Bluestockings (bookstore)

Bluestockings

Company type	Worker cooperative (S corporation)
Industry	Bookstore, café, activist hub
Founded	1999
Headquarters	New York City (Lower East Side, Manhattan) , United States
Area served	Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City
Key people	Kathryn Welsh (founder), Brooke Lehman, Hitomi Matarese
Products	Books, zines, coffee (fair trade from Zapatista cooperatives)
Number of employees	Small collective of worker-owners and over seventy volunteers at peak (Peak period (early 2000s))
Website	bluestockings.com

Bluestockings is a collectively operated radical bookstore, café, and activist hub situated in Manhattan's Lower East Side neighborhood of New York City. Originating in 1999 as a volunteer-driven feminist bookstore, it has evolved into a worker-owned establishment that also offers mutual aid services and operates a free store. The name pays homage to the Bluestockings, an intellectual circle of women from the Enlightenment era. Initially located at 172 Allen Street, the bookstore now resides a few blocks away at 116 Suffolk Street.

Influences

Bluestockings champions "movements that oppose hierarchical structures and all forms of oppression" and stands as one of only thirteen recognized feminist bookstores across the United States and Canada. Its ideological foundations draw heavily from intersectional feminism, anti-capitalism, and the early 2000s anti-globalization movement. Conceptually, it takes inspiration from other collectively managed spaces and infoshops such as Time's Up!. Members of the collective view Bluestockings as a model of self-governed autonomous space that contests the neoliberal economic framework prevalent in New York City, fostering a supportive environment for queer and femme activists. Drawing influence from feminist consciousness-raising reading circles, Bluestockings disseminates knowledge about social oppression through its curated selection of books, zines, and community events.

Structure

Bluestockings operates as an independent bookstore under collective ownership, featuring a modest fair trade café that serves coffee sourced from Zapatista coffee cooperatives. The worker-owners form a small collective that makes decisions through consensus, incorporating feedback and assistance from volunteers and community participants. Registered as an S corporation since 2017, no single individual holds majority shares in the business. Volunteers engage by leading self-initiated projects and participating in working groups; at its height, Bluestockings had over seventy active volunteers.

Functioning as a communal gathering venue for literary enthusiasts, activists, feminists, and intellectuals alike, Bluestockings offers a welcoming public space where visitors may linger without any obligation to purchase. Regular programming includes author readings, panel discussions, film screenings, workshops, open mic nights, and other events—all free to attend. Past notable guests have included members of the band Pussy Riot, poet Eileen Myles, Transgender Vanguard, and representatives from the Icarus Project.

History

Bluestockings began its journey in 1999 as a feminist bookstore. In May 2003, Bluestockings reopened under a worker-owned cooperative model and activist hub framework. This redefined mission embraced an intersectional, leftist approach, welcoming male and transgender members into the collective. }}

External links

• Official website