Present both in Milan and Rome, Libreria Antigone uses literature and education to fight against misogyny, homophobia, and every other kind of discrimination
Libreria Antigone: a LGBTQ+ bookshop in Milan and Rome
With two stores, one in Milan and one in Rome, Libreria Antigone is a bookshop dedicated to feminist and LGBTQ+ literature. First opened in Milan in 2016, Libreria Antigone is a project created by Mauro Muscio, LGBTQ+ activist and founder of Asterisco Edizioni, a publishing house that aims at investigating current issues from a historical, social, and political point of view, without any gender constraint.
Mauro wished to recreate a LGBTQ+ space in Milan after the closing of Babele, one of the first LGBTQ+ bookshops in Europe: «There was a need for a place for discussion, reflection and synthesis between the experiences, practical and theoretical, linked to feminism and contemporary queer theories, in order to critically overcome the vision deriving from the Seventies and the post-AIDS crisis of the Nineties, and propose new tools to interpret the complexity of reality». Together with Marta Cotta Ramosino and Federica Sposato, both feminists and LGBTQ+ activists, in 2022 Mauro has also opened a store in Rome.
In the footsteps of Antigone, the queer heroine
The choice of naming the bookshop after Antigone, the protagonist of Sofocle’s tragedy, was not only motivated from the desire of a female, renown and literary name, but also draws inspiration from Judith Butler’s interpretation of the ancient Greek heroine. In her book Antigone’s Claim: Kinship Between Life and Death the American philosopher defines Antigone as queer, because she is a woman who calls into question the order of the State, of the family, of roles, in the name of a superior right, burying her dead brother.
Butler makes a parallel between Antigone’s actions and the LGBTQ+ community’s battle, suggesting that it is possible to fight against the State in the name of human rights, and it is possible to win. «Antigone’s strength lies in her ability to deform. She deforms not only the norms of political sovereignty, but also those of the sexual gender and those of the family. Antigone is the heroine of the relationship in crisis, of the uncertain sexuality, of the de facto families. However, we should also bear in mind that Antigone, after having achieved her goal, can only die, because she loses her function – this seemed as an important reflection for LGBTQ+ movements».
Libreria Antigone: a bookshop against capitalist-imperialist-heteropatriarchal domination
Libreria Antigone aims at spreading LGBTQ+ and feministcultures and subcultures, constantly looking for books, magazines, essays and novels concerning sexuality, gender, and the relations between genres, the history and theoretical production of LGBTQ+ and feminist movements, education and the fight against discrimination, sexuality, emotional, sentimental and sexual relations, as well as the academic production of gender and queer studies.
With these texts the bookshop wants to promote a new, enriched and in-deep approach to disciplines such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, law, geography, sexual education, medicine, postcolonial studies, literature, art and history. This in order to support the birth of a culture of respect for minorities, women, different sexual orientations and non-binary people, where respect should be intended not only as non-discrimination, but also as active participation, curiosity, confrontation and inclusion.
The founders aimed at creating a meeting point, a safe environment where people can build relationships, something regarded as mandatory for cultural and personal development. «Our goal is to dismantle the capitalist-imperialist-heteropatriarchal domination with solidarity, knowledge, sociality, and cultural exchange. Every day, when pulling up the shutter, we show that a way of doing culture different from the logic of the market and of the book supermarkets exists, resists and can give satisfaction to many readers. We face daily economic and bureaucratic challenges to survive and to have the opportunity to welcome different generations of people, militants, readers, former activists, groups, schools, associations and collectives interested in queer, transfeminist and feminist cultures and countercultures».
Libreria Antigone, a bridge between feminism and LGBTQ+
Libreria Antigone uses literature to build a bridge between feminist and LGBTQ+ movements, whose stories and cultures «have often intersected and often clashed». The idea is to unite the two communities, showing that they have the same enemy – patriarchy, responsible for the long-time oppression, both real and symbolic, against women and queer people.
Moreover, there is an attempt to explain that every person is directly responsible for the reiteration and the perpetration of such power systems: «A cisgender straight man, maybe rich, not only has many advantages over a cisgender bisexual disabled woman, but has also received an education that will lead him to try to preserve such advantages. And the cisgender bisexual woman can try to do the same over other people. Therefore, even though it is useful for the two communities to have their own spaces, it is also useful today to have common spaces, where it is possible to form political alliances between the two».
The advent of queer, xenofeminist, cyberfeminist, transfeminist, antispeciesist, and decolonial theories paved the way for a new political vision, based on the deconstruction of essentialism as a key for understanding and interpreting reality. «The biological, scientific, and material data are not denied, but a different interpretation is offered, considering them in a broader way, without neglecting the implications of the systems of power linked to spheres only apparently not related to gender and sexuality».
Libreria Antigone wants to share such theories to make people understand that no one can be free unless everyone is truly free, since «freedom is neither neutral nor causal, but always a gentle concession of the power in exchange for economic, symbolic, productive and reproductive profit».
Literature as an antidote against discrimination at Libreria Antigone
At Libreria Antigone they strongly believe that literature is a powerful tool to improve society and promote personal development, also capable of fighting misogyny, homophobia and every other kind of discrimination. «Literature provides a variety of examples, both positive and negative, and thus can raise awareness. Biography, fiction, sci-fi, poetry, fantasy and non-fiction all provide different point of view, which can help in opposing the individual and collective reproduction of discrimination, or in helping adults understanding children and teenagers. Literature not only raise awareness but provides also access to new perspectives».
When choosing which books and magazines acquire, at Libreria Antigone they ask themselves what meaning that text can have for the LGBTQ+ community: «We opt not only for titles that are directly and overtly related to the issues of our interest, but also for works that can in some way account for the complexity of reality and its understanding. Themes such as sexuality, gender, colonialism, ableism, speciesism, philosophy, anthropology, psychology, but also fiction, comics and catalogues can promote a reflection on the reality in which we live as LGBTQ+ and transfeminist subjects».
This is why Libreria Antigone’s catalogue includes a variety of genres, from classics of literature to medicine, from cookbooks to erotism, from veganism to fashion, from sport to theatre, art and photography, just to mention a few.
English and Italian texts at Libreria Antigone: the catalogue
To further broad its offer, the bookshop acquires not only texts in Italian, either original or translated, but also in English, Spanish, Catalan and French. «Most of them are essays or photographic volumes, but in the used section it is also possible to find novels in English or French. When we empty private cellars or libraries, especially if they belong to elderly people, we always find LGBTQ+ books in other languages, proving that in the past not everything was available in Italian and in Italy, and often you had to look for books abroad».
Mauro Muscio points out that when Libreria Antigone first opened it was difficult to build a catalogue, since not all the publishing houses openly declared the LGBTQ+ theme in the promo cards of their books: «They used vague expressions, such as “a particular friendship”, “the discovery of a different love”, while nowadays things are gradually changing».
Not just books: events and merchandizing at Libreria Antigone
Libreria Antigone does not sell just books and magazines, but also DVDs, sex toys and a selection of gadgets: «Objects such as shoppers, flags, pins, rainbow bracelets and t-shirts with certain writings help people building their identities outside their private sphere and reclaiming them in social and public spaces».
Moreover, the bookshop regularly hosts meetings and book presentations: «During the year, we try to organize at least a couple of events per week, because we find it very important to dialogue with readers and LGBTQ+ communities. We like to give voice to emerging authors and independent publishers, alternating genres and topics in order to have a calendar as heterogeneous as possible».
Libreria Antigone
Present both in Milan and Rome, Libreria Antigone is a bookshop dedicated to feminist and LGBTQ+ books and magazines. Its catalogue includes a variety of genres, such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, law, geography, sexual education, medicine, postcolonial studies, literature, art and history. The bookshop is also provided with a selection of sex toys and merchandising, and regularly hosts events.
Debora Vitulano
