Feminist Looking Glass

One of the things I’m loving the most about living in NYC is the abundance of creative and progressive-minded options for art and culture. For instance, I live in Brooklyn, about 3 blocks from the Brooklyn Museum, which contains the Sackler Center for Feminist Art. It’s wonderful to know that I’m a short walk from the permanent home of Judy Chicago’s famous Dinner Party installation. The Sackler gallery stands in stark contrast to the Museum of Modern Art’s dearth of female-made art. In 2007, NY Mag wrote that, even at the most generous count, MoMA’s percentage of women artists stands at a paltry 8%.  The numbers are slightly better for more independent galleries around the city. On The Issues shows that among Chelsea galleries, 34% are female artists.

Similarly, there are many great locations for queer theater or LGBT theater. Just last week I went with a friend to Dixon Place, to hear a night of queer text readings.

But what prompted this post is the fact that I wandered into Strand Bookstore earlier today. I’ve passed it a hundred times, but I went in looking for a gift. The huge NY independent bookstore houses about 2.5 million new and used books, and has special collections of rare & first edition finds. What struck me was its Women’s Studies section. I was completely astounded by the size of the WS area. While many bookstores have, at best, 2 shelves of feminist text, Strand boasts about 6 ceiling-high bookcases of women’s studies books. Many editions are old, some are broadly focused, and others undertake incredibly specific facets of feminist issues. The ghettoization of women’s works has long been a concern for many feminists, but if you’re ever in New York City, stop by Strand, and feminist knowledge will be at your fingertips.

Filed under: Education, Feminism, Pop Culture Tagged: | Feminism, feminist art, judy chicago, LGBTQ, nyc