Bluestockings Cooperative and the Williamsburg Bridge

I have come to the realization that having every Friday off is only worth something if I spend every Friday doing something worthwhile.

I start by sleeping in. Then, once I roll out of bed, I decide on a fun little outing for myself, preferably one that won’t cost me anything. In the past this has come in the form of trips to Central Park and The Met.

This week in particular, I decided to check out one of the many Indie bookstores that I’d been dying to try. Named after an enlightenment, intellectual women’s group from 18th century England, Bluestockings Cooperative is New York City’s first, and only, queer, trans, and sex worker-run bookstore. It’s located near the Williamsburg Bridge on the Lower East Side, right beside a gym entitled “Pilates Coven,” which, according to the sign on the door, allows you to do magic and pilates at the same time. You probably can just dabble in the magic, but they seem strict about the pilates, stating that you’re not allowed to show up late.

Bluestockings Cooperative has an extensive collection of all of the most politically-savvy and topically-relevant works in the world right now. Any and all books on queer theory are at your fingertips.

The first time I visited, I didn’t purchase a book; I just perused the stacks and enjoyed a London Fog from their cafe. I finished enjoying this London Fog on the Williamsburg Bridge, after I decided to take a nice leisurely stroll across it. I found that once you get high enough on the Williamsburg Bridge, there’s a nice breeze to cool you down, while you watch the ships moving through the harbor.

The view looked nice, the subway looked nice as it went by, the sweaty people biking and running looked nice. Even the graffiti looked nice. I was really selling this girl-in-a-rom-com vibe as I walked across the bridge, drinking my tea, having just gone to a bookstore.

A few weeks later, I returned to my now beloved Bluestockings Cooperative, which still mandates masks, offers free water to anyone who comes in, and is in the business of enlightening everyone to be more socially-conscious than our politicians.

I witnessed the two workers there treat a homeless man very kindly, giving him an empty store bag when he walked into their store shirtless and asked for one. I met a fellow Raquel, wearing a t-shirt calling for “more trans bodies in art.” Bluestockings Cooperative makes a trip to a bookstore, which is already a fun time, even more of an event.

This time, I bought Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde and Women, Race & Class by Angela Davis, two books that have been on my TBR for far too long. I took another walk along the Williamsburg Bridge, listening to only the mellowest music, before making my way back home.