From the femme herbal transition of The Transgender Herb Garden, we are now transitioning (hehe wink wink) towards Hot Rods, a zine of health resources for âFor Folks assigned a Female sex at birth who have strayed from that pathâ in Oregon. The zine was made by Gender Machine Works, a direct action group serving âfemale assigned, gender-variantâ (or FAGV) people based in Portland, Oregon, and was published in 2002. This is the only zine we have in our digital collection made by Gender Machine Works.
Despite being written with a very specific audience in mind (FAGV people in Portland in 2002), this zine has a lot of incredibly useful, effectively timeless, information. This includes the effects of hormonal testosterone on the body, their information on routine healthcare procedures for AFAB individuals, how to check for breast cancer and do hormone injections safely, safe sex tips, and a wealth of other important knowledge for not just physical, but mental female assigned, gender-variant health.
From a use standpoint, the only downside is that a lot of the information they give is very area-specific and probably outdated. However, looking at it from a historical lens, it gives a lot of information about doctors, groups, and resources that may not be well-documented, making this zine a really important record in Portland queer history. They are also supportive of a multitude of gender identities and are incredibly open to a multitude of viewpoints regarding transitioning.
In a world where transgender healthcare rights are being taken away right in front of us, we feel itâs incredibly important to come together as a community, and know that despite everything we can support each other and find the cracks in the systems restricting us from getting essential care. We feel that this zine is a great example of the queer community doing just that.
Kit Gorton is a current intern at QZAP and graduate student at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in library science and English, with focuses on archives and media studies. A rather queer Hobbit, Kit is most often seen collecting things (such as leaves, rocks, books and the like) or doting on their cat, Good Omens Written in Collaboration by Neil Gaiman and Sir Terry Pratchett.
This story is likely part one of what might be several posts, and it goes something like this:
As an added bonus, there also was a copy of Khen-Draa, Transgender Warrior, from 1995 by Kym and Beppi. But thatâs another blog post.
Today is World AIDS Day, and while we’re not “celebrating”, per se, we are acknowledging the day, and the incredible impact this stupid fucking virus has had on our lives, our friends, our communities, and the whole damn world. In this vein, we present 
At the beginning of November we quietly celebrated the 19th anniversary of the launch of qzap.org. Back in 2003 we had no idea that this project would last as long or be as meaningful to so many amazing folks as it has become.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic began we were thinking about trying to write a thing about zines that talk abut using herbs and DIY abortion. Then came the pandemic, and in the U.S., the confirmation of another anti-abortion supreme court justice, who, itâs speculated, will work to overturn the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized pregnancy termination.
Wow! It’s been almost a year since we’ve posted anything to the blog. And what a fucking year. As we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic, we’re not doing a whole lot these days. At least, not in person. Luckily, online events are a thing right now, and we’re super happy to participate in them.