The Rag Issue III Magazine Launch

by Clare - RAG Fri Oct 31, 2008 10:34 ragdublin at riseup dot net

This event will take place in the all new Seomra Spraoi. See
www.seomraspraoi.org

Lots more details to follow.

by Niav - RAG Wed Nov 26, 2008 15:18

We're launching the third issue of The Rag, a Dublin-based anarcha-feminist magazine. It takes place in the new Seomra Spraoi, 10 Belvedere Court, just behind Mountjoy Square. Map is available at www.seomraspraoi. org

Starting at 6 with food, the event is child-friendly until 9 only. At 9 pm the bands will start - the fantastic Clodagh Kerley(http://www.myspace.com/clodaghkerley) and Drunk Granny from Bristol (http://www.myspace.com/drunkgranny) DJs and dancing till late. Only €6/€5 including tasty Turkish food and a copy of our new mag. BYOB.

The new magazine includes articles on Feminism in Muslim Countries, Getting Active, Role Models in 80s TV programs, Feminists as Trans Allies and much more.

If you can't make it along the magazine will be available shortly in Books Upstairs on College Green, Tower Records, and Book Worms on Abbey Street as well as various places in around the country and in the UK, Europe, the States and Australia. It is available online from active distribution (activedistribution .org) and AK press (akuk.com and someday soon akpress.org) .

Hope you can make it,

Niav
(1 of RAG)

by eif - RAG Fri Nov 28, 2008 14:04

.

sorry, it starts at 6pm

by Clare - RAG Tue Dec 02, 2008 00:37 ragdublin at riseup dot net Dublin

A massive thanks to all who attended the launch of The Rag no.3 on Saturday, we had a fantastic time. Thanks to Drunk Granny, Jakko's amazing chaos karaoke, DJs Natalia and Eilis and everyone who danced.

A special mention to Seomra Spraoi - we couldn't have had a better venue and greatly appreciate the serious work put in to get the building ready for the night. It was perfect. Thanks to those who worked for the night and also helped with the tidying up afterwards.

RAG banner

The stage

Some RAG members

Dinner

Drunk Granny

by rsi Tue Dec 02, 2008 09:18

So there's a group- not just a magazine? Has the group done anything radical recently or do you restrict yourselves to drinking cans sitting on plastic chairs? I suppose that's pretty radical for some...

by bot - RAG - personal capacity Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:31

hey there. i will ignore the disrespect and answer the question cos it's fair enough!

yes there's a group - it's explicitly a publishing collective. since we are a small group of (?)about ten active members, we try to aim for what we can achieve. at the moment that is publishing one quality magazine per year.

it goes without saying (but i'll say it anyway) that it is totally voluntary and non-profit, any money we make goes back into printing and distributing the magazine. we write, edit, layout, publish and distribute the magazine ourselves. we also run a small distro of feminist and anarchist zines, books etc. which we bring to various feminist and anarchist events during the year. its next outing (in its depleted state after the launch) will be on "independents day" at the dublin food coop http://www.indymedia.ie/article/89744. we will also be having a chat there about what we do.

during the year we meet once a week - every monday evening. we try to break the meetings up into one hour business/housekeeping and one hour discussion. but when we are very busy the discussion part tends to be left aside unfortunately.

we also hold one open meeting per month - on the first monday of the month. the next one is scheduled for monday 5th jan and is a meeting on feminism and disability (7pm, should be in seomra spraoi - pending accessibility audit! keep an eye on blog for update).

the aim of the open meetings and the discussions is to develop our ideas for articles for the next magazine - so that in some way each article becomes more broadly representitive of our ideas and the ideas of the people around us than just one person's opinion (that's the idea anyway - not saying it works exactly!)

we are not an activist group as such at the moment - we don't really carry out actions in our capacity as RAG, although individuals within RAG certainly do carry out independentish actions, and many are part of other groups/organisations - eg wsm, choice ireland, shell to sea, seomra spraoi... as i say, our main aim is the publishing, getting ideas out there, and hopefully getting feminists thinking a bit about anarchism and anarchists thinking a bit about feminism. in the 3 years since we've been going we've seen 3 other feminist groups and 2 other anarcha-feminist collectives and a foundling queer/all gender feminist group start up - so we're hopeful there's a stirring around!

we also try to work with other feminist groups, last year we linked up with choice ireland to run a very successful event for international women's day http://www.indymedia.ie/article/86643. members of rag, choice ireland and a new feminist group lash back are meeting this week to start planning for next year's iwd event.

our other main event during the year was a feminist gathering - which was a weekend of workshops and discussion in leitrim... i don't think the report ever went up on indy... but the report went out in women's news and we posted it here too http://anarchistblackcat.org/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=1201&...=next (you have to be a member maybe to view)

this past year we have also spent a lot of time dealing with interpersonal issues between people in rag and without - there are a lot of expectations on us as a group to tackle issues such as abuse - which has been really really hard for us and we are struggling through while trying to keep on top of our other work (and our lives as workers mothers students etc). we are developing theories about boundaries and respect and trying to be open and communicative and to not hurt anyone.

we work really hard actually. and we almost never sit around on plastic chairs drinking cans. though it's brilliant fun when we do have a big party like the yearly "launches"!

thanks so much to all who came along and to all who support and respect what we (imperfectly) do!

by rsi Tue Dec 02, 2008 13:31

So, in answer to the question has the group done anything radical recently that would be a no.

by non-rag member Tue Dec 02, 2008 16:37

I think, sadly, in this day and age, producing a magazine which deals with women's issues and does not include plastic surgery ads is pretty radical.

Go ladies, I support you and your (radical) endeavours.

by ujak. Wed Dec 03, 2008 02:40

Heya!

"in the 3 years since we've been going we've seen 3 other feminist groups and 2 other anarcha-feminist collectives and a foundling queer/all gender feminist group start up."

Who else are these people? Do they have websites, names etc?
Thanks!

by Clare - RAG Wed Dec 03, 2008 09:26 ragdublin at riseup dot net

There are some links on our blog:
http://ragdublin.blogspot.com/

I'm not sure of all the groups and they don't all have websites. I think the reference probably included:
Lash Back - www.myspace.com/lashbackdublin
London pro-feminist mens group - http://londonprofeministmensgroup.blogspot.com/

Scottish anarcha-feminist group - we met them at the Belfast and London anarchist bookfairs and they are just starting up. I think it was based in Glasgow.
London anarcha-feminist group - http://lafk.wordpress.com/ They started after the women's space squat was evicted. They attended the feminist gathering organised by RAG in May and are really dead on.

Think there is also all gender feminist group starting in London, emerging from the men's group mentioned above.

Maybe someone else will know more.

by ujak. Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:13

Thanks for the links - I originally thought that the post meant that these extra groups were all based in Dublin or Ireland, that seemed ambitious!!!

by Sevinch karaca - RAG-Personal Capacity Fri Dec 05, 2008 13:35

How is radical defined? Do you have the monopoly to the definition?
Have you read any of the issues before making your claims?
If I am up to a radical action within the definition of Anarcha Feminism why should I give details in a public forum just because you ask?
Do you have an informed critique of our collective, activities and writing backed by evidence you may have?
What is the story? I am curious. Misogyny?
How about putting yourself out there as an anarchist and feminist in a place and time full of hostility, cynicism and deliberate misinformation?
Do you know any of us?
Plastic chairs are cool. So is partying. Cause we work hard out there every day organizing for an anarchist society.

by bot Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:31

i was thinking of 3 other irish feminist groups - choice ireland (www.choiceireland.org), lash back (www.myspace.com/lashback) and the recent "feminist open forum" endeavour.... no website as yet i don't think but pulling meetings of 100+ people....

the 2 other a-f collectives that i know of so far are in britain as clare mentioned. room for more in ireland for sure - especially direct action groups as Mister Radical has pointed out ;-P

the foundling queer/mens fem group is dublin based - it has i think evolved into "queer spraoi" in seomra spraoi for the moment - though i have heard that the men's group may be starting up again in the new year. drop rag an email if you're interested and we'll find out for ya.