Do we really need feminist bookstores anymore?
I saw this tiny little question linked to a tiny little article about a bookstore I’ve never been to. I was immediately sorry to realize that even though we’ve been to Atlanta many, many times and we’ve been to quite a few bookstores, we have never been to this one. When we go back again, which will be soon, we will seek this one out and enjoy it while we can – since it seems the end may be near.
But beyond this particular bookstore, the question is what really stuck with me. Do we? Do we really still need these kinds of bookstores?
Of course we do! Ummm or do we? I’ve gone back and forth with this, over and over again for two weeks and I still don’t know the answer. Not for myself or for the collective "we".
I didn’t grow up with a feminist bookstore. I don’t think I visited my first one til I was in my late 20’s. Until I moved to Gainesville in 2002 I did not live in a town that had one. So do we really need them? I did fine without one, right?
One of the best things about this town is it’s tiny little women’s bookstore, Wild Iris. We don’t go often, we can’t afford it! Everytime we go in, we walk out with a ton of books and another $100 (or more!) on a credit card. Just knowing it is there, though, makes me happy. It makes me happy to hear my almost 16 year old say "Oh I bet they have that at Wild Iris". It makes me happy to hear her say she went in to browse at Wild Iris while she was wandering around downtown. When we had our mommy and me day last month, we enjoyed going in together and browsing and talking about the books and the women’s comic books and just being there. In that female space.
Last year (or was it the year before) we thought Wild Iris might close. Luckily a new buyer was found and it survives. And it appears to be the only surviving feminist bookstore in Florida. Imagine that…
This still doesn’t answer the question – or maybe it’s the wrong question altogether. Maybe it isn’t about need, it’s about want and the answer to that is a definite yes. We still want feminist bookstores. Definitely.
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