The Future Generation

In 1990, China Martens was the mama of a two-year-old. She was also devoted to the punk culture of liberation from oppression and was having a hard time with the fact that mothers weren't being supported in her subculture, just as they weren't supported in the mainstream culture. In an effort to build community and support among mothers living outside of the value system of mainstream America, and to support more liberation for children, China started her zine, The Future Generation. The Future Generation was truly the first mama zine, the one that inspired the movement. Mama zines are everywhere now, if you know where to look (try www.mamaphonic.com) , but this was not the case before China spoke out for mamas and children. Her amazing zine is still coming out with new issues today, now containing stories about life as the radical mama of an independent young woman, rather than an independent toddler-girl. It still inspires. And now, you can read excerpts from every past issue in China's new book The Future Generation, an anthology of the original punk parenting zine's evolution and more, published by Atomic Books! I could not stop smiling the day that the mail carrier handed me my autographed copy...go, China! As the Mother of Mama Zines, no one deserves this success more than China. Buy the book! No matter what kind of mama-culture you embrace, China is an inspiration!