Visit of the Librairie à Soi(e)
Upon looking at the list, I was very excited to see a feminist bookstore! I have never visited one before, so for this experience I decided to visit the Librairie à Soi(e) to see what it was all about.
This is an inclusive bookstore focused on feminism, and it has a huge variety of books (history of feminism, eco-feminism, masculinity, queer history, etc.) as well as novels, comics, and poetry. In terms of what it looks like and the vibe, the first thing I saw as I walked up to the store were the words “Merry Queermas” on a festive window, above a display of queer feminist works! Immediately, I wanted to see more. The inside was very welcoming, with cute overhead lights, tall windows at the back, and a cozy lounge room to the side to read in. The team was just as welcoming, and I felt very at ease to browse here.
The bookstore is organized very nicely, but before diving into a category, I did a walkthrough just looking at the displays. The authors’ names were typically smaller and less prominent in the book covers here than I was used to in the US. Because of this, when I was browsing, I got a glimpse at more of the subjects and messages than the notoriety of the books. Here’s a picture inside of one of the displays. From right to left, we see a book on exceptional women through time, a history of drag queens, and the art of drag, all with covers and title text that draw your eyes right in, and give you all the information you need to start reading. The authors are not the most important factor.
I quickly found texts on Mediterranean and specifically Islamic feminism. One of the books I looked closer at was called “Féminismes islamiques” by Zahra Ali. On the back cover, one sentence in particular struck me. Here it is, roughly translated into English: “What this book shows, most often we do not know: that in countries where Islam is the dominant religion, believers can fight for equality, turn the sacred texts against patriarchy, rise up against political and religious authorities who flout women's rights.” I find this quote so important because it goes against the misinformation and Islamophobia in the US and other first-world countries. They might say that it’s just Islam that oppresses women, and they use this thinking to demonize Muslim people. However, in our class this semester, we looked at how colonization and war led to the destabilization of many Mediterranean francophone countries, at which point dangerous political and religious authorities were able to take power. We discussed ways in which women protested and took action, and some of the progress being made to this day. So many powerful women are shaping these movements, such as with the protests in Iran right now.
The Librairie à Soi(e) lifts up Mediterranean francophone voices and offers a safe space to learn feminist history and culture. I would absolutely recommend paying it a visit to dive deeper into the topics we discussed this semester, or just to see for yourself the diversity of feminist works here. I plan to visit again before I leave!
Before coming to France, I had never heard of feminist bookstore, nevertheless less visited one. I’ve visited queer bookstores, black bookstores, themed bookstores, and in that time, I never understood how so many groups and affinities can be found within that socio-political movement and ideology that is “feminism.” Your description of the bookstore makes it sound so inviting! I love the ambiance of a bookstore and I enjoy cozying up to a good book, but nowadays, I usually buy kindle books and indulge in reading fantastical works of fiction. Now, I think that fiction can be a good tool to use when teaching a valuable lesson or recounting some sort of historic event from the past. I think that Papicha is a great example of how powerful a melding of fiction and non-fiction can be in telling a story and helping people understand a truth and/or experience. I also think the film relates to that last quote you mentioned that said, “...in countries where Islam is the dominant religion, believers can fight for equality, turn the sacred texts against patriarchy, rise up against political and religious authorities who flout women's rights.” This statement along with you analysis was quite powerful. In Papicha we see how Nedjma, “papicha,” loves her country and after experiencing all that she did, is still able to separate all the oppression and sexism from the minority of people who cause it, FROM her country and the everyday people who may not have acted out of fear but were ultimately not just bad people because of their religion or inaction. I would have never made that connection if you had not physically gone out into a bookstore and found that quote. My habits of staying in my comfort zone and choosing fantastical books with escapism themes is helped by the fact that the companies I buy from know what I like and continuously recommend me new books with the same themes within the same comfort zone. I hope to visit more bookstores and explore more genres to have more realizations and make more connections like I have in this post. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteIn reading your blog, it has solidified that I need to go see this Library before I leave on Friday, and maybe even grab a vegan burger from next door lol. It’s really cool to know that there is a library here in France that is not “vintage books” or “old historical documents” or “a student library”. I like that there is a place that is catered towards a specific audience being the LGBTQ+ community. The way you described the interior of the library made me think of my college town in Kalamazoo, Michigan where everything is liberal and decorative in the same way as the Librairie a Soi(e). Being in France, I can’t say that I see “queerness” being plastered around every shop and corner like at home. (This thought comes from your note of seeing a “Merry Queermas” display). However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t see it from day to day. I think here being queer just exists, and its not usually a marketing strategy. I also like how you took note of the author’s name not being plastered in bold letters. The idea that comes across is that the contents are more important than credibility. Seeing the quote that you cited also made me realize how much I’ve learned about Islamophobia and the relations that people of Muslamic backgrounds find themselves in many Eurocentric countries. Just observing racism in France as a bystander (and not a victim) was a jarring concept for me. Not to mention how the contents of this class on top of day to day life here in Lyon has altered my perception of Islamic culture. I am not gonna lie, admittedly I once had some Islamophobia preconceived notions. But I agree that the people in the US especially are so prone towards being misinformed about this specific group, especially growing up post 9/11. It’s a huge problem, but I am grateful towards being educated and eager to share what I’ve learned.
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