"And I think it's absurd that you think I am the derelict daughter. You know I fight fire with words - words are hotter than flame, words are wetter than water." -Ani DiFranco
Origin: This idea, like all ideas, was born in a diner in Jersey. I (Hill) want to say this happened under the influence of coffee, but the sad truth is that this diner has very bad coffee, and so this is just our little brains at work. I was bullied into this, so I'll let Deb, riot grrrl extrodinaire, explain why this is so damn important.
(deb) First, Hill is not the hapless victim she makes herself out to be. It's simple: We were bitching about girl mags again and bemoaning the late (first version) of Sassy. Mostly, it all came back to why isn't anyone REAL? We don't look like this or talk like this. So were creating something that is us. We have a voice. And so do you. Use it.
A NOTE ON THIS WEB PAGE: Since neither of us knows a bit of html, actually making this page is a long and arduous process (on a user-stupid Angelfire Builder). We realize things don't look very pretty right now and might be ackward to use, but we ask that you bear with us and try to enjoy the text (the rest is just gravy anyway).
A note on Derelict Daughters: This zine is intended to be written by and for women, especially young women who may not have very good choices in magazines. Men are more than welcome to read us. We are male-friendly and intend you no harm. However, this is women-space. Men, if you feel you need a voice analogous to ours, feel free to create your own magazine.
A note on submissions: Submissions by ALL women are welcome, regardless of age, sexual orientation, skin shade, ethnic origin (although we do ask that submissions be written in English, that being Deb's and my only common language), or any other limiting factor that may be present in any other forum. However, we do reserve the right to edit all submissions, and will only publish with the authors permission the edited version of their writing. If volume is greater than expected, we may have to turn away some of your lovely voices, but please be assured this is nothing personal. NOTE - we are especially seeking women who have sexual encounters/relationships with other women (i.e. active lesbians or bisexuals) to write for our Sex, the Universe, and Everything column, as well as a semi-regular writer for Vixen.
As of now, these are our regular columns:
Versus: A playful look at anything from opposing perspectives. Note - originally published in Pandora's Box, a retired net zine run by Deb.
Sex, the Universe, and Everything: Sex from the female side
Vixens: Relationship stuff. Hopefully, well get some regular reporters from all stages of love and singledom to relate their sagas - kind of like a soap opera, only faster-paced with less head trauma.
Book and Music Reviews: Focusing on books and music that is important to women. Mostly well be discussing female artists, but since men know how to write and sing too they'll get included if they're really good. Note - this is not about the latest publications/releases - its about artists who change our lives and affect us as women. As such, books and music from the sixties and seventies (or before, or after) are fair game, since the majority of our audience was not around when "Fear of Flying" was published.
Succulant Wild Women: These will be interviews with strong, independent women. In other words, good role models for us. One format is applied to all interviewees.
Rants: pretty self-explanatory
Superficial Stuff You Can Afford: cause we all care
Stuff We Wrote: poetry and prose by young women
Short Story: self-explanatory, includes anything written by a woman.
Advice: since every magazine needs an advice column! We will try and answer all questions fairly and honestly. Unfortunately, Deb and I are not analogous to Adam and Dr. Drew - we're both the smart one, and we're both the funny one. Hey, doesn't that make us twice as good?
Quotes: Because we like quotes.
Letters: This part is up to you. We will respond to as much correspondance as we possibly can in a public format.
Special Thanks: To Angelfire, for giving us free web space To all who taught me how to make my text pretty, including Ryan and Todd (from Hill)
