March

March
Early Summer 2015

Dear Readers,
One month ago today, we took in nine female doves. These nine doves symbolize
the gestation of our humble zine. From a dream we had, to an idea we shared, to
a tangible witness to our feminisms held in communion with the world, these
doves represent the zine’s journey from conception to birth. For the past month, we
have bottle fed these doves to prepare for our one-month anniversary and their
journey out of the nest and into the world, much like our zine itself. Last
tHERsday, we gathered with our closest sisters and released the doves as part of a
beautiful ceremony. The event was almost ruined by some cross talk during the
drum circle, but thankfully a friend improvised a talking stick out of personal copy
of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. What a beautiful day.
We’d like to thank all of our readers who have contributed such positive feedback.
You set our hearts aglow. On a more serious note, we have received some
troubling criticism from the editors of our sister zine, She-Wolf. They claim to have
undertaken a close read of our first edition and have called us out for our stance
on Miley Cyrus. We have been accused of denying a young woman’s exploration
of her sexuality. This upsets us to our core. We spent the last week journaling
about this. We just took sex positivity as a given and we can’t believe that our
sister zine, a zine that claims to hold sex positivity as its highest ideal, would fail
to see that in our work. We have launched an internal investigation on ourselves
and our sex positive privilege. We are now trained and available for on-site
workshops for any of you who are experiencing this same struggle in your
workplaces. This is not a problem that can be solved with one workshop or in one
day but as Miley herself reminds us, “it’s the climb.”
The Leo Sisters
Yours in friendship, feminisms,and fun

Mailbag
We’d like to thank our loyal readers who let us know that
last issue’s “Missing Feminist Icon,” Tracy Chapman, is in
fact alive and well. Thanks to
@fastcarbutwecantakeitslow, we learned that Tracy has a
lively website and is still creating consciousness raising
music. If anyone would like to provide us with a copy of
Letters to Tracy for our archives, we would consider it a
powerful act of sisterhood.
Intern Update
We just want to put it out into the universe that our interns,
Tegan and Sara, are working out super great. They have
introduced us to so many inspiring things: the music of Lorde,
the meaning of “mom” among young people - especially in a
Kim Kardashian context, and the “cronut.” To quote a powerful
intersectional feminist who died too soon, if our interns are
any indication, we truly “believe the children are the future.”
#greatestloveofall.

Protest Update
1. Our preferred tote bag provider recently moved away from its commitment to all
female hemp plants.
2. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Last year, the Hall inducted Nirvana. This is an
outrage. We all love Nirvana, but also know that Bikini Kill should already be in the Hall.
Kathleen Hanna coined “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and her group’s continued absence
from the hall smells like capitalist sexist bullshit.
3. We’re protesting all those still protesting the Dixie Chicks. The rest of the world may
have forgotten, but we’re still not ready to make nice. #Won’tBackDown
4. Our public offer still stands to serve as impartial mediators in the ongoing Tara
Lipinski/Michelle Kwan feud.
5. Wikipedia. It should be a source of public outrage that Sean Wilentz has a wikipedia
page and Christine Stansell does not. We need to build a city of women on the internet.
[Interns: do you know how to make wikipedia pages? we want to empower you to solve
this problem! The Enlightenment is not over. We can still contribute to how we
categorize knowledge!]
6. Time Magazine. We have a few words that you might want to include on your
“banned” list: patriarchy,. . . . that’s pretty much it. We also don’t understand the
meaning of the other words on your list. What is a “bae?” (Interns please advise)
7. We want to notify the public that a male friend of ours is officially on watch for
seemingly innocuous comments about beets, the root vegetable. We all know that the
male gaze on vegetable shapes is nothing more than a thinly veiled critique of women’s
bodies. Furthermore, for any of you who have followed our journey from intentional
living to intentional zining, you know how important beets were to our survival in the
tender days of S.C.U.M.

Hello Fair Readers, I am writing to fill you in on the trying days of the past few months. First, please know that I am
still as committed as ever to finishing my master’s exam thesis project in which I recreate the original Lilith Fair
tour. My first stop in George, Washington was full of fellowship, great music, and some wonderful interactions with
passing strangers whom I now consider friends. I had some painful flashbacks to my days with my former band
mates in the Spinsters; the beauty of our music and the acrimony of our civil war. Now, before you say, “sisterhood
is powerful,” please know that I acknowledge that I am at fault for the break-up of our band. The night before our
audition for the first Lilith Fair tour (yes, we had the chance to play the third stage lobby performance space), I
wandered into a local Republican meeting. I used to relax by losing myself in spaces that might normally make me
uncomfortable. If I could make friends there, and spread the powerful lessons of feminism in hostile waters, than
what else might I be able to do? I went to the meeting and stood in the corner sipping on some proffered lemonade. I
was plotting how to enter the polo-clad fray, when my eyes locked with a prep across the room. I looked at the floor
and when I looked up he was beside me. His name was Todd and we spoke all night long. He was leaving the next
day for med school and after many hours of coffee I agreed spontaneously to accompany him. Did I betray my sister
Spinsters? Yes. Do I regret it? Yes. Todd ended up dumping me after I worked odd jobs to support us until he started
his residency. What’s important to remember is that when I was young and full of passion I believed that my time
with Todd could be an experiment in consciousness raising. I wish my band mates would understand. Maybe they
did. Maybe that morning when they noticed I was gone, they would understand that only a higher feminist goal
would keep me from them, and from my bass. Alas, I know that they do not. How do I know this? Well, en route to
my second stop on my Lilith Fair 1997 homage, I was pulled over for speeding. I was just so excited to get to Irvine!
The officer told me that I had to get out of my car since I didn’t have my license. I saw a powerful documentary
about identity and surveillance before I began this journey, and left my identification in the arms of an oak tree. I
don’t want to insult March’s readers, so I’ll assume its obvious that this is a protest of both the corporatization of
nature by the state and of the coopting of identity politics by the mainstream. I next found myself in jail with the
chance to call for help. I could not call my parents because they did not believe in my master’s thesis project. They
don’t understand the importance of my work. I could not call my advisors at Columbia because they’d stopped
returning my calls a few weeks ago. I trust they are challenging me to honor the solitude of this experience. With
few other options, I called the former manager/zodiac counselor Stevie Gold. She told me that she could not bail me
out due to her loyalty to the other Spinsters. I asked for their contact information so that we might reconcile and
was denied. Without a friend to bail me out, I had to wait until the local police released me on my own
recognizance. As it turns out, chanting, “People have the Power” for eight-hours straight is compelling activist
practice. All I can say now as I prepare to reach Phoenix and the Desert Sky Pavilion is that I feel like this arrest was
the universe reorienting me to another project for which there is no degree: reconciliation. I know that the March
issue of March is focused on friendship. I want to take this opportunity to reach out to my bandmates. Please contact
the editors of March and get in touch with me. I would love to share this journey with you. We can heal! These
hands are still my own, but they are still reaching out to you Spinsters!
Vanessa

Sisterhood Shoutouts!
1. We want to take this opportunity to thank our
sisterfem (sister in feminism) Taylor for inviting us
to her birthday/consciousness raising rave. WE
LEARNED SO MUCH! Your proud display of Punky
Brewster DVDs is a powerful feminist act that we
hope will inspire every visitor to your home. We
too believe in Punky Power! We’re looking forward
to our future collaboration on A Starr is Born.
2. We want to commend the filmmakers of “The
Beckies: Greatness Defined” (Available on
YouTube). We’re longtime fans of the band. We saw
them play in Portland in ‘86, and our lives have not
been the same sense. We can’t even begin to
articulate the artistic influence of “The Beckies” on
our very own correspondent Vanessa’s musical
maturation. We don’t need tell you how big an
influence “The Beckies” had on the Spinsters’
unreleased demo of which there are only 5 known
cassette copies.
Future Movie
Reviews
This past week we had the honor to view an
advanced screening of “A Starr is Born,” the latest
film from March Media productions. This powerful
and evocative documentary examines the life of a
brave soul who is engaged in an important
exploration of the gender identity Ringo Starr. Not
only was this film a tour de force of feminist cinema
but since we haven’t listened to male-produced
music in fifteen years, the film also allowed us to
enjoy the music of the Beatles in a safe space. Ringo:
we gotta get you into our lives. It won’t be long until
A Starr is Born comes to a theatre near you.

"Bonnets and Bayonets"
In the strange little hobby, or hobbies, of reenacting, women play many different rolls. They
portray everyone from nurses and cooks to grenadiers and generals. While some women are
welcomed into the community of reenactors others, especially women who portray combat roles,
face confusion and dislike. Freddy Lawrence, a historian and reenactor, reports from the field.
Reenacting, the recreation of historical events in period clothing, is a performance art
practiced by many different people. While most reenactors are friendly and welcoming folk,
the hobby remains bitterly divided between “authentic” and “main stream” reenactors. The
claim of “farbyness,” or inauthenticity, is one of the worst labels that can be applied to a
reenactor or her unit.
Most reenactors in the US recreate military campaigns, and among both authentic and
mainstream reenactors, some have a problem with women portraying combat roles. While
this may be due to the social conservatism of individual reenactors, it is claims of authenticity
that are most often deployed to keep women from portraying soldiers. For the sake of sacred
authenticity they’ll say no women should be allowed to portray men of the 4th armored
division in 2015 because no women served in the 4th armored division in 1944. Too many
reenactors forget they are acting. Since we all know that gender is performative, and
reenacting is a performance, why shouldn’t women be able to portray men and men portray
women?
Thankfully there are some exemplary women reenactors out there who are doing this work,
and I was able to speak to three different sisters in arms about this issue. Let’s call them
Christabel, Sylvia, and Adela. All three women portray civilian and military roles and
depending on the event choose to wear either dresses or uniforms or both. Christabel often
plays the part of a musician in a British regiment during the American War of Independence.
Her uniform is correct for that roll (British musicians wore tunics of reversed coloring from
the rest of the regiment, so a regiment with red tunics and green facings would have
musicians with green tunics and red facings), and she can play the fife.
"why shouldn’t
women be able to
portray men and men
portray women?"

In sun, wind, and rain she dons the
fearsome bearskin cap and broad shoulder
boards of a British grenadier c. 1776.
When invited to join the ranks of a group of other reenactor musicians, one member
protested, arguing that women in the 18th century did not play that type of instrument.
Sylvia told me another story. While she has not received any negative comments to her
face, other reenactors have challenged the male members of her unit about her
impressions, further reinforcing the trope that reenacting is a world for men. Adela is the
one woman of the three who most often portrays a frontline soldier. In sun, wind, and rain
she dons the fearsome bearskin cap and broad shoulder boards of a British grenadier c.
1776. While Adela knows of women who have been verbally and physically harassed by
other reenactors, she remains undaunted. Being a member of the right kind of unit made
all the difference: a unit which judges its members on their brains and hearts instead of
their chosen gender identity. Adela explained, “I take care of my kit, I know my drill, and I
fight just as hard as anyone else.” She desires to meet the standards of her unit and to be
treated like the rest of the grenadiers. While she chooses to portray a male soldier on the
field of battle, she also engages spectators with the stories of real women who have fought
in combat. Adela also stresses that she is not making a statement by portraying a
grenadier. She does not look for comments on her gender or historical impressions or
desire to comment on the gender or impressions of others. Instead she is fulfilling a
personal life-long dream to bring the American War of Independence to life.
Instead she is fulfilling a personal life-long
dream to bring the American War of
Independence to life.
Christabel, Sylvia, and Adela all delight in portraying civilians and soldiers equally. They
do not believe one role is more crucial to the hobby than the other. Hopefully more
reenactors will come around to this way of thinking. It will be best to remember that
reenacting is not one hobby. It is a whole host of hobbies carried out by individual
hobbyists. At times these diverse hobbyists come together and decide on rules and
regulations, but even in those cases reenacting cannot be considered a monolith.
Reenactors need to embrace differences if they want to be taken seriously as historians
and educators.

We recently received this call for participants which we
were asked to share with our readers. Please contact us if
interested and we will pass your information along:
REENACT
TO
Revolutionize
Hi March Readers,
We thought this might be the perfect space to put out a call for
new members for our feminist-reenacting troupe Reenact
Grrls.
We are a group of feminists who honor various feminisms by
reenacting moments in feminist history. Our current focus is
on scenes from riot grrl history. We are seeking rowdy,
righteous and brave women to help us reenact early concerts
of Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, and other foundational moments in
this history. We will meet up at bowling alleys and basements
where the original bands played and rock out all night long. No
rules, just riot grrl.
If interested in joining us, or forming your own chapter. Please
contact the editors of March.