The creators of Queer Notts and Moan Zine tell us why the medium lends itself perfectly to queer creativity and community

While living in a world filled with suppression and injustice, the liberal LGBTQI+ youth continue to look for an outlet and a place to rebel. Despite social media being the obvious place to connect, queer zines are also enjoying a renaissance as a place for candid, creative and raw conversations around sexuality. Two Nottingham-made zines Queer Notts and Moan Zine encapsulate the independent and political nature of the medium through sharing sex-positive content and creating a space for oppressed communities.

A predecessor to these titles in Nottingham was the defunct lesbian publication Diversion. First published in 1986, throughout its time in print it provided readers with vital information about being a lesbian in Nottingham; from events, social groups, activities and reader’s questions and stories. The content largely followed the rebellious attitudes queer women were expressing during the time, including movements such as the ‘rebel dykes’ and the ‘Riot Grrrl’ of punk culture, in which many queer women found a safe haven. Conversations around sexual expression, and rejecting society’s idea of what a woman ‘should be’ were prominent, many of which still hold strong today.

In the midst of 2022, in her final year of a photography degree, Jade Bramley took the opportunity to create Queer Notts as part of her final project. Spurred on by the lack of queer venues in the city, she wanted to use photography to explore her queer identity and the community in Nottingham.

“It doesn’t have all the gatekeepers like traditional print media,” Jade says on the positives of zine making. “Zines are a voice for those who have historically found themselves written out of the mainstream narrative.”

The topic of sexuality is often heavily censored in mainstream publications, and discussions of queer sexuality feature even less, many reserving Pride month as their token exploration into the subject, but for the creators and contributors of such zines there is an independence and power through progressive and authentic creativity.

“Even when you look at the mainstream LGBTQ+ publications, there is freedom when it comes to discussions on sexuality, but the creativity is limited,” says Jade. There remains a structure and stylistic rules to adhere to, that working within a team in a big company demands.

Filled with interviews and articles mostly written by Jade herself, with occasional external submissions of poetry, photography and articles, each issue of Queer Notts focusses on a different sub-community, from queer musicians, footballers or drag artists. “It’s so fulfilling, I get to meet so many great members of the community,” she says of the joy of creating the publication. “The best feedback I’ve ever received is when someone I’ve interviewed feels appreciated by my coverage of them. My ultimate goal has always been to highlight the importance of every member of Nottingham’s queer community.”

Originating in 2018, the motivation behind Moan Zine was also a response to the overwhelming negative values being shared in mainstream news. “I felt disappointed in the way that women were depicted, spoken about, and labelled within the mainstream sex industry,” says one of Moan’s creators, who wishes to remain anonymous.

After recognising the copious amounts of shame and judgement women were being subject to when displaying any level of autonomy over their sexuality, Moan was born out of a collaboration between two close friends who set out to create a safe platform, free from judgement. “We dreamt of a space where there was autonomy, exploration, and celebration of women,” they explain.

Moan openly states that they are activists, their work is a statement, and one that they are proudly loud about: “The right to sex is political. The right to speak, visually depict and learn about positive, diverse, and consent-based sex is political. The right to change the mainstream narrative and provide alternative perspectives within sex is political. The right to education, healthcare and awareness around sex is political.”

To be so vocal takes strength, especially in a world that so often demonises progressive viewpoints, and it is clear that this openness is one of the backbones that makes a zine. Moan particularly lends itself to this and they cite the ability to self-publish as ‘the power and beauty of zines.’ Exploring all things related to eroticism, sexual pleasure and self-liberation, told through a variety of creative sources, the final product is made up of 94 pages, and acts ‘as a diary’, or a very polished, carefully curated ‘scrap book’ of unique submissions. “It is a safe space, free from judgements for all experiences, fantasies, fetishes and issues that are discussed through women (cis and trans) and non-binary perspectives.”

Moan goes further than just the printed zine to connect their readers as a community. The brand is a representation of ‘community-led activism’ through an extension of music and events they provide. “We want to connect with the community on a deeper level, to rebel and to create multisensory narratives, which make our activism harder to silence. They are a catalyst for sensuality, liberation and exploration,” explains the creators. They have also recently collaborated with other creatives, such as the Moan X Caravaggio’s Cupid film, Owning My Body, which they describe as “a beautiful story of self-love, liberation, eroticism, and sensuality.”

As both creators have shared, the core of what makes zines special are the community that comes with them, and without zines those often overlooked, discriminated against or ‘othered’ communities would simultaneously lose their voice. “Zines capture, liberate and bring people together,” say the Moan creators, speaking on how vital the medium is to offering a sense of identity to their community. “They have the power to document a time within society.”

Equally for Queer Notts, identity is at the core of the brand. With identity comes community, with community comes acceptance, safety and above all a feeling of belonging. Arguably, most mainstream magazines have a large readership, but may lack a ‘community’ or diverse and inclusive content, therefore it is arguable that the role of a zine is to give the world alternative views, when what is being spewed out in the mass neglects so many of us.

Zines typically reject those tailored societal expectations and traditions; they go underground to the niches and cults that are shunned. Perhaps it is this that keeps the medium of zines alive, so long as there are minorities and an anti-mainstream following, zines will be there to pick up the pieces.

To find out more or purchase a copy of Moan or Queer Notts, follow @MOAN_zine and @queernotts_zine on Instagram