BoroMag_0317_p10

BM032017

MARCH 2 0 1 7 10 ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT Chick Lit REDEFINED By KATRINA MEDOFF @KATRINAMEDOFF @KATYA_M22 It was standing room only in the Astoria Bookshop for the first meeting of its Feminist Mosaic Reading Series. In the minutes leading up to the meeting on a sunny Saturday in February, book club leader Jen Adams and bookstore staff were bringing more and more chairs into the front area of the shop to accommodate attendees who were pouring in. When chairs ran out, newcomers started sitting on the floor or standing on the outskirts of the circle of chairs. Forty-one readers — one man and 40 women — came with copies of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” in hand, ready to discuss the 1985 classic “through the lens of modern feminism,” according to the Astoria Bookshop website. Some wore shirts emblazoned with words like “Resist,” “Wild Feminist” and “Nevertheless She Persisted.” Adams, 42, of Astoria said that the book club originated from a Twitter conversation she had with Astoria Bookshop owner Lexi Beach. “We were wondering, why are more women not on board with intersectional feminism?” she said. She also noticed that while many women were enthusiastic about feminism in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, a lot of women became complacent about gender equality after women made gains at home and in the workplace. “There’s still a lot of work to be done,” Adams said, “and not all women are represented by the progress that we’ve made.” For Adams, listening to other women’s perspectives is imperative — and reading is a great way to do that. “I want to intellectually explore intersectionality and listen to more people,” she said. “One book that was a huge influence for me was this Gloria Steinem book, ‘My Life on the Road,’ where she talks about how her career got started. And the takeaway that I got from that book was what you do is you go and you talk to other women and you listen to them tell their stories, and you shut your mouth and you listen. ... And so my goal is to listen to what other people say, listen for the kind of help they’re asking for then provide it.” On Saturday, March 25, at 1 p.m., the Feminist Mosaic Reading Group will tackle “Second-Class Citizen” by Buchi Emecheta. “The next book is by a Nigerian British writer who represents the immigrant experience as well as colonial experience. And for the book after that, I’d love to find a really great novel by a Muslim woman from somewhere in the world — doesn’t have to be American.” Beyond that, she’ll be taking suggestions from members of the book club’s Facebook group. Photos: Marie Torio/BORO Jen Adams


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