The Shock Issue has been my biggest undertaking in my three years with this publication. The Ball Bearings Magazine team worked hard to change our style guide completely and to make sure these story topics were given justice and not taken lightly. At first, the idea expanded from “what is an event that has shocked people” to “what issues or events do we want people to care about or understand.”
Soon thereafter, we came across zine magazines. Zine magazines started circulating around the 1930s. Essentially, they were self-made booklets, often very creative, detailing a certain topic. They could be anything from short stories, poems, and lyrics to funky designs and photos, but something that really drew me to their concept was the riot grrrl movement.
In the 1990s, zine magazines were produced alongside the feminist movement and covered taboo topics of the time. They empowered women, specifically in the punk rock scene, to start their own bands and make their own voices heard. According to KCPR-FM at California Polytechnic University, the punk rock scene was very white-male centered to the point where female punk rock bands weren’t taken seriously, were mocked, or felt unwelcome, so they took matters into their own hands with riot grrrl rock.
Taking inspiration for this issue using zines and topics that were important to our staff is a huge part of the Shock Issue. From personal essays detailing loss to understanding more about reproductive health, I hope you all read this issue with the intention of gaining a new perspective.
I know I did. I learned not to take my life for granted, to savor every moment a little bit more, and to fight for what I believe is right. In the past three years of being with this publication, I shocked myself. In a good way. Whenever I felt like I couldn’t do the job, it got done no matter what.
So as you read this issue, I want all of you to take a look around you and figure out what you can do. Advocate for an issue you believe is right!
I hope these stories resonate with you, and I hope you sit with them. Let them shock you, and do something about it. Take the time to make your own zine for the world.
Make your voice heard, and don’t let anyone take that away from you.
Click this link to listen to “Double Dare Ya” by Bikini Kill.
Sources: KCPR, JSTOR, Amon Carter Museum of American Art
