Interview 1 

1. Would you say feminists are anti male or male haters and can men 
be feminists?

It's funny you should ask that last bit because the Women's Officer at
my last University organised a debate about whether men can be feminists. 
Unfortunately I couldn't attend, and I can only guess at the sort of 
issues around this question. I believe most feminists, including
sympathetic men, would say that no, men cannot be feminists. The reasons 
would be primarily to do with the fact that without the experience of 
being female in a patriarchal society one cannot comprehend and empathise 
with feminist outlooks etc. Similarly, I've known black people who say 
that black people cannot be considered racist because the whole ideology 
of racial separation is a white invention.  Personally I don't feel strongly 
either way about progressive men being considered feminists.  I have known 
many men who were tremendously understanding, respecting and sympathetic of 
feminism and that should be acknowledged.  As it happens though, in spite of 
their best intentions, each of those men still had outlooks and behaviours 
about or towards women, both conscious and subconscious, that were obvious 
remnants of a patriarchal mindset that only a man would have.  

Back to the first part of the question, no kids, it can now be told that 
feminism is first and foremost about women and not about men at all.  It 
wouldn't be very feminist to group all feminists under a particular mindset 
anyway, but anti-men or anti-male would certainly not be one of them.  Men 
or maleness are not the enemy, patriarchy is the enemy. Everybody has an 
opportunity and a duty to fight patriarchy and you don't have to be a 
woman to see that patriarchy is not just about maleness.  


2. As a feminist what certain beliefs do you hold on things such as gender 
roles?

As a social scientist I feel pretty confident that gender roles are mostly socially 
conditioned and not biological.  The gender roles assigned to girls and boys and women and 
men are just limitations for everybody.  Everybody gets oppressed by their own and other 
people's attempts to fit the gender roles assigned to us by tradition.



3. Do you think men's roles in society are better than women's?

Objectively: 
Men are less aware of the limitations of their roles.
Society expects more from men, so there is a greater burden of responsibility and achievement, 
but on the other hand men are far more likely to be recognised for their achievements. 
For these reasons I'd say men's roles are a better experience than those assigned to women. 

Subjectively:
Male gender roles are completely worthless.  Society has no need whatsoever for people who are 
competitive, arrogant, violent, selfish etc.  Therefore, the stereotypical female traits of 
emotion, caring, co-operating etc. are much better. 


4. Women who use sex to make a living; is this women being exploited by men or men being 
exploited by women?

Objectively:
By men being exploited by women I can only think that means because men are supposedly slaves 
to their sexual urges women take advantage of this for their own profit.  But if you think of 
it practically, the vast majority of women in this line of work are just trying to survive. 
It's not a profitable or secure type of work for most women.  
Furthermore, I would say it is exploitative of someone to reduce another human being to an 
instrument for personal gratification. 

Subjectively:
What the theoretical debates always ignore is the sex industry itself.  Most of the people 
in the profit-making hierarchy of the industry are men.  Most importantly though, at the bottom 
of this hierarchy is a culture of rape, drug addiction, economic exploitation etc. which is 
inseparable from the day-to-day functioning of the sex industry.  People who support pornography 
etc. are supporting all this as well just as surely as if you buy a Kit Kat you are supporting 
Nestle's infanticide in South America. 


5. What would you say is feminism/ your definition like. 

I'm glad you asked for my definition, because I am not comfortable saying, 'this is what is or is 
not feminism' and defining it for all feminists since trying to set boundaries like that seems 
pretty patriarchal to me.  For me personally, feminism means challenging patriarchy in all its forms. 
It tends to work out practically as inseparable from anarchism really, since patriarchy is coercion 
and coercion is patriarchy.  First and foremost of course I see the effects of sexism and misogyny 
in everyday life and look for the alternatives to these.  



Interview 2


1. Okay, Albatross firstly·tell us a bit about yourself, how did 
you get involved in this HC/Punk scene, your contribution to the scene
and your future plan?

First of all I better point out that I am a girl since I have this 
androgynous nickname and, as I've said before, people are male until 
proven female.  When I was a teenager I got bored with chart music, so 
when I heard a type of music that sounded exciting and actually was 
politically radical like myself I knew at once it was for me! I've been 
a punk since I was 15. I'm 24 now.  I live in London and am at 
University here studying for my Doctorate in Sociology.  My area of 
research is the children's rights movement in Western Europe.  For 4 
years I've done a zine called Synthesis (issue 4 out now).  Soon I hope 
also to start organising shows/tours for diy hardcore bands, straightedge 
bands preferably.  I have been straightedge for as long as (or longer 
than) I've been a punk.  


2. What is hardcore to you? your own definition of it?

Hardcore is the punks who reject mainstream societies values and practices 
and work to create an underground alternative counter-culture free of 
things like capitalism, profiteering, sexism etc.


3. Hardcore is a trend, do you agree? and what do you think about 
darkcore, evilcore, krishnacore·etc?

Kids who are looking for a trend to follow are nothing to do with the 
hardcore as I defined above.  Certain aspects of punk have become very 
trendy in many societies in recent years and it fucking sucks because it 
just proves how shallow people can be.  The sub-cultures of punk that 
you mentioned are the same. They are more to do with people playing with 
shallow identity games than trying to create something meaningful.  



4. How about your hometown hardcore scene. Any new zines or bands 
come out?

London is so spread out that we have not had much of a self-generating 
scene here for a long time.  There is lots of good stuff in other parts 
of the UK, but London· I cannot recommend any hardcore zines from 
London.  There is a new emo band with some kids I know in it including 
one sxe.  They are called Hythe and they will probably be putting out a 
7" soonish.


5. You are sxe right? What is straightedge to you? your own definition 
about it? And do you think that straightedge is for hardcore only or it's 
for everybody? 

Avoiding mind-altering substances and exploiting other people. I am vegan, 
but I don't think that is fundamental to sxe although it goes along with 
it very well.  So I don't drink or smoke or take drugs or fornicate and 
this is a personal choice and nothing to do with religion or peer pressure.  
I want to keep my mind clear and in control.  I think everybody should do 
the same of course, but sxe came out of punk and if people are going to 
adopt the sxe aesthetic as well as the practices I think they are poseurs 
if they consider themselves separate from hardcore.


6. How would you define D.I.Y.? And your opinion about Victory Records.

DIY is following hardcore to it's logical conclusion.  I'll borrow a quote 
from the awesome Newland zine:'DIY does NOT mean doing everything on your own, 
but doing everything without help from this capitalist system and its tools'.  
That means not bringing the profit-motive into the scene and not dealing 
with people who do.  Victory, Lost and Found, Revelation, Goodlife etc. are 
nothing to do with hardcore. They use the hardcore aesthetic and target an 
audience of people who are interested in hardcore, but they are patently 
not hardcore or even punk.  They are not an alternative and they only harm 
the scene and people in it.


7. Your opinion about bands that sign with major labels?

Again, they are not hardcore, they have selfish motives and 
they only bring harm to this fragile alternative some of us are 
trying to build.  


8. Your opinion about political bands? your views on politicians and the 
political situations there and your political ideology·. 

The more politics the better in hardcore as far as I'm concerned. I do like 
a lot of bands with personal lyrics, but it's only in hardcore that we get 
sincere political bands and that's awesome. As long as the bands aren't 
fascist or theocratic or something·Politicians·I can think of some individual 
politicians like Mandela and Mary Robinson who seem ok politically and as 
people, but most politicians are self-serving, power-hungry and all that bad 
stuff.  Contemporary Britain is a perfect example of this because for the past 
1 ¸ years we have this new Government of complete self-serving, anti-
democratic, Stalinist centrism. Their only ideology is to keep themselves in 
power and having a nice inter-national profile and they are perfecting the art 
of propaganda to do so.  

I guess my only ideology is being against ideology.  I am pretty idealistic I 
guess and I am happy to call myself an anarchist.  If I were to give another 
label to myself I would add that I'm a feminist.  


9. What do you want to say to bands that try to spread their religion in 
the HC/Punk scene? 

Mind control, patriarchical religions and ideological propaganda has no place 
in a scene that is about questioning authority and having free thought.  
These bands are taking advantage of the fact that kids in the scene tend to 
be impressionable and they are in the process of developing their identities 
so they might fall for the lies of religions.


10. How about your society around your place? Have they made any problem 
with your scene?

Britain has in the last few centuries been very open and tolerant to 
alternative cultures in comparison to a lot of countries.  Punks don't get 
bothered much these days, but ravers get in trouble and get busted for 
drugs a lot.  Punk is pretty well established as a musical culture.  As 
an arm of punk though, the squatters movement has had a lot of problems in 
recent years especially under the old Government.  It is definitely not 
comparable to the sort of cultural warfare and police harassment you get 
in SE Asia though!


11. Why do people like to judge someone from the outside look?

That is the primary way people have of understanding what another person 
is about.  We should be able to then continue from that point of under-
standing through other methods as well, but some people never learned how 
to do that.  Some people can tell instinctively many deep things about 
someone they have never met before, and some cannot.  Some people were 
taught intolerance of new and different people because of the way they 
were raised by their family for instance and some people were taught 
tolerance. 

Some cultures are more tolerant than others.  The USA for instance is 
very geared towards conformism and there is a lot of suspicion of people 
who seem 'different', and Britain is a very tolerant culture especially 
when it comes to things like alternative lifestyles.  

As I see it, every new generation seems to be more tolerant and less 
authoritarian than the last one.  We live in a very shallow world, but 
it is also a much smaller, more international world so nobody can avoid 
diversity in society anymore, so I think there will be less judgement of 
people from that level.  


12.  'Male against female' do you think this confrontation is ending?

I think the feminist revolution is still progressing in various forms and 
women's empowerment is increasingly in evidence, but unfortunately there 
is less evidence of the actual conflict between men and women ending.  
In fact, there is a tremendous backlash now with men becoming aware that 
their relative position is decreasing and they are reacting with more 
hatred of women.  I think this backlash will end eventually. 


13. I want to know how do you see this:

i) Child Abuse: A debate has just begun in Britain about whether 
it should be illegal for parents to hit their children. Of course I am 
very big on children's rights and I think nobody should hit children or 
anybody else.  The reason adults hit or beat children is the same reason 
adults sexually abuse children; because children are weak and wherever 
in society there is a power relation (men and women, police and citizens) 
there will be a (ab)use of that power. 

ii) Free Sex: Everybody should be free to have sex with whomever 
they want whenever they want.  That is a very important realm of personal 
empowerment; control over one's sexuality.  I don't think that people are 
naturally monogamous, but I don't think having lots of partners just 
because you can or because of sexual competitiveness is a very healthy 
attitude to have either. I know it's not right for me, and from what I've 
seen it only causes trouble for other people.  Using people for your own 
gratification without considering their feelings is another example of the 
selfishness that makes the world such a nasty place.  And people do get 
hurt either because they feel used or because they get a disease or 
whatever.  

iii) Racism:  ·is the ideology that the human race can be broken 
down into smaller races with biological distinctions.  It was invented to 
justify the atrocities of imperialism, and it is still around today.  
Racist murders happen in my own city, London on a regular basis and these 
are usually committed by the police.  So racism is still very strong and 
it's something we always have to fight.  I notice it in everyday 
conversation even with my friends, and when that happens it has to be 
challenged and cannot be tolerated.

iv) Capitalism:It is getting stronger all the time.  There is only 
one political power in the world, and that is multinational corporations.  
They know how strong they are and how much stronger they can be and they 
are even working together through things like the Multinational Agreement 
on Investment (MAI) to ensure that we are all slaves and can have no 
alternative to their hegemony.  We have to fight every single possible 
aspect of capitalism in our everyday lives.  Not just by keeping it out 
of hardcore, but by not buying products from multinational corporations, 
by supporting union rights, by not falling for the consumerist ideology·


14 Your comments about fastfood outlets like McDonalds?

That is one of those multinational corporations that has to be boycotted 
and campaigned against.  They are responsible for destroying rainforest, 
the enslavement and murder of millions (billions?) of animals, the 
exploitation of children through their advertising (this was proven in a 
British court last year), spying on people who tell the truth about them 
and selling unhealthy food as well as contributing to the general American 
cultural imperialism of the globe.  In fact, you and I can both be sued by 
McDonalds if you print what I've just said about them because they are so 
powerful they try to smash anyone who speaks against them.  McDonalds must 
be stopped!  In case they do try to sue us, I'll just put a disclaimer 
here that the above is all a lie and that McDonalds is great, never does 
anything wrong ever and that eating McDonalds' food will make your skin 
white and your hair blonde (according to the Director of McDonalds in Japan - 
he really said that!). 



15. What are your top 5 favourite bands/ singers/zines/labels/people
/countries/books/meals/drinks/ place/friends?

This is the self indulgent bit eh? Favourite band of all time is Dead 
Kennedys. I think the best punk band ever though was Crass.  Right now I 
also like Ordination or Aaron, Broken Hearts are Blue and Peu Etre. 

Singers·Morrissey, David Gedge of the Wedding Present and all those 
French kids who scream in bands like Peu Etre.

Zines·Sanjam, European Manhood (France), Forkboy, Newland (Belgium), 
Once So Close, Slaves of Mainstream (Netherlands), Rigsby (UK)

The best zine I ever read was Mazel-tov Cocktail, a one-off zine by 
and about Jews in punk.

Labels·Le brun, le roux, Opale (France), Spread, Armed With Anger (UK)

People·Jello Biafra, Noam Chomsky, Dirk Bogarde, Audrey Hepburn, 
Sean Wat Tyler

Countries·Britain, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and (although I've 
never been) Norway.

Books·Ada (Nabokov), Down and Out in Paris and London (Orwell), my 
Dictionary, my guide to films, my vegan food guide

Meals·Yaki Soba, Sweet and Sour Tofu, Pad Thai with Tofu, any Thai 
Curry and anything chocolate

Drinks·Provamel chocolate soya milk, Provamel strawberry soya milk, 
orange juice, pineapple juice, grapefruit juice

Place·London, Southeast London, by the Thames River in London, on 
Parliament Hill in London, on Primrose Hill in London·

Friends·of the punks: Joris Forkboy, Brob Tilt! (Belgium), Rob 
Tinderbox, Chris (UK), Jobst (Germany), of the non-punks: my 2 flatmates; 
Graham the artist and Grant the sociologist, my best friend John whom 
I've known since we were 15, David whom I've known since we were 18, 
Linus who is the only one living in London·I have never had many female 
friends!

Interview 3



1) First words and tell us a bit about yourself?


I'm reading the second of the Harry Potter books: they are
children's books written by an English woman all about a boy who
is a wizard and who goes to a school where he learns how to use
magic. They are awesome books. As of February 2000, I'm 25 years
old, proud to be a woman, love to listen to powerviolence, study
for a research degree at Goldsmiths College, University of
London, my favourite hobby is cycling, I'm an anarchist, I love
being involved in the punk scene and the best part of that is
the great people I am in contact with all over the world. Most
of my non-pen friends are not punks though and that is nice too.


	2) Some brief information on Synthesis zine, what is your zine
mainly about? what did Synthesis zine set out to achieve?

Trying to think back four years now when my life was quite
different. 
I know I wanted to be more actively involved in the scene and I
had things to say and thought I should contribute them to
discourse in the scene. There was noone out there who was saying
quite what I thought, in fact almost all I ever read in zines
was from (and about) older American boys who played in bands. 

Since starting, Synthesis has become progressively more oriented
towards outspoken anarchism and feminism and I tend to normalise
things like veganism and straight edge as well and to promote
diy ethics in hardcore as the necessary alternative to creeping
commercialism and capitalism in the scene. 


		
3) What inspired you to put out Synthesis zine? are they any new
outside projects ( gigs etc )?

Oh my gosh yes, apart from the zine is my growing zine distro
which I am very happy about. It's pretty much necessary to have
a distro when you do a zine with a large print run since most of
your own distribution will be trades with other zines. 
Also I am now starting to put on monthly gigs at a local punk
venue. I use the name the 'Xdot cottonX grrrls crew' which
sounds like a collective but right now I just want to sort
things out myself. Dot Cotton is just this funny older woman who
is a character in a great BBC soap opera. By doing the gigs
regularly and in the same venue I am hoping to get this part of
town more familiar to the kids around here and to get them in
the habit of coming. Most importantly from a hc point of view,
the gigs will be an alternative to the more commercial & violent
scene that dominates London at the moment. More importantly
overall, the gigs will be really positive & political with
hopefully lots of networking, exchange of ideas, diversity and
activism coming out of them. Each gig is a benefit for a local
refugee organisation I'm in contact with and which is badly
underfunded and also overstretched since the Kosov@ conflict.
Every gig will have announcements of upcoming demonstrations and
other events as well as info & distro stalls.  Next month will
also be a speaker from the Campaign Against Domestic Violence
and I would like for spoken word stuff to be a regular fixture
in the gigs. 


		
4) So, what is the latest development in Synthesis camp?


Issue 5 will be out soon and I think it is the biggest, best,
most varied etc. I've written about some issues that have been
particularly important to me in the last year or so like human
nature, gentrification, genetically modified food, women's
empowerment etc. For the first time I have also involved other
people in the zine by taking a couple of contributions and doing
surveys on things like the experience of being punk around the
world. Also there are interviews in Synthesis 5 (the first since
issue 2) which are with a radical newssheet in Britain, a
British activist and one band. This is the first issue I'm
having printed instead of copying and the first print run will
be 1,000 (on recycled paper of course). 


		
5) What bands do you look out for (interviews/bio)? are there
any pre-requisites for bands to get featured in the zine?
		
I'm not much into band interviews and music isn't something that
interests me very much really so the music bits in my zine are
pretty few. When I do have a band interview they have to be
really worth giving attention to.  They should have something to
say about themselves, the world, the scene and the role of their
band.  Synthesis 5 does have an interview done by a friend of
mine with an exciting band of feminists from Brazil called
Dominatrix. They are an intelligent and positive band, their
gigs and songs are about more than just music, and they have a
diy approach to hardcore. 
		

6) Is it hard for girls to be in the scene? How are girls
involved in London's underground scene?

It seems like right now there are several scenes in London that
don't know much about each other. I guess I'm more involved in
the 'hardcore' aspect and neither girls or boys are really
actively involved in things at the moment but hopefully that
will change. I think there is more sexism in the hardcore scene
in Britain than in the punk rock or poppunk scenes. The macho
metalcore thing is fairly significant in London and elsewhere in
Britain and that always comes with a significant degree of
sexism among the boys. Those boys do actively try to exclude
girls from the scene and undermine us with sexist comments.  It
does seem even worse to experience sexism in the scene even if
you are used to experiencing it every day. 


		
7) Are you straight-edge? If YES...how has Straight Edge changed
your life/personality?
	
Yes, I've pretty much always been straightedge. To me that means
no drinking, smoking, drugs or promiscuous sex. It's completely
a personal choice and one I made before I knew that anyone else
involved in punk were like me. I was sxe because I was a
nonconformist and I still am so it didn't change me much!



8) Are there any Straight-edge movements or gigs which are held
for SxE bands and Followers only?


No, I've never heard of any.  I'll be very generalising here and
say that people in Britain usually don't go in for extremism and
tend to be more tolerant and that includes scene kids. There are
almost no hardliners here and the ones who are hl usually have
to keep quiet about it since they know everyone will think they
are foolish.

		
9) I personally think SxE is a great and Healthy life. However
some people have misinterpreted SxE as kind of a new religion and
some even
put down people who aren't SxE?

Absolutely anything can be turned into an Identity with a set of
strict rules and procedures, but this is not because of some
inherent quality in the original ideas but just a tendency
people often have to load ideas with an outward expression
instead of finding the value of the ideas within themselves. It
gets negative when that expression comes to involve enforcing
ideas onto other people's lives. This all happens most obviously
with religion but it also happens with just about anything that
young people and teenagers get involved in. Often instead of
becoming familiar with one's identity people will choose one and
then adopt it's outward expressions as an attempt to become
grounded in that Identity. It is understandable that people
would do this, but it is not necessary in sxe, religion or
anything else.  


10) So what would you define Punk these days?

A radical alternative lifestyle emerging from underground art,
music and performance scenes in the 1970s and evolved into a
widely diverse international network of friends with potential
to contribute to major changes in society. 


11) Do you see any conceptual difference between the old punks
and the
modern punks in terms of what their lifestyle and what they
fight for?


I think modern punks are FAR more influenced by commodification,
even if it is only because they have to work harder to resist
it. I think also these days punks are more likely to come from
middle class backgrounds than they were 20 years ago. Animal
rights, veganism and vegetarianism are huge in the scene now and
probably the greatest single issue in the same way that in the
1980s American militarism was the big issue.  As I write in
Synthesis 5, I think that although we have achieved a lot of
progress toward animal rights, the spread of vegan Identity in
straight edge has been extremely detrimental to the scene and
has been the excuse for a big political cop-out.

12) Do you see it 's somehow irrelevant, when you're a punk but
you still do the 9 to 5 job? any comments?





We can live and even work without giving up all our ideals even

if it is difficult in a capitalist system. Everyone has their

limits, but I would hope that punks can keep in mind the dangers

of being too accustomed to and dependent upon the securities

that full-time employment seems to provide. So many people lose

their spirit and individuality through work and it isn't because

of the drudgery or routine or even having fascist bosses, but

because we tend to hold on to the way of life we have built up

and get terrified of losing it. 



13) How exactly does D.i.Y stands for bands/zines and labels?





I think if our scene is at all set apart from and better than

mainstream social, political and musical norms it has to be

because we take an approach that rejects the greed, profiteering

and consumerism that tend to become a part of every aspect of

life. Any hardcorepunk project has to be done for it's own good

and the good it might bring to our community and the world at

large. Zines, labels, bands, gigs, etc. should not be done for

personal material profit. And it isn't right to encourage

capitalist norms by having adverts in zines, putting on bands

that demand guarantees, putting barcodes on records; all that

rubbish. There is more than enough competitiveness and

self-interest in the world, let's not have it in the punk scene

as well. Let's declare our independence! We can do it without

following the example of the mainstream music or any other

industry. 



14) Would you consider yourself a feminist? What are your

thoughts on Feminism in London generally?





Feminism is the most awesome political thing I've ever come

across.  For most of my life I was sort of unconsciously

feminist but since getting to know other feminists and getting

more involved with the women's movement I have been more

interested in raising the profile of the concept of 'feminism'. 



I guess in Britain the women's movement has almost always

focussed on London and this region of the country. It was a bit

different in the 1980s when women were organised in major direct

activism in the North and the West of England. The campaigns I

take part in tend to arise from the students' movement and have

an often middle class focus. I can see that this is a very

incomplete picture, but these are the areas that I find most

comfortable and accessible at the moment.  Women's rights

suffered a terrible backlash in several countries in the 1980s

and we are only recovering now.  After laying low for 20 years,

a new wave of feminism is emerging and I think this time we will

be making some pretty great progress. Many exciting things are

happening in London anyway with the direct action movement and

various other radical resistance and now people are more likely

to see that this is all one big struggle and we can all work

together with all our particular approaches whether it be from

the women's movement, the peace movement, the environmental

movement, whatever. 



15) Have you faced any problems at the mosh pit? Did the people

harass girls over there ( at the mosh pit ), and how would you react

when someone do that particular thing to you?





Unfortunately I have to pretty much stay out of the pit these

days because it is just not fun the way these lads get all macho

and violent. I know from other girls though that a lot of bad

shit goes on like boys touching you and feeling you up. At one

of the violent metalcore gigs a girl I know was dancing and of

course got punched in the face by some stupid violent dancer. As

she was on her way to the bathroom to clean up her bleeding nose

some boy said to his friend 'Serves her right for getting in the

pit with the big boys.' I wish we could expect LESS sexism from

boys in the scene than we get outside, but we can't. 



To be honest, when I get harassed by a man I tend to be too

shocked to react. I wish I could react constructively. 



16) What would be your favourite zines and records?





Zines: It's Raining Truths from the Netherlands is very good, as

is Ugly Duckling from Belgium and I like Heartattack and Inside

Front. 



Records: In/Humanity's 'Occultonomy' 7" and 'The History of the

Mystery' LP, Team Dresch's 'Captain My Captain' and 'Personal

Best' LPs, Hard Skin's CD which has a title too rude to mention.





17) One last question, What did you set out to achieve in this

new millennium?



I didn't think about it actually. In 2000 I want to do these

gigs but apart from that I have the same long-term plans I've

had for a couple of years: doing my doctorate degree, working

for children's rights, human rights and women's rights, living

in South London and being happy, being with friends, changing

the world, bringing positive change to the punk scene, watching

more good films and reading more good books?



18) Thanx for the interview, we wish you all the best for your

zine.



Cheers girls, best of luck for yours too. Everyone feel free to

write me?





Interview 4





1)What's your point of view about pornography? And prostitution?



Most pornography is made by men and for men and this stuff tends

to reflect an appalling hatred of women so it makes me

uncomfortable and I hate it. It's like concentrated patriarchy

being rubbed into your eyes. I don't have a problem in theory

with feminist ?produced porn, but I've never seen any.

Prostitute women are the most disempowered members of society

and feminists should support them all we can. I have no respect

for the men who use prostitutes though; I think one must have a

lack of respect for a person's humanity to want to buy their

body and I think it degrades physical intimacy to turn it into a

commodity. 



2)What's your own definition of love?



When it is love of a person; selflessness. 



3)In your opinion, what is the reason because a lot of people

are afraid about feminism?



It is fear of disempowered people becoming powerful and how that

might threaten their position and feeling of self-worth. Also

people who fear the disempowered tend to think that when we

liberate ourselves we will treat them as badly as they treated

us and oppress them instead. 



4)Have you ever heard about guys who don't want girls in the

hc/punk environment?



Actually no, but I certainly know that in the more macho

sections of the hc/sxe movement there are the sort of boys who

think women have no place dancing with them in their pits.





Interview 5





1. to tell you the truth laura, I know very little of

you so how would you introduce yourself to people who

don’t know you or the way you would like others to

know you?



I’m that tall girl with the ‘XfeministX?necklace who interferes

with boys doing violent dancing at gigs and who does that

politically correct zine ‘Synthesis? I am 25 years old which I

guess is about average age for a hardcore kid in the UK.

Feminism and anti-capitalism are my favourite political activism

issues at the moment and I’m pretty active in the scene too. 



2. were you a lot different when you were younger, say

before you were exposed to this hardcore punk thing?

How far do you think has HC-punk changed you and the

world revolving around you?



I have always been a radical; but punk gave me a focus for it.

When I was younger I was much more intolerant of all sorts of

things so I have improved through finding lots of different

views and lifestyles within the scene. Punk has given me a much

more varied and exciting life thanks to all the friends I have

met and experiences I have had from being involved. Some people

I know think that the scene is escapism and an excuse to avoid

real activism but it is obvious to me that punks have been

changing the world for the past 20 years. All sorts of  radical

activism happening around the world has emerged from the punk

community and/or has significant numbers of punks involved. We

do make a difference!



3. in your own opinion how important are the ideals in

hardcore punk?



Ideals are always important since the further they go the more

will actually be achieved. Most people in the various scenes in

our community don’t seem to give much thought to possible ideals

but the people who do pursue them are the ones keeping the scene

from descending to a mere music scene. 



4. taking about ideals, what would you to those people

who act differently and very much against the

philosophy of punk?



It can be worthwhile encouraging them to take it further and it

is always a good idea to carry on with one’s own projects and

lead by example. I do encourage boycotts and/or telling people

that I disagree with them; especially when they are doing

something that encourages hatred of women, gays etc. 



5. can you tell us something about the feminist

movement in the uk? Do you feel it has gone forward

since it started? What goals have you achieved and

what other things are you still striving for?



Feminism is having a resurgence now for the first time in 30

years. The last wave of British feminism did encourage more

women to take all sorts of active roles in society and to refuse

to be trampled on. We don’t come up against as much sexism in

our daily lives as we used to but it is still very ingrained in

every institution and interpersonal relationship. The primary

thing I would like to see change in British culture is the

attitude that teenagers have towards sexual relationships. Even

after all the empowerment feminists have been trying to bring to

women, teenage girls still are basing their self-esteem on

whether boys think they are attractive. And the hatred of women

ingrained in society translates to a date rape mentality in

teenage boys ?making them inhuman sexual predators who use

females to score status points with their male peers and this is

something we must change. 



6. as a feminist yourself, what would you say to those

feminist women who hates men? And to those who

tolerate their boyfriend’s sexist activities or

attitudes?



I have never met any woman, feminist or otherwise, who hates

men, but I can tolerate it. I see feminism as a broad movement

in which we do better supporting each other than pointing out

factional disagreements. Tactically, hate is almost never useful

in promoting the goals of a movement, but where there has

historically been real oppression I can understand where hatred

of the oppressor comes from. When I find a black person who

hates white people I expect they have their own reasons for

those feelings and do not get very offended about it and if a

woman hates men I see that this is her own personal perspective

based on her experience. It is certainly a fact that patriarchal

societies like the ones we all live in are full of all kinds of

hatred for women and sometimes maybe we should point this out

with some of our own hatred. Similarly, capitalism is a violent

system although we might not be aware of it in our everyday

lives and so fighting it with ‘violent?destruction of property

seems justified to me. 



At first thought, I cannot understand why some women put up with

their partner’s sexism but then again each woman deals with all

sorts of sexism every day and we are most likely to tolerate

negative attitudes in the people we know personally. I guess

most of the time women and even feminist women will choose a

partner because he is only less sexist than the other men she

knows. It sucks when you feel like you will never meet a man who

is truly and consciously anti-sexist, pro woman, anti-patriarchy

etc. But it is also very true that women are much more tolerant

of their male partners than men are of their female partners. If

your boyfriend is being an arsehole, women are very likely to

make excuses for his behaviour, blame herself, tolerate it and

suffer in silence etc. This is because we are taught that we

have to be kind to men all the time and give them what they want

and to not demand or even expect what we want. So I worry that

many women are falling for this sexist brainwashing when they

don’t tell a man he is a jerk and has to change. 



7. from what I have read in your zine, I noticed that

you really love living in london. What do you think is

the difference between london and other places around

the world? If you were the one to choose where would

you like to be born and to be living right now?



It does seem like being born right here in Southeast London and

always living here would have been pretty awesome and I wish

this always had been my home. Certainly now I feel very happy if

I can live here forever. London is the best, most fascinating,

most exciting city in the world in my opinion. We have such a

long and varied history and it is all on display all the time

anywhere you go in this city; you get ancient Roman architecture

next door to 1990’s architecture, every street seems to have at

least one literary and historical significance, this city has

for centuries been the place of exile for refugees, artists, and

political radicals and the result has been such tremendous

diversity. On display are all the many youth cultures that have

emerged from the inventiveness and tolerance of British society.

This could be the most cosmopolitan of cities and there has

never been a conformist ‘melting pot?effect here to kill off

diversity. We have zillions of things one can do for free

whether it is walking in our beautiful parks or visiting the

Tate Modern which is the best modern art gallery in the world.

London is also a travel hub for the whole world and so a great

place to be based if you want to explore the rest of the world

as well, although one can live here forever and never get bored

or run out of things to do. 



8. UK has quite a huge and diverse punk scene so where

do you find yourself “dancing?most often?



These days I guess it is the gigs that my friends and I are most

involved in with me or a friend organising them and our friends'

bands playing. Gigs in Britain tend to happen in pubs with a

venue space in them. The gigs I go to range in style from very

mellow emo to metalcore. 



9. We’re pretty much interested to know about the

state of the abortion issue worldwide because here in

the Philippines, it is illegal to commit abortion even

in the worst cases of rape. Is abortion legal in the

uk? Are abortion clinics visible for anyone interested

in them? What are your views regarding abortion and

the freedom of choice of the woman vs. the right of

the child to live?



In Britain we can have legal abortions but we still do not have

easy enough access. There is a lot of bureaucracy and extra

emotional stress to go through and there is a time limit on how

late in the pregnancy it can be terminated. We should have free

abortion on demand at any age and without parental consent.

Abortion clinics, free contraception and family planning advice

are all pretty accessible in the cities although recently there

have been some reactionary people trying to prevent

schoolchildren from having any access even to contraceptive

advice. Contraceptives should be available free at schools as

well and in Britain we still do not have access to the ‘abortion

pill? To me abortion is solely an issue about women’s freedom

to control their bodies, their sexuality and their reproduction.

The fetus is part of the woman’s body and it is her right to

carry through with the pregnancy or to terminate it. 



10. could you expand more on this line that you wrote

in the pages of your zine- “I strongly believe that

the personal is the political and the political is

personal? for the sake of those who feel confused

about this whole thing?



Some people have this idea that ‘politics?is something ‘out

there?and separate from their everyday lives. Often they think

it is all about governments, parties and the like but humans are

political animals and every decision we make or do not make,

every action we take or do not take is a political choice.

Whether we are active in our communities, whether we are selfish

or selfless people, whether we are sexist or fight sexism…all of

these are political issues and personal issues. To say ‘I am not

interested in politics?or to decide to avoid being involved in

politics are also political choices. Choosing apathy or

ignorance in this way is denying a part of our humanity.



11. you seem to be pretty much educated in the topics

you discuss. Can you tell us something about your

educational background? Do you think it is necessary

for people to go to school? Can you recommend

alternative ways of educating ourselves rather then

the traditional way of education?



Nobody needs formal education like school. Read all sorts of

publications, discuss ideas and issues formally and informally

with friends, strangers, groups of activists etc, experience as

much diversity as you can find, and most of all, never stop

questioning everything. The hardcore punk scene is a great

environment for self-education if one is open to it. Reading

zines, being aware of the political basis of hardcore and

meeting different people in the scene has challenged me to think

much more than formal education ever has. 



12. do you think that there is any place in our

HC-punk community for any kind of organized religion

(ie. Christianity, krishna)? What do you think is the

difference between spirituality and organized

religion?



No way, no organised religion ever in punk! I think spirituality

and organised religion overlap so much that I would find it very

difficult to say there is a recognisable difference. Whether

someone does good in the world is what matters; not whether or

how they ‘worship? Too often religious people think it is more

important to try and convert and oppress people than to just be

good as individuals. 



13. in the review of inside front no. 12 in your zine

you said that the refused feature was “almost enough

to convince me that they are more than just an

overhyped bunch of hypocrites who were taken more

seriously than they deserved? Why did you say that?

Personally, I think refused was a great band. Do you

see hardcore punk bands in major or big “indie?labels

a contradiction?



People sometimes tell me how political Refused were, but I don’t

believe it. The politics was a pose, just as it often is for

many hardcore bands. How deep it really went is obvious from how

they behaved then and what they are as people now. Plenty of

bands talk politics from the stage. Refused for instance had an

anti-capitalist pose which they never practised even at the

simple level of how they put out their records. All but one of

them stopped being straight edge when the band ended. Their

performances were not situationist art but an empty spectacle

put on for the entertainment of their fans. Of course it is

wonderful that some of the people who believed in Refused got

some personal emancipation from the music, but I think that is

because that tendency was in these people already; it was not

placed there by some boring band. Their music wasn’t even

original. 



If a band is on a label that is commercial geared towards

making a profit and encouraging consumerism ?that is simply not

a hardcore band. That goes against the very basic principles

that started the hardcore movement in the first place! 



14. since this is very much prevalent topic in our

community, can you give us some suggestions of how we

can smash our traditional gender roles? Why do you

think some men act so defensively when they hear about

women-only spaces or when they read feminist zines?



I guess men are used to the world being run by and for them and

they are not accustomed to being excluded like women are. Also

it must feel like a threat when people who have been treated

like shit forever suddenly take some self-empowerment. But there

is absolutely nothing threatening to men about women-only spaces

or feminist writing. It is a threat to patriarchal oppression

and the people who want it to continue, that’s all. 



How to smash gender roles…when there is sexism going on; stop

it. If your friends / a band / a stranger make sexist or

homophobic comments then tell them what you think about it. If

you are a woman, don’t be silent and docile but speak up and

cause trouble! Men; stop using competitive methods of

communication. Make sure that everyone has a chance to make

their voices heard and that women are particularly encouraged to

speak. Talk about gender issues with everyone you know ?make

sexism, homosexuality and feminism visible so they can’t be

ignored. Challenge other people with your own expression of

gender ?kiss and hold hands with friends of all genders,

experiment with the way you dress and act. Think about how to

make all spaces  safe spaces for women and gay people. 



15. would you like to see prostitution be legalized in

england or even the rest of the world? What do you

think are the benefits or consequences that we face if

this issue ever sees the light of day?



Yes, prostitution should not be illegal. If it were not illegal,

we would have to face the hypocrisy behind the way humans and

sexuality are commodified all the time in society while at the

same time women who work in the sex industry are accused of

causing society’s ills and made the most disempowered people in

society.  I have nothing but contempt for the men who use the

sex industry, but I feel it is the duty of feminists to support

and protect prostitute women.



16. are there some organized groups of “large

individuals?that challenges existing social orders

such as the enlargement of spaces for “large

individuals?or much radical groups that blows up or

smashes “artificial beauty?companies such as AVON or

any other “beauty fascists? what direct action groups

are you involved in and can you tell us about the

activities that you do?



I guess I have not been involved in many organised groups for

action but I have been taking part in the awesome autonomously 

-run global days of action against capitalism in London: June

18th 1999, November 30th 1999, May 1st 2000. These involve

things like dressing up in silly costumes or bringing funny

signs or carnival ?type things to the demos, defacing symbols

of capitalism or government, general graffiti-making or urban

reconstruction (digging up roads, planting seeds, plants and

trees), attacking objects like cars & McDonalds restaurants,

singing & chanting, meeting new & old friends, critical mass

bike rides, frustrating the cops etc. The hardcore kids in

England tend to take part quite a bit in animal rights actions

ranging from lobbying Parliament to harassing animal abusers and

ALF-type illegal actions. I’m hoping to get involved in more

feminist direct action right now ?defacing billboards,

harassing rapists etc. 



17. how does an ordinary day in your life goes by?

What things do you do in your free time since I assume

you’re pretty busy with your HC punk activities?



I am supposed to be a full-time student so I should spend most

of each day in my office or in the library doing research, but

instead lately I do lots of cycling, exploring my neighbourhood,

reading, visits to the gym for my physiotherapy, visiting with

friends, travelling and planning for travelling, skipping

(‘dumpster diving?, and playing with my beloved guinea pigs

Blodwyn & Myfanwy. Everyday involves some forms of hc stuff

whether it’s talking with friends who I know through the scene,

reading and answering letters, sending out packages of zines,

making patches to send out with zines, reading zines, planning

for upcoming gigs etc. 



18. have you encountered any direct/indirect sexual

abuse in any punk shows or political greeting or

gathering? Hope you don’t mind me asking!



I’ve not had much of that actually, a couple of times I’ve had

men touching me at gigs which has not been terribly traumatic.

It upsets me more when I see boys acting macho at hardcore gigs

or when I see someone wearing a shirt for some misogynist band

like Arkangel. 



19. we all know that music has to be emotional in

order to move people otherwise it would be really

meaningless. How do you feel that the “emo?tag has

been fucking associated with indie rock bands trying

to cash in on our HC-punk scene?



Yeah, that really sucks but I guess it was inevitable. I just

wish that some hc kids would actually open their eyes and see

that this is obviously what these bands and record labels are

trying to do by using the ‘emo?tag. 



20. I hope it’s not too personal but can you tell us

when was the last time you cried? And when was the

last time you felt really happy you thought nothing

will be wrong again?



Sorry, the first part is too personal. The last time I felt like

everything was going to be okay was a few weeks ago, but I don’t

feel this as confidently as I used to I guess. I have been

generally very happy lately though. 



21. can you name the 5 people that influenced you

directly/indirectly how have they affected and changed

your life?



Sorry, I can only name 3!

Ronald Reagan ?made me hate government and therefore made me an

anarchist! 

Jello Biafra ?made me question more things more thoroughly and

speak out more

My best friend when I was 13 years old ?together we found all

sorts of different kinds of fun that were outside the mainstream

culture



22. what projects are you looking forward in doing? Do

you have any plans that you’d like to share with us?

Would you like to come and visit us in the Philippines

someday?



Sure, I would love to visit you folks and to see what the

Philippines is like. Right now I’m looking forward to possibly

writing a children’s book with an illustrator I know, possibly

being in a feminist band, and visiting Denmark, Iceland and

Spain for the first time. 



23. are you familiar with the fantastic true story of

findhorn? (regarding the amazing growth of plants even

from barren soil) If yes, do you think such discovery

will ever show some proof of the stupidity of

technology and science of the corporate genetic

transmutations on plants?



Wow, I’ve never heard of findhorn.  That sounds cool. I think

the powers that be will ignore the wonders of nature all they

can but we can always keep showing them that we like nature

better than their technology. 



24. is there a good bicycle scene in your country

aside from the stereotyped bicycle tour? Something

like food not bombs tours europe in bicycle? Any

movement or org. Using bikes as a tool for revolution?

And what is your own definition of anarchocyclism?



Oh yes, lots of cool bike stuff in London, South East England

and I guess in England in general. I’m a member of the London

Cycling Campaign which is a political organisation promoting the

interests of London cyclists. There are also lots of leisure

cycling organisations. Several dozen critical mass bike rides

happen on a monthly basis in towns and cities around the UK.

Some pretty cool creativity has emerged around the critical mass



scene in London too like bike-powered sound systems, carnival
bikes, bike orchestras etc. I have not heard of a touring Food Not
Bombs though. A bike is a great tool for exploring personal
freedom and liberation. Oneâs experience of the space one lives
and moves in is so different by bike than when one depends on
combustible transport. 


25. how do you see yourself 7 years from now? Would
you like to be a mother someday? If so, how would you
raise your children and what values would you like to
pass on to them? Would you like then to be like you? 


Gods no, I want to never have children. If I had to raise
children they would of course be vegan and live in an
environment of tolerance, gender equality, respect for life and
nature, and awareness of their own self-worth. 
Seven years from now I just hope I will be less confused than I
am now. 

		

26. this is all the questions I have at the moment.
Thanks for helping us in this interview and we hope
you didnât get too bored with the questions we asked.
Are there any special people that youâd like to say hi
to?


Cheers for the interview, I hope I didn't use too much boring
academic language. Sometimes I canât help it. Your questions
were great. Hi to all my friends who are working to make the
difference! 


			

Interview 6


 
1. A small introduction of yourself at this point in
your life... When is the next issue of Synthesis
coming out? Any news?

There won't be a new Synthesis for quite awhile. I'm doing other
things in the mean time. However, there are occasionally
'Synthesis supplements' that one can get from me for free. I
will also be contributing to other people's zines, updating my
website, publishing a book or two etc. 

2. Do you think language as such is prejudiced and
burdened with centuries of inequities (for instance
word woman being derived from man and such?). If so
what can we do about it?

It's up to us as individuals to be aware of what we are saying
and the meaning behind it. This is quite a simple thing to do
really and it becomes easier with practice. 

3. I was told for instance that the use of word "bastard"
is in itself verbal abuse against women, or should I
say womyn, because it is prejudiced verbal violence
against women who chose to have an illegitimate child,
do you think so?

I never use language with any possible sexist or racist
interpretations even as a joke unless it is with friends who
know that I am not being derogatory. Words like 'bitch' and all
the many, many anti-womyn words do contribute to our oppression
and we can and should find alternatives. 

4. Do you think political correctness can become a burden
and censorship and make people afraid to express
themselves honestly?

No, it just stops them from being lazy and cliched in the way
they express themselves and makes them actually use their brains
when they speak. Also it exposes the people who really are
trying to oppress others. 

5. Does your life require you to lie? If no, how did
you accomplish this, if yes, what do you think of it?

I guess not, and I have always tried to avoid lying as much as
possible; I do think it is wrong for me and wrong in general. I
do however do things that can be considered dishonest like the
occasional bit of stealing, fare-dodging (not paying for train
tickets) etc. 

6. Do you think violence is ever justified? Would you
defend yourself if physically attacked? Would you
defend people you know who were physically attacked?

I wouldn't know unless I was in a particular situation. At the
moment, I'm in a particularly aggressive phase of my life and I
sometimes feel that if I were attacked I would physically fight
back. In the same frame of mind, I would defend someone if I
thought they wanted me to. 

7. Would you defend people you do not know in the same
situation? Would you step in to defend a woman/girl
abused physically by her boyfriend/husband? Do you
think domestic violence is a personal issue or others'
problem as well?

Domestic violence is certainly not a personal issue. I would
help anyone being abused by their partner and in theory I would
defend them physically too. 

8.You work in the field of children's rights & freedoms.
Do you think children's rights also include the right
not to be brainwashed by the marketing psychological
war divisions and if so what can we all do about it?

I think I have the right to not be brainwashed so I'd say
everyone else does too! The uniqueness of concepts of children's
rights is that it totally opens up the world to interpretation
of whether something is positive for children or not so all
sorts of nasty things that we don't challenge in general can now
be challenged for the sake of children. 

9. Were you popular in school? What can be done to
prevent bullying/violence in schools? If you had a
child, would you send her/him to school?

Wow, that's the most personal question I've ever been asked! I
went to a different school every 2 years and each one had a
different social system and I experienced a pretty wide-range of
reception from the other pupils. There are two prongs to
stopping bullying:
1 - The difficult bit is addressing authoritarian structures in
society in general since these create the same hierarchies,
violence etc. in school situations. 
2 - Directly naming & addressing the problems within schools,
making schools democratic and children being empowered to make
schools the sort of environment they want. 

10. You are very against major labels and have been
quoted to say bands on major label do so for 'selfish
motives' but what is a selfish motive? Is it wanting a
decent distribution like Sonic Youth did when they
signed for Geffen? Should we write artists off and
their arts just because at some time they didn't have
much political awareness or had different opinions
from our own? Can everything be valued/judged from
just the political perspective? 

I am against capitalism. 'Artists' certainly lose credibility
the more geared towards profit-making and fame they become. In
the music industry however, most bands never had the artistic
credibility in the first place since it was always their
intention to make their 'art' a consumable product. I would not
criticise Sonic Youth for hypocrisy because as far as I can tell
they have never been anything other than a capitalist rock band
just like most others. 

We can however expect more from a band that comes out of the
punk scene because punk is fundamentally a rebellious and
challenging approach to music, popular culture etc. Our hardcore
scene is a good place for building alternatives to capitalist,
profit-motivated cultural forms. Some bands who have been
exposed to this alternative chose to follow a capitalist path
anyway. They know that they are motivated by greed, laziness
etc. and this is why they give excuses like saying they want to
'spread their message' or some similar rubbish. But the medium
IS the message. 

Everything is political. 

11. Do you think that HC/DIY scene has a tendency to
become a bit too hermetic? If not, can you give us
some example of how HC/DIY has cooperated productively
with people from different walks of life?

The diy punk scene has given us Reclaim the Streets, Critical
Mass, the global anti-capitalism movement, the contemporary
animal rights movement, countless squats, autonomous spaces and
other local projects and so many other things. These have been
achieved through our awareness that we are part of the world,
through working with all sorts of people and by having some
imagination! Many people come into the scene because they are
socially isolated in the first place and many of them immerse
themselves in the scene as their protection against the world.
But others are able to use the community they find in the scene
as their base from which to work to improve the world. 


12. What do you think of spirituality and religion?

Spirituality is okay as long as people can keep it to
themselves. Organized religions tend to be phallo-centric and
authoritarian and I hate them. 

13. Do you think it is important to stay physically
active to have a positive outlook on life?

Yes!

14. Do you like travelling? What places you visited did
you find most exciting?

I do travel a lot although it can be a headache. The most
exciting places were probably St. Petersburg, Russia and Vienna,
Austria. 
 
15. Anything else?

Many thanks for the interview. I want to encourage all the kids
out there to go out and do some feminist direct action. It's
fun! 


Interview 7



1. Please introduce yourself first punk!

Laura, 26, straight edge feminist punk etc etc. Currently
working on issue 6 of my zine Synthesis as well as running a
zine distro, website and zillions of non-scene projects.

2. How do you get involved in hc/punk scene? Are u still gonna
to stay as a punk forever?

I first got involved in the scene when I discovered that was
the place to find people who were as politically radical as
myself. I'll still be here when I'm a 90-year-old in a zimmer
frame.

3. Synthesis now have release 5 issue already. Tell me about
your first issue. What makes u to do a zine.
Has Synthesis covered feminist issues since the first release?

The first issue was very bad and coincidentally there was
almost no feminism in that one as well. I do a zine because it
is an excellent way to be involved in the scene. 

4. Right now you have to handle two things at once, the zine
and the distro. Do you face any problems with that?
Tell us about your distro. How has Synthesis distro been going
lately?

Right now zines are taking up too much space in my little
flat, but other than that it's not a problem. If you want to
have a good big distribution for your zine you pretty much have
to have a distro too. 
Since issue 6 my distro has been doing really well and for the
first time I get lots of mail orders.

5. How many interview did you received from my small country
Malaysia?

In the past year I've probably had 6 interviews from Malaysia
and that is more than the rest of the world put together. Maybe
it's my destiny to bring feminism to your part of the world. 

6. You have contact with many people around the world.Did you
faced any communication difficulties like language barriers or
problems like too many email/letter to reply?

So far language has been alright. Right now though I am doing
a very bad job of replying to letters and emails. 

7. How does hc/punk in U.K doing lately? Did you all face any
problem with police/government or even nazis?

Nazis have been lying pretty low for a long time in England.
Perhaps they know they would not achieve much if they crashed
our gigs. The government does not tend to victimise the punk
scene here like they do in Southeast Asia, but since Thatcher in
the 80's there has been a lot of legislation intended for
destroying counterculture in this country. That is still going
on now that the Blair regime is targeting our anti-capitalist
movement. 

8. Are you a straightedger? Straight edge is a positive
lifestyle and it should be promoted in society. What do you
think about that?

Well, for me sxe is a personal choice and I think there are
better things to promote to society at large such as veganism,
feminism and anti-capitalism. 

9. Hc/punk nowadays sucks. People using our community for 
money-making. Give your comment about those stupid punks who
make rubbish?

Those sort of tendencies have always been in the scene so we
might as well just ignore the greedy bastards and get on with
making our own positive punkness. 

10. How do you use your hc/punk ethic to improve society? I
mean the way you spread your messages or whatever.

My punk life is something my non-punk friends do not know much
about although everyone who knows me knows that I am concerned
about particular things, I do particular sorts of activism and I
make certain radical lifestyle choices like veganism. The best
we can do is work together with our comrades in radicalism to
create alternatives like our own cooperative housing, squats,
autonomous centres etc. 

11. You are a vegan. Is it hard to live as a vegan in London.
Can you named us your self-made vegan recipe?

London is probably the best vegan town in the world. I like to
make sandwiches with sprouted beans and pulses, cucumber and a
sauce made of tahini (sesame seed paste), lemon juice, olive oil
and oregano. 

12. Give an advice for those who want to start doing a DIY
zine.

Read lots of good zines, think about what those zines do well
and that will help you avoid making mistakes. In particular,
remember that if the zine will be photocopied you will have to
have a clean layout without lots of grey bits. 

13. Besides running a distro and make a zine, what other thing
you do? (play in a band etc)

I organize gigs occasionally, next one will be Catharsis this
August. 

14. What do you do during your freetime?

Cycling, cooking, walking around the parks in London. 

15. Your country will organize Commonwealth Games 2002.What
are you doing to supporting your country?

I think sports are shit and all this competition and
nationalism is a load of time-wasting rubbish. 

16. What do you think about Malaysia's hc/punk scene?

It seems promising.

17. Any question for me?

What do you think about Malaysia's scene? And why do so many
Malay kids write to me?

18. Give us your last word before we end up this boring
interview.

Good luck to all you kids and don't let the fascists keep you down!



Interview 8

1. Tell me about the political situation - capitalism and the
police in Britain at the moment. 

The Prime Minister Tony Blair uses Stalinist methods to carry
out his political goal of getting re-elected. Ironically his New
Labour Government has brought in some very progressive policies
and campaigns but only very quietly; almost secretively! Their
high profile policies are reactionary, populist and extremely,
dogmatically capitalist. They are carrying out Thatcherite
policies of privatising everything, making protest illegal and
supporting every right wing insanity the US administration comes
up with such as Son of Star Wars. After the police bungled the
follow-up to a racist murder 8 years ago, they are facing some
much-needed overview and reformation. There are some instances
of brutality and incompetence they are less likely to get rid of
but of course like every other police force in the world they
are also encouraged to carry out any extreme of brutality
against anti-capitalist activists. They are also cracking down
on the animal rights movement. 

2. I have heard of so much direct activism in Britain, tell me
some about the organization and history of the movement and its
impact on British society. 

We have a lot to be proud of with the direct action movement. We
have politicized things like roadbuilding and capitalism at a
time when it seemed like people would never fight for anything
again. It all happens at grassroots level and much of the
(dis)organisation involved practical (not ideological)
anarchists who are against hierarchy and bureaucracy so things
really are done totally without 'leaders' and 'spokespeople'.
Actions happen because they are necessary and because we have
thought of fun and creative ways of doing them. We involve
thousands of very different people, we do not have membership. 

3. About BSE/Mad Cow Disease, how can this be prevented and how
concerned are animal rights activists? 

At the moment the UK is in the grip of another agricultural
panic because of 'foot and mouth disease' which is resulting in
tens of thousands of animals being killed all over the country.
BSE is caused by the totally unnatural practices of farmers such
as feeding cows agricultural waste such as cow flesh! British
farmers, like farmers everywhere are drugging and abusing
animals and destroying and polluting the environment. Britain's
agricultural economy is a big thing to address from the basis
though of course it upsets all us vegans here to see the daily
destruction of sick and even healthy animals on television. Most
animal rights campaigns address other industries such as
vivisection which is easier to change and more sympathetic to
the public. At the same time of course we are encouraging people
to change their eating habits and this is effecting the meat and
dairy industries. 

4. So, what is the reason of the Genetic Experiment - pollution
and VCJD production - is genetic modification dangerous? 

The usual reason - evil greedy capitalists. They want seeds that
can't grow, vegetables with pretty colours but no vitamins and
all sorts of other totally unnecessary rubbish. The cause of
VCJD is still unknown. It will be generations before we know the
results of GM. If we let the GM industry get away with their
abuse of power that in itself will be dangerous. Already their
products have resulted strains of indestructible insects and I
am certain that many of their creations will continue to have
adverse effects on animals, people and the environment. 

5. What are your dealings with political activism? 

I get to the global days of action in London, occasionally go to
animal rights things, distribute lots of literature and
resources and do similar little things like that. I am
particularly interested in activism in these areas: feminism,
animal rights and peace & disarmament but I do a bit of
everything I guess. 

6. As a feminist what is your impression of fashion slavery and
economic exploitation of women/girls by the industry? 

It will take many years, a couple of generations to get people,
and this now includes men and boys, out of this mindset of
concentrating on their outward appearance. The people in these
industries surely have no conscience. It goes beyond exploiting
people for financial gain; it affects how people view and treat
each other; whether it is between females or between the sexes.
It affects people's feelings of self-worth. Ultimately the
'beauty' and 'fashion' industries contribute tremendously to a
cycle of unhappiness and consumerism in which most people are
trapped. 

7. American democracy and law - your perception of that? 

The American people have many destructive mindsets, but a major
problem with their policymakers is a totally insular
perspective; they just do not know that the rest of the world
exists and this helps them to not see how evilly destructive
their foreign policies are. The recent rejection of the chemical
weapons treaty is a classic example. I hate the USA and wish it
would fall into the ocean. 

8. What do you have planned for the future of Synthesis zine? 

A new issue out in 2002 all about the nature/nurture debate,
feminist direct action and contraception. 

9. Anything to add before the end? 

Thanks for sending me some of the most inspiring questions I've
had in awhile. Solidarity with all you kids in Malaysia fighting
the authorities! 




Interview 9
 
1. Please introduce yourself, who you are, what you do, why you
do a zine.

I’m currently 27 years old and a research student in the
Sociology department of Goldsmiths College; the famous haven of
radicals and artists. I also shelve books in the library to pay
my expensive London rent. My lifestyle is pretty typical for a
London anarchist type: vegan, cyclist, activist. I am also part
of the collective that is setting up the autonomous centre
‘Emmaz’. I started doing Synthesis zine when I was 20 because I
wanted to be more involved in the underground scene and writing
for me is easier than music… If I have a bee in my bonnet the
zine is a focus for expressing and exploring the issue.


2. What does your zine focus on? What does it mean to you?

Issue 3 was when my zine took on a distinct personality. The
articles tend to have a strongly feminist point of view. Each
issue has some sort of critique of some aspect of the straight
edge scene, and there are one or two spoof pages. Up to now I
have had zine reviews but the next issue will be review-free.

With Synthesis I wanted to provide an interesting, fun,
intelligent, inspiring zine that encourages people to engage
with radical politics, feminism, veganism and the other things I
like. My zine has put me in contact with dozens of people all
over the world including some of my most beloved friends. Most
of all my zine gives me another way of engaging with people.


3. What’s so great about zines? Any shortcomings?

Zines give us much of the social, political and community
aspects of the underground and ensure we are a network and not
just a music audience. However sometimes the people who write in
zines can become something of an elite in themselves much like
the people who play in a band.


4. What do you think is the political relevance of zines?

Much of our political dialogue takes place in and is documented
by zines and zines can also be a force for change when the
writers use them as a place for campaigning. For example, my
article on Nestle in issue 4 brought the issue to many, many
people for the first time and encouraged more people to take up
the boycott.


5. What generally impresses you in a zine?

I like to see good writing and I like to see it laid out well
and attractively since this makes people more likely to read and
take in what is being said. I love to see good feminist pieces
that are lacking in cliches and political articles that come
from people’s personal experience. The women’s issues of Heart
Attack were pretty good. All these zines are by women: a London
riot grrrl zine called Bitter Strawberries, Morgenmuffel,
Fucktooth and Personality Liberation Front.


6. Who do you reckon reads your zine? Do you get a lot of
feedback?

Most of my readers are hardcore kids/punks, some are riot
grrrls, some are general feminists, some are non-punk
anarchists, some are non-punk friends of mine. I do get a great
deal of feedback, usually by letter. Best of all is when it is a
young woman who has felt inspired or empowered or when it is a
young man who has started to question his sexism.


7. Any advice on entering the world of zines?

Read good zines and take account of what is good about them.
Print zines cheaply and on recycled paper. Distribute them at
gigs and other events aswell as through the post. Trade with
other zine editors and keep track of your zine-trading network.

Interview 11
1. Tell us a bit about yourself,what you`re doing and little
definition about feminism.

I see feminism as the only consistent challenge to patriarchy. I
want to live in a society based on co-operation and peace rather
than coercion and greed and so I am a feminist and an anarchist.
Believe it or not I'm not really into labels, but they are
useful! I live in London where I am researaching in sociology,
bicycling and helping to establish an anarchist autonomous
club/venue/social centre.

2. You making a zine,right? By making a zine,how you think it can
change people's views about feminism as long as that reading
material is only at your circle and seems people especially
woman is less concern about this topic.

Issue 5 of my zine Synthesis had a 1000-copy print run and is
also being reprinted as well as distributed around the world. I
think I am getting to many people and a few are even not
involved in the punk/anarchist scene! I don't think women are
especially unconcerned about feminism although most people have
fallen for the bad press feminism gets. People have told me that
things I have written have changed their views on gender issues
so I think I am doing a bit of good. Best of all for me is when
a girl who has not been active in gender politics before gets
inspired by what I have written. We girls need to empower each
other!

Interview 12

1. Can you introduce yourself – name, age, political persuasion & favourite French emoscreamo band please! As many people here in Australia may not be familiar with Synthesis, it would be good if you could also tell us about you and your zine – and maybe a little bit about your children’s rights research.

Laura, 26 years, radical radical and it’s probably still Alcatraz! My zine incorporates some musical stuff I am interested in, the punk stuff is mostly infused with my feminist, anarchist, vegan, straight edge bl@ bl@ politics and the sociology I’ve been studying formally for the past 4 years. Right now I’m at the University of London for an MPhil on the contemporary children’s rights movement in Western Europe but after years doing this I’m not keen on going into it in detail!

2. From the point where you first discover punk, there can be quite a gap of time until you become an active participant and contributor to the scene – and what I’m interested in is the process you go through in acquiring that self-confidence to become more involved. Were you ever an “observer” on the outside of punk, wanting to contribute more, but not quite sure how to go about making the transition?

I never felt like I was outside of punk, but I did always want to get more active and I probably still feel that way. I started just by keeping punk penpals and feeling more a part of the scene that way. The social network interests me more than the musical superstructure. Finally I saw doing a zine as a relevant way of interacting socially so I did one.

3. What is the discography of Synthesis releases (cos we know we have to make zines sound like records in order to improve their place in the punkrock hierarchy!)?

Synthesis issue 1 was my first ever zine and that came out in the summer of 1995. It was very, very poor and certainly unrelated to where I am now apart from the references to being straight edge. Issue 2 came out a year later and was a progression in that style and content was a bit more thought-out but it was still somewhat a mess. With issue 3 Synthesis had become pretty much what it is now, better quality writing, a much more sensible layout and decent content that people could really respond to. Issue 4 is the only back issue still available. I made a much bigger print run and really knew what I was doing the zine for, considerable feminist content, resources, comedy bits, reviews and a bit of personal stuff thrown in because that is what people like. Between 4 and 5 I improved my website to make it equivalent to a zine as far as people finding out what I am all about and also getting to the resources I think are important more easily. I am very satisfied with issue 4, I’ve learned a lot from the various reviews and critiques I’ve had of past issues and I knew that I had produced something worth reading. Also this issue comes with a free patch and the cover is available in 3 different colours.

4. Do you often find the pro-zine distribution network is quite distinct and separate from the general hardcore music distribution network, or is there some overlap?

No, I do not see two separate scenes going on between music and zines. There are people and distros that are non-zine and distros that are not into music, but there is a lot of overlap actually.

5. Once you have a relatively large print-run for your zine, bulk-trading and/or doing a distro is basically the natural extension of your zine, the logical next step in distributing your publication far and wide. With Synthesis, do you find that trading multiple copies with other kids who do zines is the best way to get distribution in other parts of the world – particularly in developing countries? What else would you recommend to kids who are wanting to distribute their zine throughout the worldwide punk community?

So far the bulk trading has worked very well for me. I have had a lot of pleasure from distroing zines and my zine has gotten absolutely everywhere. The zine trading happens in conjunction with building friendships though, you support each other because you like and respect each other. As well as each others zines. I do special things to make my zines affordable for distributors and kids in developing countries such as discounts subsidised by higher prices for the rich countries. It takes awhile and a fair amount of research and work to build up a good network with good people around the world. This is why in issue#5 I included a list of cool distros and the review pages in the good zines are also useful for finding people.

6. As a punk feminist sxe sociologist, what are you thoughts on the limitations of the dominant masculine construct on men’s behaviour? Like, there seems to be a real tendency for men who possess traits like softness, vulnerability and empathy to regard this as embracing their “feminine side” – whereas I think that men should be willing to create versions of masculinity that include these traits, rather than ascribing them as feminine. What do you think? Who are some men that you consider to be living real, positive alternatives to the dominant version of masculinity – ie. guys who have found more empowering, fulfilling, non-oppressive ways of being male in this world?

It would be good for men to realise that they are as limited by gender roles as are women and that it is in everybody’s interest to fight gender roles. Gender is constructed, if men believe that being empathetic is not for men, that is because they learned this idea from a sexist society. I know several men who are relatively non-sexist. My father is the best male role model I know of, totally anti-sexist and has all the good traits ascribed to either gender. Also there is this bisexual guy I know who seems really actively challenging to all gender divisions and stuff. There is another lad I know who is involved in lots of cool activism as well as some riot-grrrl type stuff. Those might be the only positive examples I know of unfortunately. That is sad, I know. Probably tomorrow I’ll think of someone else really obvious, but really men are so much more conformist to gender roles and so much more dependent on sexist standards. Men are so conservative, even the anarchists and even the ones who would always share the housework etc. Even most of the men I know still hate women on some level even though they may not be aware of it. I don’t let that get me down; I just accept it and accept that it will always be women who are fully trustworthy.

7. As someone who is involved in organizing DIY hardcorepunk gigs in London, what do you consider the current state of squatting to be, in terms of spaces that are suitable for holding shows? Have there been any attempts to set up a post-121 Centre squat venue that would achieve similar goals in the community?

Funny you should ask about that. After the 121 got evicted, we’ve seen so many quick evictions all over town and we’ve resigned to sorting out a fully legit diy venue. A collective of anarchists has formed and the organisation will be called Emmaz Club. Right now we are shopping for the appropriate building to buy which will be a venue, (non-subsidized) bar, vegan caff, community centre, and possibly also an info shop and wholefoods shop. We’re getting money from various sources and I’m hoping to be up and running before the end of 2002. Info available on www.emmaz.org.uk/

8. Well this is the last interview question, and the end of my first attempt at doing a non-band interview – so thanks for being part of it Laura! But first, tell us your:
(a) favourite way to manipulate tofu into something tasty;
(b) favourite songs to motivate you for the day ahead;
(c) favourite non-chemical ways expanding your mind/bringing about your own personal little straightedge revolution?

Laura: (a) Freeze the tofu and then let it thaw, it will have gotten a nice chewy texture. Squeeze all the water out, cut it into cubes/strips/whatever and marinade in soya sauce and garlic granules or powder. Shallow fry, turning over until all sides are golden and crispy. Eat on its own / with rice / add to Chinese or chili or curry / serve with a chili or peanut sauce whatever. People will say “Is this tofu?!”
(b) I warn you, I’m at a kitsch phase of my life! “Pillow Talk” Doris Day, “Lover Come Back” Doris Day, anything by Burt Bacharach, “I am Woman” Helen Reddy, “The Eagle and the Hawk” John Denver, anything Bossa Nova, the soundtrack to the Monkees film “Head”, “Listen to the Band” the Monkees, “For Petes Sake” the Monkees.
(c) Cycling and orange juice.


Interview 13
follow this link...

Interview 14
         
1)  Has the anarchist movement become more powerful and massive
globally since the events in Seattle? 

Yes, although of course not usually under the label 'anarchist'.What changes do you find? 
More diversity. We feel like there is more anarcho-activism
around and so instead of working for solidarity we are assuming
general solidarity and just working in ways that interest us
individually with people we feel strong connections with. 
Is there a strong component of 'lifestyling' in the contemporary
anarchist movement? 
Yes
To what degree are todays anarchists engaged with theory (follow
new developments, read, write) or does anarchism just revolve
around activism (joining to organize, protest, actions and
similar events)? Do we, as anarchists, have enough contemporary
anarchist theory? 
The old anarchists obsessed with political theory are dying out
and being replaced by people working on practical and more
involved anarchism. This is not just protests but also things
like co-operatives and social centres. There is enough relevant
theory around for those who want it. THe best anarchist theory
and approaches are the simple ones such as co-operation rather
than competition. 


2)  Where's the economy base of anarchism? Do anarchist work on
decentralisation of global economy during the fighting against
neoliberal globalisation? 

No, there is generally not a very sophisticated analysis of
global economic alternatives. Where it does exist it tends to be
based on the principle of 'think globally, act locally'. Most of
the thinking and work in this area seems to be happening in
People's Global Action and the like. 


3)  To what degree is violence present in contemporary anarchist
  activities since Seattle?

Not very. I see 'violence' as attacks on the living rather than
on property. There are attacks on property pretty regularly by
the ALF and on days of action but it is impossible to say to
what extent this is the result of state agents provocateurs and
all such acts have to be seen in the context of media coverage.
How much is calculated to get us in the news? 

4)  Has anarchism gotten beyond the frame of narrow politics
(antiauthoritarian ideology and critique of state)? If so, what
are the new forms? 

Yes, particularly from anarcha-feminism and animal rights.
Co-operative projects are re-merging in the scene now as well
and child liberation may be next. 
How much of different interests are in anarchist groups; how
successful is co-operation with other (non-anarchist) groups;
what does the decision process looks like on that level?
I have not seen much successful co-operation with non-anarchists
outside of the feminist movement in which we exchange ideas and
expertise very effectively. 

5)      How present is anarchism in recent art and cultural
praxis, especially since Seattle? Are these parts of society
well connected with anarchism? 

No, but some anarchist artists get rather a lot done in this
country although not to a mass audience or even a mass art
audience. 
Is there enough contemporary anarchist theory? 
Art theory you mean? I don't know. 


6)      Could recent anarchism in the form we know it be an
inspiration for the majority of people in 21st century? 

The emerging eco-co-operative anarchism could, yes. 


7) Does anarchism offer answers to questions about how to organise
life for a better future (housing, public transport, facilities,
education, health...)? 

Somewhat yes. 


8) Does it offer practical alternatives in the fields of law,
courts, police and other state institutions) as it seems
unlikely that people will want to accept something new if isn't
clear what the consequences of changes may be? 

This is a new development, but the only examples I know are
again from anarcha-feminism within activist groups who are
confronting rape and sexual harassment within the activist
community without resorting to state bodies. 


9) How much do today’s anarchists accept, use and work with modern
technologies?

Pretty well. Indymedia is the most useful example I can think of
and that also brings together many types of new technology. I am
not very enthusiastic about online discussion forums but
activist egroups are wonderful and enable us to organise much
more better and much more quickly.

Interview 	    15
             

1) What would you email Morrissey?
When are you going to go vegan for the animals? 

2) Key films in your life
Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders)
A Canterbury Tale (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger)
I Know Where I'm Going! (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger)
A Matter of Life and Death (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger)
The Parent Trap (starring Hayley Mills!)

3) Your bike is stolen-how do you feel?I have insurance for it so I would have a conflict about what I
should do with the insurance money - get the same bike, get a
cheaper bike or get a new recumbent instead!

4) Desert island records
Carmina Burana (Carl Orff)
The Waters of March (Antonio Carlos Jobim)
Lily (Kate Bush)
Wuthering Heights (Kate Bush)
Tallis Fantasia (Vaughn Williams)
Your Going to Need Someone on Your Side (Morrissey)

5) How feminist are you?
I gender critique most things so I guess I am always in active
feminist mode. I think feminism is about a fundamental critique
of and challenge to power hierarchies in society. I want to see
hierarchies and oppression eliminated which is probably about as
radical as feminsm gets.

6) Is there any point preaching to the converted?
Not preaching, but edifying through positive reinforcement,
community-building, and new progressive projects.

7) Top british indie-pop bands
I don't like any at the moment; not even any old ones. There are
no good or interesting ones right now.

8) Best thing since chocolate mint crunch biscuits
Peach & pear smoothies

9) Interesting zine
I am interested in reading the new issue of Inside Front when I
get it. The previous one was meant to be the last but I am not
surprised he changed his mind.

10) Fave hang out place
The riverside near my flat. I live across the street from the
Thames and cycle to work alongside the river. It is pretty
magical.

11) Most expensive item of clothing bought
A pair of Doc Marten's shoes just a few months before I went
veggie 11 years ago and no longer wanted to wear leather. Oops.
I still have those things somewhere. I should sell them on Ebay;
they are in perfect condition.

12) What do you think of Tony Blair?
He is not a sane man. Even before he went obviously mad I never
understood his motivations.

13) Emo-laughable or seminal?
I'll say that 'seminal' is a patriarchal word and that I love
old school emo. Laughable is a good thing and I think the best
emo has a self-aware irony going on.

14) Great writers
Vladimir Nabokov, T.S. Eliot, Phillip Larkin
No women at the moment I'm afraid

15) Do you like to be beside the lake?
I am very fond of Lake Konstanz but most bodies of water freak
me out; something to do with not knowing what is lurking below
the surface. I much prefer rivers and streams. I guess I prefer
when things keep moving.

16) Who’s beautiful?
Anyone with an inner light shining outwards.
And Dirk Bogarde circa 1963 phwoar.

17) Top singers
In no particlar order...
Ella Fitzgerald
Kate Bush
Sinead O'Connor
Nina Simone
Astrud Gilberto

18) What are you reading?
I just got the new Harry Potter book (Order of the Phoenix) and
I'm tearing through that very quickly. Reading that has
interrupted my reading of the Satanic Verses (Salman Rushdie).
At work while I shelve books I have been listening to the book
on tape of The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy). Reading two
Indian novels at once has been rather confusing actually.

19) Fave drink

Water actually.

20) What do you say to those who read synthesis but remain
unconvinced by anything you say in it?
Probably that we have to agree to disagree but secretly I will
be thinking that the feminist ideas may germinate in their minds
and influence them in the future.

Interview 16

1. When did you get involved in doing zines? And why did you get
involved?
My first zine was Synthesis 1 and that came out in 1995. I did a
zine because I was not musical but wanted to be more involved in
the scene. With a zine to trade and express myself with I
figured I could get to know more punks and feel like I was
making a contribution.

2. What do you hope to achieve by being involved in zines? Does
the zine you write have any particular aims?
Through my zine i have met many great folks around the world so
my initial goal has certainly been reached. After the first
couple of issues I realised I could also affect other people's
outlooks with what I write and how I write it so that is a newer
goal for Synthesis; to influence readers and maybe even inspire.
The sorts of ideas that Synthesis now represents are things like
veganism, anarchism and feminism. I try to put these across in a
very accessible way so people can understand what I am saying
and hopefully feel sympathetic towards the politics even if the
ideas are new to them.

3. Do you think it's still important to address feminism? Is
this something that you do in the zine you work on?
Feminism fundamentally challenges all hierarchy and oppression
and particularly in the areas of gender and sexuality.
Patriarchy oppresses everybody and these challenges can benefit
everybody. Sexism never went away and the worst forms of sexism
are certainly not in decline - sexual violence, domestic
violence and trafficking are few examples.
Only feminism challenges the double standards imposed on women
and only feminism encourages positive alternatives to
traditional masculinity.

4. Have you experienced sexism within the punk/ zine community?
Very little has been directed at me personally although I know
women in the scene who have experienced much worse. I have been
touched at gigs and have seen and heard enough to know that the
punk scene is not that different from mainstream society as far
as sexist attitudes go. Sexism is far more tolerated than, say,
homophobia or racism. It is the sexism of ignorance rather than
conscious hatred though; I think a lot of these boys just have
never been presented with alternatives to the attitudes of their
parents' generation.
The early punks deliberately challenged gender roles but that
has disappeared from most of the hardcore scene that instead
tends to be a playground for boys to give public display to
dodgy masculine stereotypes. This tuffguy macho scene is pretty
alienating for people who don't worship these outdated gender
roles.

5. Do you see a problem if only women tackle feminism, queers
homophobia, blacks racism etc. etc.?
Of course, feminism has failed because it always addressed women
and ignored men. Now many of us see that the only way to end
patriarchy is if men are making as much effort as women to
challenge their own gender roles.
All these social categories are a form of divide and rule that
harms everybody. Sexism, racism etc. harm our whole society and
they are totally artificial stratifications that have been
created to preserve power relations.

6. Why do you think more guys are involved in the 'scene' than
women?
How do you think this can be changed?
For a start, groups reproduce themselves by example. We join
people who we think are like ourselves. Most hardcore kids are
white and male. Most are also brought into the scene by someone
else and since young people usually have single-sex friendship
groups that keeps the line of influence pretty male.

As I wrote above, the scene is now largely about displays of
masculinity so that makes it more likely to attract boys who are
into that sort of thing. Unfortunately the masculinity of the
scene is what makes it so exclusive. The character of hardcore
is somewhat similar to other mostly-male cultures like science
fiction fans for example. Involvement in this scene often hinges
on a nerdy extent of knowledge of and interest in a specific and
limited strand of music and if you have little interest in
record-collecting and discussing the family trees of bands and
labels you can get bored pretty fast. Most of the hardcore
scenes I have come across have been pretty unwelcoming in the
first place - cliquey.

One does not have to look very far to find women just outside
the hardcore scene - riot grrrl, animal rights and other
activist scenes are largely female. These scenes also tend to be
more holistic and relevant to real life than hardcore is - there
is more going on than music and empty slogans.

The main way the scene can be more attractive to a diversity of
people is if it becomes more fun. Go to an event organised by
radical queers or road protesters and you will find out what I
mean by fun. Hardcore has very little celebratory spirit,
limited creative expression and absolutely no colour.

7. Do you think other people see zines as a valid part of the
'scene'?
Sure, even the most ignorant macho prat wants to see his
opinions in print and to read what his favourite Christian metal
band has to say in an interview. On the bright side, many folks
have had their lives transformed by a good zine or even an
inspiring column in MRR.

8. Has writing a zine helped you find a voice?
I think I had one already, but the zine gave me a great focus
and discipline. I am very grateful for that and for the
excellent feedback I have had from people I respect.

Interview 17

1. what is your name? your age? where are you from? how are you
involved in hc/punk/politix/whatever?
Laura, 29 and living in London, UK.
On my own I sometimes do a zine called Synthesis and
consequently a zine&book distro. With other folks I co-run a
squatted social centre, am trying to set up a permanent social
centre and do things for the London Social Centres Network. I
take part in various information and action campaigns such as
feminist self-defence, animal rights, anti-capitalism etc.

2. how long have you been straight edge?
I first heard of sxe 13 years ago but was drugfree etc before
that.

3. what was your motivation for your decision?
Drinking and drugs were obviously a mainstream thing and I
always resisted doing what everybody else does. Also the kids I
knew who did like that stuff were very boring about it and most
boring of all when they were under the influence. I did not want
to be another pretentious loser obsessed with getting off my
face.

4. what does living sxe mean for you now? did it change your
life in a way?
It was a bit like seeing through the Matrix. When I realised
drinking was all about false consciousness I began to see how
other fake desires and escapes were also rubbish. I still have a
critical view of society and I continuously face conflicts with
drinkers and users as much as I ever did, for example when I was
recently present for a discussion about whether hard drugs would
be welcome in our social centre.

5. do you consider sxe as a political thing too or "only" as a
personal choice?
As we feminists have been saying for years; the personal is
political. I believe we can achieve more when we are sober and
that alcohol in particular ensures that the majority of people
tolerate the intolerable.6. how do you define sxe? how do you interpret Ian MacKayes
(Minor Threat) "I don't fuck!" in Out of Step?
I do not drink, smoke or take recreational drugs and I generally
avoid caffeine as well. I think the 'don't fuck' message is
extremely important but not primarily because people use sex for
escapism. I don't believe in using people for sex or for
anything else. Most straightedgers don't bother to challenge
mainstream sexual behaviour. I know a lot of sxe folks just use
people's bodies for mechanical and exploitative sex. Sex without
intimacy and an honest connection between partners can degrade
both people's humanity. Respect your partner.



Interview 18

1. Could you give me a bit of background info on your zine? When did you
start? What were your motivations? Do you see it as a political zine?
I started the zine in 1996 because I wanted to be more involved in the punk scene and I wanted an excuse to do lots of political ranting in the areas of feminism, cycling, animal rights, anarchism etc.

2. Have you seen any increase in the number of political zines in recent
years? Or are more people writing about their views on websites?
I lost track of new zines about 2 years ago so I am not certain what is going on at the moment. I don't look for hc websites much but I notice more activism being documented and information spread on the internet rather than online zines.

3. Do you think that the act of writing any form of zine away from mainstream
networks is political?
 No.

4. How effective are zines at building activist communities?
They can inform and point people in the right direction for taking more action & finding other activists so I would say they can be part of an equation.