Culture Slut
Culture Slut
Culture Slut is a quarter-size perzine written by Amber Farthing of Lindsay, ON Canada. Amber started the zine in September 2004 as a way of getting her thoughts "out there" instead of having them pester her all day in her head. It mainly focusses on her quest to infuse feminism into her daily life. It's full of journal entries, opinion pieces, top tens and mix tape tracklists.
Most issues are put together in the classic cut and paste manner, with a combination of handwriting and typed text, depending on when Amber has access to a computer or typewriter.
Issues
Culture Slut #1 was released in September 2004 and contains Top Ten lists, such as "Ten Favourite Books" and "Things I Dislike". It features the article 2002- The Year My VCR Broke in which Amber tells the story of the time her VCR broke, and how she managed to break the cycle of lazy television-watching (by never getting the VCR repaired) and why she would like to live in a television-free household. It also has a DIY guide to making that awesome Clash t-shirt fit properly (because "Girls buy band shirts too!", tales of her first trip to England, tips on secondhand shopping, tales of sexism, and mix tape track lists.
Culture Slut #2 info to come at a later date.
Culture Slut #3 was released in February 2005 and contains the stories of the dreams she has at night and her interpretations of their meanings, the time she stole supplies from her school in Grade Six in an attempt to become a Great Writer, the beginning of her awareness of the anti-porn movement, the pros and cons of housewifery, New Year's Resolutions, plus the usual top tens and mix tape lists.
Culture Slut #4 was released in November 2005, and contains the articles The Little Things You Can Do To Make A Cashier's Day Easier, No More Hey Baby!, 10 Random Things About 10 Anonymous People, Fashion And Feminism, On Breasts And Body Image..., some musings on SuicideGirls and porn star autobiographies, plus zine reviews and even more mix tapes.
Culture Slut #5 was released in June 2006 and features journal-style writing on her first zine expo, her obsession with numbers, and snippets from her daily life, along with the articles, Does the make-up make you? and A Tim Horton's Rant.
Culture Slut #6 was released in August 2006, a time when Amber was going through a difficult breakup and questioning everything. It tells tales of her childhood, of the constellations, of her first tattoo, of the difficulty of being an anti-porn feminist, and features an unsent letter to the boy she loves. It also features articles by both her and her sister Maranda (who writes Telegram Ma'am) about what it's like being twins. Amber was a telemarketer for a few months, and she writes helpful hints on how to get rid of telemarketers' unwanted phone calls without being a total asshole.
Culture Slut #7 was released in December 2006 and is basically about "The Year Of Amber." She had resolved to make 2006 her best year yet, and issue #7 chronicles that year. It is all about swing sets, hallucinogenic drugs, break-ups and get-back-togethers, tattoos, telemarketing, a trip to Toledo, Ohio, and her big move to Ottawa, Ontario. Also, she expresses her thoughts on the word "slut."
Culture Slut # 8 was released in January 2007, and this is where Amber really comes into her own. She tells her life story in a series of anecdotes. She tells of her childhood and her absent father, attending Sunday School when she doesn't believe in God, finding Nirvana, getting her first period, falling in love, moving away (and moving back) and all of those moments that make up life. Although it is less than forty pages, one really feels as if they've gotten to know her. It also features reviews of the books and zines that have been inspiring her as of late, and a memorial for her cat Rummy.
