Introduction

The big beautiful green Pacific Northwest is full of rich history, art, and of course, badass womxn and non-binary folx or enbies. The spotlight of badassery always seems to fall short for womxn, enbies, and particularly BIPOC womxn. For decades womxn and enbies have been leaders, activists, and artists striving for change in their own unique way locally. We have endeavored to tell the stories that have not been told or amplified enough, stories of the past and present that have created real change. It is essential to know the power of collecting and sharing stories. We share these stories to admire, learn and understand differences and let this knowledge shape how we move through the world.

In addition to all the inspirational womxn and enbies featured in these pages, the PNW is one of the birthplaces of the Zine. Zine is shorthand for magazine. Our Zine Queens, in our inaugural volume, explained that history here. Zines prioritize radical information dissemination that is accessible to everyone. By keeping this Zine open access, we strive to honor the spirit of zines and spread this information far and wide. Academia often restricts information to a college login. While we, as contributors, are privileged enough to attend this university, we don’t believe in keeping these stories locked behind a paywall. This is a form of feminist praxis.

Unquestioningly, feminist praxis is at the heart of the Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality studies program here at the University of Washington Bothell. But what is feminist praxis? Feminist praxis is putting all the feminist theory we are learning about into practice. That practice can look like activism, a project to serve our communities, or through thorough research ending up in storytelling like we have done here with this Zine.

Finally, let’s briefly introduce some of the empowering womxn and enbies you will find in the pages ahead of you. There are womxn like Octavia Butler, who was one of the first Black female science-fiction authors and wrote on topics like injustice toward Black people, women’s rights, climate change, and other political, feminist issues, to badass Yet Si Blue/Janet McCloud who was a Native American activist born on the Tulalip reservation who fought for environmental and tribal rights. We also have Aleksa Manila, who is a non-binary drag queen and does incredible advocacy work for HIV/AIDS and the LGBTQIA+ community, and Jaiden Grayson, who is a non-binary artist, musician, and activist demanding a better life for all marginalized folx.

We hope these womxn and enbies inspire, uplift, and help you find your own badassery.