Women and Children First
The Little Store That Can
If you’ve ever watched the show “Portlandia,” you’ve probably seen the skits set at
an ultra-feminist bookstore called Women and Women First. And if you’ve visited the
Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago, you’ve likely passed a bookstore with a curiously
similar name: Women and Children First.
“I think it is most likely based off a feminist bookstore in Portland,” Women and
Children First co-owner Linda Bubon said of the “Portlandia” shop. “But I think it’s a spoof
about any sort of niche bookstore.”
The resemblance is striking. Both the fictional bookstore and the real one have a
magazine rack boasting titles like “bitch” and “OUT.” The shelves inside both stores are
decorated with colorful handwritten signs advertising the genre of books and giving
recommendations from the staff. But there is one crucial difference: the stores treat their
customers very differently.
At Women and Women First, customers are locked in, badgered by the two female
owners, played by Carrie Brownstein and bewigged Fred Armisen, and annoyed to a
cringeworthy extent. In one episode, Armisen flails his arm around as he attempts to grab a
book for a customer that’s clearly within reach. In another, the two owners berate a man who
uses the bathroom without
buying anything. At Women and Children First, the only questioning customers receive is
whether they need help finding anything.
Women and Children First opened in 1979 in Lincoln Park as a feminist store that
carried only books written by women. This was during what is known as the second wave of
feminism, when women all over the world fought for equality in the workplace and for
reproductive rights. The shop quickly outgrew its tiny storefront and moved two blocks down
the street to a bigger location in 1984. Then, in 1990, it moved to Andersonville, where it
takes up three storefronts.
The idea to start the bookstore began when Bubon and co-owner Ann Christopherson
were in college at the University of Illinois-Urbana working on their master’s degrees, and
they could not find the books they needed for a feminist discussion group.
“We decided that there was a hole in the bookstore landscape in Chicago,” Bubon
said, “and we thought that we could fill it.”
After finding the original space, the next step was to choose a name. Christopherson
and Bubon could not think of anything interesting, until the perfect moniker came to them.
Women and Children First.
“We’re not saying that we want a society that’s only women and children,” Bubon
said. “We want a society that puts women and children first, and for the patriarchy to take a
step back.”
Although the store now carries books by men, it still carries mainly female authors,
like Doris Lessing, Toni Morrison and J.K. Rowling. The store also contains sizeable
sections featuring LGBT literature (“Brokeback Mountain,” by Annie Proulx) and books on
women’s studies (“Gaga Feminism,” by J. Jack Halberstam).
Besides its emphasis on women authors, the store contains little hints of feminism
throughout. One column is plastered with polaroids of visiting authors and customers posing
with a cardboard cutout of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who is regarded as being a strong
feminist character. A display of CDs titled “Women Who Rock!” sits next to the checkout
counter. This strong emphasis on empowering all women is part of what attracted fourth
grade Francis W. Parker teacher Miriam Pickus to shop frequently at Women and Children
First, for what she estimates is two decades.
“I’m gay and that was a big part of the attraction,” Pickus said. “At a time when you
couldn’t find books for gay people, it was a really big part of their collection. It made it a
very supportive environment, and it was a place that you could go into and talk about these
topics with other people and not feel awkward. ”
Just as the bookstore has endured, so has feminism. As Bubon describes it, there are
waves of feminism. And at the moment, Parker is in the middle of one. Two new feminism
clubs started this year. One, Power of Education, focuses on the education of girls all over the
world. The other, Gender Matters, focuses more on gender equality at Parker.
Parker has begun promoting the movement through events like the “Girl Rising”
screening in February and the second International Women’s Day celebration in March.
The store also hosts many events each month, with authors both local and national
coming in to talk. Past visitors include Hillary Clinton, activist and journalist Gloria Steinem,
and novelist Alice Munro. Bubon remembers when Steinem came to speak.
“The first time Gloria came, there were about 800 people, and the 300 or so people
gathered in the room got to hear her talk,” Bubon said. “And then she sat and signed books.
Now everyone who was in the room had been outside waiting in line. So she said, ‘Did any
of you get to hear me speak the first time?’ and they said no. So she stood up on her chair and
gave a second talk.”
Women and Children First is best known for its large selection of fiction and
nonfiction for women, but children’s literature has also been important to the store.
“Really good children’s books are about discovery and teaching a child that a book is
something they can discover new things in,” Bubon said. “I think to teach that at an early age
is to create a love for books.”
With at least six floor-to-ceiling bookshelves dedicated to children’s literature, which
include such titles as “The Paper Bag Princess,” by Robert Munsch, and “Eloise,” by Kay
Thompson, the children’s collection at Women and Children First is bigger than that of most
independent bookstores.
In the corner sits a small, purple lighthouse where kids can sit and read, along with a
box of toys.
On Wednesday mornings at 10:30, the bookstore is jam-packed with children
clamoring for storytime. Bubon reads a selection of books to about 40 kids, who come with
their parents or nannies. This tradition started in 1987, with about 12 to 15 kids showing up.
Over the past seven years, storytime has become increasingly popular, according to Bubon.
She reads a variety of stories, whether they’re from the current bestseller list, or
classics like “The Hungry Caterpillar.” Bubon chooses stories that she thinks will appeal to
both boys and girls, but while she is reading, she makes a conscious effort to bring girls to the
forefront.
“I will change the pronouns,” Bubon said. “I’ve always read ‘Chicka Chicka Boom
Boom’ as a she. There just aren’t enough girl animal characters.”
Although Women and Children First wants to make sure that kids learn to enjoy
reading, the real goal is to ensure that women feel represented in literature, whether it’s
through the female writers they stock or the three shelves of women’s studies books.
“The mission of this store is to celebrate the work of women writers," Bubon said,
"and to meet the needs of women as they can be met through books."
Those needs are similar to the ones championed during the second-wave feminism
movement--reproductive rights and equality in the workplace--according to Bubon.
Even though the store has long-time customers like Pickus, there have been times of
trouble. It has suffered from financial issues, mainly due to the growth of chain bookstores
and Amazon. In 2007, a time when feminism was on the downswing, according to Bubon, it
nearly closed, so it had to tighten its belt by cutting down on full-time staff, and having the
owners take a lower salary.
Independent bookstores continue to be challenged, but customers like Alicia from
San Diego, who was browsing the offerings one Saturday, appreciate them.
“I came to visit a friend here in Chicago, and the first thing I said was, ‘Can you take
me to a good independent bookstore?’ and she took me here,” Alicia said.
Lily, who is six years old, has been a customer at Women and Children First her
entire life. “This store is my favorite place,” Lily said one afternoon, while twirling her hair.
“I like reading the really silly books and sitting in my chair. I never want it to close!”
It doesn’t seem like the store will be shutting its doors soon. Bubon and
Christopherson are in negotiations to sell the store to two other women. Their reason for
selling? Old age.
“We want the store to be vigorous for years,” Bubon said, “and after 35 years of
doing this, Ann and I are recognizing our limitations, both physical and mental.”
Despite their departure, they want the mission of the store to remain the same. “Our
number one criteria is that the new owners have experience in the bookstore business,”
Bubon said, “and then equally important is their commitment to feminism.”
They evaluate this commitment by observing how the potential owners act and the
issues that they are interested in, she said.
When they’ll sell the store, they don’t know. But in the meantime, Women and
Children First will remain, as it has always been, a literature hotspot for women, children,
and, yes, even some men.