Riot grrrl to Rookie: DIY sexuality for the teenage market

It is, of course, no surprise to anyone, I'm sure, that the media market can be a pretty hazardous place for teenagers. During these tumultuous years of puberty and identity development, it can be pretty scary looking at magazines or television and seeing a pretty narrow view of who you are supposed to be and not suppose to be. However, through my years of learning about the negative aspects of the media, I've always held on to a small grain of hope that there must be some good out there for adolescents as far as media goes. Kids are always going to be curious, and they're always going to be looking for answers, mostly it seems, answers through the media. That's why while reading the Ward et al. piece examining some of the more positive possibilities of the media in relation to sexual messages I was happy to see that there does exist, to some extent, a possible market for positive sexual messages for teens.

In the article, the authors mention the use of zines as a way for teens to find unique and positive messages about sexuality (Ward et al., 2006). Zines offer the ability for many teens to actually craft their own media, allowing their voices and stories to be heard when they are typically ignored in the mainstream. Ward and her co-authors mention the high concentration of zines created by teenage girls during the Riot Grrrl movement of the 90s. This movement is noteworthy for its ideology relating to punk culture and third wave feminism. Zines, as Ward et al. note, address topics related to "...sexuality, feminism, gender, relationships and puberty" (2006). Most of the zines I was familiar with were not sold for profit, but instead moved hand-to-hand, circulating through friend groups. There was no real 'right' or 'wrong' way to create a zine either, the only consistent aspect between these zines was their do-it-yourself nature and the freedom it allowed to teens to discuss what they wanted.


 While these zines are a nice outlet, they mostly died out after the end of the 90s. However, while zines are less popular, the aesthetic and philosophy of zines can still be found in places. Certainly a modern day equivalent can be found in Tavi Gevinson's Rookie Magazine.While it uses the moniker 'magazine' it generally has more in common with the 90s counter-culture zine, both in aesthetic and in its D.I.Y. nature. Started when she was just 16, Rookie is catered primarily towards teenage girls and discusses issues from fashion to feminism, While zines were usually restricted to knowing someone who made one, Rookie is both in print and online. Also, another huge difference is how the articles in Rookie are written. Zines could be created by one or a few people because they were fairly simple and cheap to make. Rookie, conversely, is based on contributions by numerous authors who are often girls writing for girls. If you browse their website, you can see that there are thousands of articles, organized by topic, available to read for anyone. One section is specifically designated for topics relating to sexuality, which offers beneficial reading for many girls who may have questions relating to puberty or sexuality and don't know where to look to get information.




My favorite Rookie piece is their video series "Ask a grown....". This series offers readers a chance to submit questions--either anonymously or not--often related to confusions they may have about sex, dating, and puberty to well-known celebrities who videotape themselves responding to their questions. This offers a chance to not only let younger media consumers ask questions they may be too afraid to ask in person, it allows them to see the humanity and reality in celebrities they may idealize.



While there is certainly no shortage of negative media out there for teens, it's nice to remember that it doesn't always have to be so bad. Sure, there's too much sex and violence on television, but like it or not, we live in a mediated, hyper-connected world that is showing no signs of disappearing. Sometimes, one of the best ways to respond to this negative media is not to try and remove it from our lives, but to utilize it in ways that can benefit viewers. When you can't escape something, why not try to change it instead?


Reference:
Ward et al. (2006). Uncommonly good: Exploring how mass media can be a positive influence on young women's sexual health and development. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development. 57-70.