Brief Zine History
Below is a brief history of zines and zine culture. The history outlines the major technology advances that enabled zine making more and more accessible. Due to the self-published and DIY-nature of zines, marginalized communities and people living alternative lifestyles have been drawn to zines as a place for critique, analyzing, and writing about their practices, realities, and interests.
1920s
- 1926 - Fire!!: Devoted to younger Negro artists edited by Wallace Thurman is published and distributed
1930s
- Mimeograph duplicating machine became available to users
- 1930- The first science fiction fanzine, "The Comet," was created
1940s
- 1944- Xerography technology created
1950s
- The Beat Generation begins to create and circulate zines increase their underground popularity
1960s
- 1961 - IBM Selectric Typewriter introduced
- Inexpensive offset printing became available and accessible to create alternative newspapers, comics, and writing
1970s
- Azalea : a magazine by and for third world lesbians began publishing
- Punk music scene begins to incorporate zine making into their culture. These zines often made political and social connections to punk music that is reflected in antiauthoritarianism, antiestablishment, and DIY-aesthetic.
1980s
- Copy machines because more popular and accessible for publishing and distributing zines. Commercial stores like Kinko's are founded which become important sites for zine making.
1990s
- E-zines began with the creation and publishing of born-digital zines
- Third-Wave Feminism adopts the zine making practice. Groups such as Riot Grrrl used zines as a form of cultural critique focusing on feminism, sexual freedom, and following a trajectory of women authored self-published materials. (Traces of the foundations laid out by texts like Azalea and earlier iterations).
Image credit: "Xerox Alto" by donjd2 is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.