publ ic and priv ate as well as the afore men tioned re lated dis tinc tion be tween en ter tain ment and in for ma tion, ap pear frag- ile (cf. Lünen borg 2009). These dis tinc tions, how ev er, are o en still part of the sub ject des cript ions of pol it ic al com mu ni ca tion and thus also the con sid er ations of me dia and de moc racy. Gen der re search has al ready for some time drawn a ent ion to the pro duc tive dis so lu tion of soc ial ly con- structed di chot omies and thus has crit i cal ly chal lenged the con cept of a po lit i cal (me dia) pub lic sphere. Cul tu ral stud ies has also worked to en- sure that pop ul ar iz at ion, ent er tainm ent and pol it ain ment are counted in the realm of pol i tics as well and can be con sid ered po lit i cal ly rel e vant to a de moc racy. These (and other) dis cus sion threads are re lated to as pects of par tici pa tion and rep re sen ta tion, which are sub stan tial for a dem o cratic so ci ety. Rep re- sen ta tion moves be tween sub sti tu tion and port rayal, while part ic ip at ion is in most cases based on a var yi ng con struct ible cit i zen ship (cf. Car pen- tier 2011: 16; Klaus and Lünen borg in this vol ume). To sum ma rize, it can be said that the sub ject ar ea of po lit i cal com mu ni ca tion is o en based on im plicit nor ma tive state ments about what is con sid ered to be po lit i cal, or des crip tive quest ions about the or ga ni za tion of the po lit i cal realm, which req uire a reflection es pe cial ly in re la tion to the in sights of cul tur al studi es and gen der studi es. This ap pears to be help ful in exp and ing the field of po- lit i cal com mu ni ca tion to take a va riety of par tic i pa tion op por tu nities in to con sid er ation. 5 Conclusion: A Redefinition of the Scope of Political Communication For re search on po liti cal com mu ni ca tion, it is not suffi cient to des cribe on- ly the funct ions of me dia and the in ter net in a de moc racy. Ac cord ing to Dahlg ren (2009), the val ue of the ories can be mea sured by the fact that, in add it ion to the mere des cript ion of em piri cal phe nom e na, they can show be er al tern at ives. With the help of a broad er defi nit ion of poli tics, an ex- pan sion of the spec t rum of ac tors and the re nun ci a tion of a nar row view of po lit i cal cont ent, both the conc ept and the sub ject ar ea of po lit i cal com mu- ni ca tion can be ex tended. Based on this, both the changed forms of com- mu ni ca tion emb raced by the in tern et as well as dic hot omies such as be- tween priv ate and pub lic, or be tween en ter tain ment and inf or ma tion, can be crit i cal ly scrut i nized. This ex panded con cept opens up pers pec tives that enh ance the vis i bil ity and dis tin guish a bi li ty of var ied act ors and in the pro- cess, fe mi nist me dia pro duc tion and fe mi nist au di ences can be con sid ered as cent ral for pol it ic al com mu ni ca tion. 234 | Ric ar da Drüeke References Abels, G. and Bier inge r, J., 2006. Ges le t in der poli tis en Komm u ni ka- tion: Ein lei tung. fem i na poli tic a. Zeits ri für fem i nis tis e Pol i tik-Wis- sens a 15(2), pp. 9–20. 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Dig i tal stor ies in this con text are short films, which are pro- duced with and dist rib uted through dig i tal med ia. In works hops for dig- i tal sto ry tell ing those prod uc tion pro cesses are con ducted as pro cesses of em po werm ent. Such a work shop, which was or ga nized in South Afr ica by the fem in ist non-gov ern men tal or ga ni sa tion (NGO) Wom en’sNet1 for sex workers in 2010, will serve as a case study for an al ys ing dig i tal stor y tell ing as a tool for women’s emp ow er ment. With in this work shop, ev ery par tici pant pro duced a dig it al story, a short film, about her own life. The point in time for this par tic u lar sem i nar was very sen si tive, as the FIFA World Cup in 2010 pro voked a new de bate about le gal is ing sex work in South Af rica. There fore, one aim of the work- shop was to pro duce digi t al stori es for the purp ose of lobb ying for leg ali s- ing sex work. In this art i cle, I will ana l yse the mean ings con structed by the work shop par tic i pants re gard ing the dig i tal sto ry tell ing and the work shop it self: What does it mean for the women to prod uce the digi tal stori es and to be part of the semi n ar? I foll ow this ques tion by fo cuss ing on digi t al sto- ry tell ing as a means of em pow er ment. The ar ti cle is struc tured as foll ows: First, I will cons ider the rel ev ant re search re gard ing dig i tal sto ry telli ng in gen eral and digi tal stor yt ell ing as an em po werm ent tool in part icu lar. A- er that, the struc ture of the sub se quent ly ex am ined works hop for digi tal sto ry tell ing will be de scribed. Be fore an a lys ing the sem i nar, it is nec es sary to give some backg round in form at ion on sex work in South Afr ica. Fi nall y, the work shop is an a lysed re gard ing the em po wer ment of the par tic i pants. 1 “Wom en’sNet is a fe mi nist or ga ni sa tion that works to ad vance gen der equal ity and jus tice in South Af rica, through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)“ (Wom en’sNet, n. d.). For fur ther in for ma tion, see hp://www.wome ns net.org.za/. Digi t al Storytelling to Empower Sex Workers: Warn ing, Relieving and Liberating | 239 The ana ly si s is based on an em pir ic al study: I con ducted a par tic ip a- tory ob ser va tion in the work shop, qual i ta tive int er views with seven par- tic i pants, and a film anal y s is of the digi tal stor ies. This em pir ic al mat er ial was an a lysed us ing the Grounded Theory ap proach (cf. Strauss and Cor- bin 1996). It is im por tant to stress that I am not mak ing an eval u a tion of the sem i nar; in stead I am in ter ested in the mean ings that the par tici pants con structed re gard ing dig i tal sto ry tell ing and the work shop in ref er ence to emp o werm ent. What Is Digital Storytelling? Dig i tal stor ies are prod uced and dist ribu ted by digi t al med ia. The forms and form at of digi tal stori es diff er, but in this cont ext a digi t al story can be defi ned as a “short, first-per son vide o-nar ra tive cre ated by com bin ing re- corded voice, still and mov ing im ages, and mu sic or other sounds” (Center for Digital Storytelling n. d.). Dig i tal stor ies are also re fer red to as me di at- ised stori es (Lund by 2008b). Dig i tal stor ies are me di at ised as me dia are used for the pro cess of tell ing as well as for the pro cess of lis ten ing or watch ing. Through the use of dig i tal me dia, the stor y tell ing be comes dig it al. The for- mat of the dig it al med ia infl ue nces the way the stor ies are told (Lund by 2008a: 6 and Braet eig 2008). Nick Cou ld ry lists four fea tures of dig i tal me- dia which in flu ence the nar ra tive of dig i tal stor ies: “first, a press ure to mix texts with other materials . . .; seco nd, a press ure to limi t the length of nar- rative . . .; third, a press ure to wards standardization . . .; fourth, a pres sure to take ac count of the pos sib il ity that any nar rat ive when posted on line may have un in tended and un de sired aud ie nces” (Co ul dry 2008: 49). As dig i tal stor ies are prod uced with non-pro fes sional equip ment (Lund by 2008a: 2), non-prof es sional med ia prac tit ioners and marg in al ised groups can raise their voices through these stor ies. They get the pos si bil ity of self-rep re sen ta tion: Dig i tal stor ies “are rep re sen ta tions in the first per- son. The ‘self’ is so cial, shaped in re lat ion ships, and through the stori es we tell about who we are” (ibid.: 5). The stor y teller tells her or his story with her or his own voice, with her or his own words, and also chooses the pict ures that vis ual ise the story. Bei ng self-repr es en tat ions, the dig i tal stor- ies are au to bi og raphies and sug gest au then tic ity (Hertz berg and Lund by 2008: 108–9). The term digi tal storytelli ng exp resses that not onl y is the prod uct of im por tance, but also the pro cess of sto ry tell ing and the pro duc tion of the story it self. “‘Dig i tal sto ry tell ing’ is a work shop-based prac tice in which peo ple are taught to use dig i tal me dia to cre ate short au dio-vid eo stor ies, usual ly about their own lives” (Hart ley and Mc Will iam 2009: 3). Hav ing its or i gin in the U. S.-Amer i can Center for Digital Storytelling,2 the pract ice of these work shops has spread all over the world. The semi n ar 2 For more inf orm at ion about the Center for Digital Storytelling, see hp://www.sto- ry cen ter.org/. 240 | Sig rid Kan nengi eßer disc ussed later foll ows the work shop for mat, which was de vel oped by the Center for Digital Storytelling. In a quan ti ta tive study, Kelly Mc Wil liam lists where works hops for dig i tal stor yt ell ing are cond ucted, and which in sti tu tions off er those semi nars (McW ill iam 2009). The main aim of the works hops is to emp ower the works hop part ici p ants, who are mainl y so- cial ly mar gin al ised peo ple whose sit u a tion should be imp roved (ibid.: 60). The sem i nar pro vides a space where the par tic i pants get the poss i bil ity to share their ex pe ri ences: “Peo ple open up and share their stor ies when they are pro vided an en vi ron ment where they feel that their ideas will be val ued, their stori es have reso nance, and they feel safe” (Lamb ert 2009: 86). The con crete aims de pend on the group of par tic i pants and the con- text in which the work shop takes place. Rel e vant for the ana ly s is in this ar ti cle is a study an a lysi ng a pro ject of the South Afr ic an non-gov ernm en- tal or ga ni sa tions Sonke Gender Just ice Network and the Center for Dig- ital Storytelling Speaks Initiative for youths in the South Afr i can prov ince Eas tern Cape (Reed 2010). Alt hough the author, Amber Reed, has made pre dom i nantl y an eval u a tion of the pro ject, some of her findi ngs are very in tere st ing: The work shop for digi tal sto ryt ell ing, which was con ducted as a part of the pro ject, func tions as a com puter train ing course as well as an en coura ge ment for the youths to tell their stor ies and talk about their conc erns (ibid.: 277). Some of these find ings are simi l ar to the ones in the fol low ing ana ly s is. Workshops for Digital Storytelling The five-day work shop “Dig i tal Storytelling and Sex Work” an a lysed here took place in Joh ann esb urg, South Afr ica. The part ici p ants were all fe male sex workers and memb ers of the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task Force (SWEAT), a South Af ri can NGO which part nered with Wom- en’sNet to org an ise this works hop.3 SWEAT sup ports and lob bies on be half of sex workers. The semi nar was fin anced by OSI SA, the Open So ci ety In- sti tute of Southern Af rica. In this sem in ar ev ery part ici pant pro duced her film, telli ng her own story. At the beg inn ing of the works hop, eve ry woma n spoke about her ex- pe ri ences as a sex worker withi n a story circ le. A er this, the part ic ip ants wrote their stori es down usi ng Mic ros o Word on the lap tops that they were prov ided with. Most of the par tic ip ants had nev er used a comp uter be fore. A er hav ing typed the stor ies, the par tic i pants read their texts out loud, which were then rec orded by the trainers us ing the open-source so- ware Audacity. Then the women searched for pict ures (un der the cre at ive comm ons li cense) on the World Wide Web, or took their own pho tos us ing a small dig i tal came ra dur ing the works hop. They used these pic tures to vi sual ise their stori es. The part ici p ants were then supp orted by the two trainers in 3 For det ailed in for ma tion about SWEAT, visi t hp://www.sweat.org.za. Digi t al Storytelling to Empower Sex Workers: Warn ing, Relieving and Liberating | 241 pro duc ing their stor ies with Win dows Movie Maker. At the end of the sem- i nar, eve ry film was shown to the ple num and disc ussed. Be fore I an a lyse the mean ings con structed by the par tic i pants re gard ing the work shop and the dig i tal stor yt ell ing, I will first frame the sit u at ion of sex workers in South Afr ica, which is nece s sary to und er stand the state- ments from my in terv iew part ners. Sex Work in South Africa In the fol low ing, back ground in for ma tion about the situ a tion of sex work- ers in South Af rica is given, as this is ess en tial for the work shop anal ys is. The fol low ing ex pla na tions fo cus on fe male sex workers, as the sex work- ers part ic ip at ing in the semi nar were on ly fe males. The sit u a tion of sex workers in South Af rica is reg u lated by South Afr i- can law, which crimi na li ses sex work un der the Sex ua l Off en ces Act of 1957 (SWEAT 2006b). Their le gal stat us puts sex workers in a pos it ion where they easil y bec ome vict ims of vi ol ence: Sex workers . . . are con sid ered im moral and de servi ng of pun ishm ent. Crim in- al iz at ion of sex work con trib utes to an env i ronm ent in which vi o lence against sex workers is tol er ated, leav ing them less likely to be pro tected from it (Re kart, cited in WHO 2005: 1). Theref ore, it is unl ike ly that the sex workers re port ex pe ri ences of vi ol ence, rape, or other crimes to the po lice as the role of a sex worker puts them in a crim in al ised po si tion. More over, sex workers be come the vic tims of dis crim i na tion or vi ol ence at the hands of the po lice. “Sex workers have rep orted to SWEAT, and studi es have doc um ented the mis treat ment and abuse of sex workers when they are ar rested” (Mass awe 2010). Their crimi na l ized sta tus also leads to soc ial stig ma tis a tion: The con tin ued crim in al i za tion of sex workers has con trib uted to the stigma, iso la tion and vi o la tion of hu man rights of sex workers. Sex workers are o en forced to work in iso lated and re mote are as. These worki ng con di tions not on ly make them vuln era ble to vio l ence and abuse, but also make it very diffi cult for in terv en tion pro jects to lo cate them to do pre ven tion work (La lu 2007: 1). A vi cious circ le is formed: Their crim in al ised stat us leads to so cial stig ma- ti sa tion, which leads to fur ther acts of vi o lence against sex workers, which they can not re port to the po lice be cause of their crim in al ised sta tus. Their sta tus forces sex workers in to a crimi na l ised en vi ron ment: The crimi na li sa tion of the in dus try in creases the vuln er ab il ity of sex workers to vi ol ence and ex ploit at ion, by forc ing sex workers fur ther un der ground, hin der- ing acc ess to health and leg al serv ices and in creasi ng the stigma a ached to the work (Mas sawe 2010). Sex workers are one of the most vuln er able groups for HIV in fec tions; at the same time they are acc used of spreadi ng the vir us (WHO 2005: 1–2). It is est i mated that half of all fem ale sex workers in South Af rica are HIV pos- 242 | Sig rid Kan nengi eßer i tive (Ag bi boa 2010). Many of them do not ac cess an ti-re tro vi ral treat ment as they fear dis crimi na tion and vi o lence (WHO 2005: 2). The le gal stat us of sex workers in South Af rica deteriorates the situ a- tion of the women but does not erase sex work at all: “Crimi na li si ng the sex work ind us try does not erad ic ate it, but sim ply makes it im poss ible to con trol or reg ul ate” (SWEAT 2006b). Many sex workers are not in full cont rol over their lives; but not eve ry fe male sex worker sees hers elf as a vict im: There is also a need to rec og nize that not all sex workers see them selves as vic- tims, opp ressed, or exp loited. . . . Some of the most suc cessf ul sex work int er- ven tions have been led and run by sex workers and have al lowed them to or ga- nize them selves for their own safety (WHO 2005: 3). One exa mple of org an is at ion of sex workers in South Af rica is the NGO Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task Force (SWEAT), which co-or- ga nised the work shop for dig i tal stor yt ell ing. SWEAT tries to im prove the work ing and liv ing cond it ions of its mem bers and lobb ies for the de crim- i na li sa tion of sex work in South Afr ica. The diff er ence be tween le gal is ing and de crim i na lis ing has to be em pha sised: While le gal is ing sex work would lead to the reg u la tion and con trol of sex work by the gove rn ment, de crim- i na lisi ng would im prove the situ a tion of sex workers witho ut reg ul at ing in ter fe rences (Suth er land 2010). The for mer South Af ri can po lice comm is- sioner Jackie Sele bi “prop osed leg al is ing or at least tole ra ti ng sex work” temp or ar ily, “for the du rat ion of the World Cup, ar gu ing that the po lice force lacked the man power to en force the law in these are as. He add ed that le gal is ing sex work would free his offi cers to deal with more press ing se cu rity is sues” (Ag bi boa 2010). Sel bi’s arg u men ta tion did not aim at im- provi ng the situ a tion of sex workers, nor did he have en dur ing le gal i sa tion in mind; he on ly con sid ered the ca paci ties of the po lice dur ing the World Cup and was hop ing for rel ief for the po lice dur ing this event (ibid.). This tem po rary leg al is at ion of sex work duri ng the World Cup was not re al ised. But, as SWEAT arg ues, [d]e crimi na lis ing the sex work in dus try would pre clude the need for pro tec tion out side of the po lice ser vices. It would also en able sex workers to ac cess ser vices which are taken for granted by pers ons able to prove an inc ome, such as open- ing a bank ac count, se curi ng ac com mo da tion and ac cess to loans, all of which are curr ent ly not availa ble to them, and theref ore makes them more vul nera ble to the crimi nal ele ment (SWEAT 2010). The World Health Or ga ni sa tion rec om mends mob i lis ing sex workers and sup port ing them against vi o lence and dis crimi na tion (WHO 2005: 4–5). One ex ample for this sup port is the “Dig it al Storytelling and Sex Work” works hop an a lysed in this art ic le. Digi t al Storytelling to Empower Sex Workers: Warn ing, Relieving and Liberating | 243 Digital Storytelling to Empower Female Sex Workers in South Africa The par tic i pants of the “Dig i tal Storytelling and Sex Work” work shop are in the sit u at ion de scribed above. They are conf ronted with vi ol ence and crime, HIV/AIDS, drugs and the ne cess ity to ful fil the role of the bread win- ner in their fam ilies, as most of them are sin gle moth ers and many also take care of their sib lings. The digi t al sto ryt elli ng works hop aimed at emp ower- ing the women in their diffi cult situ a tions. Again, the foll ow ing ana ly s is is not an eval u a tion of the sem i nar but an ana ly s is of the mean ings pro duced by the par tic i pants and the a it udes they formed re gardi ng the works hop and digi tal stor yt ell ing in gen eral. Self-repr e sent a tion and Warning All of the work shop par tic i pants told their per sonal stor ies in their films and des cribed their rea sons for be com ing sex workers. As par tici pant Mba- li Si longo ex plains in an in ter view, “My story is about my life, . . . my back- ground and how I get to this job of sex work.” The en try int o sex work is also one of the topics in Mud iw a Kale nis’s story: “I told . . . about mys elf. Me, . . . how I went in to pros titu tion, ge ing inf ected with HIV.” 30-year- old par ticip ant Joy Bhebhe told her story in her film in Zulu, a South Afr i- can lang uage, but the pict ures of women, men and childr en, of the pol ice, prison and graves, al low the view er to imag ine what her ex pe ri ences are like. The women tell their stori es with their own voices in a voiceo ver; the sound dom i nates the im age, which vi sual ises the text. As the par tic i pants speak about their lives, the dig i tal stor ies be come self-rep re sen ta tions. Their voices sugg est aut hen tic ity, and as the women talk about their lives, the films bec ome au to bi og raphies. Most of the part ici p ants bec ame sex workers be cause they had to sup- port thems elves or their child ren fi nanc ial ly. 28-year-old Scar le Ma bu za tells in her film: “I make a lot of money. I use my money to buy clothes, food, cosm etic and I pay my rent.” She vi sual ises this text with im ages of U. S.-Amer i can Doll ar notes, clothes and veg et ables. 32-year-old Mba li Si- longo wants to sup port her sibl ings with the money she earns with her job; she exp lains in her film: “I started this job when my moth er passe d away. ’Cause I didn’t have any choice. I dec ided to do it for my five sibl ings ’cause I was the old est sist er.” Sil ongo shows pict ures of a grave, child ren’s shoes and a photo of her self. The pic ture of hers elf shows her from the back to avoid iden tifi ca tion. Like Sil ongo, Mud iw a Kale ni ex plains her choice of be com ing a sex worker with the early death of her moth er in her film: “I bel ieve if my mothe r didn’t pass on, I wouldn’t have gone int o prost itut ion and ge ing inf ected with HIV/AIDS.” The part ici p ants tell about their exp e ri ences of HIV/AIDS in fec tion and vi ol ence in their dig i tal stor ies. One exa mple is the very pers onal ex pe- rie nce told by Mba li Si longo in her dig it al story: “There was a day that I 244 | Sig rid Kann engi eßer won’t for get in my life. The day when my cli ent took me in his house and ae r fini sh[ing] his work, he kicked me out with nothi ng.” She chooses a pic ture of her self walk ing down some stairs (taken from the back to avoid iden ti fic at ion) to vi sual ise how she le her cli ent’s house. Ex pe rie nces of disc rim i na tion are also rep re sented in the films. Scar le Mab uz a states in her film: “I’ m feeli ng bad when peop le are point ing fin- gers at me, sayi ng I am a bitch, a crimi nal, an HIV-inf ected.” She takes a pict ure of her back to vi sual ise this text and puts the writ ing “Bitch!” on the photo in red le ers. In doi ng so, she conf ronts hers elf in the pict ure with the disc rimi n at ion she is conf ronted with in her life. She repr e sents her self and the way she sees her self per ceived by so ci ety. There fore, the dig it al stor ies are not onl y self-rep re sen ta tions of the par tic i pants but also rep res en ta tions of South Af ri can so ci ety through the eyes of the sex work- ers. In add i tion to their ex pe ri ences with disc rim i na tion, the women also talk about their ex pe ri ences with the po lice in their films. Am ah le Mush- wa na shows pict ures of po lice cars and a clenched fist while sayi ng: “Even the po lice are har ass ing us. They beat us, also shock us or de mand sex with out payi ng.” So far my ar gu ment is that digi tal stor ies are for mats of self-rep re sen- ta tion, which al low the work shop par tic i pants to rep re sent their per sonal ex pe ri ences. Knut Lund by stres ses that dig i tal sto ry telli ng is not on ly pro- duc ing a story but also shari ng one’s own story with others (Lund by 2008a: 3). Reg ardi ng the sex workers, there is a risky mo ment in shari ng their stor ies. Show ing them selves in their stor ies and pub lish ing them might mean pro voki ng more disc rim i na tion against them. In show ing on ly parts of their bodies or their backs, the sex workers find ways of self-rep re sen ta- tion which do not bear the risk of iden tifi ca tion. Most of the women want their dig i tal stori es to be pub lished for vari ous reas ons: They want to show peo ple in other count ries what the situ a t ion of sex workers in South Afr ica is like, they want other peop le to und ers tand, and they want to warn oth- ers as Ama hle Mush wa na does in her film: “So what I want to say to other women is, that sex work is not a job that you can rely on be cause it’s a dan- gero us job and you put your life on risk.” Mba li Si longo also sees her self as a det er rent: “Others they will learn that to be a pros ti tute is not a good job. They’ll learn that ’cause they will hear my ad van tages and . . . my dis- ad van tages there.” Most par tici p ants agree with publ ishi ng their digi t al stori es in an anon- y mous sur round ing but do not want their fam ilies to see their films, be- cause most of their rel at ives do not know about their jobs as sex workers. Hope and Demands The works hop par tici pants ad dress un spe cific Others to in form them of their situ a tion and warn them, but they also hope for help: “You nev er know . . . who’s go ing to help you be cause when you say your stor ies . . . most of the peo ple . . . get in ter ested in . . . your story. And they . . . can Dig it al Storytelling to Empower Sex Workers: Warn ing, Relieving and Liberating | 245 change your life”, says 36-year-old Gen e sis Nko si. Joy Bhebhe hopes for ad vice: “May be if I can tell the peo ple, may be I’ll get peo ple they can give me ad vice what I must do ins tead to do what I’ m do ing. May be they’ll help me with some thing.” Bes ides this hope for help, the sex workers also dem and act ion from the South Afr ic an gov ernm ent to change their sit ua tion. As Deli siwe Sha bangu says: My story is . . . like, we just ask our gove rnm ent to take care of us. We just tell gove rnm ent: Don’t take us as we’re an im als, we’re hum an be ing[s]. We don’t like to do this job but be cause of pov erty in this coun try we can’t feed us . . . [or] give us whate ve r we need. Sha bangu con structs a col lec tive of sex workers con front ing the South Af ri- can gov ernm ent. She re gards pov erty as one of the rea sons why women be- come sex workers. A sim i lar ar gu ment is brought up by Scar le Ma buz a: I want sex work to be de crim i na lised bec ause in South Afr ica there’s no jobs. . . . Be ing a sex worker is not like you . . . [are] steal ing some one’s money, you grab a bag . . ., no it’s just an agree ment be tween you and your clie nt. If one per ceives co her ence be tween crim in al i sa tion, disc rimi na tion and vi- o lence (as it was stated above), one can un der stand why Am a hle Mush wa- na re gards the dec rim in al is at ion of sex work as freed om: “I am talk ing to gove rnm ent that . . . the gove rnm ent must . . . dec rim i na lise, leg al ise sex workers so that they can be free.” In her film, she add resses the South Af- ri can gove rn ment and dem ands dec rim i na li sa tion of sex workers, sayi ng: “What I want gove rnm ent to do is to cre ate more jobs like build ing some firms. . . . Gov ern ment must build some ho tel so that ev ery one will be safe and sec ure. And gove rnm ent must hear our voices.” She chooses a pict ure of Jac ob Zu ma, pres i dent of South Afr ica, to sym bol ise the South Af ri can gove rn ment. Scarl e Mab uze add resses not onl y Zum a but also the United Nat ions, which she wants to take act ion: “If our presi dent can do somet hing tog ether with the UN, mayb e they treat us with re spect and get ac cess to the law.” Relieving and Liberating In add it ion to prov ok ing other ac tors to take act ion, the women de scribe the telli ng of their stori es in the work shop con text as re lievi ng. Scar le Ma- bu za ex plains: [Tell ing the story is] a big re lief for me, it’s a big re lief be cause what I’ m do ing now is a big se cret, . . . be cause my fam ily, I don’t want to tell them what I’m do- ing; even my friends at home they don’t know. . . . It’s like you’re in a shade or you’re hidi ng yours elf. In the story cir cle the women tell their stor ies to like-minded peo ple who have simi lar ex pe ri ences. The mo ment Gen e sis Nko si tells her story, she feels happy: “I feel happy be cause . . . when you’ve got some thing in side 246 | Sig rid Kan nengi eßer your heart you want even to tell it out, . . . you al ways feel guilty in side your heart but at times if you tell some thing out, you be happy.” Mud iw a Kale ni, who was raped dur ing her job, per ceives the sto ry tell ing as pain re liev ing: “I feel good when I say some thing that’s hap pened to me to some body, it al- ways changes a lot. . . . At least it’s, it’s out of me. . . . I don’t feel much pain.” In the con text of the work shop, the women had the pos si bil ity to speak about their ex pe ri ences with out any risk of disc rim i na tion. The par tic i pants shared their ex pe ri ences and formed a com mu nity of sol i dar ity. Delis iwe Sha bangu states that she wants to learn more about the other par tici pants: “I want to learn more about our lives. . . . I learn more about us, about how good you feel when you’re doi ng this; out side this job we’re do ing now.” She feels part of the group and de clares dur ing the work shop: “I am here to take care of mys elf.” The sem in ar prov ides a sec ure space for the par tic i pants who re peated ly speak about the dan gero us sit ua tion out side. Am a hle Mush wa na even feels as if she was some where else while part ic ip at ing in the sem i nar: “I feel that . . . I’ m . . . some way out side South Af rica.” In the works hop se ing, the par tici pants can speak about their ex- per ie nces with out fear. Tell ing their stor ies with their own voices, many par tic ip ants ex pe ri- ence an emp ow erm ent proc ess. They exp lain that they gain new self-es- teem through the (digi t al) stor yt elli ng. Mud iw a Kalen i says she is not afraid anymore a er hav ing told her story; she learned to speak her mind: “I can say anyt hing, anyt ime.” Mbal i Sil ongo stres ses the im port ance of the sto ryt ell ing: “I can say it, it makes me proud of my self. . . . To be proud of what I am.” Scar le Ma bu za states that she learns to stand up for her self out side of the works hop con text. Ama hle Mush wa na has a sense of free- dom while par tici pati ng in the sem i nar. “I feel as if may be South Af rica[n] sex workers, they are free. The way I talk and the way I do the movie.” South Afr ica for her symb ol ises bond age, disc rim i na tion and crimi n al i sa- tion. On the cont rary, the work shop gives her free dom: “They give us time to think.” This “time to think” also en ables the part ici pants to learn; Mud i- wa Kalen i’s mo tiv a tion for par tic ip at ing is her thirst of knowl edge: “I like to learn ev ery thing that comes on my way. I want to know ev ery thing so that’s why I’ m start ing this [work shop]. I want to get more in for ma tion and knowl edge that I can get from this work shop.” Gain ing more knowl edge is em power ing for her. Media Training and Change The pro duc tion of knowl edge be comes con crete in the me dia train ing. For all of my int er view part ners it is their first time to use a comp uter and the World Wide Web, so ge ing to know how to use these ICTs is one of their big ge st mot iv at ions for taki ng part in the works hop. Some of the women ex press their hopes to re ceive a qual i fi ca tion which en ables them to ap ply for other jobs and get out of sex work, which they de scribe as “not a good job” or “dan gero us”. The sex workers hope for change in their lives, as Digi t al Storytelling to Empower Sex Workers: Warn ing, Relieving and Liberating | 247 Scar le Ma bu za puts it: “Now, I want a be er fu ture, I wish to get a job. . . . I want a be er life.” This is also a mot iv a tion for Joy Bhebhe to par tic i pate in the sem i nar: “[I par tic i pate] be cause I want to change my life, what I am do ing, be cause I’ m not happy.” As med ia traini ng, the work shop sym bol ises a way out of sex work for the part ic i pants. They de scribe an in hi bi tion to ICTs, which they are able to overc ome through the dig it al sto ry tell ing. Mba li Si longo ex plains that she wants to learn “the dig i tal” in the semi n ar bec ause she does not have any poss ib ili ties to do so outs ide the semi n ar. Joy Bhebhe states that the works hop was the be ginn ing of a learni ng proc ess: “I think bec ause I know a li le bit; I think now I’ll carry on to learn lots of things for the com puter unt il I un der stand [the] comp uter.” And Ama hle Mushw an a cann ot put in- to words what she learned reg ard ing the tech ni cal de vices but she stres ses that she was sen si tised re gard ing tech nol ogy, say ing: “My eyes are open now.” Seei ng the work shop as a qual i fic at ion through which the par tic- i pants might get a diff er ent job and quit sex work, the semi nar for them be comes the hope to get out of pros titut ion. But the am bit ion of the sex workers to be come qual ified for other jobs must be seen crit i cal ly: Their use of the com puter and the World Wide Web re mains very basic and most of the par tici pants still need a lot of supp ort from the trainers re gard ing the tech ni cal de vices through the end of the five-day sem i nar. There fore, the work shop can not be seen as a qual i fi ca tion sem i nar pro vid ing the women with skills for diff ere nt jobs. The em po wer- ment the part ici p ants exp er ie nce is more of a psy cho log i cal one – the work- shop does not change their livi ng con di tion or sit ua tion. Conclusion: Digital Storytelling – Dimensions of Empowerment The sex workers par tic i pat ing in the semi nar ex pe ri ence diff er ent mom en- tums of em po wer ment. They de scribe the work shop se ing as a safe place which al lows them to talk about their ex pe ri ences among like-minded peo- ple. The sto ry tell ing it self is re liev ing and li berat ing for them. It is re liev ing as they may openl y talk about their exp er ie nces as sex workers – a situ a tion which is un com mon for them as they usual ly hide their jobs in fear of dis- crim i na tion and stig ma ti za tion; this open ness pro vokes a feel ing of lib er- a tion. One woma n act ua l ly feels that, withi n the work shop con text, she is out side South Af rica. But at the same time, the par tic i pants are very much aware of their sit- u a tion in South Afr ica. There fore, they also use their dig i tal stor ies to, on the one hand, warn others not to go in to sex work, while on the other hand they use their films to ad dress the South Af ric an gov ern ment and presi - dent and de mand an imp rovem ent of their sit ua tion. For the sex workers, im provem ent would mainl y be dec rim i na liz at ion. More over, the women hope that by pub lish ing their stori es, they will re ceive help. 248 | Sig rid Kan nengi eßer Many women par tic i pate be cause they want to learn how to use com- puters and the In ter net, and they hope that with this knowl edge, they would be come qual ified for jobs out side pros titu tion. Even though the rea li sat ion of this hope is un re al is tic, as the five-day work shop does not pro vide com pre hen sive com puter train ing but is more of a “first con tact” ex pe ri ence, the afore men tioned di men sions of em pow erm ent re main. The em po wer ment per ceived by the par tic i pants does not change their job sit ua tion and their role as sex workers. But it changes their iden tities as sex workers, as they gain in self-es teem through the ex pe ri ence of sol i- dari ty and be ing taken ser io usl y. Even though the study I cond ucted does not al low a long-term ana ly s is, as I did not fol low my int er view part ners as they went back to their jobs, it can be stated that the women are em pow- ered at least for the du ra tion of the work shop. References Braet eig, T., 2008. Does It Maer that It’s Digital? In: K. Lund by, ed.: Dig i- tal Storytelling, Mediatized Stories. New York: Pet er Lang, pp. 271–284. Center for Digital Storytelling, n. d. Digi t al Story [onl ine]. Availa ble at: [Ac cessed on 13 Oc to ber 2011]. Co ul dry, N., 2008. Dig i tal Storytelling, Me dia Research and Democracy: Con cept ual Choices and Alternative Futures. In: K. Lund by, ed. Me di- at ized Stories. Self-repr e sen ta tion in New Med ia. New York: Pe ter Lang, pp. 41–60. Hartl ey, J. and McW il liam, K., 2009. Com pu ta tional Power Meets Human Contact. In: J. Hart ley and K. McW ill iam, eds. Story Circle. Digi tal Sto- rytelling Around the World. Mal den: Wi ley-Black well, pp. 3–15. Hertzb erg, B. and Lund by, K., 2008. Au to bi og raphy and ass umed Authen- ticity in Digital Storytelling. In: K. Lund by, ed. Me di at ized Stories. Self- rep re sent at ion in New Me dia. New York: Pe ter Lang, pp. 105–222. La lu, V., 2007. Con side ri ng de crim in al iz at ion of sex work as a health issue. The Experience of SWEAT [on line]. Avail able at: [Ac cessed on 4 May 2010]. Lam bert, J., 2009. Where it all Started: The Center for Digital Storytelling in Cali forn ia. In: J. Hart ley and K. Mc Wil liam, eds. Story Circle. Dig it al Storytelling Around the World. Mal den: Wi ley-Black well, pp. 79–90. Lundy, K., 2008a. Digi t al Storytelling, Mediatized Stories. In: K. Lundb y, ed. Me di at ized Stories. Self-rep re sen ta tion in New Me dia. New York: Pe ter Lang, pp. 1–20. Lund by K. (2008b): Me di at ized Stories. Self-repr e sent at ion in New Med ia. New York: Pe ter Lang. Mas sawe, D., 2010. Ad vo cat ing for Sex Workers’ Rights [on line]. Avail able at: [Ac cessed on 04 May 2010]. Dig it al Storytelling to Empower Sex Workers: Warn ing, Relieving and Liberating | 249 McW ill iam, K., 2009. The Global Diffusion of a Community Me dia Practice: Dig i tal Storytelling Online. In: J. Hart ley and K. McW il liam, eds. Story Circle. Dig i tal Storytelling Around the World. Mal den: Wi ley-Black well, pp. 37–76. Reed, A. 2010. “Don’t keep it to your self!“: Dig i tal Storytelling with South Af ri can Youth. In: In tern a tion al Journ al of Med ia, Technology and Lifelong Learning 6, Feb ru ary 2010. Avail able at: [Acc essed on 29 July 2010]. Strauss, A. L. and Cor bin, J. M. 1996. Grounded Theory: Grund la gen qual i ta ti- ver So zialf ors chung. Wein heim: Beltz. Suth er land, C., 2010. Sex work in South Af rica – An ar gu ment for Decrimi- nalisation [on line]. Avail able at: [Ac cessed on 16 June 2010]. SWEAT, 2010. World Cup and HIV: 2010 World Cup and Decriminalis- ing the Sex Trade South Af rica Projects [on line]. Avail able at: [Ac- cessed on 04 May 2010]. SWEAT, 2006a. Diff ere nt Legal Models for the Sex Work In dust ry [onl ine]. Avail able at: [Ac cessed on 04 May 2010]. SWEAT, 2006b. The Current Context of Sex Work in South Afr ica [on line]. Avail able at: hp://www.sweat.org.za/in dex.php?option=com_con- tent&view=ar ti cle&id=13:the-curr ent-con text-of-sex-work-in-south- afr i ca&ca tid=4:fact-sheets, [Acc essed on 04 May 2010]. WHO, 2005. Vi ol ence against sex workers and HIV pre vent ion [on line]. Availa ble at: [Ac- cessed on 4 May 2010]. Wom en’sNet, n. d. In tro duc tion to Wom en’sNet [on line]. Avail able at: [Ac cessed on 29 Feb rua ry 2012]. Author in ter views with: Scar le Mab u za, 24 Feb ru ary 2010 Am a hle Mush wan a, 26 Febr u ary 2010 Joy Bhebhe, 25 Feb ru ary 2010 Mba li Si longo, 26 Feb ru ary 2010 Deli siwe Shab angu, 25 Feb ru ary 2010 Gen es is Nko si, 24 Feb ru ary 2010 Mu di wa Kale ni, 24 Feb rua ry 2010 All in ter views were con ducted in Joh an nes burg, South Af rica. The names of the par tic i pants have been changed for their pro tec tion. a gogy of Hope: Fe mi nist Zines Ped a gogy of Hope: Fem i nist Zines Ali son Piep meier But you can do ev ery thing. That’s what I think. Our lives are long and full and if we love and work and want, we can do it all. everything ev ery thing. even more than we are able to imag ine. Cin dy Crabb, Do ris #24 (2007) Introduction: Feminist zines In an ess ay called “Ohio” in Do ris #24, fe mi nist zine cre a tor Cin dy Crabb (USA) mu ses on a num ber of things – de ter min ing a tur tle’s age from the rings on its shell, change in her life over the years, how she has come to rec ons ider her own fears and ass ump tions, and the tools for so cial just ice work that she’s as sem bled from groups she’s been in volved with and from her own read ing. It’s not an es say with a lin ear tra jec tory; in stead, it’s a kind of rhi zo ma tic col lage of thoughts, with links that work in mul ti ple di rec- tions. The es say con sists of type wri en and hand wri en text sur rounded by and in ters persed with small ill ust rat ions, comic strips, and hand-drawn graph ics like hearts, stars, ar rows, and text boxes. Grrrl zines are in for- mal pub li ca tions, o en made by hand in di vid ual ly or in small groups, and “Ohio” is a rep re sen ta tive grrrl zine piece – seemi ng ly cha otic but ul ti mate- ly thought ful, rich, and mul ti va lent. At the end of the es say, Crabb cites a friend of a friend who warns, “you can’t do ev ery thing you dream of. At some point you need to nar row it down, pri or i tize.” Crabb re sponds by break ing from prose int o a poe tic struc ture and off er ing a hope ful as ser- tion, cited in the ep i graph to this es say, about her own and the readers’ abili ty to, in fact, do eve ryt hing, “even more than we are able to imag ine” (2007: 17). This typew ri en statem ent, framed with two small, hand-drawn hearts, may not imm e di ate ly seem to be mak ing a po lit i cal in ter ven tion. How ev er, this em phatic de cla rat ion of pos si bil ity rep re sents one kind of po lit i cal work grrrl zines can do. When she sugg ests that “we can do it all,” Crabb off ers a ped a gogy of hope. Ped a gogy of Hope: Fe min ist Zines | 251 In this ess ay, I cons ider the cult ur al and pol iti cal work that zines like Do ris do, the kinds of int erv ent ions they make in to the world around them. These in terv en tions are hope ful; in deed, they func tion as peda gogies of hope, show ing the zines’ readers ways to re sist the cul ture of dom i na tion. This es say’s case study is Do ris, a zine that ex hib its a new kind of ac tiv- ism emp ha siz ing self-re flec tion and be com ing fully hu man – chang ing the sub ject-po si tion of the reader and there by off er ing a model of in ter ven tion unique ly suited for this cul tu ral mo ment. Dor is mod els a hope ful, re sist ant sub jec tiv ity – what I term a “ped a gogy of imag i na tion” – and in vites its readers to try it on. This ped a gogy is doi ng po lit ic al work. Theoretical context The pol it i cal work that grrrl zines do may not be im me dia te ly ob vi ous be cause this work doesn’t fit with mod els of tra di tional po lit i cal en gage- ment. It doesn’t fit for sev er al rea sons: bec ause grrrl zines are gen erall y act ing at the level of the sym bolic ord er ra ther than at the level of in sti tu- tional change, be cause they op er ate out of per sonal modes of exp res sion, and be cause they mo bi lize small-scale em bodied com mu nities ra ther than large-scale voti ng blocs. Zine crea t ors have de vel oped these modes of en- gage ment in part be cause they see that zines are in ter ven ing in a deep ly cyn i cal cul ture. The last twenty years have been a diffi cult time for act iv ists and those con cerned with soc ial change. Girls’ stud ies schola r Anita Har ris de scribes the late twen tieth cen tury – a pe riod start ing with the Reagan era, and stretchi ng through 9/11 and bey ond – in terms of “the forces of frag ment a- tion and decol lec ti vi za tion that chara c teri ze soc ial and po lit i cal life in late mod ern ity” (2007: 1). Fem i nist schola r bell hooks des cribes this mom ent usi ng the term “do mina tor cult ure,” mean ing a cul ture in which the pol i- tics of hi er ar chy and power over others are prev al ent. She arg ues, “A pro- found cyn i cism is at the core of do mina tor cul ture wher ev er it pre vails in the world” (2003: 11). Ind eed, this wides pread cyni c ism – which schola rs have called “the sin gle most press ing chall enge fac ing Amer ic an dem oc- racy to day” – has emerged at this part ic ul ar his tor i cal junct ure bec ause of the conv erg ence of a backl ash against the soc ial just ice movem ents of the 1960s and 70s and a late-cap i tal ist, neol ib eral, cons ump tion-orie nted cul- tur al clim ate (Goldf arb 1999: 1). This clim ate, exp lains hooks, as sures us that things can’t ev er be sub stan tial ly be er than they are right now, that pri vate sec tor in dus tries will solve all our prob lems, and that if we buy the right prod uct, we’ll feel much be er. She calls this phe nom e non “the ped a- gogy of domi n at ion” (hooks 2003: 11). This peda g ogy teaches that since the world of con sumer cap i tali sm will solve our prob lems, we have no ac tion to take. We can ei ther view our selves as be ing in the best pos sible po sit ion or, as zine cre a tor Sarah McCar ry puts it in a 2004 issue of her zine Glos so la- lia, we can see our selves as be ing “comp lete ly, to tall y fucked and things are not go ing to get be er” (2004: 30). Eit her view point en gen ders ap athy and resi gn a tion, leadi ng to with drawal from eff orts at change. 252 | Alis on Piep meier Failu re of imag i na tion seems in te gral to this phen om e non: hope and a vi sion of a be er fut ure can come to seem alm ost pat hetica lly naïve. In this way, cyn i cism forec loses so cial jus tice ac tiv ism; it func tions to make all forms of chal lenge to the status quo seem hope less in the sense that many of us are un able to imag ine some thing be er, or to imag ine that be er thing ac tu all y comi ng in to bei ng. This transl ates in to a cult u ral mom ent in which re sis tance seems lim ited or im pos sible. Fe mi nist the ory and eff orts at so cial change, then, can app ear com plete ly out dated, ir rel e vant, or in ad e quate at the very time when they are most nec es sary. This is the world in which grrrl zines and third wave fem in ism emerged, and it’s the world in which they’re int er ven ing. Be cause of this, grrrl zines like Do ris are uniquel y sit u- ated to awaken outr age and – perh aps more cruc iall y – imag i na tion, and in so do ing en act what hooks and others have called for: pub lic peda gogies of hope. hooks uses the term “ped ag ogy of hope” to des cribe the cre a tion of hope and pos si bil ity with in the realm of the class room, but this is a con cept with vi a bil ity far be yond lit eral pe da gog i cal spaces; in deed, I am adopt ing her term and broadeni ng it to enc omp ass the pol iti c al work of grrrl zines. Peda gogies of hope – man i fested in a va riety of ways in grrrl zines – func- tion as small-scale acts of res ist ance. By modeling pro cess, act ive criti c ism, and imag i na tion, grrrl zines make po lit i cal in ter ven tions tar geted to this late-cap it al ist cyn ic al cul ture. I’ve found a use ful the o ret ic al frame work for as sessi ng this new par a- digm of ac tiv ism in the work of com mu nic a tion schol ar Cle men cia Ro dri- guez. Rod ri guez off ers a for mu la tion of the work done by what she calls “cit i zens’ me dia” that iden tifies this work as ex plic it ly po lit i cal. Al though she fo cuses on elec tronic me dia, part ic u lar ly tele vi sion and ra dio, zines do fit un der the ru bric of citi z ens’ med ia, a term she uses be cause it “imp lies first that a col lec tiv ity is en act ing its cit i zen ship by ac tive ly in ter ven ing and trans form ing the es tab lished me dia scape; seco nd, that these med ia are con- test ing so cial codes, le git im ized iden tities, and in sti tu tion al ized so cial re- la tions; and third, that these com mu ni ca tion prac tices are em power ing the com mu nity in volved, to the point where these trans for ma tions and changes are poss ible” (2001: 20). As this des cript ion im plies, she sees citi z ens’ med ia as do ing sig nifi cant po lit i cal work be cause “demo cratic strug gles have to be und ers tood as pro cesses of change that also inc lude pract ices of dis sent in the realm of the sym bolic” (2001: 20). She notes that some of the unique fea tures of cit i zens’ me dia are “blur red bound aries bet ween sender and re ceiver, closen ess to the au di ence’s cul tu ral codes, po lit i cal id io syn crasies, and non com merc ial goals” (2001: 47) – all char ac teri s tics of zines. While a cyni c al cul ture – and one a uned to old-par ad igm pol i tics – would sugg est that zines are not cre at ing so cial change, Rod ri guez pre sents an al ter na tive model for as sessm ent, one that emp ha sizes po lit i cal in ten- tions ra ther than pol iti cal eff ects: “While tra di tional schol ars hip weighed al ter na tive me dia by their ca pac ity to al ter the em pire of me dia meg a liths, I sug gest re di rect ing our fo cus to un der stand ing how cit i zens’ me dia ac ti- vate subt le proc esses of fract ure in the so cial, cult u ral, and power spheres of ev ery day life” (2001: xiv). In deed, she ar gues for a new way of un der- Ped a gogy of Hope: Fe mi nist Zines | 253 stand ing the work of these me dia – not exp ecti ng them to erad i cate corp o- rate cul ture, for in stance, but, in stead, rec og niz ing the lo cal, small-scale, ephem eral ways that they fost er and propa gate de moc racy. Ro dri guez sug- gests viewi ng dem ocr acy not as an endp oint but as a proc ess, somet hing or ganic and in mo tion. She doesn’t fig ure tran sience and lim ited reach as au to matic weak ness es but, ins tead, as comp o nents of a new act iv ist par a- digm (2001: 22). Cit i zens’ me dia does po lit i cal work be cause it al ters power struc tures by strengthen ing in di vid ual sub jec tiv ities. This is the work that grrrl zines are do ing. They break away from lin ear mod els, they off er tools for awaken ing out rage and en gag ing in pro test, and they in vite readers to step in to their own cit i zen ship through ped a- gogies of imagi na tion. Be cause of the sorts of lin ear ex pec ta tions schol ars have had of alt er na tive me dia and act ivi st work more broadl y, the res is- tance and po liti cal in ter ven tions of grrrl zines (and third wave fem in ists) have been hard for many schola rs to rec og nize, but by rec og niz ing the do- mina t or cult ure and ref rami ng what it means to be po lit i cal, these in ter ven- tions be come visi ble. The transformative potential of imagination: A case study of Doris Do ris is a long-runn ing publ ic at ion, in exi st ence since 1991, and it’s all zine, in terms of phil os o phy, aes thetic, and dis trib u tion. Do ris is filled with cut-and-pasted type wri en and hand wri en nar ra tives, along with small, friend ly stick-fig ure car toons of Crabb and her dog, Anna. The zine isn’t con tent-driven; as with many grrrl zines, her con tent varies de pend ing on what she’s thinki ng about. The zine add resses topics such as vi ol ence Do ris No. 27 (2009) 254 | Alis on Piep meier Dor is No. 27 (2009), p. 2 against women, env ir on ment al ism, an arch ism, bike rid ing, and rep ro duc- tive rights, alm ost all of them pre sented in terms of per sonal stori es and musi ngs. But all of the zine is inf used with Crabb’s own the o riz ing about ac tiv ism and re sis tance and what they might look like in the curr ent cul- tu ral mo ment. Alt hough the zine started small, with on ly a few hun dred printed in 1991, in the last seve ra l years Crabb es ti mates her cir cu la tion to be around 3,000 zines per issue, sold through on line dist ros as well as through the tra di tional zine chan nels of in dep en dent book and mu sic stores and di rect mail ord er from Crabb hers elf. The em pha s is in Do ris is on the transf or ma- tive po ten tial of imag i nat ion. In some ways it reads like a twenty-one-year me di ta tion on the pos si bil ity of in di vid uals cre at ing so cial change. Even in the very early days of the zine, Crabb was grap pling with what it meant to a empt soc ial change in a deep ly cyn i cal cult ure. She iden tified Ped ag ogy of Hope: Fe mi nist Zines | 255 Dor is No. 27 (2009) p. 3 her zine as a space that would re sist the cyni c al lure of the easy ans wer and would strive for comp lex ity: And what I love best is the writers who emb race comp lex ity & try to make sence [sic] of it. It makes me feel like there’s so many more poss ib il ities for fund am en- tal soc ial change when I’ m looki ng at how comp lex eve ryt hing is, and tryi ng to fit it all tog ether. Bec ause simp lify ing seems like a huge bori ng trap to me & I feel sur rounded by it; by peo ple try ing to make strug gle un der stan dable by maki ng it sim ple , like peo ple suck and should all die, like men suck and they should all die, like rich peop le suck and they should all die. It is not that easy (2005: 19). This seems to me to be a found a tional as sump tion on which Do ris op er- ates, that maki ng things simp le isn’t the an swer to soc ial change. Ind eed, this eff ort at simp lici ty is cyni cal, in part be cause it is so firm ly rooted in a con cep tion of pol i tics be gin ning and end ing with the ind iv idu al: if I can’t 256 | Alis on Piep meier Dor is No. 27 (2009), p. 12 change it, or imagi ne the change easil y, then change is imp os sible. And of course, this sense that change is imp oss ible is at the heart of a cyni c al, do- mina tor cult ure. Crabb strives to capt ure the comp lex ities of hu man life, and ra ther than find ing these com plex ities daunt ing, she finds them hope- ful, pro duc tive. Alt hough Crabb cert ainl y sugg ests act ions to her readers, as in Dor is #15 where she off ers an ext ens ive guide on how to deal with dep res sion, Do ris is not a zine that is pro pel led by spe cific how-to tips for cul tu ral change. In stead, Crabb cre ates the zine to be a space that in vites her readers to think and feel deep ly and care ful ly – and in comp lex ways – about the world and their place in it. She ex plained to me, “I think there is some thing about modeling a deep self-refl ect ion, a strong des ire for real emo tion and real hon est close ness, that helps peo ple to do this in their lives – coun terb al- ances the mess ages that tell them to stay shall ow and safe” (2007, per sonal Ped a gogy of Hope: Fe mi nist Zines | 257 cor re spon dence). She is par tic u lar ly crit i cal of the con sumer cul ture that en cour ages peo ple to go for the quick fix, the easy an swer, or to think on ly in terms of their in di vid ual needs. In her zine, she con sis tent ly showc ases her own emo tional terr ain, lets her readers see ins ide her own eff orts at pro cess ing and mak ing sense of the world. Read ing the zine over a num ber of years lets you see Crabb’s long-term emo tional jour ney. The zine has both doc u mented and been part of Crabb’s own heal ing pro cess. More than this, though, what Crabb is do- ing in Do ris is in vit ing her readers to have their own emo tional ex pe ri ence. She told me that she tries to make each issue of Do ris con tain a full range of hu man emot ions so that the zine can prov ide a kind of emot ional jour ney for the reader. I’ m int rigued with her idea of “modeling a deep self-refl ec tion,” be cause I do see this as both res is tant and in ter ven tion ist, and yet not in ways that we might rec og nize if we’re look ing for old-par a digm act iv ism. Ind eed, this might not fit many peop le’s defi nit ion of “pol iti c al” work at all. For Crabb, how ev er, this is ex plic it ly po lit i cal, a point of view she has de vel oped more fully in re cent years. In her “Ohio” es say (2007), she writes, “I don’t think our life style choices are in and of thems elves po lit i cal. The po lit i cal part is wheth er our lifes tyle choices help us to bec ome more hu man. If they help us feel a sense of per sonal in teg rity, and if that in teg rity gives us the power to fight fur ther, to imag ine deep er, to want more” (2007: 5). For Crabb, then, the po liti c al is what enc oura ges us to bec ome more fully hum an. She is int ere sted in calli ng her readers back to their own hu- man in teg rity, a qual ity she be lieves is not nur tured in the cul ture at large, but which is nec es sary for the work of chang ing the world. And it’s im por- tant to see that she fig ures this work of world change not on ly in terms of “fight[ing] fur ther” but in terms of imag i na tion and des ire. In deed, so cial just ice ac tiv ists like Paulo Freire have ar gued that imagi na tion and the be- lief in change are cruc ial comp o nents of any soc ial just ice eff orts. Freire ar gues, “In ord er for the opp ressed to be able to wage the strug gle for their lib er a tion, they must per ceive the re ali ty of op press ion not as a closed world from which there is no ex it, but as a limi ti ng situ a t ion which they can transf orm” (1970: 31). It’s as if Crabb is tak ing the zine conc ept of em- u lat ion to a diff er ent level: not onl y does she in vite her readers to emu late the pro duc tion of the zine its elf by crea ti ng a mat er ial obj ect with “all its seams showi ng,” but she also in vites them to em u late her pro cess of self- re flec tion, be cause she shows all the seams there, as well. You could pick up al most any Do ris zine and find this em pha s is on be- com ing more fully hu man – an em pha s is that Crabb con veys with words and im agery. For in stance, in Do ris #20 (2002), Crabb dis cusses the death of her moth er and the friend who came to ease her through her numb ness. Through these per sonal remi nisc ences, she out lines her pro cess of heal ing. She de scribes the full hu man con nec tion she feels with her friend, a con nec- tion that’s mani f ested by them shari ng stori es with each other, be ginn ing when the friend says, “tell me what you haven’t told.” At the bo om of this page, Crabb draws a box with a sim plified, ab stracted pic ture of a heart in 258 | Alis on Piepm eier a rib cage with the capt ion, “It is a shock to my sys tem that I have not felt this in so long, and I can’t be lieve all I have com pro mised and se led for” (2002: n. p.) Furt her on in this story she exp lains, “This is what I think is the cra zy thing. I can dream with her, and I can be lieve these dreams are real and not just de lu sion, and to gether we could prob ably make them hap pen” (2002: n. p.). Again, even in the con text of disc ussi ng her own heali ng proc ess, her em phas is is on dream ing, imagi ni ng. Do ris inv ites readers to imagi ne more, to all ow their sense of self to be transf ormed. The zine mod els an imag i na tive pro cess and there fore off ers what I am call ing a ped a gogy of imag i na tion. Pedagogy of imagination: political activism in Doris It’s a fas ci nat ing form of act iv ism, one that might be de scribed in terms of mi cro po li tics, a po lit i cal ap proach that em pha sizes in di vid ual ac tions and choices made with in a fe mi nist in ter pre tive framew ork (Budg eon, 2001: 20). Cer tain ly this is part of what’s go ing on in Do ris: Crabb has de vel oped an exp lic it ly fe min ist frame work, one which is broad-based and hist or i cal ly in formed. She has stud ied the his tory of fem in ism along with the his tory of other soc ial jus tice move ments, and she’s been in volved in a num ber of po- lit ic al or ga niz at ions. She in cor po rates these ideas int o her zine through her own per sonal nar ra tive. Over the years that she’s pro duced Do ris, Crabb has be come in creas ing ly con scious of the emo tional ly sen sit ive in ter ven- tions she’s mak ing through her zine. Her peda gogy of imag in at ion is not an un con scious or acc i den tal pro cess. Unl ike some grrrl zin est ers, Crabb is confi d ent that her zine has made a diff ere nce in the world. Cor res pon dence that Crabb re ceives from readers con firms for her that her zine has an eff ect. For in stance, in one le er which Crabb char ac ter izes as typ i cal, a wom an ex plains, “I think it’s so im por tant for women to see that there is an emp owe red net work of other amazi ng women out there. We just have to find and sup port each other. Please know you have my supp ort” (2007, pers onal cor re spon dence). Do ris helped to fa cil i tate a real hu man con nec tion be tween Crabb and this reader, a con- nect ion that helped the reader to feel supp orted and in spired her to want to con vey that same sense of sup port to Crabb in a le er. Crabb ex plained that this sort of re sponse is com mon: “I get a lot of mail from peo ple who I know per sonal ly it has affected . . .. I feel like it’s helped some peo ple not kill thems elves. It’s helped me not to kill mys elf, and I think it does help. I’ m sure other zines are like that, too. I know Snarl a helped me. I think it helps peo ple to not just go where they’re told to go. Zines help a lot of peo- ple to ex plore more op tions in their life, both emot ionall y and phys i cal ly” (2007, per sonal int er view). In other words, Crabb sees Dor is as a zine with a pe da gog i cal eff ect, the eff ect of help ing peo ple “to ex plore more op tions in their life.” This is clear- ly an im por tant issue for Crabb, one that serves as a kind of frame work for her zine. She states this idea as well in an early issue of Dor is: Ped a gogy of Hope: Fe min ist Zines | 259 I have this strong em pathy for the way peo ple strugg le and the ways they get by in this fucked up world. I won der all the time about what peo ple would be do ing if they were pre sented with op tions that they didn’t nor mal ly see. How they would be livi ng and rel ati ng to eachother [sic] and looki ng at the world and what they wanted, if there were alt ern at ives that were real and strong (2005: 105). She’s fasc i nated with the opt ions peo ple “[don’t] nor mal ly see,” with real alt ern at ives, and she sees her zine as space that can make those opt ions vis- ible and thereb y teach peo ple to hope. Zines like Do ris can change power struc tures by giv ing in di vid uals a sense of their own power, help ing peo- ple “not just go where they’re told to go.” This is what it means to off er a ped a gogy of imag in a tion. Zines o en ope ra te in the tiny spaces in main stream cult ure, a not ion which Crabb her self voices in Dor is #24: “I needed to ex per i ence a world cre ated in the cracks and fiss ures and forg o en places” (2007: 8). This level of po lit i cal op er a tion can have very tang ible in di vid ual eff ects, such as en- cour ag ing some one not to comm it sui cide. And it can also have broade r reach ing eff ects that are hard er to track but no less real and sig nifi cant, eff ects such as prom ot ing full hum an ity and cit i zen ship and en cour agi ng readers to feel that they be long in the world, that they have the right to be there and that they can make a diff er ence. These eff ects are a nec es sary com po nent of prop a gat ing de moc racy, which is why I ar gue that the ped a- gogy of imag i na tion is, in fact, a new form of po lit i cal en gage ment. What does it mean to have cult ur al int er ven tions that are made up of such things – of em pathy, imag i na tion, pos sib il ity, hu man con nec tion? This is not what we’re used to. This doesn’t look like act ivi sm to many of us. And yet it’s a kind of ac tiv ism sen si tive ly a uned to this cul tu ral mo ment. In Ste phen Dun combe’s most re cent book, Dream: Re-Imag in ing Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy (2007), he calls for just this sort of thing, a set of ac tiv ist in terv en tions that not on ly rely on the ra tio nal and well-ar gued but that also tap in to our hu man need for somet hing more, which he en com- passes in the um brella term “spec ta cle.” Ac cord ing to Dun combe, spec ta cle is “a way of mak ing an ar gu ment. Not through app eals to rea son, ra tion- ali ty, and self-evid ent truth, but ins tead through story and myth, fears and des ire, imag i na tion and fan tasy. It rea l izes what re al ity can not repr e sent. It is the an i ma tion of an ab strac tion, a trans for ma tion from ideal to ex pres- sion. Spect a cle is a dream on dis play” (2007: 30). This, then, is what I ar gue that Crabb achieves in each issue of Do ris. Do ris is, in some senses, a dream on disp lay. She imagi nes a world in which peo ple are al lowed to achieve their full hu man ity, and she off ers glimpses of that world. She in vites her reader to imag ine with her, to feel what she is feeli ng. And be cause she has the zine me dium to work with, with her own hand writ ing and the li le pic tures of Anna the dog, be cause she en ters the reader’s home and hands, she taps in to the po ten tial of the emb odied com mun ity. The zine me dium inv ites the reader to let her guard down, and Crabb steps in to that small space, that fiss ure, where she can off er a ped a gogy of hope. 260 | Alis on Piep meier I don’t mean to sug gest that Do ris is a zine that off ers mindl ess up li. Over the years Crabb has dis cussed horr ible pain that she’s suff ered – and she makes that pain vis ceral ly real. She disc usses rape, abort ion, sex u al ha rass ment, the death of peo ple she couldn’t bear to lose. And she dis cusses the larger cul tur al traumas of the first and seco nd Gulf Wars, the state-sanct ioned murd ers of in dig e nous peop le in South Amer ica, and the halted his tory of union or ga- nizi ng in the U. S. But rat her than frami ng these iss ues by res orti ng to easy, fa mil iar, cyn ic al nar ra tives, she frames them in terms of hope: Do you be lieve in happy endi ngs? Bec ause somet imes they do hap pen. Some- thing in side shis, some thing outs ide comes to gether, and your fight be comes more purp osef ul, your rest bec omes act u al ly restf ul, your hurt bec omes some- thing you can bear, and your happ i ness be comes somet hing that shines out with ease, not in light ning manic bursts that fill and then drain you, but some thing else, some thing stead y, somet hing you can al most trust to stay there (2005: 308). In fact, Crabb’s zine seems to op er ate with in the kind of act ivi st loc a tion bell hooks de scribes in Yearn ing: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics (1990), a loc at ion of res ist ant marg in ali ty that all ows for a new sort of sub jec tiv ity. hooks exp lains: “We come to this space through suff er ing and pain, through strugg le. We know strugg le to be that which pleas ures, del ights, and fulfills de sire. We are trans formed, in di vid ual ly, col lec tive ly, as we make rad i cal cre a tive space which affi rms and sust ains our subj ect ivi ty, which gives us a new loc a tion from which to ar tic u late our sense of the world” (1990: 153). Crabb hers elf is a wom an who’s lived much of her ad ult life – the time that she’s been pro duc ing Do ris – on the mar gins of main stream so ci ety. She has lived in small rad i cal col lect ives in such places as Port land, Or e gon, and Ashe ville, North Caro lina. She’s lived in tran sit and has spent time in jail. She’s made money at var i ous times through sub sis tence farm ing, pub lic as sist ance, and worki ng re tail jobs. When I vis ited with her in July 2007 in Ashe ville, she was sewi ng funky skirts and cont ribu ti ng to an org anic bread bak ing co op er a tive. These life style choices of in ten tional mar gi nal- ity have per haps helped her to sust ain the kind of “radi cal cre a tive space” hooks de scribes, a space that al lows her – in the pages of Do ris – to the o rize so cial change and inv ite her readers to do the same. In my book Girl Zines (2009) I dis cussed peop le’s mo ti va tion for cre at ing a zine. Peo ple o en say they do their zine be cause it’s fun – “tac til ey” fun, fun to ex press them selves, and to bec ome part of a comm un ity. Bey ond this I sugg est that grrrl zines are o en tap ping int o the pleas ures of soc ial change eff orts. Chang ing cul ture is hard; as hooks says, it’s strug gle. I’ve wri en else where about the work inv olved: “In this era of ins tant grat i fi ca- tion, we don’t hear much about com mi ing our selves to a diffi cult strug gle, and yet this must be the guid ing phi los o phy of fe mi nist con sciousn ess in the twenty-first cen tury” (2003: 19). Ber nice John son Reagon (1983) ar tic u- lates the vis ceral chal lenges of so cial jus tice work par tic u lar ly clear ly when she writes, “I feel as if I’ m gon na keel over any minu te and die. That is of- ten what it feels like if you’re real ly do ing co ali tion work. Most of the time Ped a gogy of Hope: Fe min ist Zines | 261 you feel threatened to the core and if you don’t, you’re not reall y doi ng no coa lesci ng” (n. p.) Com mi ing our selves to a diffi cult chall enge, one that’s po ten tial ly pain ful and al most cer tain ly go ing to ex pe ri ence more set backs than succ ess es, is not the pre vail ing ethos of this cul tu ral mo ment. Johns on Reagon’s words seem daunti ng. And yet these zi nes ters are ex press ing the joy of the strug gle, what hooks de scribes as “that which plea sures, de lights, and fulfills de sire.” Crabb says again and again, through out the fi een years of Do ris, that not try ing to change the world would be bor ing. Other zines de scribe the plea- sures of strug gle, as well. Is sues of Bitch re peated ly couch the pub li cat ion’s eff orts at so cial change in terms of en joy ment, as in a 2008 ed i tors’ le er that ex plained, “As al ways, we’ve got far more ques tions than an swers in this issue, but pu ing it to gether was more about fun than frus tra tion” (2008: 5). In Green zine Crist y Road des cribes her heart as “a mus cle that bloss omed by way of movem ent ra ther than cont ent ment” and voices the imp or tance of comm u nity: “The re al i za tion that kin dled my im pulse is the one that said I wasn’t alone in this life long quest. That quest about hope and an agenda that went be yond a radi c al clic hé” (2004: n. p.). Simi l arl y, zine cre a tor Laur en Jade Mar tin writes, “There is a rush, a cer tain kind of eu pho ria (way be er than drugs, I’ m sure) that comes with po lit i cal work and org an izi ng . . . eve ry time I hear a dom es tic vi o lence sur viv or as sert in a work shop or a sup port group or on the hot line that she has a right to be safe and free from vi ol ence, I get a shiver of hope down my back” (2002: 13). This is yet another way that grrrl zines can en act a peda gogy of hope, by dem on strat ing the sat is fac tion of in volve ment. Crabb told me, “When I look at my friends’ lives, who don’t have any hope and who are cyn i cal, they seem to have not very happy lives. May be they do fun stuff a lot, but they don’t seem very ful fil led, and I feel like work ing for so cial change is real ly ful fil ling. It can be not very ful fil ling, but you can find ways to make it su per ful fil ling, and then that gives hope, even in a hope less sit u a tion” (2007). Zine maki ng is one of the fulfi ll ing ways that some girls and women have found to “give hope, even in a hope less sit u a tion.” Grrrl zines pro vide hope not onl y to the maker but also to the reader. This is one com pon ent of zines’ em bodied com mu nity, their abil ity to transm it the cor po re al ex- pe ri ence of hope ful ness and the pleas ures of res ist ing the res ig na tion of a cyn i cal cul ture. To turn to Cherríe Mo rag a’s ideas from This Bridge Called My Back, a foun da tion for all so cial jus tice work must be the be lief “that we have the power to ac tu al ly trans form our ex pe ri ence, change our lives, save our lives” (1981: xviii). This “faith of ac tiv ists” un der lies, to greater or lesser ex tents, all grrrl zines. No ma er how pes si mis tic or cyn i cal the sub ject ma er of the zine is, the fact that the zine ex ists – that the cre a tor felt mo ti- vated to take ac tion, to pro duce this artifact and share it with others in what can bec ome an emb odied com mu nity – gives ev i dence of hope. Many grrrl zines, like Do ris, have made it their busi ness to propa g ate that hope and teach others to be hope ful, as well. 262 | Alis on Piep meier Conclusion: Change is possible In my init ial as sessm ents of grrrl zines, I found mys elf want ing to make them fit ex isti ng po lit ic al mod els, in or der to prove their va lid ity. I wanted to show that they aff ected zi nest ers’ and readers’ en gagem ent in po liti cal prot est, that they en cour aged vot ing, or that they helped de crease the pre- va lence of eat ing dis or ders or helped spread aware ness of emer gency con- trac ept ion. And while I still think it would be int ere sti ng to know to what ex tent these things are true, I’ve come to feel that the po lit i cal work of grrrl zines is more sub tle and diff ere nt ly re sis tant than my earl ier line of ques- tion ing all owed me to see. What I’ m in ter ested in now are these new modes of doi ng poli tics, these mi cro po li ti cal ped a gogies that op er ate in the fis sures and for go en places, that off er dreams on disp lay, that pro voke outr age, that in vite all kinds of em u la tion. View ing grrrl zines in this way not on ly makes their in terv en- tions more visi ble and valu able, but it also gives a frame work for eval ua t- ing the larger world of third wave femi ni sm (see Not My Mother’s Sister, Third Wave Agenda, Listen Up, and Catch ing a Wave for furt her in for ma tion about third wave femi ni sm), as well. These zines bec ome case studi es that ma te ri al ize the ar gu ments that third wave schola rs and girls’ stud ies schol- ars have been maki ng, arg um ents about girls’ and women’s agency, and about what it means to res ist in the cur rent cul tu ral mo ment. Grrrl zines dem on strate the in ter pe ne tra tion of comp lic ity and re sis tance; they are spaces to try out mech a nisms for doi ng things diff er entl y – while still maki ng use of the ephem era of the main stream cul ture. They dem ons trate the proc ess, the missed a empts as well as the suc cesse s. They aren’t the magic so lu tion to soc ial change eff orts; ins tead, they are small, inc om plete a empts, mi crop ol it i cal. They func tion in a diff er ent way than main stream me dia and than pre vi ous soc ial jus tice eff orts. In deed, my work with these zines has helped me to un der stand one of the cen tral par a dox es of third wave fem in- ism: the cont ra dic tion bet ween the em pha si s on the per sonal and int i mate on the one hand, and the need for broad er col lec tive ac tion on the other hand. In some ways grrrl zines merge the two: they are clear ly int im ate, per sonal artifacts, and they cre ate emb odied com mu nities. But these aren’t com mu- nities that be come large pro test groups or vot ing blocs. They are com mu nities that op er ate in the cracks and fiss ures. They show that change is still poss ible – “even more than we are able to imag ine.” References Bud geon, S., 2001. Emerg ent Feminist(?) Iden tities: Young Women and the Practice of Mi cro po li tics. The Eu ro pean Jour nal of Women’s Studies 8.1. Crabb, C., 2002. Dor is #20. Ashe ville, NC: self-publ ished. Crabb, C., 2007. Do ris #24. Ashe ville, NC: self-pub lished. Crabb, C., 2005. Do ris: An Anthology, 1991–2001. Portl and, Ore: Mi croc osm Publishing. Ped a gogy of Hope: Fe mi nist Zines | 263 Dicker, R., and Piep meier, A., eds., 2003. Catch ing a Wave: Re claim ing Femi- nism for the 21st Cen tury. Bos ton: Northe ast ern Uni ver sity Press. Find len, B., ed., 1995. Lis ten Up: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation. Sea le, WA: Seal Press. Freire, P., 1970. Ped a gogy of the Oppressed. New York: Con tinu um. Gold farb, J., 1999. The Cynical Soc ie ty: The Culture of Politics and the Politics of Culture in Amer i can Life. Chi ca go: Uni ver sity of Chi cago Press. Har ris, A., ed., 2007. Next Wave Cultures: Femi n ism, Subcultures, Activism. New York: Rout lede. Henry, A., 2004. Not My Mother’s Sister: Gene ra t ional Conflict and Third-Wave Feminism. Bloomi ng ton: In diana Uni ver sity Press. Hey wood, L. and Drake, J., eds., 1997. Third Wave Feminism: Bei ng Feminist, Doing Feminism. Min ne a po lis: Uni ver sity of Min ne sota Press. hooks, b., 2003. Teachi ng Community: A Pedagogy of Hope. New York: Rout- ledge. hooks, b., 1990. Yearn ing: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics. Bost on: South End Press. Mar tin, L. J., 2002. Quan tify 4. New York: self-pub lished. McCar ry, S. 2004. Glos so la lia. The Zine Yearbook vol ume 8. To ledo, OH: Cla- mor Ma ga zine. Mo ra ga, C., 1981. Pref ace. In: This Bridge Called My Back: Writ ings by Radical Women of Color. New York: Kitchen Table – Women of Color Press. Piep meier, A., 2009. Girl Zines: Maki ng Me dia, Doing Feminism. New York: New York Uni ver sity Press. Road, C., 2004. Green zine 14. Port land, OR: Mi cro cosm Publishing. Ro dri guez, C., 2001. Fis sures in the Me di a scape: An International Study of Citi- zens’ Me dia. Cres skill, NJ: Hamp ton. Zei sler, A. and Jer vis, L., 2008. Bitch 39. Ac knowl edge ment: This ess ay is an exc erpt from Ali son Piep meier’s book Girl Zines: Making Med ia, Doing Feminism, NYU Press, 2009. Rep rinted with kind perm is sion from the pub lisher. Ima ges from Dor is No. 27 (2009). Re printed with kind perm is sion from Cin dy Crabb (Athens, Ohio/USA, see hp://www.do ris do ris do ris.com and hp://do ris zine blog.blog spot.com). From DIY to Collaborative Fields of Experimentation From DIY to Collaborative Fields of Experimentation: Feminist Media and Cultural Production Towards Social Change – A Visual Contribution1 “Zines, Elke Zobl as a DIY practice, are the very visible expression of “everyone can do it”. It is a possibility of sharing and spreading information, ideas and knowledge and a means of self-teaching. It is also a way of connecting people and ideas.” Love Kills Collective (Romania) “I think the whole process of zine making is very empowering, both to the maker and later on the reader. Most of all, I seek satisfaction of the making, the process: dealing with what I used to write to myself as something public- politicizing the personal, and personalizing the political.” Editor of Patrol zine (Israel) “What I love about zines is that I get a lot of new perspective on things. It gives me strength.” (her) riot distro (Schweden) 1 Acknowledgement: The research on this project was funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF): P21187. Note: This contribution is a collage of images and quotes from in- terviews conducted within the project (the quotes are not necessarily from the creators of the images). The interviews can be accessed at: www.grassrootsfeminism.net. All images reprinted with permission. A warm thank you to everyone! 266 | Elke Zobl “It’s up to you now”: Calling for participation “DIY is a practice that can be very encouraging and empowering. Skill sharing is simply fun! This is also a kind of community building, where a lot also takes place through exchanges. DIY is a kind of alternative, that is to say: It doesn’t all need to be marketable.” The Artist of Trouble X Comics Flyer by Trouble X (Germany, www.troublex.blogsport.de). Images by Trouble X. drag. Image by Trouble X. (Germany, www.troublex. blogsport.de), 2007 From DIY to Collaborative Fields of Experimentation | 267 Taking zine-making to the community “This DIY ethic is the cornerstone of the “Zine-making political aspect of Grrrl Zines A-Go-Go. is especially important We believe zine-making embodies the phrase for teen girls who discover a ‚the personal is political’ by encouraging active new avenue for expression that participation in the creation of one’s own culture, is uncensored; something that they and independence from mainstream media.” can produce alone, without the need Grrrl Zines A-Go-Go (USA) for experts or expensive tools – their tools are their mind and a pen – anyone can do it.” Grrrl Zines A-Go-Go (USA) “ A G- rG rrw l a Zn i w t o t -Go o n e e e n d s o al co esn’t „Making Zines, Making History“ a workshop s u o o r juf hope age z s l ti ke to ine by Grrrl Zines A-Go-Go with Girl Scouts of -min d insp ir mwo e a d f e o k t ing, America troop at the Women’s History Museum rksho op lks s her to st gG in a roup and Education Center of San Diego (CA, USA) in rrrl Z tin he es ir r ta rr u s A e n a ning October 2006. Photos by: Margarat Nee and Kim -Go-G so t o (U o.” Schwenk of Grrrl Zines A-Go-Go.SA) The upper right photo is from a different event: September 8, 2007, Samuel H. Wentworth Public Library, Center Sandwich, NH, hp://gzagg.org/ sandwich_photos.html. 268 | Elke Zobl Doing-It-Together: Towards open fields of experimentation “DIY is an approach which understands itself clearly as rag*treasure (Munich) with their action-oriented and emancipatory music-text-dance-textile performance in the sense of detaching oneself “Trash-Recycled-F[e]Mtronics” at the from rigid principles. For me, DIY is first international women artist festival only then interesting, when it becomes in Vienna “Her Position in Transition” a Do-it-Together and is not confined to (March 2006). One of the collective the own microcosm.” members, Stephanie Müller (in front with Stephanie Müller (rag*treasure, the sewing machine), has done a number Germany) of critical craing performances and exhibitions as well as workshops with migrant youth and refugees (see hp:// www.flachware.de/stephanie-mueller/). Photo by scissabob.de. “It is about making projects without the precondition of a professional education into an open field of experimen- tation for myself and the audience and to use my voice to indicate dedicated commitment for oneself and the needs of others.” Stephanie Müller (rag*treasure, Germany) From DIY to Collaborative Fields of Experimentation | 269 DIY feminism towards social change “DIY feminism is about “DIY everyone doing feminism ourselves feminism and making changes, however small they disrupts may seem at first sight. It means not waiting complacent beliefs for others, for “professionals” or politicians, to that feminism and social make the world more women-friendly and to change are no longer on solve problems related to sexism.” Nina Nijsten (Belgium) the agenda of young people.” Red Chidgey (UK) Drawings, posters and zine fest flyer by Nina Nijsten (Belgium, hp://drawingsbynina.wordpress.com) Appendix Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects Compiled by Stefanie Grünangerl This list only presents a selection of the wide range of feminist and queer European media production. For more projects and information please refer to the ar ive sections on grassrootsfeminism.net and grrrlzines.net. Arrows (e. g. → E-Zine) indicate further references to a ange of media type, a re-laun /reconception or another medium produced within the scope of the same project. [All links e ed April 2012] Print AEP Informationen – Feministische Zeitschri für Politik und Gesellscha (magazine, Austria, since 1974) Anaitude Magazine (magazine, Belgium, since 2005) Andaina – Revista Galega de Pensamento Feminista (magazine, Spain, since 1983) an.s läge (magazine, Austria, since 1983) → TV Ariadne Löng (journal, Estonia, since 2000) ASPEKT (magazine, Slovakia, 1993–2004) → E-Zine AUF – Eine Frauenzeits ri (magazine, Austria, 1974–2011) Bang – Feministisk Kulturtidskri (magazine, Sweden, since 1991) a bichana (zine, Portugal, since 2008) Ble (zine, Sweden, 1998–2003?) Bloody Mary (zine, Czech Republic, since 2000) Causee (magazine, France, since 2009) Chaos Grrlz (zine, Poland, 2006–2008?) Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects | 273 La Choriza (zine, France, since 2006) old blog: Chroma – A Queer Literary Journal (journal, United Kingdom, 2004–2010) CLARA (magazine, France, since 1987) Clio – Histoire, Femmes et Sociétés (journal, France, since 1995) Clio – Die Zeits ri für Frauengesundheit (magazine, Germany, since 1976) Clitocore zine (zine, Spain, 2005–2008?) Clit Rocket (zine, Italy, 1999–2009?) Colouring Outside the Lines (zine, United Kingdom, 2005–2009) Coma to Action (zine, Belgium, 2009) Cowgirls (comic-zine, Sweden, since 2008?) Cuntstunt (zine, Austria, 2003–2006?) (Different Worlds) Same Heartbeats (zine, Belgium, since 2007) Else (zine, Germany, 2008) Emakunde (magazine, Spain, 1989–2009) l’émiliE (magazine, Switzerland, 2001–2009), former: Mouvement Féministe (1912–1960), Femmes suisses (1960–1999), Femmes en Suisse (1999–2001) → E-Zine Emma (magazine, Germany, since 1977) Erreakzioa-Reacción (zine, Spain, 1994–2000) Eva & Co – Eine Feministis e Kulturzeits ri (magazine, Austria, 1982–1992) ex aequo (journal, Portugal, since 1999) Faces de Eva (journal, Portugal, since 1999) 274 | Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects Fair Play (magazine, Bulgaria, 1997–2002/2005) FAMA – Die feministis -theologis e Zeits ri der S weiz (magazine, Switzerland, since 1985) FEMA – FEministický MAgazín (magazine, Czech Republic, since 2010) Female Sequences (magazine, Austria, 1998–2002) Feministische Studien (journal, Germany, since 1982) Feminist Review (journal, United Kingdom, since 1979) Femka (magazine, Poland, since 2011) Fe (magazine, Norway, since 2005) fiber. werkstoff für feminismus und popkultur (magazine, Austria, since 2002) former: nylon. KunstStoff zu Feminismus und Popkultur (2000–2002) FKW//Zeits ri für Ges le terfors ung und visuelle Kultur (journal, Germany, since 2007) former: Frauen Kunst Wissens a (1987–2007) Flapper Gathering (zine, Belgium, since 2002) FrauenSi t (newspaper, Switzerland, since 2002) Frauensolidarität (magazine, Austria, since 1982) → Globale Dialoge/Radio FRAZ Frauenzeitung (newspaper, Switzerland,1975–2009) ar ive: Ful (magazine, Sweden, since 2004) → Radio Furia! (magazine, Poland, since 2010), former: Furii Pierwszej (1997–2001) Gaia (magazine, Albania, 2006–2009) Les Galopines (zine, Switzerland, since 2012) first issue: → Feminista!/Blog Gender. Zeits ri für Ges le t, Kultur und Gesells a (journal, Germany, since 2009) Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects | 275 Género y Comunicación (magazine, Spain, 1999–2007) Genus (journal, Sweden, since 1999) George (magazine, Switzerland, since 2010) GirlFrenzy (zine, United Kingdom, 1991–1998) GLU – Girls Like Us (magazine, The Netherlands, since 2005) Görls – Die neue Mäd enzeitung (zine, Germany, since 1995) Hugs and Kisses (magazine, Germany, since 2007) IHRSINN – eine radikalfeministis e Lesbenzeits ri (magazine, Germany, 1990–2004) Il pleut de gouines/It’s raining dykes (zine, France/Canada, 2004–2008) Killed by beauty (zine, Sweden, since 2001) KnockBack (magazine, United Kingdom, since 2006) Die Krake (zine, Germany, since 2006) Kvinden&Samfundet (magazine, Denmark, since 1885) Labris novine (newspaper, Serbia, since 1995) Lash Back (zine, Ireland, since 2009) Lesbo (magazine, Slovenia, 1997–2005) former: fanzine Lesbozine (1987–1988) and bulletin Pandora (1993–1996) ln – lambda nordica (journal, Sweden, since 1989) LoveKills/Dragostia Ucide (zine, Romania, since 2003) LOVER (magazine, The Netherlands, since 1974) Marea (magazine, Italy, since 1994) Masculine Femininities (zine, United Kingdom, since 2008?) Medusa – antilookism zine (zine, Germany, since 2006) 276 | Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects Missy Magazine (magazine, Germany, since 2008) MOM – Make Out Magazine (zine, Germany, since 2011) Morgenmuffel (zine, United Kingdom, since 1998?) Muze (magazine, France, since 2004) Narobe (magazine, Slovenia, since 2007) НЕТ – ЗНАЧИТ НЕТ (“No means No”) (magazine, Russia, since 2010) Nevi Sara Kali – Roma Women‘s Journal (journal, Romania, since 2009) NIKK magasin (magazine, Norway, since 2000) Noidonne (magazine, Italy, since 1944) → E-Zine NORA – Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research (journal, Sweden, since 1993) Not Ladylike (zine, Belgium, 2005) n.paradoxa – international feminist art journal (journal, United Kingdom, since 1998) → E-Zine Olympe – Feministis e Arbeitshee zur Politik (magazine, Switzerland, since 1994) Opzij (magazine, The Netherlands, since 1972) Osez le féminisme! (newspaper, France, since 2009) Остров (Ostrov) (zine, Russia, since 1999) outside the box – Zeits ri für feministis e Gesells askritik (magazine, Germany, since 2009) OvaryAction (zine, Norway, 2002–2007) → Radio Palabras/Palabres (magazine, Belgium, since 1996) Park It Up Your Arse (zine, France, 2008–2009?) Pecs & Ongles – Transgouinepédémestriel (zine, France, 2008–2009) Pełnym Głosem (magazine, Poland, 1993–1997) Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects | 277 Plotki femzine (zine, Germany/international, since 2006) Poder y Libertad (magazine, Spain, 1979–2004) Les Poupées en pantalon (magazine, France, since 2010) Přímá cesta (zine, Czech Republic, 2001–2006) punk feminist (zine, Belgium, 2001) Race Revolt (zine, United Kingdom, since 2007) Radix (zine, Belgium, 2007) the RAG (zine, Ireland, since 2006) A Rata (zine, Portugal, 1999–2004) Reassess Your Weapons (zine, United Kingdom, 2002–2009) regina (magazine, Germany, since 1994) Riot Grrrl London zine (zine, United Kingdom, 2001–2003) ROSA – Zeits ri für Ges le terfors ung (magazine, Switzerland, since 1990) Scumgrrrls (magazine, Belgium, since 2002) Shape & Situate: Posters of Inspirational European Women (zine, United Kingdom, since 2010) Siréna (zine, Czech Republic, 2001–2002) Slut (magazine, Sweden, 2006–2008) Sti wort Newsleer (magazine, Austria, since 1996) Subtext Magazine (magazine, United Kingdom, 2006–2010) 278 | Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects Svobodna – свободна (zine, Ukraine, since 2010) → Blog Toilet Paper (zine, Germany, since 2002) Towanda! Rivista lesbica (magazine, Italy, 1994–2005/06?) Treća (magazine, Croatia, since 1998) Trouble & Strife (magazine, United Kingdom, 1983–2002) TROUBLE X (comic-zine, Germany, since 2007) tulva – Feministinen aikakauslehti (magazine, Finland, since 2002) Upli (magazine, United Kingdom, 2006) Verge (magazine, United Kingdom, 2006) Virginia – Zeits ri für Frauenbu kritik (magazine, Germany, since 1986) Wir Frauen – Das feministis e Bla (magazine, Germany, since 1982) Wolveree zine (zine, Germany, since 2007) Женщина Плюс . . ./Woman Plus . . . (magazine, Russia, 1994–2004) xStrength & Couragex (zine, Spain, 2006) Я – Ya (magazine, Ukraine, since 2003) Zadra (magazine, Poland, since 1999) Žene protiv rata (“Women against War”) (magazine, Serbia, 1994–1995) Жарава – Zharava (magazine, Bulgaria, 1997–2000) Zina lf_ro (zine, Romania, 2005–2007) → F.I.A./Blog Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects | 279 Blogs À dire d’elles (France, since 2008) All My Independent Women (Portugal, since 2005) Ansats – till en feministisk frivolt (Sweden, 2008–2010) AnyBody (United Kingdom, since 2006) La Barbe (France, since 2008) Bezimena (Serbia, 2009–2011?) Bird of Paradox (United Kingdom, since 2008) old blog: Blogul Medusei – lumea prin lentila feminist (Romania, since 2008) Bolletino di guerra (Italy, since 2010) former Burqa Blog (2009–2010) La broma – comunicación con causa, ladies, voluntariado y activism (Spain, since 2003) old blog: La Bruja Violeta – Feminotopia (Spain, since 2006) C@ucAsia – К@вкАзия (Georgia, since 2009) → E-Zine Charlie Lile (United Kingdom, 2008–2009) former Blog of Feminist activism (2006–2008) Collectif Debout! (France, since 2010) Comix Grrrlz (Poland, since 2005) Crazy like us? Feminists write about mental health (United Kingdom, 2008–2011?) Cruella-Blog (United Kingdom, since 2004) Diversitat en Igualtat (Spain, since 2008) Dones i noves technologies (Spain, since 2006) Donne della réalta (Italy, since 2009) Down the Rabbit Hole (Romania, 2009–2011?) Dumbles (Italy, since 2001) old website: Du Rose dans le Gris (France, 2005–2010) 280 | Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects Fel feminism (Belgium, since 2010) Femeko – Feministyczna Ekonomia (Poland, 2010–2011?) Femen (Ukraine, since 2008) Femgerila (Macedonia, 2007–2011?) old blog: Feminárium (Hungary, 2006–2008) former Egy feminista blog (2005–2006) Le féminin l‘emporte (France, since 2006) old blog: Feminism_ua (Ukraine, since 2004) O Feminismo está a passar por aqui . . . (Portugal, since 2006) Feminisn‘ts – Я не феминистка, но . . . (Russia, since 2008) Feminista! (Switzerland, since 2010) → Les Galopines/Print Feminist Carnival (United Kingdom, 2005–2010) old blog: Feministinn (Iceland, since 2003) Feministki (Russia, since 2005) Feminist Memory (United Kingdom, since 2010) Femminismo a Sud (Italy, since 2006) F.I.A. blog (Romania, since 2005) → Zina lf_ro/Print Genderblog (Germany, 2005–2011?) gender_by (Belarus, since 2009) Girls Can Blog (Germany, since 2010) i heart digital life (Germany, since 2005) InterAlia (Hungary, since 2008) *Knúz* (Iceland, since 2011) Kvinnekongen (Norway, 2008–2011?) old blog: Lezbično-feministična univerza (Slovenia, since 2010) liberetue (Perugia/Italy, since 2008) Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects | 281 Libere Tue (Florence/Italy, since 2008) Mädchenblog (Germany, since 2006) Mäd enmanns a (Germany, since 2007) Maman Poulet (Ireland, since 2003) old blog: Maribolheras (Spain, since 2006) Mi feminismo y otras alteridades (Spain, 2006–2010) Mujeres Libres Bologna (Italy, since 2009) Ni Putes Ni Soumises (France, since 2005) No Pretence (United Kingdom, 2009) Olympe et le plafond de verre (France, since 2008) Panteras Rosas (Portugal, since 2005) Penny Red (United Kingdom, since 2007) A pinám kivan! (Hungary, since 2007) old blog: Prepih (Slovenia, since 2006) Ptqk_blogzine (Spain, since 2004) old blog: Ravnopravka – Moscow Feminist Group (Russia, since 2010) Rdeče zore (Slovenia, since 2007) La rete non è neutra (Italy, 2007–2009) Le Ribellule (Italy, since 2007) Rmo62 (United Kingdom, since 2009) Rudax (Spain, since 2005) side-glance (Germany, since 2009) Sin Género de Dudas (Spain, since 2002) SROM – Separatystyczne Rewolucyjne Oddziały Maciczne (“Separatist Revo- lutionary Uterine Troops”) (Poland, 2010) Stadtpiratin (Germany, since 2009) Strasznasztuka2 (Poland, since 2006) 282 | Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects Svobodna – свободна (Ukraine, 2007–2011?) → Print Ta det röda pillret – se världsproblemen i vitögat (Sweden, since 2008) Têtes hautes et Regards droits! (France, since 2008) Transnational Queer Underground (Germany/international, since 2009) De Tweede Sekse (Belgium, since 2008) UmweltWeiber (Germany, 2007–2010) Un altro genere di comunicazione (Italy, since 2009) Un Beso (Romania, 2009–2010) Vi som aldrig sa sexist (Sweden, since 2008) Women in London (United Kingdom, since 2009) x0y1 – Plataforma para la investigaçión y la produççión artistica sobre con- struççión identitaria y cultura digital blog (Spain, 2009–2010) xcute‘n‘pastex (Poland, since 2006) ЗА ФЕМИНИЗМ – Za Feminizm (Russia, since 2010) old blog: Ženska soba blog (Croatia, since 2009) E-Zines AmecoPress – Información para la Igualdad (Spain, since 2007) Amphi magazine (Belarus, since 2008) ArtMix (Poland, since 2001) old website: ASPEKTin (Slovakia, since 2004) archive 2004–2007: → Print Aviva – Online Magazin für Frauen (Germany, since 2000) BitchBuzz (United Kingdom, since 2008) C@ucAsia – international information-analytical electronic magazine (Geor- gia, 2005–2009) → Blog het Continuüm – digitaal tijds ri over genderdiversiteit en transgender (The Netherlands, since 1996) Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects | 283 Cunterview.net – women art media space (Croatia, 2006–2010) archive 2006–2009: → Vox Femina/E-Zine Delt@ il tuo genere d‘informazione (Italy, since 2009) dieStandard (Austria, since 2000) emancipatie.nl (The Netherlands, since 2000) Emakunde (Spain, since 2010) L’émiliE (Switzerland, since 2010) → Print Feminisite (Turkey, since 2006) féminisme. (Switzerland, since 2006) feminismus.cz (Czech Republic, since 1999) Feminist Yaklaşımlar (Turkey, since 2006) Feminoteka (Poland, since 2005) femka.net (Poland, since 2008) The F-Word (United Kingdom, since 2001) gaelick (Ireland, since 2008) Gender Forum – An Internet Journal for Gender Studies (Germany, since 2002) gitA (Czech Republic, 2006–2009) InterAlia (Poland, since 2006) KILDEN – web magazine (Norway, since 1999) Konsola.org (Poland, since 2010) Kultur & Ges le t – Onlinejournal (Germany, since 2007) KVINFOs Webmagasin (Denmark, since 1997, former: FORUM Webmagasi- net) Labris (Serbia, since 2001) LES Online (Portugal, since 2009) Libela – informacijski portal o rodu, spolu i demokraciji (Croatia, since 2008) LRM – El Femimagazine con Perspectiva de Género y Feminista (Spain, since 2006) Lysistrata‘s Path – Путь Лисистраты (Russia, since 2009) 284 | Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects Melodiva – female music networking (Germany, since 2000) Migrazine (Austria, since 2006) MíraLES (Spain, since 2009) → RadiografíaLES/Radio Miss Tilly – das Frauenmagazin im Internet (Germany, since 2006) Mujeres en Red – El periódico feminista (Spain, since 1997) Mujer Palabra (Spain, since 2001) NEWW – Polska – The Network of East-West Women (Poland/international, since 2004) Noidonne (Italy, since 2004) → Print Les Nouvelles News (France, since 2009) n.paradoxa – international feminist art journal (United Kingdom, 1996–2010) → Print OWL – Open Women Line (Russia, 1996–2009) archive 1997–2002: archive 1996–1997: Il Paese delle Donne (Italy, since 1995) querelles-net – Rezensionszeits ri für Frauen- und Ges le terfors ung (Germany, since 2000) Qunst.mag (Germany, since 2008) Les Quotidiennes (Switzerland, since 2007) RED FEMINISTA – Violencia de Género (Spain, since 2002) Seksualność Kobiet (Poland, since 2009) Server Donne (Italy, since 1996) Trikster – Nordic Queer Journal (Denmark/international, 2008–2010?) Trzy Kolory – sabatnik boginiczno-feministyczny (Poland, since 2010) Tüsarok (Hungary, since 2004) Vox Feminae (Croatia, since 2010) → Cunterview.net/E-Zine Wolfsmuer (Austria, since 2002) ЖЕНСКАЯ СЕТЬ – Women‘s Network Infoportal (Ukraine, since 2007) Women’s Views on News (United Kingdom/international, since 2009) Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects | 285 Radio & TV Bang Bang (Belgium, since 2005) DégenréE – l’émission pour déranger! (France, since 2004) Elles causent (France, 2009–2011) Expatriarch (Germany, since 2010) Female:pressure (Austria, since 2008) → Database Fem.fm (Belarus/international, since 2012) Frauenzimmer (Austria, since 1999) Fulradio (Sweden, since 2008) → Print Gender frequenz (Austria, since 2010) archive: Globale Dialoge – Women on Air (Austria, since 2004) → Frauensolidarität/Print Hovory na bělidle (Czech Republic, since 2004) archive: Jenseits der Ges le tergrenzen (Germany, since 2005) Lady Radio (Italy, since 2007) blog: Lezbomanija (Slovenia, since 2003) Lilith, Martine et les Autres (France, since 2008) MFLA – Martedì autogestito da femministe e lesbiche (Italy, since 1995) Mrs. Pepsteins Welt (Germany, since 1999) old website: 286 | Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects The Other Woman (United Kingdom, since 2006) OvaryAction (Norway, 2002–2009) → Print → RadiOrAgaZZa/Radio Radio delle Donne (Italy, since 2009) RadiografíaLES (Spain, since 2009) → MíraLES/E-Zine Radio LoRa Frauenredaktion (Switzerland, since 1983) RadiOrAgaZZa (France, 2010) → OvaryAction/Radio Radiorageuses (France, since 2004) radiOrakel (Norway, since 1982) Radio Paca (Spain, since 2005) Radio Pirate Woman (Ireland, since 1987) Sektor Ž (Slovenia, since late 1990s) archive: Sisters of Mirthy (United Kingdom, since 2011) SPACEfemFM Frauenradio (Austria, since 2000) Willkommen in Salzburg (Austria, since 2009) an.schläge tv (Austria, since 2005) → Print ArtFem.TV (Austria, since 2008) DonnaTV (Italy, 2007–2011?) HallonTV (Sweden, since 2008) Télédebout (France, since 2010) Feminist Media Production in Europe: A Selected List of Projects | 287 Database, (Online)Archives, Networks, Visual material, etc. Adhesively Unchallenged (sticker, United Kingdom, 2006) Bildwechsel (archive/network, Germany/international, since 1979) Berlin: Glasgow: Warsaw: Basel: Le Degenerate Magazine (blog-network, Italy, since 2010) Dig me out (archive, Austria/Spain/international, since 2009) Emancypunx (distro, network, record label, Poland/international, since 1996) old website: female:pressure (database, Austria, since 1998) → Radio FemBio (database, Germany, since 2001) Feminist Poster Project (poster/sticker, Belgium, since 2010) Femminismi (blog-network, Italy, since 2008) GenderArtNet (database/network, Belgium, since 2009) Grassrootsfeminism.net (archive/network, Austria/international, since 2008) Grrrl Zine Network (archive/network, Austria/international, 2001–2008) Ka Schmitz (comics, illustration, Germany) Lady List (database, Ireland, since 2008) Lesbenges i te (ar ive, Germany, since 2005) Migrantas (pictograms, Germany, since 2004) Lo Personal es Político (blog-network, Spain, since 2007) Princess Hijab (adbusting, France, since 2006) Queeristics (comics, Germany, since 2006) Somewhat strident but who cares (sticker, United Kingdom, since 2007) Author Bi og raphies Author Bi ogr aphies Tan ja Car sten sen (Ger many), so ci ol o gist, is a re search as sis tant in the “Work – Gender – Technology” worki ng group at the Ham burg Uni vers ity of Technology, Ger many. She is cur rentl y head of the “Web based Work” proj ect in the coo p er a tion pro ject “Sub ject Constructions and Digital Cul- ture”. Her work ing fields in clude in ter net and techn ol ogy stud ies, gen der studi es, and the so ci ol ogy of work. Con tact: carstensen@tu-har burg.de Sandra Cha er jee (Aust ria/Germ any/In dia) is a postd oc toral re search as- sis tant in the Dep artm ent of Art, Music and Dance Studies at the Univ ers ity of Salz burg. She works at the in ter sec tions of re search and cho re og raphy and is a found ing mem ber of the Post Na tyam Collective. www.sand ra- cha er jee.net Red Chid gey (UK) is a PhD can di date at the Centre for Me dia and Culture Research, Lond on South Bank Uni vers ity, re search ing is sues of fem i nist cul tu ral mem ory and me dia as sem blages. Her work has ap peared in Signs: Jour nal of Women in Culture and So ci ety, Fe mi nist Me dia Studies, Fe mi nist Re- view, and n.par a doxa, and she has been in volved in dig i tal ar chiv ing pro jects such as Fra gen: Shar ing Core Eu ro pean Feminist Texts Online (www.fra gen. nu) and Grass roots Feminism: Trans na tional Archives, Resources and Communi- ties (www.grassr ootsfem ini sm.net). She blogs about her re search int ere sts at hp://fem i nistme mo ry.word press.com. Ri car da Drüeke (Aust ria) is a post doct oral re searcher in the Dep artm ent of Communication at the Uni ver sity of Salz burg. She holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Communication at the University of Salzburg and a MA in Political Sciences and Sociology from the University of Hamburg, G ermany. Her res earch int er ests are Web 2.0, the ories of the pub lic sphere and fe mi n- ist me dia. She is also involved in a study researching the interconnections between culture, ethnicity, gender, and class in the representations of mi- grants in the mass media (with Elisabeth Klaus). Cont act: ric ard a.drueeke@ sbg.ac.at Bri gie Gei ger (Aust ria) is an in de pen dent comm u ni ca tion sci en tist and univ ers ity lec turer at the Univ ers ities of Vi enna and Salzb urg. Her main ac a demic fo cal points are gend er stud ies/fe mi nist com mu ni ca tion scie nce; fe mi nist pub lic sphere and me dia; non-pro fit PR; gen der and vi o lence; femi nist inf or ma tion. Her publications include Feministische Kommuni- kations- und Medienwissenscha (2002, co-editor) and Medien – Politik – Ge- Author Bio gr aphies | 289 schlecht (2008, co-editor). Fur ther pro fes sional ac tiv ities in clude ed it ing and layo ut/graph ics. She is a co-founder and chairw om an of STICHW ORT: Ar- chives of Women’s and Lesbians’ Move ments in Vi enna. Con tact: bri gie. gei ger@uni vie.ac.at Ste fa nie Grünange rl (Aus tria) is an art his to rian and art me di a tor. She works at the Gale rie 5020, Salz burg and from 2010 to 2012 was a mem ber of the re search team of the “Fe mi nist Me dia Production in Eu rope” pro ject based at the Uni ver sity of Salzb urg. She is also adm in is tra tor of the on line ar chive www.grass rootsfe min ism.net. Jenny Gunn arss on Payne (Swe den) is Sen ior Lecturer in Eur o pean Eth- nology at the School of Gender, Culture and History at Södertörn Uni ver- sity in Swed en. She has pre vi ousl y pub lished on the the ory and prac tice of fem i nist med ia out lets such as Eur op ean Jour nal of Women’s Studies, In ter na- tiona l Jour nal of Cultural Studies and Blackw ell-Wiley’s International Encyclo- pedia of Med ia Studies. Anita Har ris (Aus tra lia) is an Aus tral ian Research Coun cil Future Fellow at Mo nash Univ er sity, Aust ra lia. Her ar eas of re search int er est in clude girls’ stud ies, youth cit i zen ship and ev ery day mul ti cul tu ra lism. She is the author of several books, including Future Girl and Young People and Every- day Multiculturalism. Mar git Hau ser (Aus tria), man ag ing Di rec tor of the fe mi nist li brary and ar- chive STICHW ORT in Vie nna. She is act ive in the netw ork conn ec tions and col la bo ra tive pro jects of fe mi nist ar chives and li braries, and is a memb er of the boards of i.d.a., the umb rella org a ni za tion of Ger man lan guage les bian/ women’s ar chives, lib raries and doc um en ta tion centers, and a mem ber of frid a: the Aust rian Network of Information and Documentation Centres for Women’s Studies. She pub lishes on fe mi nist in for ma tion and doc u men- ta tion and on fe mi nist phi los o phy. Con tact: mar git.hau ser@tele2.at Tea Hva la (Slov en ia) is a fe mi nist writer and or ga niser from Ljubl jana. She com pleted her BA in Comparative Literature and Sociology of Culture in 2005. In 2010, she re ceived her MA in Gender Studies. She has been co- or gan is ing the International Feminist and Queer Festival Rdeče zore (Red Dawns) since 2002 and run ning works hops in coll a bo ra tive writ ing of fem i- nist-queer sci ence fic tion, en ti tled In Other Wor(l)ds, since 2008. Blog: hp:// prep ih.blogs pot.com; con tact: tea.hva la@gmail.com Si grid Kan nengi eßer (Ger many) is a re searcher and pro ject co or di na tor at the Center for Transnational Studies (Uni ver sity of Bre men and Uni ver- sity of Olde nb urg) and a mem ber of the Center for Me dia, Communication and Information Research at the Uni ver sity of Bre men. She wrote her PhD dis ser ta tion about a trans lo cal net work of women’s or ga ni sa tions. Her re- search in ter ests are in gen der me dia stud ies and trans cul tur al/trans na tion- al com mu ni ca tion stud ies. 290 | Author Bi ogr aphies Jes sa lynn Kel ler (USA/Canada) is a PhD candidate in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin. Her dissertation, funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, is an ethnographic project examining how girls are producing, negotiating and articulating feminisms through the practice of blogging. Her past re- search has been published in Information, Communication & Society, Women’s Studies International Forum, and Feminist Media Studies (forthcoming). Elisa beth Klaus (Aust ria) is pro fes sor at the De part ment of Communi- cation at the Uni vers ity of Salzb urg. She re ceived her PhD in Sociology from the Uni ver sity of Notre Dame (USA), and re ceived her Habilitation in Communication and Me dia Studies from the Uni ver sity of Dor mund. Her re search and teach ing ar eas in clude com mun ic a tion re search and journ al- ism studi es, fe mi nist me dia studi es, pop u lar cult ure and cultural produc- tion, and the ories of the pub lic sphere. Her nu mer ous pub li ca tions in clude: Kom mu ni ka tion swis sens al i e Ge s le t er fors ung. Zur Bed eut ung der Frauen in den Mas senmed ien und im Jour nal is mus (2005), Me dia In dus try, Jour- nalism Culture and Communication Policies in Eu rope (2007, co-edi tor), and Iden tität und Ink lu sion im eu ropäis en So zial raum (2010, co-ed i tor). Con tact: Eli sa beth.Klaus@sbg.ac.at. Veren a Kun i (Ger many) is a schol ar in the field of his tory and the ory of art and me dia cul tures and a Pro fes sor of Visual Culture at Goethe Uni ver sity Frank furt/Main. Her re search foc uses on, among other things, transf ers be- tween ma te rial and med ia cul tures; me dia of imag i na tion and tech nol ogies of trans for ma tion; al ter nate re al ities; ur ban bio topes; DIY and pros u mer cul tures; games, play and toys as tools. She has pub lished wide ly (print and on line) on cont em po rary arts and me dia, their his tories and fut ures. Web sites: www. ku ni ver.se; www.un der-const ruc tion.cc; www.vi suel le-kul tur.in fo. Cyn thia Ling Lee (USA) (MFA, UCLA) ins ti gates thought ful, fric tion-filled di al ogues bet ween Amer i can postmodern dance and North In dian class i cal ka thak. Her in ter cul tur al, in ter dis ci plin a ry cho re og raphy and writ ing has been pres ented at venues such as Dance Theater Workshop (New York), RED CAT (Los Ang e les), Ta man Ismail Marz u ki (Ja karta), Kuan du Arts Festival (Tai pei), and Chan dra-Mand ap a: Spaces (Chen nai). A mem ber of the Post Na tyam Collective, Cyn thia re ceived a 2002–3 Thomas J. Wat son Fel low ship, a 2006 AP PEX Fel low ship, and a 2010 Tai pei Artist Village res- i dency. Infl u en tial teachers inc lude Si mone For ti, Ei ko & Ko ma, Judy Mi to- ma, Bandana Sen, Ku mu di ni Lak hia, An ja ni Ambe gao kar, and the con tact im pro vi sa tion com mu nity. www.cyn thia lin glee.com Mar greth Lünen borg (Ger many) is Pro fes sor of Communication and Jour- nalism Studies at the In sti tute for Me dia and Communication Studies and Di rec tor of International In sti tute for Journalism, Free Uni ver sity Ber lin. Her re search fo cuses on the fields of jour nal ism re search, cul tu ral stud ies, gen der me dia studi es, mi gra tion and me dia. Her most re cent books are: Un gleich mächtig. Das Gendering von Führung sper so nen aus Pol i tik, Wirt s a Author Bi og raphies | 291 und Wiss en s a in der Me di en kom mu ni ka tion (2012, ed. with Ju a Röser); Mi grant in nen in den Med i en. Dar stel lung in der Presse und de ren Re zep tion (2011, with Kat ha ri na Frits e and An ni ka Ba ); and Skan da li sie rung im Fernse hen. Strate gien, Ers chei nungs for men und Re zep tion von Reality TV-For- ma ten (2011, with Dirk Martens, To bias Köhler, and Clau dia Töpper). Ali son Piepm eier (USA) dir ects the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at the Col lege of Charles ton in Charles ton, South Ca ro lina. She’s the author of the book Girl Zines: Mak ing Me dia, Doing Feminism (2009) and co-ed it or of Catchi ng a Wave: Re claimi ng Feminism for the 21st Century (2003). She is cur rent ly re search ing pre na tal test ing in the con text of fe mi nist dis a bil ity stud ies and rep ro duc tive jus tice. Mar cus Recht (Ger many) is a Visiting Pro fes sor of Didactics of Art at the Ins ti tute for Art Education of the Jus tus-Lie big-Uni ver si ty Giess en and is an aca d emic at the Goethe Uni vers ity Frankf urt. His res earch int ere sts inc lude im age sci ence, gen der stud ies, tele vi sion stud ies, aes thet ics of new me dia, vi sual lit er acy, vi sual cul ture, phi los o phy and ap plied psy cho a nal y s is. Rosa Reit sa mer (Aust ria) is an as sis tant pro fes sor at the In sti tute for Music Sociology at the Uni vers ity of Music and Performing Arts Vi enna, Aus tria. She has co-ed ited the book “They Say I am Different . . .“ Pop u lar mu sik, Sze nen und ihre Akt eure (2011), and her mon o graph When Will I Be Famous? The Do- It-Yourself Careers of DJs will be pub lished in 2012. Her re search ad dresses the ques tions of how agency is achieved in youth cul tures and mu sic scenes and how gen der and eth nic ity are ne go ti ated by cul tu ral pro ducers. Bir git Rich ard (Ger many) is Prof ess or of New Me dia at the Ins tit ute for Art Education of the Goethe Uni ver sity Frank furt. Her re search in ter ests in clude new me dia, vi sual cul tures, aes thet ics of con tem po rary youth cul- ture (youth cul ture arc hive) and pop cult ure (clips, games). Linda Stein er (USA) is pro fes sor and di rec tor of grad u ate stud ies and re- search at the Philip Merr ill Coll ege of Journalism at the Univ ers ity of Mary- land. Since earn ing her PhD at the Uni ver sity of Il li nois, she has pub lished has coa ut hored or co-edi ted three books, and sixty jour nal ar ti cles and book chap ters. She is pres id ent of the As so ciat ion for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, and the Coun cil of Communication As so ci a tions. Elke Zobl (Aust ria) is an as sis tant pro fes sor in the De part ment of Com- munication and di rec tor of the program ar ea “Cul tu ral Production & Con- temporary Arts” at the Uni ver sity of Salzb urg, Aus tria. She is cur rent ly con duct ing two re search pro jects, name ly “Fe mi nist Med ia Production in Eu rope” and “P/ART/ICI PATE: Con temp or ary arts ini ti at ing cult u ral and so cial change.” She is the founder of the two onl ine arc hives, www.grass- rootsfe min ism.net and www.grrrlzines.net, and fa cil i tates zine ex hib its and works hops. elke.zobl@sbg.ac.at