The practice of Zine work is rooted in social activism, feminism, and gender studies as a community-building tool focused on individual expression. A pivotal moment in the history of zines was its development in the punk subculture, highlighting the importance of feminism. Creasap writes, (2014) that Zine-making embodies three important tenants of feminist pedagogy including participatory learning, validation of personal experience, and the development of critical thinking skills. The nature of zine work involves critical thinking and connection to the cognitive level of expression, validating, illustrating, and contextualizing a singular topic. Zines have evolved into more active roles in social activism and advocacy work. There is a unique element of Zine work that captures the perception of a certain topic and joins the voices and creations of many to explore a particular topic
Zines' history in social activism and gender studies has expansive qualities to highlight the personal and intimate conception and understanding of gender identity. Gender expression or gender presentation is an incredibly personal way of understanding our lived experience, this exists on a personal understanding of gender, cultural context, and societal notion of the depiction of gender norms. I can see this connection of zine work for individuals and communities to embrace personal expression and I could see this acting as a way to capture the lives and experiences of gender identity among a range of populations.
I chose the population of children for this population, specifically because of the urgency and need I have felt to acknowledge and validate the gender experience of children, specifically in healthcare. Interning within a pediatric trauma center there are a handful of conditions and causes that are almost guaranteed to be present nearly on a daily basis, this could be anything from a new diagnosis of diabetes, treatment for sickle cell disease, or asthma-related health complications. It is almost guaranteed that every day in my internship site there will be a child hospitalized in pediatric intensive care and the trauma center for suicidal ideation from a significant attempt. From these cases of children and adolescents, it is not uncommon for a patient to identify as transgender with suicidal ideations. Studies have shown that trans individuals show a greater vulnerability to experiencing mental health problems compared with the non‐trans or cis population (Wiepjes, 2020). Gender identity exists early on in childhood development. As future clinicians, it is imperative that we offer support through the creative arts, healthcare, and other social services to this at-risk population of children.
Creasap, K. (2014). Zine-Making as Feminist Pedagogy. Feminist Teacher, 24(3), 155–168.
https://doi.org/10.5406/femteacher.24.3.0155
Wiepjes, d. (2020). Trends in suicide death risk in transgender people: results from the
Amsterdam Cohort of Gender Dysphoria study (1972–2017). Acta Psychiatrica
Scandinavica, 141(6), 486–491. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.13164