FINAL PROJECT: "My Emerald City"

Growing up with my younger sister, Megan. There was nothing I wanted to do more than to protect her from the world. I never wanted her to face any injustice, to feel scrutinized, to feel embarrassed. 15 years later, still feel this way. I began to wonder, "Why do I feel this harsh need to protect her? Protect her from what?"

Virtually everything I have learned about feminism has stemmed from after high school graduation. Even at the age of seventeen, I still had bra-burning, man-hating connotations with "feminism", let alone understand the basics of the male gaze, or an oppositional gaze. I grew up in a small town where the status quo was harshly implemented. The mainstream media was everything, movies and TV, but hardly anyone questioned what was going on behind the screen, the women involved, the messages it was giving us. Fortunately for Megan, who still lives in my dreary hometown, she's still being semi-raised by two fierce feminist older sisters who want to teach her everything we have (painfully) learned. But what about the girls, like me, who never had that in high school? Who went along thinking thinness equals beauty, trying to fake a pleasure in football to be the "cool girl", that the rare glimpse of an actually "cool girl" on TV was a treat, rather than expecting it.

Cover of my zine

I looked at a few readings to help guide my understanding of how I wanted to construct my zine and my interviews with family and friends. I turned to bell hooks when I interviewed my grandmother about patriarchy in the 30s and 40s. I turned to Naomi Wolf to guide me as I discussed body image and conventional beauty with my tough friend Rachel. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie inspired me so much with her "The danger of a single story" I used it to help me understand why media visibility is so important, especially with women and people of color.

The title "My Emerald City" refers to my sister: finding her was like finding my brain, my courage, my heart, and my home. By my mother giving me a new little person to look for, I learned to look out for so many other girls. It gave me the reassurance that no matter what I do, I want to make my sister a role model. And, it should be noted, that there is no other role model more powerful for a little girl than a powerful big girl. 

My goal for this zine is for ever single teen girl in the world to have a copy. And while that is far fetched, it lives in the hands of my sister and her friends, and you can hold it here. There's also a place for you to reach out to me and contribute on making my second issue. So click it!


Resource List:

The Danger of the Single Story. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. TED.com, n.d. July 2009. Web. 

hooks, bell. "Understanding Patriarchy." The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love. New York: Washington Square, 2004. Print.

Wolf, Naomi. "Culture". The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. New York: W. Morrow, 1991. Print.