Feminist businesses

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Feminist businesses are companies established by activists involved in the feminist movement. [1] Examples include feminist bookstores, feminist credit unions, feminist presses, feminist mail-order catalogs, and feminist restaurants. [1] [2] These businesses flourished as part of the second and third-waves of feminism in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. [3] Feminist entrepreneurs established organizations such as the Feminist Economic Alliance to advance their cause. [3] Feminist entrepreneurs sought three primary goals: to disseminate their ideology through their businesses, to create public spaces for women and feminists, and to create jobs for women so that they did not have to depend on men financially. [4] [2] While they still exist today, the number of some feminist businesses, particularly women's bookstores, has declined precipitously since 2000. [1] [4] [2] [3]

Contents

Many of these were created primarily to provide a service, rather than with the goal of making a profit. Feminist health centers, many run as collectives, started along these lines. Lesbian bars and the women's music of the 1970s provided ways to meet.

Feminist bookstores

One of the oldest feminist bookstores, Antigone Books. Antigone Books, Fourth Avenue, Tucson (5620719647).jpg
One of the oldest feminist bookstores, Antigone Books.

Feminist bookstores hold a part of the second-wave feminism movement inside their stores, with expansion of the bookstores beginning in the 1980s. [5] In 1983 there were around 100 bookstores located in North America, which created over $400 million in sales annually. [5] Independent bookshops have declined generally in the 21st century [6] and there are in 2016 there were thought to be fewer than 20 feminist bookstores. [2] The oldest surviving example, Antigone Books, is in Tucson, Arizona. [2] The 13 book stores host feminist events to support feminism as well as carry books about the topics of queer theories, animal rights, lesbian fiction, gay studies, and also information about different cultures. [2]

Notable stores include Amazon Bookstore Cooperative and Silver Moon Bookshop.

Feminist economic alliance

During the Thanksgiving of 1975, the founding women of the Feminist Economic Alliance (FEA) met in Detroit, Michigan at a conference to discuss the problems women faced with money. [7] Two leading women for the alliance in 1975 were Susan Osborne and Linda Maslanko, both from New York. [7] They were the spokeswomen for FEA and educated the public on what the alliance meant and what the future of FEA looked like after splitting into eight geographic regions. [7] The Feminist Economic Alliance was created to aid new sister credit unions as well as allowing any women to become economically powerful, independent, or grow as an individual. [7] This independence for women was going to be achieved by encouraging, assisting, and promoting the women of feminist credit unions and feminist enterprises. [7] The main idea behind this new alliance was that older sister credit unions could help the new developing credit unions by sharing research, resources, and guidance in the process. [7]

Feminist credit unions

In the 1970s during the second wave feminist movement, women had the urge to fight unequal credit so they created their own non-profit, financial institutions so that men were no longer in control of their money. [8] The co-manager of the union, Susan Osborne, was creating an environment for women to save money as well as help other women in need. [8] By creating their own credit unions, women were able to avoid being discriminated based on their gender even though the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 banned credit unions from discriminating potential customers. [9] The women being excluded from receiving loans despite the law in place, were divorced women, low-income women, women needing legal money or women on welfare. [8] Establishing feminist credit unions meant that they would now be able to receive loans hassle free, save their money, and gain money management counseling. [10] When receiving credit, women are viewed by their individual character rather than if they were married or single. [10] A woman no longer has to be the co-signer, she can now be in control of her money. [10] The unions run no differently than any other union, in fact, the feminist credit unions are governed by the same laws as the normal credit unions. [10]

Detroit, Michigan branch

In 1982, the Detroit, Michigan branch, the last feminist credit union, was dissolved due to financial problems and also the reconstruction of the unions language change. [11] The language was suggested to be changed to include both genders, not just female. [11] The Michigan Credit Union League saw the feminist credit unions as bias towards men and suggestions of equal consideration for males in a female position were to be given resulting in it being dissolved. [11]

Feminist mail-order magazines

History

The feminist mail-order magazine came from Great Britain around the 1970s and lasted until the 1990s. [12] The collectives were notable for allowing women to take equal parts in the creation of the magazine in all areas including: copy typing, design, layout or interviewing. [12] By allowing women the equal chance at learning, women were developing their creativity and gaining new skills. [12] Women were allowed to fight back at the patriarchal system by voicing their opinions and allowing women who were excluded also have a platform. [12] Excluded women during that time were black, lesbian, working class, or single mothers. [12] Popular magazines at the time were Spare Rib, Scarlet Woman, Catcall, and Outwrite. [12] The magazines were not afraid to comment about inequalities the women were facing or issues that needed to be addressed. [13] Feminist activities were also talked about in the magazines creating networks, reformation, expressing opinions or attitudes relating to a certain topic. [13] Mail-order magazines were a way for women to become educated on feminism and how to join the movement. [13]

Magazines

Spare Rib

Spare Rib was a second-wave British feminist magazine that emerged from the counter culture of the late 1960s as a consequence of meetings involving, among others, Rosie Boycott and Marsha Rowe. Spare Rib is now recognised as an iconic magazine, which shaped debate about feminism in the United Kingdom, and as such it was digitised by the British Library in 2015. [14] Spare Rib contained new writing and creative contributions which challenged stereotypes and supported collective solutions. The magazine was published between 1972 and 1993. [15] The title derives from the Biblical reference to Eve, the first woman, created from Adam's rib.

Scarlet Woman

In April 1975, the first issue of Scarlet Woman was published by Sydney SW Collective. [16] It was created to be a socialist feminist magazine and included articles dealing with money, lesbians, health and more. [16]

Ms.

Ms. magazine cover, Spring 1972 Ms. magazine Cover - Spring 1972.jpg
Ms. magazine cover, Spring 1972

Ms. is an American liberal feminist magazine co-founded by second-wave feminists and sociopolitical activists Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes. [17] Its founding editors were Letty Cottin Pogrebin, [18] Mary Thom, Patricia Carbine, Joanne Edgar, Nina Finkelstein, and Mary Peacock. Ms. first appeared in 1971 as an insert in New York magazine. [19] From July 1972 until 1987, it appeared as a stand-alone monthly publication; it now publishes quarterly.

Ms. was the first women's magazine to address domestic violence, speak about politics, or discuss topics men thought were unnatural for women, motivating the feminist movement. [20] During its heyday in the 1970s, it enjoyed great popularity but was not always able to reconcile its ideological concerns with commercial considerations. Since 2001, the magazine has been published by Liberty Media for Women, LLC, owned by Feminist Majority Foundation, that is based in Arlington, Virginia and Los Angeles, California. [21]

Feminist restaurants

The earliest form of feminist restaurants took shape in suffrage restaurants, tea rooms, or lunch rooms. [22] Food was sold at a low cost of five or ten cents and men were permitted to eat, in hopes of women persuading men to support a certain political cause. [22] These restaurants suffered from conflicts dealing with the founders and donators. [22] Alva Belmont, a wealthy socialite, was the founder of a suffrage restaurant that was known for strict rules and a fast pace. [22] The ideas and motives behind these suffrage restaurants in the 1910s were the foundations for the feminist restaurants in the 1970s. [22]

In April 1972, the first feminist restaurant, Mother Courage, was founded by Dolores Alexander in New York. [22] Bloodroot, a vegan/vegetarian feminist restaurant and bookstore located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, has been in business since 1977. [23]

Feminist restaurants are used more as a place to gather and socialize rather than eating. [22] The restaurants were used to share ideas, literature, educate one another and to promote the feminist movement. [22] Guest speakers, political speakers, poets, or musicians would come to the restaurants to promote issues or spread awareness. [24] Coffee houses and cafes are also popular among the feminist movement. [24] Restaurants offered same pay to every staff member, which was entirely women. [22] The style was simple and supported the movements that were occurring during that time. [22] They support other occupations by avoiding certain products such as lettuce and grapes for the farmers or boycotting orange juice for the anti-gay campaign. [22] Feminist restaurants were also notable for treating women or lesbians with respect in a non-hostile environment. [22] A women who is dining with a man will be given a wine sample as well as the check at the end of the meal. [22] That was typical not the case in restaurants that were not catered to feminism. [22]

Feminist businesses today

In today's society, feminist businesses look different besides the few bookstores left in the world. [2] There are over hundreds of companies created by women, that have a purpose besides making money such as changing our society, impacting employers and the consumers they reach. [25] One famous company started by a woman that has been successful is Tory Burch. [25] She created the store from nothing and has been able to create a multibillion-dollar business as well as a foundation called the Tory Burch Foundation in 2009, to help empower women and female entrepreneurs. [25] Today feminist business are about empowering women in the shape of products sold, campaigns run, and businesses created. [26] [25] Maggie O'Carroll co-founded The Women's Organisation, initially named Train 2000, in 1996. [27] Her organization is UK's largest female enterprise agency and has supported over 70,000 enterprising women and helped created over 4,000 businesses.

See also

Related Research Articles

Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades. It took place throughout the Western world, and aimed to increase equality for women by building on previous feminist gains.

<i>Ms.</i> (magazine) American liberal feminist magazine

Ms. is an American feminist magazine co-founded in 1971 by journalist and social/political activist Gloria Steinem. It was the first national American feminist magazine. The original editors were Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Mary Thom, Patricia Carbine, Joanne Edgar, Nina Finkelstein, Mary Peacock, Margaret Sloan-Hunter, and Gloria Steinem. Beginning as a one-off insert in New York magazine in 1971, the first stand-alone issue of Ms. appeared in January 1972, with funding from New York editor Clay Felker. It was intended to appeal to a wide audience and featured articles about a variety of issues related to women and feminism. From July 1972 until 1987, it was published on a monthly basis. It now publishes quarterly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third-wave feminism</span> Feminist movement, 1990s–2010s

Third-wave feminism is a feminist movement that began in the early 1990s, prominent in the decades prior to the fourth wave. Grounded in the civil-rights advances of the second wave, Gen X and early Gen Y generations third-wave feminists born in the 1960s and 1970s embraced diversity and individualism in women, and sought to redefine what it meant to be a feminist. The third wave saw the emergence of new feminist currents and theories, such as intersectionality, sex positivity, vegetarian ecofeminism, transfeminism, and postmodern feminism. According to feminist scholar Elizabeth Evans, the "confusion surrounding what constitutes third-wave feminism is in some respects its defining feature."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesbian feminism</span> Feminist movement

Lesbian feminism is a cultural movement and critical perspective that encourages women to focus their efforts, attentions, relationships, and activities towards their fellow women rather than men, and often advocates lesbianism as the logical result of feminism. Lesbian feminism was most influential in the 1970s and early 1980s, primarily in North America and Western Europe, but began in the late 1960s and arose out of dissatisfaction with the New Left, the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, sexism within the gay liberation movement, and homophobia within popular women's movements at the time. Many of the supporters of Lesbianism were actually women involved in gay liberation who were tired of the sexism and centering of gay men within the community and lesbian women in the mainstream women's movement who were tired of the homophobia involved in it.

Cultural feminism, the view that there is a "female nature" or "female essence", attempts to revalue and redefine attributes ascribed to femaleness. It is also used to describe theories that commend innate differences between women and men. Cultural feminism diverged from radical feminism, when some radical feminists rejected the previous feminist and patriarchal notion that feminine traits are undesirable and returned to an essentialist view of gender differences in which they regard female traits as superior.

Feminist separatism is the theory that feminist opposition to patriarchy can be achieved through women's separation from men. Much of the theorizing is based in lesbian feminism.

Black feminism is a philosophy that centers on the idea that "Black women are inherently valuable, that [Black women's] liberation is a necessity not as an adjunct to somebody else's but because of our need as human persons for autonomy."

Political lesbianism is a phenomenon within feminism, primarily second-wave feminism and radical feminism; it includes, but is not limited to, lesbian separatism. Political lesbianism asserts that sexual orientation is a political and feminist choice, and advocates lesbianism as a positive alternative to heterosexuality for women as part of the struggle against sexism.

Virago is a British publisher of women's writing and books on feminist topics. Started and run by women in the 1970s and bolstered by the success of the Women's Liberation Movement (WLM), Virago has been credited as one of several British feminist presses that helped address inequitable gender dynamics in publishing. Unlike alternative, anti-capitalist publishing projects and zines coming out of feminist collectives and socialist circles, Virago branded itself as a commercial alternative to the male dominated publishing industry and sought to compete with mainstream international presses.

The Woman's Building was a non-profit arts and education center located in Los Angeles, California. The Woman's Building focused on feminist art and served as a venue for the women's movement and was spearheaded by artist Judy Chicago, graphic designer Sheila Levrant de Bretteville and art historian Arlene Raven. The center was open from 1973 until 1991. During its existence, the Los Angeles Times called the Woman's Building a "feminist mecca."

<i>Spare Rib</i> Defunct feminist magazine

Spare Rib was a second-wave feminist magazine, founded in 1972 in the United Kingdom, that emerged from the counter culture of the late 1960s as a consequence of meetings involving, among others, Rosie Boycott and Marsha Rowe. Spare Rib is now recognised as an iconic magazine, which shaped debate about feminism in the UK, and as such it was digitised by the British Library in 2015. The magazine contained new writing and creative contributions that challenged stereotypes and supported collective solutions. It was published between 1972 and 1993. The title derives from the Biblical reference to Eve, the first woman, created from Adam's rib.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phyllis Birkby</span> American architect (1932–1994)

Noel Phyllis Birkby was an American architect, feminist, filmmaker, teacher, and founder of the Women's School of Planning and Architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Words Bookstore</span>

New Words Bookstore was a feminist bookstore based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It opened in 1974 and closed in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feminist bookstore</span> Bookshops that sell material relating to womens issues, gender, and sexuality

Feminist bookstores sell material relating to women's issues, gender, and sexuality. These stores served as some of the earliest open spaces for feminist community building and organizing.

<i>WomanSpirit</i> Lesbian/feminist quarterly periodical

WomanSpirit was a lesbian feminist quarterly founded by Ruth and Jean Mountaingrove and produced collectively near Wolf Creek, Oregon. It was the first American lesbian/feminist periodical to be dedicated to both feminism and spirituality. Many of the contributors to WomanSpirit were, or became, well known within the women's spirituality movement. It had 40 publications, covering topics such as ecology, goddess myths and rituals, feminist theory, and divination. Its submissions included articles, photos, letters, book reviews, artwork, and songs.

Bloodroot is a feminist vegetarian restaurant and feminist bookstore in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It was established in 1977 by the Bloodroot Collective with radical and lesbian feminist principles. It was one of hundreds of feminist restaurants that existed in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s.

Darlene Pagano is a feminist activist, radio producer, and editor. She is most famous for her conversational piece "Racism and Sadomasochism: A Conversation with Two Black Lesbians" published in collaboration with Karen Sims and Rose Mason in a radical feminist anthology entitled Against Sadomasochism: A Radical Feminist Analysis, for which she is also credited as co-editor.

References

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  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hogan, Kristen (2016). The Feminist Bookstore Movement: Lesbian Antiracism and Feminist Accountability. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press.
  3. 1 2 3 Enke, Anne (2007). Finding the Movement: Sexuality, Contested Space, and Feminist Activism. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. pp. 1–104.
  4. 1 2 Davis, Joshua (2017). From Head Shops to Whole Foods: The Rise and Fall of Activist Entrepreneurs. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 129–175. ISBN   9780231543088.
  5. 1 2 "Business Feminism - Los Angeles Review of Books". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  6. ↑ "Brick and Mortar: Lessons About the Future of Bookselling | Harvard Political Review". harvardpolitics.com. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Feminist Economic Alliance Formed to Aid New Sister Credit Unions". Duke Digital Collections. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  8. 1 2 3 Knight, Michael (1974-08-27). "Feminists Open Own Credit Union". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  9. ↑ "Abstract: Financial Feminism: Credit Unions in the Women's Movement of the 1970s | The Business History Conference". thebhc.org. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Sarasota Journal - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  11. 1 2 3 "Forty-Four Years Ago a Female-Run Credit Union Paved the Way for Women's Financial Independence". Michigan Credit Union League. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Feminist collectives". The British Library. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  13. 1 2 3 Forster, Laurel (2015-02-26). Magazine Movements: Women's Culture, Feminisms and Media Form. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN   9781441172631.
  14. ↑ "About the Spare Rib Digitisation Project". The British Library. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  15. ↑ "A short history of the most radical DIY magazines". Dazed. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  16. 1 2 "Archive No. 91. Scarlet Woman" (PDF). vwllfa.
  17. ↑ "Colored Reflections - the Eighties, Gloria Steinem". Archived from the original on 2016-02-01. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  18. ↑ "Ms. Magazine Online | Winter 2009". Msmagazine.com. 2001-12-31. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  19. ↑ Mclellan, Dennis (July 2, 2008). "Clay Felker, 82; editor of New York magazine led New Journalism charge". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2008-11-23.
  20. ↑ "How Do You Spell Ms". NYMag.com. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  21. ↑ "Ms. Magazine Online". msmagazine.com. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Women's restaurants". Restaurant-ing through history. 2013-06-18. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  23. ↑ Meyers, Joe (November 20, 2016). "Famed Bridgeport vegetarian restaurant approaches 40th anniversary". Connecticut Post . Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  24. 1 2 "The Feminist Restaurant Project". thefeministrestaurantproject.com. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  25. 1 2 3 4 "22 successful women-led companies that prove there's much more to business than profits". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  26. ↑ Shah, Ameera (2017-08-18). "Redefining Modern Feminism in the World of Business". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  27. ↑ "Liverpool's Maggie O'Carroll named as one of the UK's most influential social enterprise leaders". Liverpool Business News. 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
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