2019-11-19 Guide to the Riot Grrrl Zines, circa 1990-circa 2000, 2016 SPEC.RARE.0033 Finding aid prepared by Andrea Eastman; Ashleigh Minor; Lindsay Resnick; Casey Blackmore; Allison McPherson Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections

1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210

2019 October; 2021 April; 2023 January; 2023 August; 2026 April This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2026-05-06T11:54-0400 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard Riot Grrrl Zines SPEC.RARE.0033 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 0.8 Cubic feet circa 1990-circa 2000, 2016 Riot Grrrl was a feminist movement that stemmed from the punk rock music scene in the early 1990s and originated in Washington state and Washington, D.C. A product of the movement includes zines, which are handmade publications created as a way to discuss issues with other participants of the movement. The Riot Grrrl Zine collection contains zines created during the Riot Grrrl movement, as well as later zines made in response to and reflecting on the impact of the movement. The zines consist of illustrations, comics, photographs, and typed and handwritten text cut and pasted into a collage and photocopied for distribution. They contain personal stories, poetry, and essays that cover topics including music, feminism, abuse, body image, sexism, and film. The collection is dated circa 1990-circa 2000, 2016. (2) 2.5" letter document boxes; (1) 5" letter document box English Arrangement of Materials

Materials are arranged alphabetically by title, and chronologically within the same titles. Creators, when known, are indicated in parentheses after the title.

Acquisitions Information

Accession No. RARE.2018.0081: Purchased, 2018 October; Accession No. RARE.2018.0082: Purchased, 2018 October; Accession No. RARE.2019.0131: Purchased, 2019 November; Accession No. RARE.2021.0008: Purchased, 2021 March; Accession No. RARE.2022.0052: Purchased, 2021 November; Accession No. RARE.2022.0053: Purchased, 2021 November; Accession No. RARE.2022.0054: Purchased, 2022 June; Accession No. RARE.2023.0004: Purchased, 2022 October; Accession No. RARE.2023.0005: Purchased, 2022 October; Accession No. RARE.2023.0050: Purchased, 2023 June; Accession No. RARE.2024.0034: Purchased, 2024 January; Accession No. RARE.2024.0035: Acadia Kandora, 2023 June; Accession No. RARE.2024.0036: Purchased, 2023 September; Accession No. RARE.2024.0037: Purchased, 2023 October; Accession No. RARE.2025.0050: Purchased, 2024 April; Accession No. RARE.2025.0051: Purchased, 2024 October; Accession No. RARE.2025.0052: Purchased, 2024 October; Accession No. RARE.2026.0034: Purchased, 2025 August; Accession No. RARE.2026.0035: Purchased, 2026 January

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], Riot Grrrl Zines, SPEC.RARE.0033, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University

Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.

Use of Materials

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.

Processing Information

Processed by: Andrea Eastman, 2019 October; Ashleigh Minor, 2021 April; Rachel Hammer, 2022 August; Lindsay Resnick, 2023 January; Lindsay Resnick, 2023 August; Casey Blackmore, 2024 June. Finding aid written by: Andrea Eastman, 2019 October; Ashleigh Minor, 2021 April; Lindsay Resnick, 2023 January, Lindsay Resnick: 2023 August, Casey Blackmore, 2024 June; Allison McPherson, 2025 May; Allison McPherson, 2026 April.

Historical Note

Riot Grrrl was a feminist movement that stemmed from the punk rock music scene in the early 1990s and originated in Washington state and Washington, D.C. In response to the male domination of the punk rock music scene, Riot Grrrl provided women with their own space to express themselves and discuss taboo topics such as sexuality, violence, and body image. As a way to spread the discussion of these topics, participants of the movement created fanzines, or zines, which are handmade publications created by fans or supporters of a particular topic and distributed to others with similar interests. Bikini Kill, an all-female punk rock band from Olympia, Washington, was one of the original contributors to the Riot Grrrl zine movement with their fanzine of the same title.

Scope and Contents

The Riot Grrrl Zine collection contains zines created during the Riot Grrrl movement of the 1990s, as well as later zines made in response to and reflecting on the impact of the movement. The zines consist of illustrations, comics, photographs, and typed and handwritten text cut and pasted into a collage and photocopied for distribution. They contain personal stories, poetry, and essays that cover topics including music, feminism, abuse, body image, sexism, and film. The collection is dated circa 1990-circa 2000, 2016.

Fanzines Punk culture--United States--20th century Punk culture--United States--21st century Riot grrrl movement--United States Self-publishing--United States--20th century Self-publishing--United States--21st century Third-wave feminism--United States Women punk rock musicians--United States--20th century "alabama grrrl #8" (Alecia Ruscin) 3 1 2000 "All the Money in the World CAN'T SHUT SNARLA UP" (Johanna Fateman and Miranda July) 3 2 1990s "April Fools' Day, #1" (Kathleen Hanna) 1 1 circa 1995 "Bamboo Girl, Issue 2" (Sabrina Sandata) 3 23 1990s "Bamboo Girl, Issue 3" (Sabrina Sandata) 2 1 1990s "Bamboo Girl, Issue 9" (Sabrina Sandata) 2 2 2000 "Big Miss Moviola Directory, #1" 3 15 1996 April "Bikini Kill, #2" 1 2 circa 1991 "Bikini Kill: A Color and Activity Book" 1 3 1990s "Bitchfield, #18" 3 16 1996 May 10 "Chainsaw, No. 2" (Donna Dresch) 3 3 circa 1990 "Cibola: Many in One" (Firefly) 3 4 1990s "Eat Me #2" 3 20 circa 1990s "Ethical Sluthood: An Intro to the Ethics of Non-Monogamy" 3 5 after 1996 "Faggots and their Friends Between Revolutions" 1 4 circa 1993 "Femme Flicke #1" 3 21 circa 1990s "Femme Flicke #3" (Tina Spangler) 3 12 circa 1995 "Femme Flicke, Issue 4" (Tina Spangler) 3 17 1995 "Femme Flicke, Issue 5" (Tina Spangler) 2 3 circa 1996 "Femme Flicke, Issue 6" (Tina Spangler) 2 4 circa 1996 "Femme Flicke #7" (Tina Spangler) 3 13 1997 "Girl Fiend 5 1/2" (Christina) 2 5 1993 Summer "Girl Germs, Vol.1 Issue 1" 1 5 circa 1990 "Girl Germs, No. 3" 1 6 circa 1992 "Girl Germs: Sweet Nothing" 1 7 1990s "Green Means Go, Issue 1" 3 24 1990s "Hanging Out" 1 8 circa 1995 "I'm So Fucking Beautiful, number three" (Nomy Lamm) 1 9 1996 "Jigsaw: Space Time Donuts, number 5" 1 10 circa 1993 "The Jigsaw, number 5 1/2" 1 11 circa 1993 "Kool Tile Floor, number one" 2 6 1993 "Koyanyi" (Jane) 3 6 1999 "Lady Fingers Fanzine Number One" 3 7 1990s "Lady + Hell" (Acadia Kandora) 3 18 2023 "Learning to Fly" (Erika Maria) 3 8 1998 "Leeds/Bradford/York Riot Grrrl Fastzine #3" 3 9 1993 March "Lunatic Fringe #4" 3 14 after 1996 November 29 "Personal Best, Vol. 1" 2 7 2016 "Personal Best, Vol. 2" 2 8 2016 "Personal Best, Vol. 3" 2 9 2016 "Personal Best, Vol. 4" 2 10 2016 "pitterpatter" (Amber Bayer) and "Roller Grrrl" (Erin) 1 12 1999 Scope and Contents

Contains two different zines in one issue.

"Pulp, Issue #4" 3 19 circa 1991 "R.A.G.E. Issue 2" (Empowerment Through Sisterhood, Inc.) 3 10 1993 "Real Girls Spit Fire" 2 11 1990s "Riot Grrrl!" 1 13 circa 1993 "Slant Six" (Mimi Nguyen) 1 14 1998 "Snarla #5" 3 22 1995(?) "Sonic Black Hole, Issue 2" 2 12 1990s "The Visible Woman" 3 11 circa 2000