Zine Subjects

This controlled vocabulary is based on the Anchor Archive Zine Subject Thesaurus and defines topical subjects for describing zine content.

About Subjects

Subjects describe what the zine is about—the topics, themes, and content areas covered. Every ZineCore2 record must include at least one subject.

Subject Categories

The vocabulary includes subjects across many domains:

• Politics and activism
• Identity and lived experience
• Arts and culture
• DIY skills and resources
• Social issues
• Community and organizing

Usage in ZineCore2

In a ZineCore2 record, use the code value from the vocabulary:

{
  "title": "Riot Grrrl Zine",
  "subject": ["feminism", "punk-culture", "diy-culture"],
  ...
}

Required Field

subject is a required field in ZineCore2. Every zine must have at least one subject assigned.

API Access

Get Subjects Vocabulary

The subjects vocabulary is available via HTTP API in multiple formats:

JSON (default):

curl https://zinecore.org/api/vocabularies/subjects

SKOS/Turtle (W3C standard):

curl -H "Accept: text/turtle" \
  https://zinecore.org/api/vocabularies/subjects

CSV:

curl -H "Accept: text/csv" \
  https://zinecore.org/api/vocabularies/subjects

JSON-LD:

curl -H "Accept: application/ld+json" \
  https://zinecore.org/api/vocabularies/subjects

Stable URIs

Each subject term has a persistent URI:

• https://zinecore.org/vocab/subjects/activism
• https://zinecore.org/vocab/subjects/anarchism
• https://zinecore.org/vocab/subjects/punk

These URIs resolve via content negotiation to HTML, Turtle, or JSON-LD.

Programming Example

// Fetch subjects in your application
const subjects = await fetch('https://zinecore.org/api/vocabularies/subjects')
  .then(r => r.json());

// Use the terms
subjects.terms.forEach(term => {
  console.log(`${term.code}: ${term.label}`);
});

Term Definitions

Politics & Activism

activism

• Scope: General political and social action, organizing, protests, demonstrations
• Examples: "A zine documenting direct actions against gentrification" / "How-to guide for organizing community meetings"

anarchism

• Scope: Anarchist political theory, mutual aid, autonomous zones, anti-authoritarian organizing
• Examples: "Introduction to anarchist principles" / "Recipes from an anarchist kitchen collective"

anti-fascism

• Scope: Anti-fascist organizing, countering far-right movements, community defense
• Examples: "Guide to identifying fascist symbols" / "History of antifa movements"

prison-abolition

• Scope: Prison abolition theory, prison solidarity, alternatives to incarceration
• Examples: "Supporting incarcerated loved ones" / "Arguments for abolishing prisons"

police-abolition

• Scope: Police abolition, community safety alternatives, defunding campaigns
• Examples: "Community-based safety models" / "History of police violence"

queer-politics

• Scope: LGBTQ+ political organizing, queer liberation, marriage equality, trans rights
• Examples: "Zine about queer organizing in the AIDS crisis" / "Trans rights are human rights"

Identity & Experience

trans-experience

• Scope: Trans and nonbinary experiences, transition, gender exploration, community
• Examples: "My first year on testosterone" / "Gender euphoria: a photo zine"

gender-and-sexuality

• Scope: Gender identity, sexual orientation, coming out, relationships
• Examples: "Exploring asexuality" / "What bisexuality means to me"

race-and-racism

• Scope: Racial identity, experiences of racism, white supremacy, racial justice
• Examples: "Growing up biracial" / "Microaggressions in everyday life"

anti-racism

• Scope: Anti-racist organizing, allyship, solidarity, systemic racism analysis
• Examples: "White people: here's how to be an ally" / "Decolonizing your bookshelf"

disability

• Scope: Disability justice, accessibility, chronic illness, neurodivergence, ableism
• Examples: "Living with chronic pain" / "Autism and sensory overload"

mental-health

• Scope: Depression, anxiety, therapy, coping strategies, psychiatric experiences
• Examples: "My journey through depression" / "Alternatives to psychiatric medication"

body-image

• Scope: Body positivity, eating disorders, beauty standards, fat liberation
• Examples: "Learning to love my body" / "Fat positivity manifesto"

Daily Life & Resources

food

• Scope: Food politics, food access, hunger, food justice, recipes
• Examples: "Dumpster diving cookbook" / "Food stamps survival guide"

cooking

• Scope: Recipes, cooking techniques, meal planning, food preservation
• Examples: "Vegan on a budget" / "Preserving summer vegetables"

work

• Scope: Workplace experiences, job hunting, career changes, unemployment
• Examples: "Surviving retail work" / "Getting fired and what I learned"

labor

• Scope: Labor organizing, unions, worker rights, strikes, class struggle
• Examples: "How to start a union" / "History of the IWW"

housing

• Scope: Rent control, homelessness, squatting, housing justice, gentrification
• Examples: "Tenant organizing guide" / "Living in a housing co-op"

mutual-aid

• Scope: Community support networks, gift economies, solidarity, resource sharing
• Examples: "Starting a mutual aid network" / "Skill-sharing in your community"

Arts & Culture

punk

• Scope: Punk music, punk culture, DIY ethos, punk history, scenes
• Examples: "Local punk show listings" / "History of riot grrrl"

music

• Scope: Music reviews, interviews with musicians, concert coverage, playlists
• Examples: "Favorite albums of 2024" / "Interview with a local band"

film

• Scope: Movie reviews, film theory, filmmaking, video art
• Examples: "Queer horror films" / "Making movies with no budget"

comics

• Scope: Comic strips, graphic novels, sequential art, comic reviews
• Examples: Original comic stories / "How to draw comics"

art

• Scope: Visual art, galleries, art criticism, art-making techniques
• Examples: "Collage techniques" / "Local artist profiles"

photography

• Scope: Photo essays, photography techniques, film photography, darkroom work
• Examples: "Black and white street photography" / "Developing film at home"

literature

• Scope: Book reviews, literary criticism, writing, authors, reading
• Examples: "Favorite queer books" / "How to write short stories"

poetry

• Scope: Original poems, poetry analysis, poetic forms
• Examples: Collection of original poems / "Writing haiku"

science-fiction

• Scope: Sci-fi writing, reviews, fandom, speculation
• Examples: "Solarpunk futures" / "Best sci-fi of the 1970s"

fantasy

• Scope: Fantasy writing, world-building, role-playing games
• Examples: "Dragons in literature" / "Creating your fantasy world"

DIY & Technology

zine-making

• Scope: How to make zines, layout, printing, distribution, zine culture
• Examples: "Beginner's guide to zine-making" / "Layout tips for photocopier zines"

printing

• Scope: Printing techniques, risograph, screen printing, letterpress
• Examples: "Introduction to risograph" / "Screen printing t-shirts at home"

diy

• Scope: Do-it-yourself projects, repairs, crafts, self-sufficiency
• Examples: "Bicycle repair basics" / "Making your own cleaning products"

technology

• Scope: Computers, software, hacking, digital culture, tech criticism
• Examples: "Privacy in the digital age" / "Introduction to Linux"

internet

• Scope: Online communities, social media, web culture, net neutrality
• Examples: "History of online zine communities" / "Leaving Facebook"

gaming

• Scope: Video games, board games, game design, gaming culture
• Examples: "Indie game reviews" / "Creating your first tabletop RPG"

Place & Environment

travel

• Scope: Travel writing, tourism, backpacking, hitchhiking, adventure
• Examples: "Hitchhiking across America" / "Bike touring on a budget"

place

• Scope: Local geography, neighborhood history, place-based storytelling
• Examples: "History of my neighborhood" / "Walking tours of forgotten places"

environment

• Scope: Ecology, climate change, conservation, environmental justice
• Examples: "Fighting pipeline construction" / "Local plant identification"

History

history

• Scope: Historical research, local history, forgotten histories, archives
• Examples: "Oral history project with elders" / "History of radical bookstores"

queer-history

• Scope: LGBTQ+ history, queer archives, historical figures, movements
• Examples: "Stonewall and after" / "Lesbian pulp novels of the 1950s"

Selecting Subjects

How Many Subjects?

• Minimum: 1 (required)
• Recommended: 2-5 subjects per zine
• Maximum: No limit, but be judicious

Specificity

Choose the most specific subject that applies:

• Use "poetry" rather than "literature" for a zine of poems
• Use "queer-politics" rather than generic "activism" for LGBTQ+ organizing zines
• Use "prison-abolition" rather than general "activism" for zines specifically about prison abolition

Combining Subjects

Most zines cover multiple topics. A personal zine might be:

{
  "subject": ["mental-health", "poetry", "art"]
}

A political zine might be:

{
  "subject": ["anti-racism", "police-abolition", "mutual-aid"]
}

Suggesting New Terms

The ZineCore2 subject vocabulary is intentionally focused on topics common in zine culture. If you need a term that doesn't exist:

1. Check if an existing term is close enough (use public_notes for specificity)
2. Propose new terms via GitHub issues
3. Consider using free-text in abstract or table_of_contents for very specific topics

Mapping to Library Subject Headings

ZineCore2 subjects are more informal than Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). For crosswalking:

See the Crosswalking Guide (coming soon) for complete mappings.