Activist Legacies Roundtable 2
Northumbria University, 25th May 2023
A discussion of feminist print magazines
and their influence in the digital age
Overview | Sessions | Highlights | Hands on session | Audience responses
From Scarlet Women to sweet-thang zine, and from Bad Attitude to Bad Form and Burnt Roti, this second Activist Legacies roundtable brought together contemporary feminist zinesters with magazine makers and artists of the Women’s Liberation Movement.
An Overview of the Day
Our sessions included discussions with:
- Penny Remfry (Scarlet Women, 1976 – 1982)
- Sharan Dhaliwal (Burnt Roti, 2016 – present)
- Rosanne Rabinowitz (Bad Attitude, 1992 – 1995)
- Amy Mae Baxter (Bad Form, 2016 – 2024)
- Zoe Thompson (sweet-thang zine, 2017 – present)
- Artists Kate Taylor (Trouble & Strife, 1983 – 2002)
& Fanny Tribble (Spare Rib, 1972 – 1993)
Panel highlights
Watch the short video clips below to find out more about being left out of the Left, enduring ecologies of feminist magazines, the boom and bust effect of Black Lives Matter, the power of print in the age of digital production, the power of playfulness, feminist cartooning, zine community building and selling Heroine at the last Women’s Liberation Conference.
Left Out of the Left
Penny Remfry, a former member of the Scarlet Women collective, describes how women were ‘left out’ of the left in the 1970s and organising to make their voices heard.
A Feminist Magazine for the Nineties
Rosanne Rabinowitz, former collective member of Bad Attitude, on being inspired by the feminist magazines of thor anti-racist publications.
The Anti Blackness Issue
Sharan Dhaliwal, founder of Burnt Roti magazine, on the boom and bust effect of the Black Lives Matter movement for anti-racist publications.
Print Artefacts in a Digital Age
Amy Mae Baxter, founder of Bad Form magazine, on the joy of making print zines in a digital age and discovering women’s movement magazines
Listen to our podcast with Sharan Dhaliwal and Amy Mae Baxter, Feminist Print Revival!
The Power of Playfulness
Fanny Tribble, cartoonist for many feminist publications including Spare Rib, Manchester Women’s Liberation newsletter and Sour Cream, on the power of playfulness.
Getting a chance with Spare Rib
Kate Taylor, cartoonist and illustrator for feminist magazines such as Spare Rib and Trouble and Strife, remembers being given a chance by Spare Rib.
Community Building
Zoe Thompson, the founder of sweet-thang zine, on the continued importance of representation for Black communities.
Listen to our podcast with Zoe Thompson, Black Zine Culture
Selling Heroine
Suzy Varty, former collective member of Heroine, recalls selling the magazine at the final Women’s Liberation Conference in 1978, and the divisions within the feminist movement.
Hands on session
Audience responses
