Blue Stockings

As a class outing, we visited Blue Stockings bookstore located in Lower East Side (my birthplace). Blue Stockings is a local, independently owned, inclusive, and intersectional space. It’s fully volunteer based and LGBTQ friendly.  The last time I visited was to purchase a book for my Gender and Justice course; Beautiful Trouble. It was out of stock on Amazon and I wanted a reason to visit. But this time for Sociology of Sexualities course, we were being introduced to spaces that relate to what we’re learning.

There were readings from the class which specifically relate to our visit to Blue Stockings. Jenika McCrayer’s, My Feminist is Black and Heather Corinna’s, Sexuality: WTF Is It, Anyway? It was McCrayer’s black feminism, which I still refer to since I’ve read it. She talks about why her being black and her being feminist are not mutually exclusive, despite there being gaps and intersectional failures within feminism. Although she’s a self-identified feminist, she still addresses problematic points within feminism. McCrayer says, “Though mainstream feminism has become more inclusive and intersectional with each wave, there is still some resistance to embrace the varying values and needs of the numerous groups and identities feminism is supposed to advocate for.” At the bookstore, I felt the sense that I’m not expected to separate my race and gender. This was celebrated through the recommended shelves, which were filled with writers who were women and black.

In Blue Stockings as I reminisced, I wondered if folks who lived in proximity of the bookstore felt comfortable enough to walk into it. I use to frequently visit a local and independently owned bookstore called Nicholas Brooklyn. It’s exclusively catered to all things black and I’d roam around, young with no money to purchase anything.  

I do remember one of the Bluestocking's volunteer saying, you don’t have to buy anything to be welcomed in the bookstore. This was great information. However, I was a student, on a planned trip, I was already welcomed in. Sometimes businesses that are meant for the community aren’t always used by folks who live within the proximity of the business. When I was younger, I wandered in a bookstore that wasn’t necessarily fit for young adults. It was the fact that I felt comfortable enough to go in, knowing that I was not going to buy a thing. There’s no sign that says, "come in even if you have no money", and I do not suggest that. It was just a thought that floated in my mind.

Corrina’s thorough guide on sex and sexuality was great for a new Gender Studies major, like myself. I’m still understanding the idea that sex and gender are not synonymous. But Corrinna’s easy to read guide debunked any remaining myths I had within. Blue Stockings is a great place to expand on sex and gender. There’s a well-intended emphasis on LGBTQ and trans writers. Aside from the trans women that I follow (Janet Mock and Laverne Cox). Blue Stockings exposes me to writers I may not have heard of or sought out on my own. My favorite line from Corrina article is,

"Too, one thing that trips a lot of people up is trying to figure out how to separate their sexuality from all the other parts of themselves and their lives; where sexuality ends and everything else begins. When I did our version of the circles, I made the text in them bleed outside the circles for a reason. I did that because often, we're not going to be able to draw very clear lines between our sexuality and the rest of who we are, what we feel and the lives we live. Sometimes it is clear-cut: sometimes we can identify things, situations or feelings that very clearly don't incite or involve our sexuality in any way. We can sometimes do the same with some things we know are a part of our sexuality, and seem to only or mostly: like things that we find very sexually arousing, but find totally boring, ridiculous or offensive in any other context."

The whole paragraph is necessary because I believe hard lines are not necessary, which is what she’s referring to. I appreciate her “circles of sexuality” which is helpful to visually see where sex and sexuality intersect.

References

McCrayer, J. (2016, May 16). My Feminism Is Black, Intersectional, and Womanist – And I Refuse to Be Left Out of the Movement. Retrieved March 10, 2017, from http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/05/black-womanist-feminism/

Corinna, H. (2011, December 21). Sexuality: WTF Is It, Anyway? Retrieved March 10, 2017, from http://www.scarleteen.com/article/bodies/sexuality_wtf_is_it_anyway