Teen Zine Queens

A cornerstone of the ’90s Riot Grrrl movement, staples and Sharpies are making a comeback.

Photos by Laura Baker

After school, 17-year-old Em Odesser, the editor-in-chief of Teen Eye Magazine, plops down on her bed to video chat with her three teenage girl editors for their weekly meeting. Above Odesser’s left shoulder hangs a hand-scrawled note in red marker that reminds her to “Stay Angry!” with a crude doodle of a mad face. It’s one of dozens of flyers, sketches, mantras and Post-its pasted helter-skelter on her walls like a dorm room bulletin board. The straps on her overalls double as backpack buckles, and her false pointed nails from Duane Reade are painted a blood red, because she once read in a magazine that if one wants to feel confident, one should pick out a “good outfit” and rock red polish. Now she owns seven shades of red.