Zines in three contemporary grassroots' movements in Brazil and the United States
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the background of three movements in Brazil and the United States; contemporary animal rights, environmental and gender justice grassroots' groups and their use of self-published pamphlets, newsletters and booklets called "zines". Zines have a background in the amateur press movement and became almost synonymous with the punk movement when they first emerged as a medium of communication for punks in the '70s. For this reason, and because of the prevalence of animal rights, gender justice and environmental beliefs within the punk movements in Brazil and the United States, this dissertation focused on the background of these movements and the use of zines by the subculture of punk as a manifestation of its do-it-yourself ethic. An extensive background investigation into the punk subculture and its link to the other movements was conducted. A questionnaire was prepared for the authors of punk zines which contained subject matter relating to the above movements. The questions pertained to the authors' reason for writing his/her zine, how they distribute their zine, their beliefs concerning the use of their zine inside and outside the movement and the perceived importance of their zine to their cause. During the course of the study, zine archives in libraries across the United States were researched, zine distribution centers or "distros" were visited in Brazil and the U.S., communities relating to the three grassroots' movements in Brazil and the United States were investigated personally and zine authors were interviewed. The values and ethics associated with punk communities and how this leads them to be involved in environmental, animal rights and gender justice activism and how zines play an important role in this struggle was shown. The investigation also showed a strong link between the chosen movements, punk subcultures and their ethics, and the use of zines.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Merrell, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Comparative literature|Sociology
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