Blocked and Reported

Episode 281: Bluestockings Goes Bust

October 20, 2025

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  • Katie expresses significant disappointment over the low initial sales ($1,200) of her new book, highlighting the harsh realities of the publishing industry despite extensive promotion and media hits, including a first-person article she did not write for The Telegraph. 
  • The hosts dissect a viral claim by Eric Kaufman, published in UnHerd, suggesting a sharp decline in young people identifying as trans, concluding that Kaufman's analysis is fundamentally flawed because he incorrectly assumes trans individuals identify as 'non-binary' rather than 'man' or 'woman' in the survey data. 
  • The main segment of the episode begins detailing the history of the radical feminist bookstore Bluestockings, noting its evolution from a volunteer-run, trans-inclusive collective to a worker-owned cooperative that embraced broader social justice causes, ultimately leading to conflict with neighbors over its harm reduction efforts, such as distributing Narcan. 
  • The closure of Bluestockings was precipitated by an eviction notice citing the "unauthorized use of the premises as a medical facility" due to Narcan distribution, which the worker owners defended as legal and over-the-counter. 
  • The final collapse involved a public, confusing internal conflict between the white worker owners (who made the closure decision) and the POC worker stewards (who claimed they were wrongly fired and locked out, alleging white fragility and violence). 
  • Financial mismanagement, specifically the failure of the worker stewards to fulfill duties like mailing out books for the subscription service, contributed significantly to the store's inability to meet rent and payroll, forcing the owners' hand. 

Segments

Katie’s Book Sales Disappointment
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(00:00:10)
  • Key Takeaway: Katie’s book has only sold $1,200 including pre-sales, leading her to declare the book industry an ‘unbelievably harsh mistress.’
  • Summary: Katie revealed her book sales totaled only $1,200 shortly after release, including pre-sales, causing her significant distress. She noted that extensive interviews failed to move the needle, contrasting her low performance with potentially successful books about trivial subjects. The hosts jokingly transition to soliciting guilt-driven purchases from subscribers.
The Telegraph Article Clarification
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(00:03:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Katie clarified that a widely circulated article in The Telegraph was written by someone else under her byline, despite her objections, and was only minimally corrected with an ‘as told to’ note.
  • Summary: Katie used the platform to state she did not write an article published under her name in The Telegraph, which was presented in the first person. She objected to the format, and while the publication agreed to add an ‘as told to’ note, it was placed at the very bottom of the piece. Katie noted she sacrificed other media opportunities for this specific, unwritten article.
Analysis of Trans Identity Data
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(00:07:25)
  • Key Takeaway: Eric Kaufman’s claim that trans identification is halving is based on a flawed analysis of FIRE data, incorrectly equating ’non-binary’ responses with the entire trans population.
  • Summary: The hosts analyzed Eric Kaufman’s piece, ‘Why Are Fewer Young People Identifying as Trans?’, which cited a drop from 6.8% to 3.6% in non-male/non-female identifiers between 2022 and 2025 in the FIRE survey. This conclusion is invalid because the survey question only asks for gender identification (man, woman, non-binary, etc.) and does not capture trans men or trans women who identify as ‘man’ or ‘woman.’ Statistician Jacob Eliason further argued that survey weighting procedures based on gender make the cross-sectional data unreliable for measuring population change over time.
Book Promotion and Housekeeping
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(00:20:50)
  • Key Takeaway: Katie’s book, ‘Drink Your Way Sober,’ is an Amazon bestseller in multiple categories despite low sales, illustrating that Amazon rankings are easily manipulated.
  • Summary: The hosts transitioned to housekeeping, urging listeners to buy Katie’s book, ‘Drink Your Way Sober, the science-based method to break free from alcohol.’ They noted the book achieved bestseller status in several Amazon categories with only 1,200 copies sold, confirming that Amazon rankings are a ‘scam’ that misleads readers about popularity. They also promoted premium subscriptions for bonus content and mentioned upcoming live events.
History of Bluestockings Bookstore
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(00:23:23)
  • Key Takeaway: Founded in 1999, Bluestockings began as a radical, trans-inclusive feminist bookstore and vegan cafe with a punk anarchist tilt, later evolving its mission after being sold in 2003.
  • Summary: The original Bluestockings Women’s Bookstore, founded in 1999, was explicitly trans-inclusive and focused on intersectional feminism, appealing to a niche political clientele. After financial struggles post-9/11, the store was sold in 2003 and reopened under new management, shifting its focus from strictly women’s issues to a broader grab bag of social justice causes, welcoming men.
Bluestockings’ Activism and Conflict
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(00:43:39)
  • Key Takeaway: The worker-owned cooperative model at the relocated Bluestockings led to the store providing extensive harm reduction services, including distributing Narcan and test strips, which caused severe conflict with neighbors.
  • Summary: After relocating in 2021, Bluestockings formalized its structure into a worker-owned cooperative and expanded its mission to include operating a mailbox service for migrants and focusing on homelessness and drug addiction. This included distributing Narcan and fentanyl test strips, which brought the store into direct conflict with local residents who claimed the activity created an open-air drug market and endangered them.
Landlord Eviction Notice Details
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(00:53:17)
  • Key Takeaway: Bluestockings received a 15-day notice from landlord Penn South Capital to cease unauthorized medical facility use (Narcan distribution).
  • Summary: The landlord, Penn South Capital, who owns surrounding apartments, issued a notice demanding Bluestockings stop distributing Narcan. Worker owner Raquel Espasande argued Narcan is legal over-the-counter, like TUMS, and distributed via a state program. The hosts noted that requiring staff training for dispensing Narcan stretches the definition of not being a medical facility.
Financial Decline and Book Stock
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(00:55:10)
  • Key Takeaway: Legal issues diverted staff focus, leading to a nine-month halt in purchasing books and reliance on charitable drives.
  • Summary: Due to ongoing legal battles, the store stopped buying books for nine months by June 2025, relying on GoFundMe ($50k raised) and book drives. The store was $100,000 in debt to distributors, leading to shelves being stacked with covers out to create an illusion of stock. Fundraising efforts ultimately failed to meet their $150,000 goal.
Abrupt Closure Announcement
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(00:56:11)
  • Key Takeaway: Bluestockings abruptly announced closure on September 22nd, citing unsustainable operations and internal consensus failures among worker cohorts.
  • Summary: The closure announcement came as a surprise, occurring shortly after the store planned a strategy session on fighting for reparations. The statement blamed organized abandonment, health/disability/financial limits of staff, and “shared failures of multiple cohorts to come to consensus.” The closure was framed as a necessary ‘sunset’ to transition on their own terms.
Worker Steward Counter-Narrative
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(00:58:07)
  • Key Takeaway: Immediately following the closure post, a group identifying as ’exclusively brown POC stewards’ claimed they were wrongly fired by the ‘crackers who fired us’ (the owners).
  • Summary: A post from the ‘melanated stewards’ alleged they were locked out and that the closure statement was not theirs, calling for support for queer and trans BIPOC workers. A subsequent comment from a ‘current worker steward’ confirmed they were blindsided, had access revoked, and accused the legal owners of a ‘violent move’ despite the stewards holding down the store for the last year.
Owner/Steward Conflict Details
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(01:00:59)
  • Key Takeaway: The conflict involved legally recognized worker owners (white, burned out) versus worker stewards (POC, on the front lines) who lacked ownership rights.
  • Summary: The worker owners, whose names were on the lease, claimed the worker stewards failed in their duties, specifically not fulfilling the $10,000 monthly book subscription service for two months. The owners stated they closed the store due to dire finances, including the prospect of defaulting on rent and payroll, after the stewards refused to meet with them.
Internal Racism Allegations
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(01:05:54)
  • Key Takeaway: A Black former worker steward alleged experiencing anti-Black culture not from the white worker owners, but from her fellow South Asian worker stewards.
  • Summary: This introduced a ‘racist worker, worker, worker owner turducken’ dynamic, where the POC stewards accusing the white owners of racism were themselves accused of racism by a Black former employee. The Black worker also mentioned being tokenized and threatened with rape, killing, and beatings during her tenure.
Show Wrap-up and Announcements
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(01:07:38)
  • Key Takeaway: The space formerly occupied by Bluestockings is slated to become a pot shop called Jersey Mics, and the podcast will run reruns for two weeks.
  • Summary: The hosts concluded that the situation was a tangled story of a business failing, exacerbated by management failures, regardless of the racial dynamics. Katie announced she is driving her dog across the country, necessitating two weeks of reruns for free listeners, while premium subscribers will still receive bonus content.