Johnny V and Sober Bob and the Hunt for Gender Affirming State Mandated Identification
Johnny V and Sober Bob
@_johnny.v
@soberbobmonthly

Dedicated to all those fighting to have their genuine and beautiful genders affirmed by the institutions that demand documentation but refuse to provide any.

Johnny V and Sober Bob and the Hunt for Gender Affirming State Mandated Identification is a small zine addressing big problems. Trying to get official government level paperwork sorted is difficult even when it’s ‘easy’, so to be facing discrimination on top of that turns it into an entirely different monster.

Johnny V’s efforts to obtain proper identification made for a quick read but an upsetting one. It’s sad to know that getting something like this sorted is more a matter of getting the right person rather than being able to solidly reply on systems that are meant to be there and work for the people.

I was so swept up in Johnny and Bob’s story that I doubly appreciated one of the notes at the end of the zine. Sober Bob made a zine not only to document personal experiences but also to think about what it must be like for people trying to do the same thing but with fewer resources.

This zine may feel like a quick read, but it touches on a lot of issues as well as can be a great read to help people feel less alone in their struggles with government bodies.

The Cock Thesaurus
Mostly by Jade Walsh
http://tootzines.bigcartel.com/

How could I not pick up a zine that gave me a little giggle with its title alone?

The Cock Thesaurus is more of a ‘related concepts’ thesaurus rather than a list of synonyms as it has similar words with different meanings rather than different words with similar meanings. From ‘the cock’ to ‘cock (possessive noun)’, this zine has all your cocky word definitions taken care of. It reminds me a bit of urban dictionary but with only the single definition per word.

Aesthetically this zine is a little bit different in the binding. The pages are stapled to the back rather than the spine. While it does leave the back cover a little short, it makes the overall cover interesting. With black and white pages containing text only, standard paper and staples to bind it the $6 price tag does niggle, though.

Yes, this zine definitely speaks to my giggly self, but I’m also intrigued by explorations into words – especially words that we give more power to than others. If you’re the same, this may be a zine for you.

Plus, if it is the zine for you, there are more! It’s part of a series with The Fish Thesaurus and The Ass Thesaurus.

Self Help 2
?
selfhelpzine@gmail.com

Self Help 2 is a zine about perfectionism, finding the right self-care, defending your needs, and having hope for the future. It’s also a zine that I found was enhanced by the zine that came before it…

Part of the reason that I decided to put this review up so quickly after my review of the first one is the experience I had in reading them one after the other. They certainly work completely well as standalone zines, but I got some added enjoyment out of reading them together like I did.

The perspective that I liked in Self-Help 1 of looking back on the teenage years with the gaze of someone in their late twenties is echoed in a way in this zine. Instead of the usual jump of a couple months to a year or so in most perzines I’ve read, the jump from the first to the second in this series is a jump from 26/27 years old to 31 years old. Not huge, but certainly significant when it comes to looking back.

One particular topic touched on in this zine that I found interesting is the stigma that exists even within ‘open’ communities when it comes to using ‘traditional’ approaches to mental illness treatment like medication and seeing psychologists/psychiatrists. I like reading about people finding success with those things just as much as I like reading about people who find success in other ways. I think it’s important for people to call out hypocritical behaviour that deters people from finding success in whatever way they can.

This zine still has the ‘scrapbook’ type feel with ‘outside’ pieces included, but this one had a bit more writing and reflection, which I like. There’s also still a focus on perfectionism. As the author writes, “Changing things is a slow, slow, slow process”. Something I feel is reflected in the jump of time between zines but more of a noticeable point when you read the zines one after the other.

I hope anyone who reads this zine can get Self Help 1 at the same time and read them both. I found it inspirational to see someone learning and growing so much in the space of two zines.

A PS for readers outside Australia: This zine comes with seeds, so you may need to request that they are removed before it’s sent.