The Effectiveness Of Self Publishing Zines In Creating A Social Impact In Singapore
Introduction
Singapore, a freethinking country, sometimes bears the brunt of being termed as a 'stringent society' owing to the fact that it has well defined rules and regulations. The SPH (Singapore Press Holdings) is the owner of all daily mainstream publications in Singapore (Garry Rodan) making it difficult for the underground communities such as migrant workers and the LGBTQI community to express their views through mainstream publications. Zines, being an unfiltered, authentic form of media, form a medium of design activism through which these communities’ voices can be heard. As Radway claims, they discuss topics such as sexual abuse, queer sex, environmental justice and body image problems that were unacceptable to the print mainstream. This form of alternative media grew to become seemingly popular due to the fact that they provide activists with a platform to engage in protests and other forms of ‘cultural resistance’; the idea of ‘consciously or unconsciously, effectively or not, resisting and /or changing the dominant political economical and/ or social structure’ (Eden Barnard). Thus zines were contributing to design activism. 20 zine titles have emerged from Singapore over the past few years such as ‘Underscore’, ‘Werk’, ‘Mynah’ and numerous others. They were created as a form of design activism resisting the fact that Singapore was “once known for its tight media censorship” (eyeondesign). However, due to the fact that Singapore is a small country, multiple problems arise in the growth of the zine scene. Nelson Ng, an avid designer, claims that sustainability tends to become a issue when it comes to identity in Singapore (eyeondesign). While Yanda Tan, coeditor of The Design Society claims that “It’s hard to find content, hard to find writers. After doing ten issues, we’re running out of designers here to feature too”. (eyeondesign) Due to digitalisation and commercialization, there could also be the possibility of zines dying (theeconomist).
Considering all the factors, it is imperative to understand whether these zines will be an 'effective and powerful' tool of design activism thus contributing substantially to a social change.
Summary of readings
Zines rose as an alternative press from the feminist movement and stood in interrelation to other artistic and social movements such as agitprop, anarchism, punk as well as lesbian, queer and transgender liberation movements. The “riot grrrl” movement, a third wave feminist rebellion against male domination of punk was what brought these zines attention in the 1980s. Zines form a feeling you get when you are a part of something bigger and greater than yourself, a community. An unspoken bond between the readers and the author is created. (Due to the fact that these art forms talk about social issues that are swept under the rug such as LGBTIQ, Third Wave Feminism and the ‘Fat Movement’, these zines contribute to design activism.
Roles zines play in design activism
According to Alastair Fuad-Luke, “The implication is that design activism voices other possibilities than those that already exist with a view to eliciting societal change and transformation. ” Zines have a potential to be a tool in design activism as it is a form of graphic design which has long been associated with social and political discourse and propaganda.
As said by Kelly, the editor of Pretty Ugly “If we didn’t have zines then all we would have is glossy magazines with populist content made by people with lots of money. ” This form of alternative and independent media expresses the opinions of neglected communities which is vital for any social change and movement in this generation. The first ever zine created “Grrrl zines” did exactly that. It provided a platform for strong, independent, feminist voices to be head in a world where male voices reign supreme. Since then, “papers were popping up that shared minority viewpoints from the personal to the political” such as ‘The Los Angeles Advocate’ and ‘Come Out!’. Both these papers were centralised the LGBTQI communities and from this point onwards, they began to become more “visible and radicalised”.
Fuad-Luke goes on to mention that one type of activism is oriented around special interest groups gathered around social issues (e. g. AIDS, anti-war fathers’ rights, feminism, anti-poverty, queers). The professional activism industry is dominated by ‘not-for-profit’ and charitable organisations working across political and social agendas. The activists’ aim is to create design that will create a social change while forging communities together.
Zine publishers aim to create design that will forge communities together around diverse identities and interests which is what design activism hopes to achieve. Zines have also been referred to as an ‘act of civil disobedience’ as they not only create communities but also inspire other forms of activism; homophobia, other forms of prejudice. “It is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion” (Benedict Anderson). Through the medium of zines, intimate, affectionate connections are created not only between the readers but also between the creators.
Zine scene in Singapore
In a country like Singapore with a tight media censorship (eyeondesign), self published works are one of the only forms of independent sites for tens of thousands of voices in a media environment. People are driven towards the fact that these published works of art now contain things they do not see in magazines. According to eyeondesign, over the last decade, some 20 titles have sprung up in Singapore whilst “riding the wave of its culture renaissance and defying the fact that Singapore is known for it’s media censorship”. According to the founder of ‘The Ideology’, Eve Yeo, “In the UK, there were many small independent book fairs and there is this great creative atmosphere. However, in Singapore, there's still a lot of apprehension towards local names. ” The Zine Scene in Singapore has ‘room to grow’ (straitstimes). As aforementioned in the objective, the aim of this research paper is to prove that zines could play a vital role in design activism in Singapore.
Mynah, an independent zine published in Singapore was featured on an episode of The Stack radio show by UK magazine ‘Monocle. It is a non-fiction print zine that expresses the untold and forgotten tales of Singapore and its cultures that ‘challenge the narrative of the squeaky clean city’. These stories are definitely not likely to be published in the mainstream press which is why it is gaining popularity. Another local zine currently shining in the spotlight in Singapore is written by ‘intersectional feminists’ called ‘The Local Rebel’ (honeycombers). Its aim and sole purpose is to tackle social issues and matters and to educate and empower Singapore’s youth.
Design activism and its effectiveness in Singapore (With focus on two communities)
Otto Fong, a 38 year old science teacher at Raffles Institution came out to the public as being a homosexual on his personal blog. In a matter of days, the Ministry of Education requested that Fong remove the entry. “This is relevant in that Singapore is a nation in which all forms of mainstream media are tightly controlled by the government and strict codes ensure that few print publications or television programmes reach out to LGBT communities. ” In a conservative society as Singapore, controversial or offensive topics could be unacceptable in a mainstream media. While globalisation has created “unprecedented opportunities”, it has also given rise to social inequalities. The migrant worker community particularly faces issues such as sexual and physical abuse, harsh working and living conditions and low wages amongst many more (Dignity Overdue). Lyon and Gomez 2005 claim that the government and legislation have blocked the evolution and growth of any activist groups. There in turn causes is a lack of knowledge on this community in the mainstream media. Zines provide the ideal platform for these topics to be discussed in order to raise social awareness for them.
Religious, ethnical or civil activities are “carefully screened” by the government of Singapore. This causes a range of challenges for the activists in need of making a change and catering to the needs of the LGBTQI and Migrant Worker community. Rudolf Eucken claims that activism is “the use of vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change” however design reform is the act and the process of implementing and creating a change in a social or a political life in order to abolish errors.
