http://danthedude.wordpress.com/zine/

I also have 100 copies of the zine sitting in my room, so if you’d like a paper copy (the online version isn’t printer-friendly) e-mail me at robinmarkle@gmail.com.

<3 Robin

Contrary to logic, this blog is not kept by someone named Dan or someone who is a dude. It’s kept by me, Robin, and I identify as a woman. For the past couple of years I have been involved in student organizing, primarily in the new Students for a Democratic Society.  During this time, I became increasingly frustrated with the ridiculous patriarchal behavior of male organizers who proclaimed to be feminists, but really were just inventing new ways to perpetuate patriarchy in our organizing.

After talking to lots of other women, trans, and genderqueer organizers and reading lots of stuff online (I’ll try to put up some of my favorite links eventually), I realized that a lot of these behaviors were common in male organizers. Because we have spent our whole lives being socialized in a fucked-up, patriarchal society, many people continue to perpetuate oppressive dynamics even when they are being active in the struggle to eliminate these oppressions.

“Do’s and Don’ts for the Dudely Organizer” is a comic zine I wrote in the summer and fall of 2008. It is part instructional guide, part comic book, part feminist manifesta, and a large part art therapy. For a while I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to make it public, because it felt so personal. I felt like it was my brain turned inside out with all my craziness out there for everyone to see. Eventually I realized that this kind of art is the best art, and that it is not me who is crazy, it’s our society. So, I put my pencil to the grindstone and finished the damn thing, and now I am posting it on this blog!

If you want a physical copy of the zine or want to contact me, you can write to me at robinmarkle@gmail.com

Thanks! I hope you enjoy reading the patriarchal adventures of Dan!

-<3 Robin