Girls Guide to Taking Over the World: Writings from the Girl Zine Revolution

by Tristan Taormino

Book Overview

A GIRL'S GUIDE TO TAKING OVER THE WORLD Writings from the Girl Zine Revolution This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312155352
• ISBN13: 9780312155353
• Release Date: July 1997
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.9" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful Compilation of D.I.Y. Creativity

I love D.I.Y. - the self-sufficiency of it, making your own rules, the freedom of expression, the "only limited by your own imagination" swing of it - and zines are a perfect example. Such a great outlet for sounding off, acting up, getting silly, making a point, and unrestrained creativity in general.This is a wonderful compilation of what girls in the zine world have been up to and a great source of inspiration for those who are interested in starting their own or would just like to know there are others out there who feel the same way she does. Due to the lack of almighty higher ups to answer to, the idiosyncrasies, obsessions, and pure raw energy of the authors are not ironed out, watered down, or completely obliterated. Of course, this leads to a mixed bag in the quality department but you can't blame a girl for giving it her all. Editors, Karen Green and Tristan Taormino, have done a fine job of culling from some of the best.The young women in this book tackle such topics as family, religion, sexism, racism, body image, sex, rape, feminism, guns, and celebrities. There is much insight and wisdom in these pages, as well as humor and a dose of absurdity.For every female who has ever been told to behave, shut-up, be nice, lose weight, keep your legs crossed, sit up straight, be a good girl, smile, look pretty, blah blah blah...some kind of conduit is needed to release the repressed rage and humiliation. Making a zine is one solution and it's far more beneficial than cutting up your arms.

Zine Primer

If you know nothing about zines, then this is one of the best books to start with. If you want to know more about third wave feminism or girl culture (esp. riot grrrl culture), I'd again recommend this book. It's easy to read and articles range from the hysterical tongue-in-cheek "barbies we'd like to see" to the in-depth look at the idea and reality of sisterhood. The articles are as diverse in subject matter as the girls themselves. Queer, Asian-American, African-American, Moms, Jewess--whatever. Almost all shades of the spectrum are covered. But what is truly the essence of the book, and the point of zines, is that nothing is censored, drained of content and put in a pretty, grammatically correct package ready for consumption. It's totally DIY and all the editors did was put together the best so that all girls, even those NOT living in metro USA, could reach out and learn how to get into the loop and meet like-minded young women. Or become a zine-goddess themselves.

Truly a Blueprint for Revolution!

Absolutely the best purchase I've ever made. This book is incredible. It will have you falling off the bed laughing, clenching your fists in frustration, wiping your teary eyes, shaking your head with an evil grin on your face, and most importantly, it will leave you completely saturated with inspiration. If you've ever had anything at all to say to the world, but didn't - whether it was because you weighed yourself down with doubt or just kept making excuses - this book will get you off the couch and into the right place to write your own manifesto. This book really gives hope to all those girls out there, who, as I did at 16, wonder if they're the only non-apathetic teenage girl left in the world. This book clearly shows that feminism is not dead, simply modified. This book is a must for all those girls who want to buck the establishment encouraged view of women as mere playthings. I would give this book Ten stars if I could. Without a doubt, this should be required reading for every young girl.

Throw away those corsets, girls!

This book totally changed my life. I bought it when i was first starting my zine, and it totally got me motivated, inspired, and feeling incredibly empowered. There are so many wonderful grrrl zines out there, and this is a great representation of just a small amount of them. i highly recommend this book to everyone, b/c it's so beautifully full of information, empowerment, life, and honesty that someone in a glossy magazine like seventeen just isnt going to give you.

This book is great and terrifically unique.

This book is so great!! I continue to reread it and rediscover aspects of it everyday! Wow, what a great read!! If you are at all interested in female indepedence this book is for you. You will be continually amazed--I was!