Introduction

A Streak of Red Crayon from the Mad Woman in the Attic:

"That damn mob of scribbling women..."

-Nathaniel Hawthorne, from a letter to his publisher, mid-1850s

"As a child I scribbled; and my favourite pastime, during the hours given me for recreation, was to "write stories." ...My dreams were at once more fantastic and agreeable than my writings. In the latter I was a close imitator -- rather doing as others had done, then putting down the suggestions of my own mind. What I wrote was intended at least for one other eye -- my childhood's companion and friend; but my dreams were all my own; I accounted for them to nobody; they were my refuge when annoyed -- my dearest pleasure when free. "

-Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, from the Introduction of her novel,

Frankenstein, London, October 15, 1831

What started out as a project for junior journalism major who just wanted to graduate has become a crusade for men and women, searching for gender equality, and an open avenue to express their artwork.

So here we are, the scribblers, alchemists and rational human beings, fighting for a freedom of choice in this gendered society. The Scribbling Mob is a group of men and women who see something wrong happening in the world, not only globally, but on the MTSU campus as well. Women are raped, ignored, abused, and silenced in media, politics, relationships and by most other fields, and especially, frighteningly enough, themselves.

By focusing on women's issues, we are defying the silencing effect of patriarchy, a system, not a particular group of people, which would rather keep the world in competitive (versus cooperative) chaos. By including women and men, our goal is to establish a dialogue between the sexes. No one group can defeat sexism alone. We must work together, without isolation, if we hope to live completely free.

Enjoy and please let us know if you want to join the revolution.

Gender Outlaw and Editor-in-Chief,

Christi Underdown