Culture Slut #20

By Amber Forrester
helloamber.etsy.com
hello-amber.blogspot.com

Sometimes after I read zines I’ve gotten through trades with other people I really wonder what they think of the one I gave to them. Culture Slut is a really good perzine from Montreal that focuses on some queer and feminist issues. But what did I give to Amber? Why a zine filled with fake journalistic articles about Godzilla and a piece of pulp fiction about a dude fighting Nazis who ride pterosaurs. What on earth must she think about me?

I traded with Amber because I met one of the organizers of the Brighton Zine Fest at an alternative press event in London. I told her that I had lived in Canada (though really, everyone in the UK can tell I lived _somewhere_ else because of my accent) and had been to Montreal recently, and she asked me if I knew Amber/had read her zine. I hadn’t.

But I did know of Amber, because she was on the wemakezines ning, so upon getting home I sent her a message and initiated a trade with her. And now, a mere two months later I’m actually getting around to reading her zine (I have piles of zines waiting to be read and keep getting new ones, this is good for the blog, bad for me).

And it’s good.

Amber’s just moved to Montreal, and she’s got a sweet job learning French. Getting paid to learn French! Awesome, if I move to Montreal I totally want to do that. She tells us about what it was like moving to a big city (after living in a small Ontario time for, I believe, all of her life) and how adjusting to a place where you don’t speak the language can make even buying stamps hard (I know how that is...). She tells us about awkward doctor’s visits, her first period and other menstrual stuff (I think I have read more about this than most guys, probably for the best really).

There’s a lot of stuff about being queer in Montreal, and reading about how the gay pride events are being incredibly commercialized with banks paying attractive (presumably) gay people to walk around in not much clothing and give out stickers. Amber’s personal opinions on being queer (but going out with a boy!) reminded me of some of Erika Moen’s comic Dar, and how western culture/society really does try to fit everyone into binary holes.

She talks about her childhood crushes and pets, about going on adventures in Montreal, about being shy and socially awkward, and reviews other zines (I’ve read one of them! How exciting).

Maybe I’ll make my next zine a perzine and Amber will review it too : )