My Manifesto

1. support your local girlgang
2. speak with encouragement, not jealousy
3. don't be afraid to feel your emotions, they don't make you weak
4. quit apologising for being yourself
5. support other creatives
6. smash the patriarchy
7. speak up for those who are voiceless
8. educate yourself
9. keep an open mind
10. rise above bullshit
11. be a good feminist 

Study Task 9- Reflective Writing

Steps I took:

1. researched generally into subcultures
2. realised the lack of information about women in any subcultures other than Punk
3. began researching punk and more specifically, women of punk, using research and drawing in ink
4. found out about the term Riot Grrrl and researched more into that then discovering the zines 
5. researched the content of the zines, reading Girls To The Front by Sara Marcus
6. researched the aesthetic of the zines and began collaging, working with graphic black text and drawings 
7. began comparing the punk zines of the 90's with the feminist zines were beginning to see being made now for example Cuntry Living
8. contrast the differences between these two, old and new, seeing how things have developed in terms of inclusivity and intersectionality
9. began writing my own manifesto to include all the old and new elements of Punk/ Riot Grrrl feminism 
10. made a Riot Grrrl style collaged, painted and hand-drawn version of my manifesto

Study Task 8- Action Plan

I plan to visually and practically investigate:
whether we have women of punk to thank for feminism as it is today

In order to do this I will:


Primary research:
- the blogs, book and journals both offline and online that I have been using so far to write my essay
- continue further to use the internet to look at what is happening in feminism CURRENTLY

Secondary research:
- considering how I can use what I have learnt to begin my own visual response
- zine making, DIY processes, collage, experimental photocopying
- then passing these round and seeing how far they travel, encouraging friends to photocopy them

Media and processes:
- drawing using ink
- typography, maybe using the printing press?
- photocopying
- feminine crafts such as embroidery and sewing

Context:
- Guerilla Girls
- Zines such as Riot Grrrl
- Barbara Kruger
- @hanecdote on instagram- feminist embroidery 

Study Task 7- Reading Dissertations

"Intersectional fourth wave feminism; is technology and the internet beneficial or detrimental to current female zine culture?" 

Research methods:

• WIDE RANGE!!!! 
• books: look up "all the rebel women; rise of the fourth wave of feminism"
• first hand, interviews with people that make zines and other female creators
• journals and online

Tone of voice:

• overall, impassioned and personable
• clearly the subject matter means a lot and is personal to the writer, which I like
• feels not too scientific or overly scholarly
• however, some sentences are overly packed with sophisticated vocabulary so that it is hard to understand in places 

Clarity:

•  as mentioned before some words and phrases could be taken out to avoid over complicating it
• quite rambling in places which makes it hard to remember the point thats being made
• but thoroughly researched and well rationed

Flow:

• the general 'chapters' are easily divided up into a few smaller categories which is good
• however the interview sections towards the end is slightly harder to understand, doesn't totally fit the flow of the essay
• smaller chunks easier to understand

Beginning My Visual Journal

Starting Imagery:

• women themselves (too easy?)
• things typical of the punk subculture; the clothing, makeup, symbols (anarchy), jewellery
• famous and influential women of punk; Joan Jett, Cherie Curie, Patti Smith, Kathleen Hanna, Siouxsie Sioux

Possible colour palettes and materials:

• PINK, anything typically feminine
• black, the colour that epitomises the punk aesthetic
• tartan
• metal, chrome
• collage, photocopy
• ink

Study Task 5- Practical Approaches

My intention is to examine and explore the feminist, punk, zine culture of the 80's/90's, giving an overview into the history of this, and contrasting it to the way we approach feminism now. I have begun to look at texts such as Angela McRobbies "Feminism and Youth Culture" to examine what kind of impact punk had on young girls in the movement at the time, with a few to eventually understanding the relavance the women of Punk have in our modern idea of feminism.

Possible visual approaches:

• typically "feminine" crafts such as embroidery (although this would require learning and perfecting a new skill in a short amount of time)
• quilting?
• DIY making culture such as cut and paste collage and photocopying
• using bright and typically "girly" colours such as pink

Possible final product ideas:

• A zine, with manifesto and facts about third wave and current feminism

Study Task 4- Introduction

Protoquestion:
To what extent did Punk culture shape feminism today?/ Should we thank women of punk for feminism?

What have I found out so far?
- punk is/was a subculture that largely equalised men and women through its music, clothing choices and general values
- the popularisation of female punk bands like The Runaways made it more widely acceptable for women to choose and represent alternative lifestyles
- the birth of 'the teenager' in the 50's made music, clothes and hairstyles all topics of trend the teens could adopt and change to suit their progressing world views
- those who followed the punk subculture expressed their views and opinions via homemade 'fanzines' which where DIY and easy to make. They actively encouraged people to photocopy these zines themselves and pass them around to spread the message
- Riot Grrrl was just one of these zines which may have been partly responsible for shaping and creating the Riot Grrrl movement of the 90's

My core texts so far:
- Angela McRobbie- Feminism and Youth Culture
- "One of the central tenets of the women's movement has been that the personal is political"
- "The lads may get by with each other alone on the streets but they did not eat, sleep or make love there. Their peer-group consciousness and pleasure frequently seem to hinge on a collective disregard for women and the sexual exploitation of girls"

- Samantha Holland- Alternative femininities: body, age and identity
- " Punk alone was a style equally for both sexes; although Mod girls, teddy girls and other did have special ways of dressing their styles were distinct from and parasitical upon those of their boyfriends"
- "Gottlieb and Wald also point out that girls and women are less likely to participate in youth cultures (so by extension, in band rehearsals and performances) since their lives are more strictly monitored and they are kept closer to the home than their male counterparts, and that new ways have been found to participate in subcultures, which are not as visible because they are conducted in a private sphere"
- "Claudias views are problematic in that her anxiety about being seen as masculine is at odds with feminist sexual politics. Resistance to sexism, a political position, becomes embodied in the 'masculine', 'defeminised' feminist body.

Potential visual paths for this brief:
- hand embroidery: typically 'feminine' vocation, turning it on its head
- protest art, posters and flags etc
- zines and publications
- manifestos, posters

Phenomena to consider:
- The birth of the 'teenager'
- Riot Grrrls
- women of Punk in general, famous and notable women of the subculture
- the popularisation of zines