hItI- reffir@#N I t * * t's ZCZCr lre are in the mid.st of a g1oba1 pandemie, and.Novernber,s election wi1l determin e the U,S. presidencyand its policies for the next four years. Regardless ofwho wins, the existing system has fai_Ied to prioritize thematerial needs of women1 ehildr€o1 and. gender minorities,Thj-s reality is exacerbated for those who experiencecompound oppressi.on at the intersections of racelabilj-tyr sexualityy class, and more. With this collaborative zine projectl we invited ourcommunity to imagj_ne what a truly feminist po1it5_caIfuture would look like if we addressed issues facinwomenl chj.ldrerl and gender m inoritie s. we asked our comnunity members at KU and beyond: +** This zine represents our contributors'responses to the questions posed. above as well as our dreams for a femrnist future. I g OF THE INAUG URAL ISSU E . WHAT WOULD YOUR FEMINIST POLITICAL PLATFORM LOOK LIKE? . WHAT ISSUE OR ISSUES DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTING WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND GENDER MINORITIES MUST A FEM I NIST PLATFORM ADDRESS?
And yet, difficult as it was to plug out of the Matrix, “there [wa]s no turning back.” For unlike Cypher, who laments, “Why, oh, why didn’t I take the blue pill?”, I do not think that “Ignorance is bliss.” Morpheus points out the dangers of internalizing dominant ideologies: “[M]ost of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are…so hopelessly dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it.”
DIVYA RADHIKA BHALLA
My feminist awakening is an experience that I can only describe as plugging out of the Matrix. This science fiction classic literalizes Antonio Gramsci’s concept of hegemony whereby the dominant class attains power not through coercion but ideological manipulation that makes subordinate classes consent in their own subjugation. In response to Neo’s question “What is the Matrix?”, Morpheus offers one word: “Control.” He then elaborates that “The Matrix is a computer-generated dream world built to keep us under control, in order to change a human being into this.” Morpheus holds up a battery to show Neo that humans are the energy source that sustains the machines that rule. Influenced by Gramsci, Louis Althusser articulates a similar view in his concept of repressive state apparatuses that operate overtly and ideological state apparatuses that function insidiously. “The Matrix is everywhere…. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.” Studying literary theory was the most formative experience I had as an undergraduate. Once the rose-tinted glasses came off, the world was no longer the innocent, uncomplicated place I had always believed it to be. I became aware of political issues, of power structures, of the systemic nature of oppression. Enlightening as it was to plug out of the Matrix, it was also distressing. Like Neo awakened to a world that was cold, grey, bleak, stark, I awakened to a world that was cruel, ruthless, unethical, unjust.
/ Unplugged
As an educator, I believe that education can help us to plug out of the Matrix, to understand the machinations of the puppet masters, to unveil the Wizard of Oz. When I dream of a feminist future, I, therefore, want education to be accessible to everyone, but especially gender minorities and women, and not just the privileged. When I envision a feminist future, I see my unborn child plugging out of the Matrix. But whereas my experience was painful, theirs is not. For feminism has always been a part of their education. For they are always aware of the illusion. The children of the future receive an education that is specifically designed to plug them out of the Matrix. An education where geography includes the politics of cartography. Where history is taught from below. An education where feminism is as much required learning as math. An education which distinguishes between feminism and fauxminism. Where feminism is intersectional as Kimberlé Crenshaw terms it and interdisciplinary as Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak views it. For it is no accident that I referenced my feminist awakening through Marxist critics. Where feminism is inclusive of gender identities across the spectrum. For it is fitting that the analogy for my feminist awakening derives from The Matrix as the Wachowskis, who wrote and directed the film, have since come out as trans women. So that when my child plugs out, they awaken not to a dystopian reality but to a feminist utopia. “Welcome to the real world.”
“This is your last chance…. You take the blue pill, the story ends; you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”
the curves beneath my duvet haunt me, terrorize me. this body is not mine. it is not my home, my peaceful haven. this body is a casket. a shelter for blame and hatred. a creation not of my choosing. a frustration cycled through feminist talks on the plague of fatphobia, urging everyone the solution is body positivity, never change. the years of hating my thighs, my breasts, my soft curves, the dip of my hips, my gentle features silently reminding myself , to loath this is to be a bad feminist. to not love my body? bad feminist. to choose change? bad feminist. to choose hormones? bad feminist. but i am a bad feminist. i want to become unrapeable, a body incapable of pain, a body of warmth. a body worth nourishment, worth love. the syringe penetrates my wound, tears deep into the years of hardening, and extracts my soul. every injection is a journey, a light at the end of the tunnel, a promise to myself. that somewhere, i will exist, my soul lifted flirting with the heavens. i need to believe that every injection is not a widening chasm, deep and unreachable. as i stand on one side, the needle cleaving a canyon in my reality, my family that birthed me, loved me, nourished me on the other. that this is not a betrayal, not a death, not a murdering. that i am becoming someone new, someone old, someone who has always been there, terrified of coming to the surface. that this cataclysm is the welcoming of my newborn feet, into my newborn world.
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key word: everyone The new feminist agenda must include considerations for every person, no matter who they are or how they identify. Fightingdiscriminationbasedonsexualorientation,genderidentity,race,religion, biologicalsex,andotheridentitiesbydismantlingthesystemsthatdisproportionately affectmarginalizedcommunities.Justbecauseit'sillegaldoesn'tmeanitdoesn'thappen. Ensuringqualityhealthcare(includingbirthcontrol,hormonetherapy,reproductivecare, pregnancysupport,etc.)foreveryone,regardlessofabilitytopay,insurancestatus,oridentity. AssistingimmigrantsinbecomingUScitizensinsteadofimposingstrictlimitsand turningawayrefugees.Neverkeepingchildrenandfamiliesincagesagain.Never forcingsterilizationagain. Creatingfairpoliciesthatdon'ttargetspecificcommunitiesbutinsteadupliftall membersofthecommunitythrougheconomicdevelopment,supportsystems,etc. Promotingresponsibleandsafeenforcementofpoliciesandlawsusinginvestmentin communitiesandimprovedcommunitysupport,notthroughamilitarizedpoliceforce Prioritizingindividualenvironmentalconsciousnessandholdinglargecorporations accountablefortheirenvironmentalimpacts.Imposingrestrictionsonemissionsand strictlyenforcingthem. Taxingthelargecorporationsandextremelywealthyindividuals.Establishinga minimumlivingwage.Thosewhohavethemostabilityshouldturntosupporttheir communities,notjustthemselves.
“Who’s the pitcher and who’s the catcher?”
No words. Silent, watching eyes; following a held hand, a squeezed hug, a hurried kiss. “FAGGOTS”
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It was CompanyPolite , with Microaggressions, in Daily Life Indirect discrimination against members of a marginalized group Socially acceptable remarks, contributing to structures killing oppressed groups
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“If your girlfriend is bi, does she have to date a guy after she dates you?”
Drunk, “do you use a strap-on?” barely contained giggles, “no, really, do you?”
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WeinviteYOUtosubmitan8.5"x11"pageresponding totheprompt/saboveforinclusioninVol.2ofour collaborativezineproject.Allsubmissionswillbe compiledintoajointzine! WRITTENAND/ORVISUALSUBMISSIONSMAY INCLUDE,BUTARENOTLIMITEDTOESSAYS, PERSONALNARRATIVES,POETRY,COLLAGE,COMICS, DRAWINGS,ORPHOTOGRAPHS. SMASHTHEPATRIARCHY! “Patriarchyisapoliticalsocialsystemthatinsiststhatmalesareinherentlydominating, superiortoeverythingandeveryonedeemedweak,especiallyfemales,andendowedwiththe righttodominateandruleovertheweakandtomaintainthatdominancethroughvarious formsofpsychologicalterrorismandviolence.” bellhooks,"UnderstandingPatriarchy" “Patriarchyasasystemishistorical:ithasabeginninginhistory[and]itcanbeendedby historicalprocess.” GerdaLerner,TheCreationofPatriarchy HOWDOYOUEXPERIENCEPATRIARCHYINYOUREVERYDAYLIFE? GIVENTHATPATRIARCHYISANHISTORICALCONSTRUCT,HOWMIGHT WEWORKTOCHALLENGEANDULTIMATELYDISMANTLEIT? CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS KU ETCWGE's Collaborative Zine Project, Vol. 2 ZINEPAGEPROMPT: REQUESTAFREEZINEMAKINGKIT: bit.ly/KUETCWGERequestZineKit SUBMISSIONS DUE JULY 1, 2021
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