BDSM FAQ: Your Anitidote to Fifty Shades of Grey
Faith G Harper, PhD, LPC-S
FaithGHarper.com
https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/6590/

There are so many things this zine represents for the zine community. Zines can be any topic (someone taking on what bad things 50 Shades did to the BDSM community), they can be educational, and zines can (and are) written by people from so many walks of life (even PhD walks of life!).

Talk about a good start.

While the heart-shaped handcuffs on the front and back covers may give you a giggle, BDSM FAQ is serious when it comes to educating people about the basics of BDSM. In the brief introduction, Dr Harper talks about the increase in people wanting to talk to her in a professional capacity about the whole ‘BDSM thing’. This zine was born of the questions most asked in a BDSM class she taught.

I was not in personal need of an FAQ or introduction to BDSM because I was fortunate enough to know a very kind D/s couple who taught me a lot about the lifestyle. I picked up this zine anyway because I was curious about how Dr Harper would handle the subject. The whole subject reminded me a little of 7th ‘reproductive studies’ class with a large smattering if misrepresentation thanks to one set of books.

BDSM FAQ is exactly what you would want as a resource to learn about the subject. Dr Harper gives it the seriousness that any lifestyle choice deserves and treats the reader like the adult they should be if they’re wanting to learn about this. The zine also includes the best simple representation I’ve seen about what the letters actually stand for:

While the title might suggest otherwise, time is not wasted venting about 50 Shades; it’s directed where it should be: answering questions. From the words of the lifestyle you should know to how to approach things no matter what kind of relationship dynamic you have.

I highly recommend this zine if you’re merely curious, if you’re looking to start, or anything in between. The zine even ends with a positive true-life experience of a submissive to let you know that there are positive things to be found in BDSM if that is what you are looking for. And not all of those things have to include sex.

If you’re interested, Dr Harper has an assortment of educational zines about all sorts of things including anxiety, anger, adulting, coping, and more. You can check them out here.

On another note not related to Dr Harper but related to 50 Shades of Grey, here is a video from Film Theory about how Christian Grey actually uses cult indoctrination tactics (rather than BDSM practices) on Anastasia.

Pieces #11 On Connecting Through Friendships, Letters & Zines
Nichole
http://wemakezines.ning.com/profile/Nichole
https://www.etsy.com/shop/fictionandnot

I’m usually so utterly focused on reviewing things in order, but when you have a zine series you love, you make exceptions…

In a way, jumping from Pieces #5 to Pieces #11 has been interesting in that Nichole’s writing ‘voice’ has changed so much. There seems to be this level of inner acceptance in this zine that I didn’t pick up in previous zines. That’s one of the reasons I love being able to ‘stay with’ a zine series over time – people change and grow.

That being said, I was very happy to see that Nichole’s cut and paste style that I have loved over the course of this series is still going strong in #11.

Nichole talks about taking a new approach to interactions with people, the beauty of letters, and meeting penpals in person in the setting of Chicago Zine Fest 2014. The inner acceptance that I mentioned earlier really shows in the beginning pages,the very first starting with the words “hello, hello” and the second pages displaying her mailing address with an open invitation to connect.

The funny thing is that I felt this shyness come over me at such an invitation. Not unpleasantly so, though.
The zine wraps up with beautiful thoughts about cultivating ‘second homes’ – those spaces where we feel safe to stop in and comfortable enough to stay. I loved the imagery and loved being reminded of little things that I can do to make my own life a happier one.

For me, the Pieces series continues to be everything I want in a perzine in both aesthetic and content. Nichole makes me think but doesn’t lecture, and I always feel welcomed in rather than forced to watch from the outside.
Definitely grab a copy.