Month: March 2026

Zine of the Gay

Small But Mighty – The Eight Page Mini-Zine!

What do Emily Dickinson, anthropomorphic shapes, a questionnaire, and Barbie dolls have in common? Well, it sure sounds like one hell of a party, but they’re the topic of eight-paged zines available to read right here in the archive!

The eight-page booklet is a flexible and accessible format for zines that only need a single sheet of paper to create. It is easy to make and quick to distribute around. Like any other zine, it can cover a wide range of topics and is a great format to follow if it’s someone’s first time making a zine.

Emily Dickinson Was A Fucking Ninjacover for Emily Dickinson was a Fucking Ninja, by Mara Williams, is an adaptation of Dickinson poem Wild Nights – Wild Nights! Here, however, instead of it being about emotional desire and yearning, it is instead adapted into an action sequence featuring Dickinson in ninja garb and a hooded figure breaking into a heavily guarded room, fighting them together, and looting it. The duo leaps out of a window and escape on a boat.Cover for I'm Queer. You're Straight

I’m Queer. You’re Straight, by Vaz, is a manifesto for the future of queer liberation. The zine looks for a world that is free from the pressure of having to conform, free from labels and full of respect for everyone’s sexuality. It portrays queer people as free and communal and straight people as stuck within a system. They also advocate for sexual empowerment.  It also features a ‘pig page’ a page that criticizes police and their frequent targeting of queer people. The back page features a message from a person named Alice, which reads:

Jesus died for somebodies’ sins but not mine, fuck you! Go to hell & burn away!

Which is one tough quote to end on!

A Trans QuestionnaireCover for A Trans Questionnaire, by Monet, is an artistic zine that takes on the experiences of trans people while in the process of self-discovery. The zine itself is mostly comprised of illustrations followed by several questions. The questions themselves all range in form, from invasive and nosy to self-loathing and critiquing. The last page features a barrage of questions from the perspective of an outsider questioning a trans person. This is starkly contrasted by the back cover, which features a robotic heart with the caption “Still human…”, as the author proclaims that no matter how much they’re probed at by others, they are still human at heart.cover for 575

Finally, 575, by Gillian Beck, is a compilation of haiku. Each haiku is prefaced as a ‘report’ of some kind.  Notably, there are three ‘Barbie’ reports, each with a different view on the mass-produced plastic dolls. The first one equates her to a sex symbol, as those she was molded directly by the hands of higher beings to be placed on a pedestal and worshiped for her perfect, PCP form. The next appears to be a decry for the nigh-impossible standards that Barbie dolls emulate in their form, and that they like their body. The last report implies that Barbie is looking to find more relevance in her fading audience, falling being times…

…or at least, that’s my interpretation of the poems. The great thing about art is how one can string together their own interpretation of one’s words!

The eight-page zine is a great format to get ideas across in a timely manner. With a little bit of time, one idea could be quickly spread and distributed across dozens of small little booklets. And you, too can make one for yourself by following these instructions below!

To start, grab a piece of paper and divide it into eight rectangles as so.

an image showcasing how to fold a piece of paper for a zine

Each section will become the following page in the zine:
a folded and labeled piece of paper

Add anything you want to these eight pages. It could be a story, a guide, a how-to, a collection of drawings, or even some crumpled up trash glued to the page. Get creative! If you prefer, you can even do this step digitally in a drawing or Photoshop-like program, but make sure the dimensions are set to the size of the paper.

a fully illustrated zine

Once the pages are done, fold the paper again and cut a slit in the middle as so:

an image showing where to make a cut for a zine

Finally, fold into a booklet shape. If done correctly, you should now have a little booklet with all eight pages visible. Now that you have the master copy, take it over to a photocopier and start making copies!

a pile of photocopied paper with zines on top of them

Erica (she/they) is a QZAP intern working virtually for the blog. She is in her fourth year of school and second year at SUNY Purchase, studying New Media. They are queer in gender and sexuality. She enjoys photography, playing video games and working on her website.

Zine of the Gay

Eruption Imminent! – The Volcano (Issue #3)

Front cover of The Volcano #3. An image of a volcano erupting, a photo by Kati Tobler of a person naked and covered in fruits and veggies, and several headlines. They say “never judge a book by its cover”, but with a zine like The Volcano #3 (a subversive dyke reader), how could I not? Someone with a contagious grin covered in nothing but plentiful fruits and vegetables captured my attention, calling me in like a siren to read more!

The five different fonts used on the cover of this zine are a good indicator of what lies within. The Volcano is an eclectic selection of written and visual works addressing a wide variety of topics. From the editor’s updates on adjusting to the San Francisco dyke scene, to tantalizing, gender-fuckery erotica, to a yeast infection treatment guide, The Volcano has it all. Poetry? The Volcano has it. A book review? The Volcano has it. A reflection on working with queer homeless youth? The Volcano has it – a true one-stop-shop for anything you could ever need! This is what makes The Volcano so wonderful, in my opinion. Like its namesake might suggest, this zine explodes in your face! Reading it, I found my full spectrum of emotions erupting forth. 

Image is titled "August" by Anne Sautter. Image shows a short haired person on all fours, looking down at a dildo. Text on the top left reads "Boys Will Be Boys." Boys Will Be Boys by Jocelyn Johnson is unlike anything I’ve read before. The story begins at a drag party, and the main character, a drag king by the name of jack, takes us with them as they explore. After taking in the crowd and having a drink, they step out into the backyard, where they encounter an intense, mysterious stranger in the shadows. The spontaneity, the tension, the gender!  And oh, when – well… I don’t want to spoil it for you, now, do I? Give it a read for yourself, and I promise it’ll leave you on the edge of your seat wanting more!

Riding hot off the tails of Boys will be Boys is The Volcano Manifesto. The editors at The Volcano boldly declare their values and political stances, and as a reader, it’s comforting to see. There’s something refreshing about it – while reading the zine, I have the comfort of knowing what the editors believe in, and knowing that the people who put the thing together are on my side. The manifesto is perfect – loud, to-the-point, and unapologetic.

On the informative side, we have Girl, Ya Got the Yeasties! by Kristin Redmon. If you’ve ever had a yeast infection, you’ll know exactly the kind of hell that is to deal with. As someone who just happens to get frequent UTIs and has had the occasional yeast infection, it’s easy to feel gross or unhygienic for something I can’t control. Reading someone else’s experience with the very same thing feels really good; it helps me to feel normal, to feel seen. In addition to feeling seen about having infections in general, it’s cathartic to hear someone else criticize the same old shit I’ve had to put up with. Buying “feminine” care products while being visibly queer, trying to find the stuff you need in the pharmacy to begin with, the cost (and theft prevention measures) keeping treatments out of peoples hands, and the lack of helpful information out there – it’s all incredibly real, and incredibly frustrating!

Image of three yeast packets in a row

Redmon shares what foods to avoid if you feel a yeast infection coming on, things that tend to trigger infections, at-home remedies, and prevention methods. Everything is written super accessibly, and reads like advice from one friend to another. And it’s funny, too, which definitely lightens the mood! 

I also found myself enjoying the selection of poems included in this issue. Since reading it, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Be The Bomb You Throw by Irene Snyder of the Lesbian Avengers. 

The poem "Be the Bomb You Throw" by Irene Snyder

I work at a music venue, and my most recent shift was a Country show. I don’t want to generalize – There’s some Country I enjoy, and I have a huge appreciation for American folk, and Country’s roots in Gospel and European Folk music is incredibly interesting, but there is no denying the nationalist propaganda tool that Country music has become, and there’s no denying the crowd that it pulls in. Standing there, in a sea of people, I felt something strange and heavy inside of me when the singer praised the United States, and the crowd chanted “U! S! A!” along with him. I felt that discomfort grow as the singer proclaimed that we live in the greatest country that has ever been. I felt my stomach sink as the singer thanked all of the police officers in the country, and the crowd cheered louder than I had heard all night. 

Worse than the singer’s words was the cheering crowd. The knowledge of what the people around me might feel about me, and those I love, was upsetting. In that moment, this poem came to mind. Similarly to Girl, Ya Got the Yeasties!, feeling like your experience is seen and felt by others is empowering. Standing in a room full of people whose world does not include me, whose visions for the country necessitate my conversion, I hold dear to me the experiences of others. 

Right now, it’s important to remember that we have each other, and that there are so many people with similar thoughts, feelings, and ways of life to us. In the face of a world against us, we can take a page out of The Volcano’s book, and boldly be ourselves, and speak our minds, uncensored and unrestrained!

Rowan (He/it/they) is an intern at QZAP in spring of 2026, focusing on Zine of the Gay posts specifically. He is completing his final semester at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and is a sculptor, zinester, and library lover. In their free time, Rowan likes to read, play puzzles and word games, and care for its concerning number of houseplants.

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