A Woman's Place (bookstore)

A Woman's Place

Company type	Collective
Industry	Bookstore
Founded	1970
Defunct	1989
Headquarters	Oakland, California , United States
Area served	United States
Products	Feminist literature, books by women authors

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A Woman's Place (also known as ICI, an abbreviation for Information Center Incorporate: A Woman's Place) was a pioneering feminist bookstore based in Oakland, California. Established in 1970, it ranked among the very first feminist bookstores in the United States.

History

The bookstore was launched in 1970 by a collective of eight women who had initially sold feminist literature on the streets. Originating from the Bay Area Gay Women's Liberation movement, it stood as one of the earliest feminist bookstores nationwide. Designed as a space dedicated to women, the store carried nonfiction works authored by men but limited fiction and poetry offerings exclusively to female writers. The collective also emphasized providing literature reflecting perspectives from the Third World and working-class communities. Shortly after opening, the Women's Press Collective relocated to this venue.

Former members of this collective went on to establish Old Wives Tales, a feminist bookstore situated in San Francisco.

By 1982, the bookstore's inventory included approximately 10,000 titles.

That same year, internal conflicts within the collective arose concerning issues of racism, as well as debates around lesbianism versus feminism and the acceptance of male allies, resulting in two or three older white members barring access to other collective participants, which led to arbitration proceedings. The four individuals excluded (Darlene Pagano, Elizabeth Summers, Jesse Meredith, and Keiko Kubo) identified themselves as "one Italian, one Jewish, one Black, one Asian". Following this dispute, the bookstore reopened under new leadership, and an arbitration agreement was finalized in 1983 that included formal incorporation of the business.

Ultimately, A Woman's Place ceased operations in 1989.