I'd always been interested in female sexuality, but was very aware from a young age that the sex industry was dominated by men, which infuriated me immensely, and still does! I've been working at Sh!, the women's sex shop for nearly 4 years now and in that time, have become more and more interested in feminism.
I had wanted to make a zine for a while, but kind of lacked self belief. It was through my personal Tumblr that I met some really amazing girls that inspired me to be creative and made me realise that ‘you can do whatever you want’ – which was extremely liberating.
So in December 2010, I put a post on my blog that I wanted to make a feminist collective zine that featured artwork, writing, poetry and was looking for other girls to contribute. Once I received all the submissions within the deadline, I worked on the layout on a publishing programme, printed it out and sold it online. I’ve been doing that every month ever since and I’m now currently working on issue #17.
With Girls Get Busy, I wanted to have a creative platform and support network for girls to showcase their work and ideas about feminism, and to feel a part of something important with a voice. Over the past 2 years Girls Get Busy has hosted feminist parties, gigs, workshops, a zine festival, exhibitions, book readings and have just started distributing other people’s zines on the webshop.
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Below are sex-positive pieces that have been featured in the zine and on the blog.
Beth Siveyer
Rebecca Cooper
Melanie Jane
Arvida Bystrom
Holly Lucas Hannah Hill
Beth Siveyer
Check out the Girls Get Busy: In Colour! online exhibition - a collection of colourful submissions that were originally printed in the zine in b&w at Art Baby Gallery!
