Patriarchy Set the World on Fire Zine

Tiffany Gamboa

Media 384

Doris Caçoilo

May 2017

Patriarchy Set the World on Fire Zine

          Hello, my name is Tiffany Gamboa and I decided to make a zine as a final project for my Women and the Media class. Here is the link to the online PDF of my zine, Patriarchy Set the World on Fire. It has always been a desire of mine to make a zine, and I decided why not make that dream come true with this project. Originally, this project was designed as a way for my family to understand what patriarchy is and the profound effect it has had in our lives. However, as time went out, I decided to make myself the audience. If I were to teach someone else, something so complex, I would first have to understand it. This project has allowed me to gather the courage to identify as a feminist. Previously, I had considered myself far from one, because I did not feel educated or radical enough to be a feminist. I had so many misconceptions about feminism that I chuckle to myself every now and then about how misguided I was. The zine is a great way for people to get a head start into understanding what patriarchy can be about and how they can begin to overcome it with some feel-good feminism. 

         The process of my zine was a long and strenuous one, but it worked out in the end. I admit that my original project proposal is different from what I have now. Originally, I wanted to put together a magazine, but instead opted for a zine. Zines are smaller and easier to carry around, which will be great for my readers to take and read. They can read it in the park, on the train, at home, etc. I also decided to make it a bit interactive by incorporating a coloring page, word search, and a blank page for them to take notes on. I formulated the zine in a way to keep the audience engaged by also adding pictures and a meme I created. A majority of the photos used were found using google images and Pinterest.  However, I did edit a lot of them using Adobe Photoshop. Although, I wanted it to be a surprise for when I present, here are some the images that I used in my zine. The rest of the images could not be uploaded, due to different file formats. 

I decided to use this as the cover to show the devastating effects Patriarchy has had on people like me.

Roll safe Meme that I edited with Imgflip.

#Preach

'Vag' coloring page my friend, Ellie, found on Pinterest.

Before

After- edited with Photoshop

           The zine itself was created using Microsoft Word, since it offered templates to create books.  Instead of tackling through various topics as I originally wanted to, such as sexism through advertisements and the exploitation of women, body issues, and gender, I thought it was best to focus on two topics for my first zine. However, I definitely want to create more zines, especially one devoted to deconstructing sexism through advertisements and the exploitation of women. 

           A majority of the content from my zine came from Bell Hook's Understanding Patriarchy and Jessica Valenti's book, Full Frontel Feminism: A Young Women's Guide to Why Feminism Matters. Bell Hook's explanation of patriarchy is straight to the point and her childhood examples of the negative effects of patriarchy has resonated with me. What I appreciate about Valenti's book is how she can make the necessity of feminism applicable to almost everyone. She writes in a reassuring tone which has helped me to become more confident in myself as a feminist. It's because of her that I am able to overcome my hesitation of admitting that I am a feminist. A big thank you to Professor Doris who has guided me on this journey to finding feminism and for giving me the book and content to find my way.

Works Cited

Hooks, Bell. Understanding Patriarchy. Lousiville,KY: Louisville Anarchist Federation, 2010. Print.

Valenti, Jesica. Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Women's Guide to Why Feminism Matters.      

           Emeryville, CA: Seal, 2007. Print.