inspiration

There is a prototypical, “default” way of existing in every society.

Valerie Purdie-Vaughns says that American society is governed by the ideologies of heterocentrism, ethnocentrism, and androcentrism, yielding your “prototypical American” a straight white man—let's call him Bob. If Bob is a rounder character, he should also be able-bodied, middle class, and probably Christian. This Bob exists in every single society and every single country and looks different in every other situation. The Chinese Bob, for example, is Han and probably non-religious, but still a straight, able-bodied, middle-class man. There's also the British Bob, the Ethiopian Bob, and a wide array of “Bobs” in this world.

But unfortunately, not everyone in each society is a “Bob”. There is Sarah, for example, who is every aspect of Bob except that she is a lesbian woman. Bad luck though, because she is NOT the “Prototypical American” that you'd think of. And then there's John, a transgender African-American female with Autism. Fewer people probably ever see, not to say care about them. This zine is named non-default (and yes, it should not be capitalized) because there is a necessity for members of marginalized communities to voice our unique experiences and thoughts. Only when diverse voices are heard, can social change be possible.