Masthead CMC Magazine / March 1, 1996
 Grrrls Exude Attitude, by Amelia DeLoach

Movement, not a movemement

How do women who don't know one another end up establishing sites with similar themes and missions? The answer is deceptively simple and not terribly deep in academic thought. Simply put, the Web fills a need for self expression, self empowerment, and creative pleasure.

geekgirl came about because RosieX saw the cyberzine as "a source of entertainment and empowerment for both the audience and myself. ...I work very hard at it--and it's one way to provide original content to people who like the fresh and fun approach we adopt. I say 'we' because my partner Rob Joyner sometimes helps with graphics when he isn't busy. ...As a radio producer, videomaker and writer I am used to process. The process sometimes sux but the rewards at the end are insurmountably satisfying."

The same month that the first issue of geekgirl came out, Aliza launched the Cybergrrl site for many of the same reasons that RosieX launched hers. Both are writers and creators and both found the Web a promising outlet for their work. While RosieX publishes a magazine that changes monthly, Aliza has thus far established three sites: the Cybergrrl Webstation, FeMiNa, and Web-Grrrl. She explains these are "just my expressions and my desire to create things that are fun, interesting, valuable and useful on the Internet."

In a similar vein, Lynda, a professional Web developer, uses her site as a "distribution vehicle for my work--which is about teaching digital tools and design to people. It's about sharing information and resources and having a good time doing it."

But while the product and process make the creative aspect of Web development fun, the messages of the sites typically reflects the serious side of the mission. For Amelia, establishing the NrrdGrrl! site was less an act of creativity than "a mission to reclaim what the word "normal" really means." She continues, "Normal does not mean 'the same as everyone else', but many people have warped the definition towards that. I got an amazing letter from a woman who called NrrdGrrl! 'the un-sterotyped perfect woman in all of us.' She nailed the essence of it right there." ^


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