Canada’s Only Feminist Bookstore, L’Euguélionne Bookstore:
A Candid Conversation with Stéphanie Dufresne
In a small corner of Montreal’s Gay Village, I sat down with one of the founders of Canada’s only feminist and queer bookstore, Stéphanie Dufresne. L’Euguélionne bookstore is a radical project of a Montreal-based collective that began in the summer of 2015. While completing her undergraduate degree at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute at Concordia, Dufresne facetiously spoke about the possibility of starting a feminist bookstore in the Montreal area with a couple of friends — a dream that became a reality in 2016. Stéphanie Dufresne is a bookseller at the store and is also in charge of ordering books in English for the bookstore.
To understand the significance of feminist bookstores in North America, a history must be traced back to the second wave women’s movement of the 1970s and 80s. Kristen Hogan, a researcher at Barnard College, wrote a transformative text called The Feminist Bookstore Movement: Lesbian Antiracism and Feminist Accountability. It is a fascinating history that traces the legacy of feminist bookstores in North America. Hogan explains that at the time of the so-called “second wave movement,” the internet did not exist, so it was difficult to circulate information.[1] The first feminist bookstore opened in San Francisco in the 1970s to provide women a space to discuss and share information. Feminist bookstores started popping up all over the continent, with one in almost every major city. They were also combined with presses, so women could print their own texts that would not get published by major, capitalist publishing companies.[2] Dufresne says that these publishers acted as “gatekeepers,” because the information these women were trying to publish was apparently “too radical or even illegal, such as information about abortion or contraception.”
The bookstores also had a newsletter called FBN, Feminist Bookstore News, which was circulated to many feminist bookstores, so each of them could be informed about new publications.[3] Dufresne talks passionately about the importance of these bookstores, saying how it was a “crucial nexus of how information was circulated during the women’s movement and how women could hear about debates that were happening.”
Many of the bookstores closed in the 1990s, due to competing stores and easy access to information through the invention of the internet. The intentional targeting of feminist bookstores by large, commercial bookstores is evident when looking at the case of the Minneapolis Amazon Bookstore. The name for Jeff Bezos’ Amazon.com was stolen from this establishment, and the Minneapolis bookstore started getting frustrated about receiving phone calls for the website and not the store.[4] So, the bookstore sued the website. Consequently, Amazon.com attacked the bookstore on the basis that they were lesbians and that they were only catering to one marginalized community, and not the general public. This defense held up in court, and the bookstore eventually closed down.[5] Large chain bookstores were not just competition for feminist bookstores, but they were actively attacking them.
On the bright side, Dufresne talks about a new wave of bookstores opening now, but to serve a different role. New feminist and queer bookstores, such as L’Euguélionne, have opened because “people are eager to get recommendations from booksellers, to have some content curation. [She thinks] that the role of booksellers is still really important, because even if you can access any book, there is so much out there that it is useful to have someone help you figure out your interests.”
Intrigued with the rich history of feminist bookstores in North America, I asked Dufresne about the origins of L’Euguélionne bookstore. She began with saying that she grew up in Montreal and has seen the activism in the Montreal community grow and evolve over the years. While in university at Concordia, Dufresne said that she and her friends were, “all noticing the lack of bookstores or spaces organizing around a feminist and queer focus.” When they very lightly pitched the idea of starting a feminist bookstore, there was an overwhelming response of people saying “yes!” “Our key moment was when we launched a crowd-funding campaign,” Dufresne excitedly tells me. The collective knew that this was going to be the test of whether this idea could actually take off. They had an event in a bar on St. Laurent and it was packed. The collective was hoping to collect $25 000 over the course of a month-long campaign but ended up surpassing that goal. This was eye opening for the group. “This was before the #MeToo movement, but there was already this wave of interest for feminist, queer, and sexuality issues that wasn’t there a couple years ago, and people were craving resources, books, and events that could help them think through many of those questions and meet likeminded people,” Dufresne says. With the desire obviously present in the city for the bookstore, the collective started the only feminist and queer bookstore in Canada right here in Montreal. The bookstore is named L’Euguélionne, after the alien heroine
from the first feminist novel published in Quebec, by Louky Bersianik. Bersianik is a “very influential feminist writer…she played a very important role in the creation of a distinct Quebec feminist cultural space.”[6] From there, a feminist space was born, and
the dream of a small group started to become a reality.
L’Euguélionne bookstore acts not only as a bookstore, but also as a community/culture space, used for many events. Dufresne proudly talks about how this inclusive space has provided to the Montreal activist community:
“People say their events would have been different it was in another space; people would not have talked about the same things in the ways. There is something about this space that makes people feel safer, feel more welcome, that people can open up on different issues that they don’t necessarily feel in other spaces. And that is something that we try to be very mindful about and be aware of what creates that energy, that community.”
People from very different communities and backgrounds attend these events, proving that that this space is not only for people of the same background or profile, but it is intended to connect people with different experiences. Dufresne talks about how the bookstore has contributed to the broader activism in Montreal by creating a space where real-life conversations can occur. “I think some people have social network fatigue. It can be a hostile space that people don’t want, so a space that is face-to-face is good. Such spaces are rare,” she says. She talks about how the bookstore has succeeded in having a broad appeal to different people. There are many sub-communities in Montreal that only meet and interact with each other in this bookstore. She also talks about how the bookstore exposes this feminist and queer activism to many people. “You will see a mother and her two kids come into the store, people who don’t identify as feminist activists but will come and get in touch with new ideas,” Dufresne says. This informational hub, which is both an inviting and safe space, is a perfect introduction to feminisms and their goals.
With its controversial history, opening a feminist bookstore in 2016 came with its concerns. “At the beginning people were asking questions or were worried because of the history of women’s bookstores, especially on trans inclusivity,” Dufresne says. Over time, this concern seemed to dissipate as the store holds a large collection trans authors and there are people who identify as trans on the collective team. These concerns may seem like an issue of the past, but recently a feminist library opened in Vancouver was very clearly TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist). This created a large conflict in Vancouver that spread all over Canada and North America, and eventually to Montreal.[7] This is an issue that Dufresne says they are not concerned about anymore, as their store has proven themselves to be an inclusive space for all. However, she did say how the collective team expressed concern about opening a feminist bookstore in Montreal’s Gay Village. The Gay Village in Montreal is portrayed as LGBTQ+ friendly, “but it is very emphasized on the G, really catering 99% to cis gay dudes,” says Dufresne. This is an area that celebrates many different queer communities, but there are not many spaces for women specifically, especially lesbian women.[8] Dufresne says, “it wasn’t clear what welcoming [they] would get in a very gay and masculine community.” However, this has not seemed to serve as a problem for the bookstore as of yet.
Moving into the future, Dufresne talks about the next steps for the bookstore. She started with saying that they “are just really happy that the store is still open, as it wasn’t a given that it would work.” One of their main goals to work on is to create a feminist workspace for people. Dufresne says that they want the work there to be “recognizing values while being able to sustain themselves.” Then, when Dufresne starts talking about the future of the bookstore, her eyes light up. She says how while the bookstore has been active politically in opening up a feminist space, most of their energy goes towards just running a store. “My dream would be if we could open a second space to have bigger events. Maybe buy a building and have other feminist and queer organizations and services all exist in one space as a queer/feminist complex,” she says excitedly. The thought of this space is so exciting and seems like a project that is very possible for this group of committed and passionate feminists.
My last question for Dufresne was asking about what she is most proud of in her professional career. “I think one thing that is magical here is that we work as a collective,” she starts. Dufresne proudly talks about how the bookstore is run collectively, and how they “make all the decisions in a non-hierarchical way, no one is the boss, [they] are all on the same level. For [her], that is so precious.” Dufresne says that the group of people she works with makes her feel like a person, not just a worker. “You are not just here as a worker, you are here as a full human being and I think that is so rare in the work world today,” she continues. She is very proud about the way that her team functions, and how they are very honest and communicative with one another. “I think that
is something that is in the background when you come into the store, but for me that is something that is very radical and very feminist,” Dufresne confidently says. The cooperative and democratic structure of this store lends itself to creating an even more inclusive space, adding to the positive energy bouncing of the walls of this establishment.
The work that Stéphanie Dufresne and her team is doing is inspiring to me. Dufresne is correct in saying that with opening up this store, not only as a space that illuminates voices of author’s that are more often than not rendered invisible, but also as a community space, is very feminist. With the rich history of feminist bookstores in North America, having L’Euguélionne bookstore is almost like a new and improved capsule of women’s empowerment. It is different from the feminist bookstores of the past, as those arose out of necessity because of lack of information. L’Euguélionne exists in a time of a proliferation of information but offers a return to the roots of feminist activism — sharing ideas, face-to-face. It offers a physical space that exists beyond the internet sphere, something that is missing within the feminist community of Montreal. It is a space where people can gather, in person, with other curious individuals. This intimacy is what is lacking in our current feminist activism, and L’Euguélionne has graciously provided us with the opportunity to do just that. Going to this store is more than just exchanging money for a product, but it is a community interaction in a space that sparks conversation. There are so many exchanges online about the feminist community, but people want a space to meet physically. These spaces are extremely valuable and L’Euguélionne has contributed to feminist community by providing this space in immense ways.
The bookstore is a perfect intersection of queer and feminist rights, elevating these voices within the large selection of books in the store, and in the events that it hosts. The feminism present in the store is not singular in nature, but rather encapsulates and represents the pluralities of different feminisms. The bookstore carries a variety of books representing a diverse community, including children’s books, zines, graphic novels, fiction, non-fiction, with specific awareness and attention given to LGBTQ+, fem-identifying, and racialized authors. The store also offers local art and cute pins for sale. The store puts forward books that are less accessible elsewhere and are not available in general bookstores. There are few spaces in the city of Montreal that are designated for learning about and sharing feminist ideas. L’Euguélionne serves as a hub for this, hosting public events, panels, and more. By having this community space available in a very accessible area, it not only serves to provide a safe space for activists, but it exposes new ideas to people that otherwise would never be presented to. This accessibility is so important, and I would say very feminist. The opportunity for a PhD candidate to come into the store and read their 30th book of the week, but also for a low-income high school student to come in and learn about gender and pronouns, shows the plurality and accessibility of the store.
L’Euguélionne bookstore in itself is a feminist political statement. Their anti-oppressive mission to open up a dialogue, passionately fighting the barriers against women and the queer community is almost dream-like. However, sitting and talking with Stéphanie Dufresne behind the cash register on a windy Friday afternoon, this fantasy was played out in real life right before my eyes. I observed a diverse collection of people enter the store. Amongst others, a mother with her two sons, an old man, and two teenage girls giggling through the aisles. Watching these different types of people enter the brightly coloured store made me feel hopeful. This is a community hub that offers a public space I have never seen before. This bookstore is not just a bookstore, but a place to learn and exchange ideas. As the L’Euguélionne website states, this store is truly “a space for feminist communities to call their own.”[9] I left the bookstore feeling inspired and empowered by Stéphanie and the collective. The work that this team is doing to create safe, informative exchanges in Montreal is activism and feminism that is revolutionary. L’Euguélionne is able to assert itself politically, but also serve as an inviting space for all. I feel so grateful to have gotten to talk to Stéphanie and I will definitely be attending L’Euguélionne bookstore, not only as a book lover, but as a strong feminist.
[1] Kristen, Hogan, The Feminist Bookstore Movement: Lesbian Antiracism and Feminist Accountability (Durham: Duke University Press, 2016), 10.
[2] Hogan, The Feminist Bookstore Movement, 10.
[3] Hogan, The Feminist Bookstore Movement, 12.
[4] Esther D. Rothblum and Penny Sablove, Lesbian Communities: Festivals, RVs, and the Internet (London: Routledge, 2005), 146.
[5] Rothblum and Sablove, Lesbian Communities, 146.
[6] Hélène Bauer. “A Feminist Bookstore in Montreal,” The Link, March 7, 2016.
[7] Kenta Asakura, “Paving Pathways Through the Pain: A Grounded Theory of Resilience Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer Youth,” Journal of Research on Adolescence 27, no. 3 (September 2017): 521–522, https://doi.org/ 10.1111/jora.12291.
[8] Donald W, Hinrichs, Montreal’s Gay Village; The Story of a Unique Neighborhood Through the Sociological Len (Indiana: Iuniverse Inc, 2012), 111.
[9] “What We Offer,” About, L’Euguélionne, accessed Nov 25, 2019, https://librairieleuguelionne.com/en/about/.
