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'A
Radical Response to Parenting:' Mother Rebel |
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A mother of four, Kim's zine Mother Rebel is mostly about parenting. But the zine is much more and includes a comic strip called "Radical Sluts" which is "about a group of women who are tired of the system so they seduce world leaders to get them to perform good deeds" (by Anna), a journal segment on "A Day in the Life of a Mother Rebel", "Mother Rebel Rants", essays and reviews, artwork and the like. Kim lives with her faimily in Sebago, Maine, USA. She did an email-interview with me in lightening speed - read here what she has to say about how she became inspired to start Mother Rebel and where that journey has taken her as a feminist mother. |
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My dad was in the military (air force) so we moved around a lot while I was growing up. I was born in Virginia then we moved to England when I was four after that we moved to North Carolina then back to England when I was nine. We lived in rural English villages and my sister and I went to a three room school house for a while. Then we lived on a military base and went to "American school". We have relatives who live over there and we saw them often. My parents took us on trips a lot and we went to London quite frequently. I spent many hours in Londons National Gallery and I had a good school friend who lived in a beautiful village called Orford. There is a famous castle there and we spent hours playing on the castle grounds and inside. When I was thirteen we moved to Texas. The culture shock of going from England to Texas was pretty dramatic although I do have a romantic fascination with cowboys, cowgirls and the Old West. My dad retired from the military when I was eighteen and we moved to his and my mothers home town in Maryland where I met Frank when I was nineteen. He lived next door and I thought he was hot so I went over and seduced him. We have been together ever since. I am not saying that it has been happily ever after or anything. We just made a commitment to one another. At the present we are living in Sebago, Maine in a very rural area. What
do you do besides your zine? For
how long have you been running your zine now? Are you the only editor
or is there a team? |
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What
made you decide to start this project? How did you come up with the idea
and the name?
An old friend who now has the zine Are We There Yet and I were really inspired by some of the zines such as East Village Inky and Hip Mama. We were both thinking about doing a zine so we decided to do one together. She was also involved with mamaphonic at the time. We wanted to show that mothers are more than mothers. That we are also political and involved. I also wanted to share my stories about the darker side of mothering. I came up with the name Mother Rebel because I had read that Margaret Sanger had a zine called The Woman Rebel. I just found the fact that she had a feminist zine all those years ago so exciting and inspiring. The original name was supposed to be The Mother Rebel I really wanted to honor our feminist foremothers. Somewhere along the way the The was dropped and it became Mother Rebel instead. My friend and I did the first issue together then decided to do independent projects. I kept Mother Rebel because I had initiated the idea and came up with the name and she started Are We There Yet. |
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do you hope to accomplish by making and distributing your zine? As I said above, I want to let people know that mothers are multi dimensional. In our culture mothers are supposed to do it all and look sexy doing it and that is not reality. Again, I want to show the darker side of mothering. The part that no one talks about. What topics do you discuss most often in your zine? There isn't one particular theme. I jump around a lot. Which role(s) did (and do) zines and zine making (and reading) play for you as you became a mother? To be honest, just interesting reading. I remember reading an issue of Ben Is Dead while I was pregnant with my first child. My dad saw it during a visit and he told me that I would have to get rid of all my stuff like that. I never did. |
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Having
a deadline was a challenge for me. I finally did away with it and now
Mother Rebel gets here when it gets here. I also find the rejection
and negative feedback challenging. I am only just now recognizing that
it is Mother Rebel being rejected and not me personally. Separating
the two was hard. I am also starting to realize the positive aspect of
negative feedback, it means I have pressed someone's buttons.
Do
you feel part of a zine community or network and what does it mean to
you? Do
you consider grrrl zines as an important part of a social movement? Do
you think zines can effect meaningful social and political change at large? What
were some of main influences that have empowered you (punk/feminism/zines/friends…?)
in your life? Which
role does play the Internet for you? |
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Do
you define yourself as a feminist? What are the most pressing issues you
are confronted with in daily life (as a woman/mother/feminist)?
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Email
Kim at:
momrebel [AT] localnet.com |
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