Women's Collective vs. 'Portlandia'

Now in its seventh season, IFC's "Portlandia" has helped shape America's image of Portland, Oregon, as hipster heaven -- a fusion of Amsterdam, Austin and every slacker's favorite college town.

Generally well reviewed, "Portlandia" won a Peabody Award in 2011 "for its good-natured lampooning of hipster culture, which hits the mark whether or not you're in on the joke."

However, over the past few years Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein's comedy series has begun generating negative feedback from various local communities that accuse the show of stereotyping the "typical" Portland resident, as well as accelerating an influx of new residents and subsequent gentrification that's driving out lower-income residents, especially women and people of color.

Spreading the show's lifestyle aesthetic, its creators (who also include the unseen Jonathan Krisel) have released both "The Portlandia Cookbook" (50 delicious recipes for every food lover, freegan, organic farmer and food truck diehard) and Portlandia: A Guide for Visitors, which (presumably tongue-in-cheek) offers:

"A comprehensive guide to all restaurants and food carts, including extensive use of symbols to signify Vegan, Freegan, Sea-gan, Wheelchair-Accessible, Skateboard-Accessible, Segway-Accessible, Clothing Optional, Polyamorous, LGBTQ, Dog-Friendly (No cats), Cat-Friendly (No dogs or mice) Mouse-Friendly (No cats or elephants), For Dogs (only), Regionally-Sourced Food, Regionally-Sourced Waitstaff, and House-Sourced Food (Born/dies on plate)."

Fed Up

Is this locally-sourced take on "Martha Stewart Living" a fun way to expand Portlandia's brand, or overkill -- an indication that Fred, Carrie and company have lost their sense of gentle mockery and edged into the land of hubris, where they speak for Portland?

Earlier this year, backlash across the City of Roses escalated when In Other Words, a feminist bookstore and collective located at 14 NE Killingsworth Street in the city's Albina neighborhood, and the shooting location site for the show's "Women and Women First" sketches, pulled its support, forcing the show to find other filming locations.

Run by Toni (Brownstein) and Candace (Armisen), former New York publishing executives and now easily offended feminists who keep old-school bankers' hours, refuse to alphabetize their shelves or use computers to track stock.

On September 30, In Other Words posted a blog entry with the unambiguous war cry "Fuck Portlandia," after posting a similar sign in their window. The first paragraph reads:

Several months ago the In Other Words community agreed to discontinue our relationship with "Portlandia." This was a direct response to a particular egregious filming of the show in our space which saw our store left a mess, our staff mistreated, our neighbors forced to close and lose business for a day without warning, and our repeated attempts to obtain accountability or resolution dismissed. It was also a direct response to a show which is in every way diametrically opposed to our politics and the vision of society we're organizing to realize. A show which has had a net negative effect on our neighborhood and the city of Portland as a whole. Shortly after this decision was made, a volunteer placed the 'Fuck Portlandia' sign in our window.

The cogent piece goes on to make three key points: "Being on 'Portlandia' Doesn't Make Us Money," "This Show Sucks" and "Gentrification Isn't a Joke."

IOW points out that "We are paid a small flat fee per episode filmed at In Other Words. This fee does not cover the profits lost by our having to remain closed for filming ... The additional exposure we have received from our time on 'Portlandia' does not provide financial or political support of any kind: Tourists and fans of the show come to our door to stand outside, take selfies, and then leave. The vast majority of them don't come inside."

On top of the blog's title, the anger expressed in the bookstore/collective's second talking point ("The Show Isn't Funny") has drawn the most media attention to this point.

"The Women and Women First segments that are filmed at In Other Words are trans-antagonistic and trans-misogynist and have only become more offensive as the show goes on. 'LOL Fred Armisen in a wig and a dress' is a deeply shitty joke whose sole punchline throws trans femmes under the bus by holding up their gender presentation for mockery and ridicule. In a world where trans femmes -- particularly Black trans women -- are being brutalized and murdered on a regular basis for simply daring to exist, dude in a dress jokes are lazy, reactionary, and actively harmful. They're also just straight up not funny."

IOWs final point: Gentrification. "'Portlandia' is fueling mass displacement in Portland. Fred and Carrie are on billboards and realtors have gleefully begun using 'Portlandia's' popularity and insipid humor ('put a bird on it!') to make displacing the communities that made Portland a great place in the first place something twee and whimsical for the incoming technocrat hordes."

The "Portlandia" team's response has been limited, but non-combatant. "I have nothing but gratitude for them hosting our show in the amount of time that they did," "Portlandia" producer Alice Mathias said recently of In Other Words. "And I have respect for the future of the store, and what they're going to do with it."

Indie Bookstores Rebounding?

Times for all brick-and-mortar bookstores have been tough over the past few decades. While once there were dozens of women's bookstores nationwide, now only about 10 to 15 remain.

A few of these, however, are thriving. Case in point: Chicago's Women & Children First is among the bookstores and collectives that have maintained a strong niche. "In the last few years, we've had plenty of folks walk into our bookstore who otherwise wouldn't have because they were curious about our connection to 'Portlandia's' Women & Women First sketch," says Lynn Mooney, co-owner of the bookstore, located at 5233 North Clark Street in the city's indie, eclectic Andersonville neighborhood.

"We were always happy to help educate them about the roots of our store and share what we knew about the inspiration behind the show. Admittedly, though, our staff has been pretty divided between those who found the show funny and those who didn't. To not laugh along with it often felt like confirming folks' misconception that feminists are humorless."

Addressing the "Fuck Portlandia" blog, Mooney offers a thoughtful perspective.

"IOW's recent statement brought necessary light to this issue. We know firsthand how challenging it is to run a feminist bookstore -- upholding one's mission while also remaining financially sustainable. To that end, we are proud of our sister store for so powerfully articulating their grievances and beginning a necessary dialogue in the community about transphobia and gentrification and the responsible, critical consumption of media."

Heads Above Water

Mooney - who bought the store two years ago with Sarah Hollenbeck -- attribute's Women & Children First's continued success to a number of factors, including a few cultural and economic trends.

"Last year, according to the American Booksellers Association, for the first time in many years more new indie bookstores opened in the U.S. than closed. We believe that right now Women & Children First is riding the crest of a couple of waves. One, the resurgence of feminism. For a few decades, feminism was a dirty word in the U.S. But a new generation of women has breathed fresh life into the movement, updating it and making it relevant to the people and issues of today," Mooney says. "Also, right now indie bookstores generally are experiencing a real renaissance."

The pleasures of human interaction and live events are benefits Amazon can't match, she adds.

"Events and programming have always been important to us. And when Sarah and I took over two years ago, we realized it was even more important now than ever before. One reason is that we all spend so much time in front of screens. People really crave opportunities to connect meaningfully, and in person, with others," says Mooney.

"Also, many avid readers follow their favorite writers on social media, so an opportunity to meet that author in person is a way to further that relationship," Mooney adds. "And one thing brick-and-mortar stores like ours do very well is connect authors and readers that way. You may be able to buy a book from Amazon, but Amazon isn't going to send your favorite author to your neighborhood for a reading or discussion."

For the bi women and lesbians, Women and Children First offers Sappho's Salon, a monthly gathering offering music, comedy, open mics, dance parties, movie screenings and, of course, authors' reading, among other diverse programming. "It started about 10 years ago as a salon for lesbians and their friends, but a few years ago we updated it to focus on performances exploring gender, sexuality and feminism in various ways, through various art forms."

Respect History

At first glance, it's easy to say In Other Words is overreacting and needs to "get over itself," but that takes for granted the civil rights and social standing women and LGBTQ people now enjoy. Two to three decades ago, things were very different, Mooney emphasizes.

"Our store, founded in 1979 by two women (one a lesbian and the other a bisexual) always made programming for and being a safe space for LGBTQ folks (even before that acronym existed) a high priority. For many years, our LGBTQ books were in a room off to the side, to afford people who were exploring sexuality and gender issues to do so in relative privacy.

"When Sarah and I bought the store two years ago (we'd previously been employees of the store), we re-committed to this ethic and legacy. Fortunately in many places, things are better than they once were. There are more safe spaces for LGBTQ individuals. But the work isn't done, so every space, every source of information and support, is still precious and necessary. And now the majority of our LGBTQ books are right in the center of the store so they can be found and enjoyed by more readers," Mooney says.

"Times have changed a bit -- thank God!"