Page 4 - FMH7

Greetings!
This is the first issue of Fix My Head that was open to submissions from people I had never met before. So, let’s get the disclaimer out of the way:
FIX MY HEAD does not necessarily share the views of contributors, and vice versa. FIX MY HEAD believes in multiplicity of perspectives and views, and hopes this issue reflects that, especially in light of the addressed themes.
When I was ruminating on these themes I was thinking alot about the shrinking of our world and languages, monopoli- zations of culture, and dominance and (capitalistic/other) control of resources, which results in forced migration, tun- neled experiences and specialization. I thought about how consumerism has insidiously narrowed our framework of human experience, and how over a few short generations, digital technology determines not only what we are exposed to, but our skills and evolution of cognition.
This is a broader way of addressing a general sense of anxiety around the pressure to all become one type of person > a productive, all-knowing, fully able and healthy person. This is one place where white supremacy and capitalism has bore its weight on various people and populations; the result being an accumulative pressure on those constantly ‘othered’. People of color, queer folk, poor folk, those struggling with shitty mental health or disabilities.
I wanted to hear from people who had found themselves geographically and culturally displaced, due to historical forces of colonization, and their thoughts after a lifetime
of disjointedness, intersectionality, place-making, or having their identity split into slivers, fit into whatever cracks they could find.
Why are we still questioning what others take for granted?
I wanted to explore the relationship between colonization, patriarchy, an obsession with
image, and its effect on popular
culture, and thus the heavy
expectations on young people, those with or without support.
I am super pleased and excited to have received the range of submis- sions I did. There is an incredible academic analysis on gentrification in Yogyakarta in Indonesia. And also some personal pieces about being Queer People Of Color and what that means. MZ, an old QPOC friend, shares their experience of travelling through Beijing as a Chi- nese Punk who grew up in Aotearoa. Jonas Cannon, from CHEER THE EFF UP zine, shares his thoughts on being a black punk. Lee Yoresh and Z Szumer write on the Jewish diaspora, amongst other things. Fernando Lozano shares his dedication to sustaining a punk scene in Monterrey, in Mexico, literally and figuratively at the periphery of dominant US punk culture. Andy Panda, Anya Liao and Josie Dawson have their awesome art amongst these pages. Taring Padi, an anarchist art collective from Yogyakarta, has been active since I was a teenager, and continue to be one of my inspira- tions to keep creating art and writing in line with my ethics and politics, in the hope that it strengthens revolutionary resolve any/everywhere.
For the first time, I’m including a piece about one of my First Loves, black metal, and am excited to open up dialogue about anti-fascism and racism in metal in general. For the past 8 years I have run an anarchist, feminist black metal, noise and doom label that tries to fight every dominant scumbag sentiment in those three genres (eg. national socialist black metal, and “white power electronics” in noise scenes).
I’m excited to be releasing a 12” LP for Oakland queer doom band, RAGANA next month. Please support them!
AN OUT RECORDINGS http://anout.bandcamp.com
I hope this furthers conversation, as always, and hope to hear from you.
Much love, Anna Vo
annaannavo@gmail.com http://annaxvo.tumblr.com
WATCHING:
Rupaul’s DragRace Transparent Star Trek: The New Generation Black Mirror
LISTENING TO:
The Infinite Monkey Cage podcast Sybille Baier: The Colour Green Leslie Gore
READING: (comix!)
John Pham Karissa Sakumoto Skip Heatwave