Zines (short for magazine or fanzine) are handmade, self-published works created outside of traditional publishing channels. Zines can be personal, political, or experimental. They’re often passed hand-to-hand and have long been a tool for marginalized communities to tell their own stories.
For trans and queer communities, zines are more than paper and staples. Zines are queer history keepers, preserving stories left out of textbooks. They are a way to say: I exist. I feel. I refuse to be erased.
Our Building Our Stories zine-making workshop honored this legacy. We invited our trans and queer community to gather, reflect, and make something deeply personal: our own narratives.
Want to learn more about zines, including how to make your own? Watch our full workshop below to learn step-by-step how to make your own zine! The best part? No experience, art skills, or fancy supplies are required.
Lenna Larva, PhD (she/they) is an author, educator, coach, and consultant specializing in gender, sexuality, and relationship diversity in a neuroinclusive framework. Outside of her role as Peer Facilitator at Plume, she is the founder of Transentience Coaching, Dialectical Programming Coordinator at Growth Thru Change, and affiliate educator at the Sexual Health Alliance. Lenna is currently based in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where she teaches philosophy at New Mexico State University and plays a lot of video games with her cats.
