Exploring Feminism and Climate Justice through Zine-Making: Dr. Lydia Ayame Hiraide’s Feminist Zine Workshop

On November 5, Dr. Lydia Ayame Hiraide, a lecturer at the SIPS program, led an engaging Feminist Zine Workshop as part of her ongoing research project titled “Zines as Sites of Feminist and Climate Justice Knowledge Production.” The arts-based participatory study explores how zines, which are self-published, small-circulation booklets, can serve as creative and critical spaces for producing and sharing knowledge within feminist and climate justice thought.

The workshop began with Dr. Lydia introduces the background and significance of feminism and zine-making, offering insights into the use of zines as a medium for resistance, expression, and community building for feminism. Participants were then divided into small groups for discussions about feminism before moving into the hands-on process of creating their own zines. Throughout the workshop, students exchanged perspectives on feminism with peers from diverse faculties, learning that feminism is not a fixed or universal concept, but one that is deeply personal and shaped by individual identities, cultures, and lived experiences. The zine-making activity became an avenue for self-reflection, dialogue, and creativity, which encouraged participants to visualize and communicate what feminism means to them and what messages they hope to convey about social justice and equity.

“The Feminist Zine Workshop was truly refreshing. It gave me a chance to relearn, reflect, and express myself freely in a safe space. Meeting other amazing participants and hearing their reasons for joining, as well as what feminism means to them, was deeply inspiring. During the actual zine-making process, I felt calm and completely focused, as if time slowed down. The experience has encouraged me to start thinking about making zines as a personal form of expression, a creative and visual way to document my thoughts and feelings, much like keeping an honest and open diary.” - Wen-Hsuan Chang (Taiwan, 2nd-year SIPS student)

“Dr. Hiraide’s workshop was a great opportunity not only to reflect on our perception of feminism and our approaches to exercise it, but a creative and inspiring space to bring our imagination into action. I could see how well organised and thoughtful it was, and how passionate everyone was to explore zines, discuss and visualise their thoughts. A wonderful event that brought together people who are truly interested and motivated to make a change!” - Marto Ilo (Ukraine, 2nd-year SIPS student)

The workshop showed the power of art-based inquiry as a means of learning, reflection, and community building. By combining artistic practice with critical discussion, Dr. Lydia’s initiative illuminated how creative processes can nurture deeper awareness of feminist and climate justice issues, as well as empowering participants to rethink knowledge production as both a personal and collective act.