In My Shoes
Leah De La Crux
http://leahdelacrux.com
https://www.instagram.com/leahdelacrux/

In My Shoes is a full colour mini-photo zine about moving forward.

This is a short and sweet review of a short and sweet mini-zine.

In My Shoes features an Instax picture per page of Leah’s shoes in different locations. Each photo is accompanied by a single word, and a sentence running along all the pages. The pictures are in the fun, somewhat overexposed pictures that fit the Instax ‘Polaroid’ vibe so well.

Something about this mini tickles me. Part of it is because I thought I was the only person who liked taking pictures of feet in different locations. Another part is the little inspiring push this zine gives which is well and truly needed in increasingly difficult times.

It’s a ‘just keep swimming’ or ‘keep calm and carry on’ sort of mini that is a quick and easy read. Plus, Leah includes one of my favourite mini-zine elements: the secret inside fun element to be discovered when you unfold the zine.

In My Shoes is a little pick-me-up I’m happy to have in my collection.

mEN DO bleed too – my story as a man with endometriosis
Aubrey Dillion Sinclair
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mEN DO bleed too is a black and blue A7 mini-zine about being a man with endometriosis.

Content warning (from the cover): blood, sex, some gendered terms, graphic content

mEN DO bleed too opens with Aubrey talking about their period experiences growing up and what they had to deal with medically to both find out they have endometriosis as well as dealing with ongoing treatment of it as a trans man.

As someone who deals with an incurable reproductive condition, Aubrey really had me from the start with this one. These conditions are so often dismissed and ignored, and to add on the difficulties of approaching ongoing treatment as a trans man on top of that had me wishing so many things were different about the system. However, there are silver linings to Aubrey’s story, though I will leave you to find out what they are.

I like the feel of this zine. It’s handwritten, hand drawn, and everything about it says it’s the zine of someone who made this to share a story they are passionate about sharing. The drawings – down to the little arrows guiding you from one page to another – add to the story in a pull at your heart strings sort of way. Some of the text is cut off, but most of it is easily sorted and read with a bit of unfolding.

mEN DO bleed too is a mini-zine reminder to not take anything for granted – especially not discussions of health topics that are so often gendered and can leave people feeling alone. One to check out.